On a recent visit to Elkhart Community Schools in northern Indiana, I had the pleasure of conducting a writing workshop with students taking English electives at Elkhart Memorial High School. After sharing the story of my writing life with them, I led them through one of my favorite creative writing exercises. Based off of a concept called "packaging" that I encountered probably twenty years ago while skimming a writing text (title unknown) and modified for my classroom, the steps go something like this:
1. Brainstorm every word or phrase you can think have related to a particular topic; we used "winter."
2. In the brainstorm, be sure to harvest words from various subtopics such as weather, activities, holidays, foods, and the five senses.
3. Set a limit on the time given for the brainstorm (I gave them two minutes once I'd explained the task).
4. After the brainstorm, challenge yourself to write a descriptive paragraph about the topic (winter) WITHOUT using any of the words you brainstormed, finding synonyms and alternate routes to get across the details usually provided in the brainstormed words.
I jazz this up a bit by being highly animated in presenting the brainstorm, encouraging a race-like atmosphere to get students to generate many words, and providing some initial examples that they all must write down. Oh, did I mention that I cackle like the Wicked Witch of the West when I reveal that they CANNOT use anything on their brainstorm? Yes, that's right...they must brainstorm before they know why, or this won't work...the cackling is optional! I will admit I enjoy the trick, the way they so trustingly step into the activity, then how badly stuck they find themselves when they have brainstormed so well! But, my pleasure is seeing it all become a challenge that they rise to confront with vigor, after several moans and groans. The activity forces them away from the "packages" of words they usually rely upon for a given topic. Their fulfillment in succeeding with this "only works once" activity is gorgeous to behold.
Elkhart's soil grows some pretty lush creativity as the sentences that students sent me in the days following the activity were splendid, especially so considering the very few minutes (under ten) we had for the entire exercise. I chose some examples to share here. Jatavia captured the experiential aspect of winter with "going to the house, walking through the crystals to see the best group of people sitting there drinking cocoa and having a wonderful time." I particularly like "crystals" as another descriptor of snow; given more time, I bet Jatavia could expand on that image beautifully. Dylan also capitalized on "crystals" but based his focus on activity with "building forts made of crystals that fell from the sky." The potential for action to rise through the fort construction is vivid. After cheerfully introducing herself to me and asking some questions about Nacho in her e-mail, Madeline took a relational and reflective approach with "admiring the frozen outdoors from the warm indoors and enjoying the special season with those I love." The contrast of interior and exterior locations could lead to a great comparative piece.
Here is something even larger I took away from that workshop in Elkhart: writing binds us. Those students and I did not know each other at all, but we all love to write. I left that room feeling as if I'd found sixty new friends. In fact, one of the messages I received after leaving was not a winter sentence but the warm, wonderful words of a budding writer. Keiana shared some of her poetry, including this: "Do I want to run away? Or do I hide it all away? So many endless nights and dark filled days. Could that be the reason why all the answers fade?" Personal poetry sent to a virtual stranger...but we are not strangers if we write with authenticity.
Now to try packaging myself. Subject: Nacho! If anything turns out, I'll put it in a future post. For now, write, write, write!