5.6 Expecting Depth from Your Writing

CONNECTION Ducks swim across a pond serenely and then duck down and dive deep underwater. Writers need to do the same thing with our topics!

TEACHING POINT Today I want to teach you that memoirists write with depth by studying the work of others and trying to name ways the other writers developed deep insights.

TEACHING When you want to learn to write an essay, you read essays When you want to learn to write information books, you read information books. When you want to learn to dive deep, you study others who have done this.

TEACHING MENTOR TEXT Student writer Max uses writing to think interpretively about his own entries. First he reread his entry. Then he wrote about it.

TEACHING MENTOR TEXT Student writer Max uses writing to think interpretively about his own entries. First he reread his entry. Then he wrote about it. Max is thinking about one entry, one moment, and returning to uncover new thoughts. He pushes himself to have more than one idea.

TEACHING REVISIT ENTRIES, LOOKING FOR THEMES AND ISSUES Look back over other entries and ask, “are there other examples of this theme/issue in my life?” Search for patterns. Push yourself to think otherwise, to interpret the entry differently Think and write about the issue/theme. What ideas do you have? What is this similar to? Different from?

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT Look over your own work. Start with Max’s first move. Ask “What is the issue that’s hiding here? What is this really about?” Now push yourself to see the same entry from another perspective. You might try, “This moment is about…but it’s also about…” Is there a comparison you can make to help illustrate something significant about your life?” Take a key word or phrase. Write about this. What can I compare this to?

LINK Our goal is to generate thoughtful writing. When it feels hard, unearth strategies that other writers have found successful and try them!

MIDWORKSHOP Author Eudora Welty suggests “write what you don’t know about what you know.” Ask, “Where’s the mystery in this topic?” or “Why do I write so often about this?” I might write about why I write so often about fitting in when it doesn’t matter to me!

SHARE Study Emily’s writing. What has she done well that we could do as well? Take notes. We will share in a moment!