Blog Post #8 (Bomer CH 11)

 I really enjoyed reading the section from Stafford and his honest view and experience of his writing process. His comparison to fishing was eye opening. Sometimes, all you need is a nibble when you're starting to write and then you just go from there. I how he said, "If I put down something, that thing will help the next thing come, and I'm off" (Stafford 1978, 18).

One type of notebook entry that caught my attention was the section titled, "Starting with Little, Nearby Things." This connected with the quote by Stafford that Bomer included a little prior in the textbook. I'm a visual learner and how I see things has a big impact on my thoughts. So, to be able to just look around the room or space with my thoughts wide open, I can create a story from a door, dart board, or a sticky note (current things that are in the room with me). But, just like the book mentioned it might not just be a narrative that is written based on what is seen, but maybe writing that is descriptive, scientific, or metaphoric. When we see things, our thoughts are able to venture into creative ways to write about those things. For our students, this can be a great concrete place to start for writing.

Another section of Bomer's different types of notebook entries that stood out to me was "Thinking About a Person." For me personally, the people in my life are the most important thing to me. I'm sure this is a similar thing for our students. One idea I got while reading through this section is how cool would it be for our students to write about their favorite person in their life and use description to explain why that person is their favorite, and then give that person their writing if they wanted. Making writing meaningful is such an important tool to increase motivation in our students.

The author is explaining to us, a concept I understand well as a student who didn't enjoy writing, that not all writing needs to be assignments. If the goal of the notebook is a free space for students to help them have jumping off points when doing larger writing, then it can't just be a place for assignments to be put in. The biggest factor in this is choice. Allowing the student to choose between topics, choose how much is written, choose what writing utensil to use. When students have a say in their writing, they're more likely to find joy in what they're doing.