Although we are in mid-November (or NANOWRIMO for all you aspiring novelists), the memory of the Month of Writing (MOW) is still fresh. Just this morning, I was editing the manuscript I created during MOW.
To remind yourself of all of the things we did last month, read this article.
https://storify.com/SNLDePaul/snl-month-of-writing-2016
Friday, November 18, 2016
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Finals Week at the Writing Center
Finals are upon us, and the University Center for Writing-based Learning will be open Wednesday through Friday this week to assist students with end-of-term work.
The UCWbL has Writing Center locations in both Lincoln Park and the Loop, and both locations have finals week hours between 10-5 from Wednesday, the 16th, through Friday, the 18th.
While the schedule is already filling up, cancellations may be available. Visit WCOnline (register if you don't have an account), and click on the clock symbol next to the date that you'd prefer to be added to their waitlist. Be sure to select the correct campus from the drop-down menu (Loop AQ Finals 2016 in the example below).
The Chat With a Tutor function on the UCWbL website (located on the bottom of the page) may also be of use to students with quick questions during business hours.
Best wishes to everyone in the weeks ahead!
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
End of Term Writing Services
WRITING BOOT CAMP
As the Fall Quarter wraps up, many students face projects that need to be completed. It is important to know that there are resources that they can still use.
On Saturday, November 12, SNL Writing will host the final Writing Boot Camp in 14 E. Jackson, Lab 1325. This Camp will run from 9am – 1pm. Members of SNL faculty will be available to help students with any stage of their writing assignment. (There will also be snacks.)
THE WRITING CENTER
The Loop Writing Center will remain open until week 10. Students can schedule Face-to-Face appointments, Written Feedback Appointments (to receive feedback through email), or online real time appointments. To schedule an appointment, follow this link: http://condor.depaul.edu/writing/programs-writing-center-scheduling-appointments.html
The Writing Center will keep the following schedule:
LOOP WRITING CENTER HOURS
(Open Weeks 2-10 Each Quarter)
Sunday Closed
Monday 9:00a-7:00p
Tuesday 9:00a-7:00p
Wednesday 9:00a-7:00p
Thursday 9:00a-7:00p
Friday Noon-5p
Saturday Noon-5p
Monday, October 31, 2016
Some Thoughts on the 5th Annual Month of Writing
by Nicholas Hayes
October
2016 marks the 5th year of SNL’s Month of Writing (MOW), a
celebration and challenge which draws much inspiration from National NovelWriting Month (NANOWRIMO). Each asks participants to devote time to writing in
effort to meet a word count goal. In NANOWRIMO, the goal is at least 50,000
words. But for SNL’s Month of Writing, participants set their own goal. It is
an endurance challenge. It is a dance marathon, not a dance recital. If you
have ever seen They Shoot Horses Don’t
They, you get a glimpse of how grueling such a challenge can be. Despite
not resulting in the prettiest product, such challenges provided many benefits (if competitors engage in them.)
I did not
actively participate in the Month of Writing for several years. As an adjunct
instructor working multiple gigs, I had a built in excuses that mirrored Larry
Burton’s excuse for not participating in NANOWRIMO. He had a heavy teaching
load, research projects, and family obligations. Unfortunately, these
obligations never really went away and the novel he wanted to write remained a
dream. His daughter (a college student and multiple year NANOWRIMO participant)
finally convinced him. His experience taught him many valuable lessons
including “scheduling makes [writing] possible” and “progress motivates.”
As a
creative writer, I am often reminded that so many great books were written with
just a few hundred words every day. I strive for that discipline, but often
fall short. So many of our students juggle work and school while they are
sandwiched between the demands of the younger and older family members.
Burton’s lessons are valuable insights for how to complete longer projects like
Advanced Projects or ILPs. Of course, these lessons are taught in Writing
Workshop and Writing for Competence (always implicitly, often explicitly.) But
Month of Writing is a chance to practice them, to experience them outside of
the classroom setting.
