Between The Lines: Slaughterhouse Five Opening

Truth and fiction is a strange world. Writers are constantly invested in the vision of living many lives - some on paper while others are in real life. The complexity of writing fiction and understanding truth runs parallel to the idea that we can talk about truth and find its mirrored in fiction. In terms of writing, true stories and real accounts has a value to the general readership. We see labels splashed across book covers and movie posters that profess that they are based on a true story. And yet, the layers of fact to fiction can be complex and run deep into the story. 

Does it matter? Does fiction have to hold truth? Does a true story shift into fiction as soon as it is captured and told from different voices?  

It is important to write about these lines and ideas as they relate to both sides of the issue. It isn't black and white, truth and fiction, but a combination of millions of possibilities and connections that make truth stranger than fiction. This series continues to discuss this concept. Sometimes, these entries will be brief notes and connections, while other articles will a bit more elaborate. 

In Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, we are faced with the kind of strange world that I want to continue to explore - perhaps for the rest of my life. I want to be the truth expert in fiction... whatever that means. 

"All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true. One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn't his. Another guy really did threaten to have his personal enemies killed by hired gunman after the war. And so on. I've changed all the names." 

In looking at the way this opening reads, it is clear that fact and fiction are coming together. Most of the sentences in this section have disclaimers to the truth. "All this happened" is very declarative until it is disqualified with "more or less." This builds the uncomfortable relationship that is being established. 

He moves on to the next idea, "The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true." Alluding to the idea that "pretty much" covers enough. As we move to the next sentence, we should acknowledge the emphasis on the words. "One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn't his." This is a moment where you feel like the writer wants to look you in the eyes, look, this happened. Notice there are no names here. The next sentence continues this serious tone, "Another guy really did threaten to have his personal enemies killed by a hired gunman after the war." In these phrases, the narrator wants us to realize that there is truth, even fact in these words, but they can't be verified. They can't be questioned. You will have to take his word for it that they happened.

In the last two sentences, we have "And so on" as if we would just carry on with more of his stories. And then he forfeits it all by saying, "I've changed all the names." The obscuring of the names isn't at all a surprise, the narrator has teased out the balance between truth and fiction here, but to it does remind us - I will tell the truth by obscuring facts and leaving you merely with truth. Of course, this is merely an interpretation, but it does a back and fourth of reality that is being played one aginst the other. 

This work is considered semi-autobiographical which alone strikes at the heart of the matter. Half true, half something else. Part of what we are seeing here might be an answer for the mass destruction, the death, and the insanity of war. It can't be shown to the reader without cloaking it in imagination, shifting the reality away from the reader, intentionally block the brunt of the evil so that the readers can begin somewhere. This novel was written twenty-five years out from his personal experience. Perhaps it is this distortion that helps define the balance between right and wrong.  - #


Ron Samul is a writer and educator. For more information or to contact him, go to www.RonSamul.org 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Quick Response Codes - Dying to Use Technology

by Ron Samul 

Quick Response Codes were developed to link products to advertising, marketing, and stock information. They were developed in Japan as a way of automating connections from a thing to information stored online. The difference between a bar code (numerical) and a Quick Response Code is the amount and type of data that it encodes. Thinking about and creating quick response codes came from elements for a class in the fall and participation in Digital Writing Month. Not only did the idea of codes as keys become engaging, it was something that I could introduce to my class and make operational quickly. See links below for older articles and connections. 

Yesterday, speaking to a Death and Dying instructor, I was shown a fascinating connection to Quick Response Codes and the dead. A Living Headstone is more than just a burial plot. The idea is simple - attach a QR code to a tombstone and when someone stops by - they scan the code and see a video, slideshow, or website commemorating your loved one. I love this idea and I love the idea of using QR codes to share the connections between the cemetery plot and the family memories. I also enjoy the way the website promotes this technology into the respectful memorial jargon. In a "timeless tradition of granite headstones with the newest technology available. We provide an interactive "living" memorial that is a legacy for future generations." This is one more example of how technology can disrupt traditional rituals of our culture. 

Not only does the code connect to information about the deceased, but it can be added to existing monuments. Imagine donating a granite bench to your university alumni and adding the QR code to your website. Achievements, class images, projects, and friends can all connect to make the memorial an important touchstone to those who care.

