Assignment #3 - Sharing Your Writing Life!

Part One

1.

• Start of School

My first day of kindergarten

How I feel before the first day of school as a teacher

Labor Day weekend with my family

• Special Memory

Hiking up the Schilthorn with Richard

Meeting Nina for the first time

2.

This summer I got to meet my niece.  She was born on July 7^th, so she is a tiny baby.  I was so excited to see her that my mouth fell open when I first saw her fuzzy head and thimble-sized nose.  The best part of my visit was getting to hold Nina.  I have never held such a small baby.  I loved feeling her breathe and watching her stretch her left arm above her head.  I know she is going to be the perfect niece!

Part Two

1.

Capturing a Moment

This summer I did lots of fun things.  One of the best moments I had was visiting a gelato shop.  The display case was filled with overflowing vats of sweet, creamy, colorful gelato.  When I was up to order I couldn’t decide between all the delicious flavors, so I had to sit down and look at a menu.  When the waiter came I ordered rum raisin, chocolate, and hazelnut.  The gelato was served in 3 perfect spheres with a triangle shaped cookie in the center.  The gelato was perfect – it was cool, flavorful, and refreshing.  Delicious!

2.

While I was writing I realized I needed to be able to visualize my memory first before a lot of the descriptive words came.  I also noticed myself deleting words when I thought of a better word choice while I was writing, instead of doing lots of editing afterwards.  I noticed myself reread what I had written to hear the flow and make sure it didn’t sound choppy.

I didn’t do much to plan my piece other than stop at the beginning to get a clear picture in my head of this memory.  I had to remind myself of some of the details of this particular gelato shop and think about how best to describe the gelato.  When I got stuck I would reread what I had already written to remind myself of the details I had included and help me figure out what I was leaving out.  At the end of the piece I reread my writing to make sure it had a flow.

I realize that my writing process involves a lot of editing as I go.  While I write, I think of better ways to construct my sentences or more descriptive word choices and I change them on the spot instead of waiting until I have completed the draft.  I also do lots of rereading.  I reread what I had written anytime I got stuck and again at the end.