Author | Editor | Story Coach
Writers need writing software. I’ve been writing with Scrivener for eight years, and I love many things about using this software. Especially how easily it helps me organize my writing. When you talk about software, some programs have a hefty price tag. Others need to include a class on how to use it. For the …
Shakespeare. The Bard. A true genius in literary circles. Ask anyone with an advanced degree in the subject. And some without a degree at all concur. Me? Not so much. That didn’t stop me from teaching OTHELLO in four sophomore classrooms a few weeks ago. What I mean by “teach” is to let an audio …
Five Ways to Teach Classics in High School Literature Class Read More »
The Great Gatsby stalks me from one high school language arts class to the next. In St. Helens, he prowls through the junior classrooms and in Scappoose, his story resounds with the freshmen. This disparity in curriculum gave me pause. After all, I’ve taught students between the ages of twelve and eighteen for many years. …
Two classes of fifteen juniors in high school read the same story and come up with completely different themes for the story. What truth about theme could this possibly prove? Read on if you haven’t already guesses the answer. (Or scroll to the end if you’re THAT person.) As an author, I think about theme. …
Fatal flaw: the motivator or personality trait (key element) that causes a person’s downfall. In the early days of literature, this concept was called “hamartia.” Yes, it’s from Ancient Greek. I’m sure other literature majors who read this blog might recognize it. Sometimes I like to throw around terminology that might expand your vocabulary. Because …
Do Real People have fatal flaws? Or is that reserved for fictional characters? Read More »
Feel the wind in my hair. See the passing scenery. Experience the joy only the telling of a good story births in my heart, soul and mind. Books too numerous to name have impacted me. Some of them changed my opinion or beliefs. Others resonated on a spiritual level. Many made me weep and many …
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve read a prize-winning novel, and now I have to analyze it for my Seminar in American Literature. My analysis should run six to eight pages in length. What is making this paper so difficult to write? I have two answers for this question: I didn’t like the book …
Embarking on yet another eight week tidal wave of mental expansion, I can’t help but smile. My beaming face dwarfs the sun. Of course, since I live in the rainy Northwest, it isn’t hard to eclipse that brilliant star. This time of year, the clouds do a fine job of it. Both of my classes …
While critics everywhere agree that Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most popular play, those same scholars find little to admire in the title character. He seems plagued by a “lack of will to act,” they say. While watching the 1996 Branagh version of Hamlet, I followed the text in my weighty textbook. A few additions (from another …