This post is not meant to be patronising or sarcastic. In fact, the point is to highlight another interesting use of QR Codes in the evolution of our rituals and connections to our society. If we can have "Find-a-Grave" where we have started to index tombstones and cemeteries, this would seem like a good next step for the logical integration of memories to the source of someone's final resting place.

Like the previous articles that discuss ways to use QR Codes for scavager hunts, tree identification, and even party favours -- it makes sense that this is the next generation of tangible connection between a lost loved one and a grieving family. And like new technology, will it stand the test of time? 

Not to minimize the impact of the newly deceased, this would be an interesting element to allow for historical access to cemeteries. I know we have a few old cemeteries with stones that hold significant historical context. Imagine a location for a small QR Code next to the stone that could access archives and other resources to help people understand the history, the tangible connection to the past, and the keys that can unlock real knowledge and understanding - even as they wandered through the pristine grounds of a cemetery. 

Reference Articles 
QR Codes and Your Syllabus 
QR Codes on the Ground 
Boxes and Connections 

Ron Samul is a writer and educator. For more information or to contact him, go to www.RonSamul.org 


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Unquestioning Writing - When Good Is Good Enough

by Ron Samul 

As writers, we are constantly thinking about the audience and the impact of our writing. It is a fundamental element of teaching, thinking, and writing. It made me think, when I saw this tweet by Maha Bali, when she mentioned this moment. 

This is gonna sound funny, but I think sometimes one can write something that is SO powerful that no one comments. Because it's that good!

— ℳąhą Bąℓi مها بالي (@Bali_Maha) December 15, 2015

This is a complex idea, and from a writing standpoint, it is also a brave idea. Writers as communicators and creative generators always seem to humble and diminish their craft. In this case, Maha is confident and sees that sometimes - no one comments because of the "powerful". I really admire the confidence and the realization that sometimes - that the power of writing can overwhelm. Why? 

Social Media 
The concept of finding something meaningful and important on social media is relevant to me. Online courses, MOOCs, connected learning, creative spaces -- all interact through social media. For me, learning, thinking, and listening to very smart and creative people comes from my interaction with social media. However, not everyone comes to social media to find that kind of connection. 

Some people are connecting with family and friends, some are just passing by while they watch their favorite TV show, some are broadcasting on Periscope as they walk to work. Why people use social media is tailored to each person. The depth of reading and interaction really comes down to the user. And it isn't happening in real time, it is happening along a timeline that could be shifting through time zones and cultures. Sometimes, the most important statements or blog posts don't get the attention I think they deserve, merely because I posted them on a Friday afternoon before a holiday (fail). 

But more importantly, people are looking for an interaction that is quick and reactive on social media. Things that make them stop, think, and experience deeper level thinking, (which relates to selective solitude, pausing, and deep reflection), may not fit into the "Like" or "+1" world of immediate reaction. This has spurred the age of important, meaningful quotes on stunning images. 

In this scan and click age, deep thinking and impactful ideas sometimes need a difference venue. It sometimes needs a blogpost, or some area where things can be expanded and slowly unpacked. And sometimes, the "Like" or the "Share" simply doesn't relate the importance of meaning at that moment. Sometimes, I see an image or a concept and I want to keep it. I want to hold on to it. But where would I keep it? Social media lets you keep it on social media terms. But when something is meaningful, we want to do more than just throw it on our timeline. Perhaps it is merely my personal need to embody ideas, art, and writing in tangible ways. Social media isn't going away and perhaps a thirty-year archive of my Facebook posts will allow me to go back and find that poem I recall so sweetly. But I want to make moments my own - outside of the screen. I want to print them out and save them. I want to fold them up and leave them in a book to discover them in a few years. 

Student Writing 
Being a writing teacher is a complex beast. Following syllabus standards, rubrics, college standards, your own vision, and the student's vision - we create a position where we are looking for the right answer to the assignment. Writing is subjective and I am looking at process, not the right order of words in a sentence. I am looking at critical thinking, how you cite sources, how you can create a document that convinces me. There is some excellent writing that comes by in terms of student writing, but I find that those elements are the product of good thinking, critical research, and planning. It comes from students who engage the learning process. And sometimes, compared to the whole class or the entire writing section, you have to acknowledge excellence as it comes to you. And sometimes, after two or three rewrites and a clear process of thinking and learning - there comes a moment when you don't need it better. They have learned - they have more than met your requirements, and they deserve to stand in that moment and feel the significance of their work. 