Burton’s
novel went unwritten for so many years not because of his inability to complete
it, but because of the difficulty in starting it, the seeming impossibility to
find time for it. This does not surprise me. I have known many graduates of MFA
in Writing programs, who have stopped writing since they no longer have the
structure of writing classes. The distinction between writing for class and
cultivating a writing practice necessary to independently complete writing
projects is difficult.
This is
why the more non-classroom related support we can provide students the better.
Month of Writing provides solid support for participants. They get frequent
reminders to keep writing. The requirement to report their weekly word counts
is a way to hold them accountable for their writing. This reporting has the
additional benefit of making them aware of how much progress they have made
toward their goal. Another avenue of support comes from the Writing Center.
Students are aware of the one-on-one tutoring services they provide. But they
also help facilitate writing groups that meet every two-weeks or every month.
Group members not only share their progress, but they receive peer feedback and
support on their writing. For students who can not meet in person, arranging online
accountability groups could also help complete their projects. The Australian
researchers Burke and Settles find that NANOWRIMO participants of online
writing challenge groups who engage with socially do better at completing their
challenge. We can better facilitate the social component of writing for our
students. And to bring this full circle, at the Craft of Composing panel (the
kick-off event for MOW), Ann Stanford spoke highly of her accountability group
the Grind.
The Month
of Writing ends not with the hope of a slackened pace of writing. But with
the hope, we can encourage students to access services that will help them keep
its spirit alive the other eleven months of the year.
Works
Cited
Burke,
Moira and Burr Settles. “Plugged in to the Community.” Communities and Technologies. Proc. Of Fifth International Conf. on
Communities and Technologies. 29 June – 2 July 2011, QUT at Brisbane,
Australia: ACM., 2011. PDF File.
Burton,
Larry D. “Lessons from NANOWRIMO.” Journal
of Research on Christian Education. 18 (2009): 1-10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Oct. 2016
Friday, October 28, 2016
Aloud! Including Writers from DePaul's SNL
SNL Advanced Elective "Write Where You Are" class and the Writing Center's Jennifer Finstrom
When I arrived at the DePaul Writers Guild Aloud! open-mic on October 20th, current students and alumni were already gathered, waiting. They tried to keep their voices low as the Loop Writing Center tutors finished their work. But the overwhelming sense of camaraderie could not tamp their exuberance.
Later SNL students from Steffanie Triller’s Write Where You Are Advanced Elective class joined the event. The regular attendees were cheerful and supportive. It was a pleasure to watch them interact with themselves and the newer SNL readers.
Although the Writers Guild holds an Aloud! reading every quarter, this day was special. It was dedicated to both NCTE’s National Day on Writing and The School for New Learning’s Month of Writing. A common thread through all of these events is an idea that accountability helps us write. If we have a group of writers to encourage and push us, writing becomes easier.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
SNL Writing Videos
Writing can seem like a
solitary task. But at its core it is an active and engaged form of
communication. This is something that Michelle Navarre-Cleary, Steffanie
Triller Fry, and Katie Wozniak understood when they helped create a series of
videos in which students and faculty talk about various topics about writing at
SNL and generally.
Recently, many of these
videos have been placed in a Vimeo folder. They are an invaluable resource for
SNL students and writers in general.
SNL Writing
Center album
Individual
Videos:
How to Succeed
at Writing at SNL
Getting Around
Writer’s Block
Helping
Students with Writing
Writing for
MAAPS
Business vs
Academic Writing
Other Videos:
How Mary Wrote 10 ILPS
Ty Kahdeman Talks about the
Writing Process
Thursday, October 20, 2016
8th National Day of Writing (Oct. 20th)
On Oct. 20th, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) celebrates the eighth National Day on Writing on Oct. 20. They are encouraging people to participate in the #WhyIWrite social media campaign.
Share the reasons why you write to help promote writing and literacy!
Share the reasons why you write to help promote writing and literacy!
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