I have not been writing very consistently lately.

I have all sorts of excuses, but no good reasons ?

I am teaching Freshman English at UVU (Utah Valley University) this year (it’s been a long time since I taught), and I have been learning lots about good writing that I had never considered before. I’ll probably go into more detail later about this, but for now, I am having lots of fun learning while I teach.

I did notice, now that I’ve finished grading their personal narratives, that people really have no idea how to write well. They think writing is like a movie: all show, no interior. Several of my students tried to use a flashback right of the bat to explain things. Others withheld information from the reader that the narrator knew at the time in order to create “suspense”. I think Orson Scott Card has broken me of my habit for doing these things (without an absolutely excellent reason for breaking the rule) during Bootcamp, but it is interesting how much I notice it now and how much it drives me crazy?

Tags: teaching, Utah Valley University, narrative