Creative Writing 
Creative acts are a different beast. When you apply rubrics and grading schemes to a poem or a short story, it gets awkward and complex. The "powerful" concept that Maha tweets about can be emotional, formative, and change the way we see the world. That is what art does. And sometimes, from a creative writing mentor point-of-view, you have to judge something that isn't vetted through a rubric or a course guide. It comes from emotion, it comes from form and content magically aligning to make a moment (perhaps in time if read or spoken) that matches our time and space with the ideas of someone else. 

I always question my role in interfering with the creative process. It isn't my story to tell, it is my job to make the writer think about making the story better. That is complex. And my suggestions are never - "throw this out and start over," because I would be devastated if someone told me that. But this "powerful" part of writing and speaking is fascinating to me. And there has to be a moment when we realize that expression and time meet you when you need it. There are so many poems, books, and important things written all the time. When I need them (personally), they will be there. I don't always see them now because I am looking at different things that I need now. We are all on different paths and moving in different ways. We find those moments that are "powerful" because we are looking. We need to stop counting "likes" and stats, and imagine that if one person moved forward because of the power of our words, it is always... always worth it. 

I don't think I am done defining Maha's "powerful" because I think there is a lot to the creative elements here. There is an important conversation here in defining the "powerful" in our writing, in our expression, and in our ideas. We need to value them - make an earnest and important effort to value those words and ideas that can change lives. It may not make you famous or popular, but it is a rich and deeply thoughtful life, one without regrets. 

by Ron Samul -- want to know more about me... go here. 

Ron Samul is a writer and educator. For more information or to contact him, go to www.RonSamul.org 


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

QR Codes and Your Syllabus

Syllabus 
Ever feel like your syllabus becomes a major work of contractual obligation, spelling out expectations, clauses for different areas of the college, purpose, and intent? Do you feel like much of your syllabus is based on issues that have come up in the past and need amending? My syllabus feels like a complex governmental document that doesn't always outline the creativity and importance of the course - but just a lot of boilerplate things that the students don't read anyway.

There is a lot of different ways to reinvent a syllabus, but I would like to add a few QR Codes to my syllabus. By adding Quick Response Codes in my syllabus, students have some quick access to me. Here are some ideas.

• By scanning a QR Code - students will be able to load my contact information into their phones with one quick scan, including my phone number, email, and office location. 
• By scanning a QR Code - students will be able to find my office on Google Maps and get there without excuses. 
• By scanning a QR Code - students can link to the course website or upload a copy of the syllabus to their phones or tablets. 

Students are coming into the classroom phones and tablets. These once basic things are now very powerful. Using CR Codes in developing a quick connect to elements in the syllabus might allow students to quickly access information that would take time to enter into their phones. 

This does not mean that we will discard traditional syllabus information and institutional goals and templates. But it does give students Quick Response Codes that will allow them to gather information quickly and have it in their devices. 

For students who are not interested in scanning codes - they still have access to the printed material and information. While it might seem like a novelty - it also can guide them to places like the course website, the login space for a LMS, or even take them to the library homepage for help with subject guides and other resources. 

Assignment Sheets

This concept applies to assignment sheets. When I present an assignment to my class, the first thing I do is pass it out on paper. If there is a QR Code on the top of the assignment sheet - students can then use their phones or devices to access the URL where they can find the electronic versions of the assignment. On that sheet, students might also find QR Codes for library resources and other elements. While I would provide links and other pathways to discovery for non-scanners, this would be an easy why for students to find this information. 

Tutoring centers could develop their own QR Code - a key to signing up for tutoring appointments or schedule. 

Asethetics

I should mention - I really admire the practicality of QR Code boxes, however, I think they look oppressive. I've seen some graphic designed boxes that look cool. I wonder where the line can be draw between funcationaly and looks when it comes to these codes. I annotated a poem using QR Codes and it looked so odd. 

In searching for cool QR Codes I found these and -- they work! Try it! 

Like all technology, we run the risk of putting too much focus on a particular element of technology. In looking at different ways to use these boxes, it has allowed me to study a peice of imprintable media that can be used in a variety of ways. It isn't all very functional. In fact, sometimes, it doesn't work at all. But it is a way for us to help students input, access, and share information on the devices in their hands right now. It has also allowed me to develop and think about how these odd electronic keys might open different opportunities for me and the students in an academic setting. 

