1. Writers on Writing

2. Prompts by Peter Elbow from A Community of Writers Tell about a time when writing went particularly well for you. What was the topic and the audience. Try to tell the story in detail: how you went about writing, what happened, what feelings you had and so forth. What did you learn about writing or yourself from this example?

3. What are your strengths as a writer and a learner? What are you proud of? What do you need as a student and a writer? What do you most want to learn? What can you contribute to our classroom learning community?

4. Tell about someone who was important to your writing -- helpful or harmful, a teacher or someone else.

5. Do you think of yourself as a writer? What does it mean for someone to be a writer?

6. What is hardest and easiest about writing for you?

7. Write about the physical conditions for your writing. Where and when do you like to write? What implements (pen, pencil, typewriter, computer, kind of paper) do you use and why? Do you need silence and solitude or do you prefer to have music on or other people around?

8. Write me a letter. Begin, “Dear Dr. Barak....” Tell me about your hopes, goals or needs for this course. --What do you want to get out of it? --What can you contribute to it? --What do you hope won’t happen? -- What makes you nervous or anxious about the class?

9. Process Writing --Tell about what you thought and felt as you were doing this writing. --Did you discover anything interesting? --What was difficult? Why --What was more interesting?