Post #5: Dig Into Your Beliefs

Think about the connection between your bedrock beliefs and the way you live. If, for instance, you believe that nature has created all animals for the benefit of man, you'll probably find nothing unethical about eating cow for dinner. You are not likely to demonstrate in front of the supermarket carrying a "Meat is Murder" sign. Start with the assumption that all work is ennobling and you'll be more likely to rally some enthusiasm for scrubbing the gunk out of the grout in the shower stall.

Here are some values statements about important matters. Find some with which you agree or disagree. Write about how those beliefs translate into specific action for you. Give examples. For instance, if you value friendship more than personal integrity, you'll be more likely to let a friend copy your exam answers. Choose one of these to agree or disagree with and write several paragraphs. You may also create another statement that expresses a closely held value.

• Loyalty to one's friends is more important that loyalty to one's family.
• Security is more important than wealth. 
• Creative work is more important than socially useful work. 
• Friendship is more important than personal success.
• Duty to one's family is more important than personal success.
• Physical and emotional safety are more important than sensual pleasure. 
• Personal integrity is more important than financial success.

Post # 4: Define with Specifics

Define with Specifics

Dictionary definitions are general, but you can also define with specific examples. For example, the dictionary says that a procrastinator is a person who puts things off to last minute. Go further. How does a procrastinator behave? What does she think when she realizes that her major project is due tomorrow? What is his first thought when he gets a writing assignment that isn't due for two weeks?

You can make excellent use of defining examples when you are exploring the meanings of words or ideas for which the dictionary gives little help. For example, the dictionary defines "beautiful" and "people," but it does not define the concept of "beautiful people." This combination of words suggests something which Webster's Dictionary ignores. Similarly, you can think if the "unsung hero."

In contrast to the standard denotative dictionary definition, a definition by example looks at the connotations that sometimes belong to words. Consider a subspecies you know about  and define this type by example, with specifics. Some suggestions:

• hacker
• slacker
• geek
• cynic
• showoff
• hotdog
• boor

Post #3: Look for the Reason

Working with a partner, brainstorm reasons for each of the following puzzling phenomena. Write a list of two or three for each. Then, on your own,  choose one topic and reason and write a paragraph illustrating your claim with explanations and examples.

1. Some people join cults because...
2. Some people fall in love with serial killers because...
3. People like to stare at fires because...
4. Children are more likely to laugh at slapstick comedy than adults because...
5. People collect things like beer mugs, ceramic dolls, and owls because...

Post # 2: Accent What Isn't

Overheard conversation after a high society party: You remember her. You were talking to her. She was the one without the face lift. 
A person or situation can be defined by what it is not. Note the emphasis on the negative in the following:

I was a war baby. Born in 1944. Which means I am not a baby boomer and therefore do not count. Products are not designed, neighborhoods are not gentrified, and fish are not blackened for my benefit. Presidential candidates do not choose running mates with me in mind. Time magazine does not care what I think. And there's no television show called "Fortysomething."

 -Linda Ellerbee


     My reasons for running, unlike those of the vast majority of the nation's twenty million joggers, have nothing to do with toning my body or nurturing my cardiovascular system. 
     I do not run to build self-confidence, reduce anxiety, overcome depression, combat insomnia, or enhance my creativity. 
     I do not run in search of God, existential truth, nonstop fornication, Coleridgian highs or Wordsworthian intimations of immortality. 
     I do not even run because it is my dream to be interviewed on the all-sports cable channel. I run--to put it as straightforwardly as I can--so that I can eat more.

-Mike Vare


On Fred Astaire: ..."As the years went on, I found something else about him that I admired tremendously. It was that I knew very little about him. I didn't read about his love life or about him punching someone in a nightclub. I didn't read about him storming off a set, feuding with the director, fighting with the press, or babbling about what he like to eat, what he like to drink, snort, or smoke. He did his work, went home, closed the door, and said, 'That's it world. You get my performance. The rest belongs to me.'"

-Mike Royko

Write a paragraph trying one of the following:

• Compare your own status with that of the members of some group to which you do not belong. (Ellerbee)
• Contrast the common motivations for pursuing and activity with your motivations. (Vare)
• Consider a person who behaves differently from others who do the same job. (Royko)

Post #1: Confession Time!

 Choose one of the two prompts that follow:
 
1. Confess to the Attraction of a Former Bad Habit

Remember when every other word out of your mouth seemed to be "yolo" or "cool" or "true dat," and you couldn't seem to stop? Remember when you would feel the uncontrollable urge to binge on Flamin' Hot Cheetos™ or "Real Housewives of New Jersey," or go shopping for things you didn't need, or spend countless hours collecting cards for "Magic: The Gathering"?

Write about your winning struggle against a minor vice that you decided you could do without. What was its appeal? How did you kick the habit?

(Adapted from The Writer's Workout Book by Art Peterson)


2. It's the Little Things

Look around for some of the little things that bother you. We're not talking about major issues here. Things like hunger, poverty, inequality - these are the things that do (or should) anger us all. I'm talking about the small stuff. Look around for those things around us that have made the world just a little worse, and unleash your wrath!

Here's a list of some common irritants:

• Spirit/pep rallies
• Golden Oldies
• Reality TV
• People in the "10 items or less" checkout aisle with 20 items (but these 15 packages of cream cheese count as 1)
• My Child is an Honor Student bumper stickers
• YOLO!
• The "Paleo" diet
• Toothpaste squeezed from the middle

Make a list of your own, and then choose one for your rant!

Welcome!

Writing Yoga: Keep the Flow Going

Welcome to Ms. Braun's English 111 Blog. This semester you will be writing a blog for this class. This blog will be a place where you will "exercise" your writing muscles. Each week I will post a writing prompt. When you come to class, you should open my blog, check for the writing prompt, and then submit a new post in your personal blog. Follow the instructions of the prompt. You may be asked to work with a partner before writing your post. New prompts will be available each week on Wednesdays only. You will have the first 10 minutes of class to write. Your post should be about 250- 350 words, unless otherwise stated. If you do not finish during the class time, it is your responsibility to go back and finish it on your own time.

Good luck and happy writing!