Any feedback, ideas, or collaboration on these ideas are always welcome.

Ron Samul is a writer and educator. For more information or to contact him, go to www.RonSamul.org 


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

QR Code Project on the Ground / Leftovers from #DigiWriMo

Part of #DigiWriMo, I explored the idea of QR Codes and the potential for them to become keys to other information, ideas, and interconnections. Because I can't just leave things in hypothetical, I decided to attempt this in real time.

I asked the students in my Graphic Novel course to write reviews of graphic novels that are in the library. Then we created QR Codes to print on a bookmark that was inserted in the books. When students at the college find these bookmarks in the books, they can scan the code and see what people are saying concerning the book. The students wrote an introduction, a commentary on the artwork, the comparative landscape, and (of course) their own verdict of the graphic novel.  Adding cover art, links and vidoes, the students completed the assignment. The objective of the course was to allow students to create an artifact (bookmarks), while drawing interest to the graphic novel collection in our library. It was the librarians that supported our efforts in creating the design, getting them into a display format, and adding them into the books.

Reflections On Mentoring / "Only connect..."

This week, I've been thinking about the role of the mentor. I understand my official role as a mentor. But I feel like it has taken me some time to develop what I can do for students who connect. I am not the line editor, although I can pick out places where I think the writing needs work. I am the mentor who connects. Perhaps it is partly from the obsession I have with E. M. Forster's epigraph at the beginning of Howard's End that says simple "Only connect...." and he adds three pesky ellipses that just don't connect. Ugh! That idea is like a hand grenade in my brain. It is such a simple puzzle: elegant, beautiful, and sad. This relates to my mentoring philosophy. I want to find ways to enhance the likelihood of the writer writing. That is my job. 

#DigiWriMos / The Invisibles / Thought on the Metaphor Project

The world is becoming more visual. Almost all of our social media and interaction online have some pictorial element. From icons to robust ads (with color and motion), we are constantly connecting image to word. That being said, I write is to create something that someone can imagine, conjure, and experience in a way that isn't attached to my image, but with the user (the reader and creator). And the stories that are important to tell are those containing "invisibles" or things that cannot be seen or even reconciled without individual interpretation.

The idea of "invisibles" comes from the idea that no one thing represents what we are trying to describe. No one can tell you what love looks like. They can try, and you can accept or reject it. But love is complex and usually needs a series of figurative ideas and elements to make it work. Most people have a complex and changing vision of "invisbles" like love - so in one story it will appear significantly different than the next. 

In October, I discussed the thought of creating a study on the metaphor of rhizomatic learning to define why we use the metaphor to explain elements of this type of connective learning. It is a tricky endeavor. The use of a metaphor is a figurative affair that must pay off on both sides of the metaphor. So much resides on the reader's experience, the metaphorical correlation, and the way it is applied. How the hell can you possibly study those elements? Perhaps you can't but you can collect metaphors and see how they are being used. It reminds me of electron colliders - you never see the collision, but the explosion after the fact. "Invisibles" are the quintessential reason for writing. It is why poets and writers can spend a year writing a novel that creates something bigger, something epic, something brilliant that has never before been experienced. It makes sense that religion and myth derive from oral and written manifestations. Gods draw off the tongue and miracles emerge from the page when we use figurative language to define the possibility (see what I did there?).

If we look for the origins of why we write and why we admire writing - it comes from how it changes our perspective of a person, a time, or an object. Amazing stories change us because we see and learn something new about what is possible in the world. But that doesn't come from facts - it comes from the figurative nature of listening and hearing words. Figurative language has a power (simile) to compare, to encompass (symbolism), to bring to life (personification), and to experience a visionary world. Writers know that there is a little bit of magic in these things called "invisibles" -- not because they can cast spells or turn a prince into a frog, but they can give you an experience that is refined. Our lives are not stories filled with "invisibles" - and that is what we long for when we read. By way of the word, we experience them deeply.*



*I typically add an image with my posts to make them a bit more dynamic, but this one deserves words alone.  

DigiWriMon+: Rumination on Selective Solitude

Community and connections are a critical part of the digital world. Writers who are selling their own wares because big publishing is still trying to figure out their world -- we see audience builders and creative ways to sell books and stories. People who may never have considered themselves professional marketers are now creating their own book tours and creating their own connections and sales.

I recently finished True Detective Season Two, and while I won't spoil it for you, I know I was disappointed. In looking for a reason or cause for my dissatisfaction, I came across an article that suggests that the writer, Nick Pizzolatto was influenced by the feedback and criticism of season one of the series. *In creating the second season, he had to live up to the expectations of season one (which is largely acclaimed) and yet create something new and different. While this might not be the type of show you like, the point is simple - the criticism of the past haunts what you create now. In many ways, this is an intrusion of the solitude that we are talking about.

Are we, as writers aspiring to write a better and better novel? Or is the idea to write new and different stories? Telling different stories is better than telling a better story - isn't it? If we are telling stories based on the characters and the story they represent -- then we must accept that this isn't a better story than the previous, but just that it is different. Some of the concerns with my writing are just this issue, that I want to tell a variety of stories, not optimize my ability. Everything we write makes us better writers, but it doesn't make the stories that we tell better. That is where we need selective solitude - the ability to define truth in our art and in our stories. That isn't to say we are writing a true story, but that we are creating something that is in line with how we see ourselves in the world. That is close to a truth - to write something that is a direct line to our own vision of the world. That being said, it is very difficult to write with the voices of our harshest critics in our ears. It is very difficult to write with confidence when we feel like we are under scrutiny. And that is where writers tend to seek seclusion in an artistic sense. It is better to try something and fail (alone) than be surrounded by people who will judge them and criticism them while they are still thinking through ideas and connections. It might be worth noting that it is easy for a writer selling books - to disappear for three months to write, but it is a bit more complex for people with a nine-to-five job to disappear from the world and start a novel.

In the end, we have to find our motivation and our space to write. And sometimes, that comes by way of an hour, an evening, or a few days. Sometimes, that means writing a thesis for an MFA degree. Sometimes, it means shutting down all those things that speak out against you. It means finding selective solitude. Not only does it mean using your ability to create selective solitude, but it means using this place as an important tool in writing and thinking. Selective solitude is just as important as plot, character, and your lyrical poetry. It is the executive function that opens the door for creativity. It is there you will go back to what is most important to you: words, images, stories, and characters that are waiting to take their place on the page.



*It should be noted that True Detectives also starts with new characters and stories every season. We aren't stuck with old stories and connections that don't make sense. They are free to begin again. 

#DigiWriMo - Cool Graphic To Navigate The Story Jumpers

#DigiWriMo / Selective Solitude / Just Spitballing

In my previous post, I mentioned how there remains a certain amount of isolation and single-minded work in writing. It isn't until the writing is complete that we begin to digest the social and interactive tools. It reminds of creating an assignment for college students. You have to come up with the idea and map it out (and insert goals), and then present it out into the classroom to see if it will work.

Today, the term "selective solitude" came about in a brilliant flurry of ideas (@MiaZamoraPhD). While I hope there will be better dialogue about what that means, I thought I would attempt to write a bit about it and why it can be productive for a writer. 

Turns out "selective solitude" is kind of a thing already. Most of the articles are facing the fact that you can be alone and you don't need to feel guilty about it. However, I think we need to consider when selective solitude means something different. Writers know the value of being alone, thinking, reading, and getting into the writing elements of our lives. We don't need an intervention that speaks to the idea that it is "okay to be alone." But I think in terms of selective solitude we are talking about making space for thinking and writing - our place and time to think and create without other influences. Sometimes, we need to just sit down and write things and see where they take us. 

The Keyhole: QR Codes and the Story Within

Scan and follow my thinking: Digital Writing Experiment has now begun.

* A technical point: you have to scan these with QR reader on your phone. Get the box in the app box and it will work. 



If for some reason you cannot scan the code and pass through the keyhole... I will let you slide this time and follow this link. http://cookbookforhumans.blogspot.com/p/boxes-and-connections-project.html

#DigiWriMo - Blind All Along

I have to admit, once I read about the possibility of a map in Story Jumpers, it just hit me that I
needed to write about a blind map reader and his henchman assistant. And as the story moved from person to person I hoped that it would still be possible when it came to me.

Inspired by ironical opposition in writing, (fat guys named Tiny), the blind map reader just made sense to me. I was poking around looking for other connections to this character. I like this concept and the whole role of the prophet. And then it hit me. I wrote a whole section of a novel based on a modern blind prophet - who saw the future two ways. His name is Jimmy Two Ways, and the idea is that he has two eyes that point in different directions. Of course this sounds like a jab at the poor guy for an offensive nickname, but to the ironic element, he sees the future as a fork. And he can only give you a future as choice, not as a definitive point ahead. I have 160 pages with Jimmy Two Ways embedded in the strange folklorish tale of ghosts, witches, love, and modern failure of a legacy lost in a little bit of madness.

#DigiWriMo -- Letter to Humanity/ Writing to Things We Cannot See

It started with a writing prompt. And that was inspired by Tom O'Brien (The Things They Carried). He wrote a piece in life magazine - a letter to his son who was an infant. He wanted to say so many things to him that he wouldn't understand, but he might not get to say as an older father. So he wrote his son a letter.

Inspired by the idea of writing to someone who might not be there to read it, I asked my creative class of adults to try it as an inclass writing prompt. The result was amazing. The prompt is to write a letter to someone in the past, present, or future who may or may not read it.

Some people write to realtives that have passed. Some writer to people that they have disconnected with. It simply doesn't matter. One night, I offered the assignment to a class and everyone read. I got to my last sutdent and she read about her father comitting suicide. And half way through her reading, she broke down. And the most amazing moment was when she pounded on the desk, choked back all those emotions and said, "I have to finish this." And she did it. She read the entire letter. When I got done with the class and got out to the car, I sat for a moment. "What are you doing?" I asked myself.

#DigiWriMo / Collaboration, Mentoring, and the Stigma of Writing in Isolation.

In terms of writing, collaboration is important and sometimes critical in expanding ideas and concept. Even fiction writing can be collaborative and exciting (as our Story Jumpers proves). But what is the power of creative collaboration?

Experimental Collaboration 

A few years ago, I wrote a story with someone else and the idea was similar to our Story Jumpers, I would write five pages, and the other person would write five pages and we would see where it might go. The hardest part was never really being sure where the story was going. It feels odd to write something that you are ready to connect and relate with, and then pass it off to someone who has their own ideas and connections. That was difficult because even if I planned something with implications to the future, it might be shifted or dismissed in the next few section. And that was unsettling. The writing that the other writer presented was excellent and often connective, but without the ability to move through a story arc, plot, or character development - it felt like every submission was a let's wait and see what happens. 

What happens when we lose control? And why is it important for us to see the whole things? Some writers feel like they should know the end before they even start a story or a creative endeavor. For that type of writer -- this idea of collaborative writing might be maddening. No closure, no completion. 

#Rhizo15 / Yup, Did It Again

Part of the problem with rhizo thinking and learning is that I always come across a few students every semester who needs to go on a rhizo learning experience. I have to say, at the beginning of the semester -- I didn't think I would have anyone to even consider this type of learning, thinking, and writing. As the semester made it to midterm, I found two people. Both future educators, both ambitious, both ready to take on something bigger than the class.

I am so excited to give them the opportunity to push and do something outside the traditional lines of the classroom. One will be doing a case study on a school system and investigate what it will take for the student to get on the local board of education. The other student will be working on a study that defines Native American access to local waterways including catch limits, licensing, and other issues with waterway usage for Native Americans.

I am very inspired by their ambitions - and I am very excited to see them move forward. It should be mentioned that a student who went rhizo on me last semester just emailed me sample chapters from a book of essays she is writing on ambitious in women. It was good. It was rhizo. And it was great.

It should be mentioned that a rhizo writer -- or in my case a rhizo writing teacher is someone who is able to see the moment when a student is ready to go rhizo. Not because they are the best students, or even the most ambitious, but because they need something more than what everyone else is doing. They need to go rhizo. This also ties into the Digitial Writing Month and how important it is to consider the right tools, the right mode to tell a story, write a book, or propose epic legislation. Part of the experience is listening to what the student wants to do and guiding them through some possible tools. They will have to find their way through digital writing like we all have - sometimes it is just typing on a word document, but sometimes, it is a collaborative - connective statement of who we are and what we can do as writers. 

#DigiWriMo / Old School Digital Writing

In my writing program, I had a reading course where I read an ungodly amount of historical fiction and then had to write a reading journal. The reading was overwhelming, but it did teach me so much about discipline and my capacity to work harder and harder.

Then things shifted. It went from hard work, to hard meaningful work and it changed everything. I would write a response to the reading I did each week and sometimes, it would end up being long and complex. I would discuss technique, story, themes, social issues: whatever I could think up. And my mentor, the poet and novelist Cecilia Woloch did an amazing and simple thing. She spoke to me between the lines of my writing. She was very specific about what made sense, called me out on bad writing, and told me when I was saying something important. After a few interactions, something happened. I didn't want to impress my mentor - I wanted (more than anything) to continue the conversations between the lines.

In terms of digital writing, it was merely a word document with my writing and then her read writing comments embedded. A sample below just shows what it looked like. However, it was there that I could pose ideas and even connect ideas together week after week. The conversations were not only focused, but they began to expand outward. My role was not to just read anymore - my job was to read as a mode of responding. The outcome was that I was reading with purpose and intent and I was writing to refine my ideas. It wasn't enough to just respond to the writing and connect it to something someone has said already (like a critic or a book review), I felt like my job was to create new ideas and find new ways to think about the writing. There were a lot of fails. Sometimes, theories or connections that I thought were brilliant were missed or not clear. And sometimes, things that I thought were minor points were things that could be developed into bigger, and better ideas.

 The point in explaining all this, is that this interaction wasn't facilitated by the digital platform. It wasn't inspired by the type of program I used to write. It was based on people communicating. I like different writing platforms and how they interact. I live on Google Documents and work on blogs and writing often. However, it is the connections between people that drive those things to work. It is the inspiration to create and say something that is the vision. Supporting that voice and those ideas is where the digital world facilitates those conversations and shares those ideas.

Now, with the use of Google documents and other methods of writing, the importance of interconnectivity and digital writing is the key to success. Tools that connect people are why we are using them. If they don't work, then we need to find new ones. But we also should take stock in the most important tool we have as writers, the connective elements of our ideas, words, and other people. We are the curriculum, we are the network.

Here is the sample of the interactions. 

Storyjumpers 8: The Messenger Arrives

This is part 8 of a story jumping activity for Digital Writing Month. Bruno started it, followed by Kevin, Maha, Sarah, Ron, Tanya and Kay.  Sign up in theGoogle Doc if you'd like to join in.

Part8

An old car pulled up in front of Kevin's house. Now, they were sitting. The blind man sat calmly in the passenger seat. "He is in there, I can feel it." he said in a breathless voice. The henchman, a tired older man who cracked his knuckles. He looked around at the neighborhood. "These places freak me out. Everyone wants a life on the up and up.  For what? Expensive coffee and whacked out hobbies. Bullshit." The henchman got out and went to the passenger door. He helped the blind man out. The henchman, Marco Billings, was his given name but most people called him Bull, walked the blind man up the path and to the door. Bull rang the bell. He pulled open his jacket and laid his hand on the butt of a gun. "You know these people are crazy." The blind man said, "Easy now. We need to see the map, not blow holes in it."

When Kevin came to do the door, he looked surprised, hold a magnifying glass in his hand. "Can I help you?" The blind man smiled oddly and snickered. "I am sorry to bother you. We heard there was a little disturbance at the pub recently and we just wanted to take a statement." Kevin nodded. He looked them over. "Do you have some kind of police identification." Bull pushed him back into the house, "Yeah, here is my identification." The gun came out and Kevin dropped his magnifying glass. The blind man shuffled in and stood in an aura of calm. "Easy Bull. You can kill him in a few minutes. Now, let's have the map." Bull punched Kevin in the stomach, and he slumped down. Bull quickly found the map and handed it to the blind master. The blind master took off his gloves and began reading the map with his fingers. It seemed impossible that he could feel anything on the map, but his fingers sensed the slightest etchings on the sheet. "Sir, do you know what this is?" Kevin shook his head but didn't answer. "I have been searching for maps that can alter reality. I've found these elements mapped out over time and space. I have become the master of the maps. I'm very powerful because of what I know."

Kevin looked up, "So, now you kill me and take it." The blind master smiled. "No, that is very melodramatic -- but we aren't going to take this." Bull turned, "We came all this way for it, boss." The blind man touched the paper a bit more, "No, this map doesn't show you where to go - not at all." He snickered, "This map tells them how to find you." He sighed and seemed a bit nervous. Bull went over and looked at it. "Bull, hand me a cloth. I don't want my prints on this." He wiped different spaces of the map with a cloth so gently. He put his gloves back on. "Bull, give the poor wretch his map back. They will be coming and we don't want to be here when it happens." Bull tossed the map at Kevin and let it flutter to the ground.

Kevin looked up in a Bruce Willis, save the world moment, "How much time do I have?"

The blind man nodded, "Not nearly enough."

-------
Hand off to Dana Murphy (@DanaMurphy68)

#DigiWriMo Kicking It Off

In thinking about Digital Writing Month, this is the space where I need to innovate and be creative. And it was terrifying. Often writing is so filled with conventions and focused areas of format that we don't think about creativity in form and delivery. To be honest, I don't think genre-based writing helps that because that is about form and what people expect.

It was with this uncertainty that I looked out to the community of smart writers who are in the #DigiWriMo community to find some inspiration. And it is here that I found some people who think in ways that I admire and need to emulate. It is among these communities and within these challenges that I think we can be inspired and focused. We might not be able to sustain a year of intense writing because of the world around us, but I can certainly work like a dog for a few weeks. In the end, the results and inspirations will outweigh the hard work and long hours.

All my life I've wanted to be a writer, and teaching writing always seemed like a connective important way to live this working model. And teaching has been a significant element to better writing and connecting with other writers. In the end, the hardest work is the most significant work. The hardest part of writing is still the writing. Not because it is harder or more complex (although I like that challenge), but that the important elements of writing and getting better at writing are cast aside to in the art of teaching. I always wonder if Wallace Stevens had it right as an insurance saleman working, working the nine to five schedule - and writing on the boundaries of that life.

Now, being a bit older (mid forties), I feel the increasing urgency to just spend all my free time writing and writing and writing. Not because I running out of time, but I've finally come to a place where my ability (which was lacking in my twenties), and my experience are finally converging and working. It is not easy to be a writer, it is not easy being a teacher. To bring those two ideas together is to be something complex, determined, and questing for knowledge. That is what drew me into #Rhizo15 was the purposeful examination of new ways to think, write, learn, and connect to other people. Now, looking at how that might work in digital writing - it feels like my life on paper keeps aligning itself more accurately and precisely to what Annie Dillard explained as the writing life.


Declaration of a Writer for DigiWriMo
My writing goals for this month is ambitious, but that is where I tend to find inspiration. 1) I have an academic manuscript that needs to be fostered along. Everything is there and I need to work on it like it is a thesis that is due in December. 2) Write an opener for a novel. I have a great story to write, but I have been terribly stuck on a few things. I want a twenty-page opener that works for me. 3) Lastly, I would like to consider creativity, connectivity, and the community of thinkers in the DigiWriMo community. I want to think about new ways to consider texts and connections. It is here that I want to respond, connect and contribute to that important element of my work. 

The Metaphor Collection - The Intangible Collection

My intention was to do something predictable. Write a stuffy academic boring paper on why the construct of the metaphor and rhizomatic learning are often connected. I would explain the history of metaphors, I would try (and fail) to understand A Thousand Plateaus: capitalism and schizophrenia and the metaphors in that text. I would connect the rhizo metaphor with Dave Cormier's vision (probably a fail too). Then I would take the amazing and complex examples of metaphors used by the rhizo community and come to some significant and poignant understanding that we can't see everything but figurative language is the key to unlock ideas that are otherwise intangible.

Maybe I will still do that.

And then #digiwrimo entered into my world. I don't want to figure this all out right now. I want to collect metaphors (original and cited) and what people think of them. I want people to add their vision to the collection. Isn't metaphorical interaction subjective, like reading, like interpretation? In Rhizo15, it felt like we were using the metaphor to dig and cast new ideas that didn't have names yet. And the more we pushed our metaphorical experience forward, the more we drew closer to naming and giving shape to what we couldn't find.

My passion in writing is always capturing or even moving around something that we can't quite collect into a term or a definition. And when we try they vanish or change.

Questions:
Can I collect metaphors?
Why am I doing it?
What if all the things you collect becomes an index to things unknown?
Should I look at the rhizome collaborative?

What output would this project create? Collaborative document, book, or paper? Database? Or is there something more to be done. Maybe a digital notation of each metaphor would make sense?

I am not sure. I know I've written and discussed some really important connections in rhizo learning and digital writing conversations, and somehow - why the metaphor becomes such an important tool in that process needs to be investigated. I would love some feedback, ideas, connections, and collaboration if anyone is interested.