Author: millerb

Proceeds to Benefit NAACP

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This spring, as I taught Intro to Creative Nonfiction online using the third edition of Tell it Slant, I became more and more grateful for Chapter Four: “Gathering the Threads of History.” This chapter has been an essential part of TIS from the very beginning—coming after students have practiced exploring personal memories, now broadening their perspective to take in the larger collective backdrop against which their personal stories unfold.

When we revised TIS for the third edition, we brought in more contemporary examples, and we were able to include in our small anthology the groundbreaking essay by Ira Sukrungruang, “Because, the Ferguson Verdict,” which looks at a history of racism both personally and communally. Many of my students returned to this chapter for their final projects, bearing witness in their own ways to history unfolding before their eyes. I often wept at my computer while reading their final pieces, out of both sorrow for the world they’re in and gratitude for their gumption.

Throughout TIS, we—Brenda and Suzanne—continually emphasize the role of the creative nonfiction writer as a witness: sometimes in small ways and sometimes in ways that can effect real change. To make manifest this commitment to witness, we will, from here on out, donate 18% of our TIS royalty payments to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Why 18%? The number 18 is the numerical value for chai, the Hebrew word for “life.” In the Jewish tradition, we often give donations in increments of 18 to amp up our positive intentions. It’s only symbolic, sure, but symbols, as we’ve seen so often in these last few weeks, often have great power.

If you use TIS for yourself or for a class, thank you for telling your story and enabling others to bear witness in a time that desperately needs it.

Brenda

 

 

 

 

Using Tell it Slant for an Online Creative Nonfiction Course

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In March, when it became clear our teaching world was about to be turned upside down, my colleagues and I scrambled (along with the rest of academia) to figure out how best to proceed. While many universities around the country would be finishing off their academic years within a month or so—coming to closure with classroom communities that had already been well established—we at Western Washington University needed to look ahead to a spring quarter, starting an entire term anew online.

Lucky for me, I had already planned to use the Third Edition of Tell it Slant, pretty much following the chapters in order, using the writing exercises and the readings in the anthology, supplemented with a few pdfs. I decided on asynchronous learning (the class was scheduled for 8 a.m., and I thought we’d all appreciate not having to see each other online at that time of day), and I was confident that the instructional chapters in Tell it Slant could fill in nicely for the information and practice they would receive in the classroom.

We use Canvas, and after consulting with a few people experienced in online teaching, I decided to create weekly Modules, which act as a kind of “drawer” to hold all the assignments and tasks for the week. I quickly realized it would be too much to try to create every module right away for the whole quarter, so I created the first two, and I’ve added a new one every week so there are always two active modules available. By posting the Modules as I went along, I was able to be flexible and have some weeks that were lighter than others.

In each Module, the students usually have a Reading Assignment (sometimes also a video to watch or a podcast to listen to), a Reading Response, a Discussion Board or two (sometimes whole-class, sometimes small-group), “In-Class Writing,” and a more finished Creative Writing Assignment. They have two deadlines each week: Wednesday at noon (usually for a creative writing assignment and reading response) and Friday at 5 p.m. (usually for new writing, or a new chapter, if we’re trying to do two in one week).

I started slow, with a lot of tasks designed to ease them into the writing process and the genre (half the students are not English majors), then got going full throttle with Tell it Slant. I found myself creating a video announcement each week to wrap up the week prior and look ahead to the coming week. I scheduled a few “in-class writing” sessions, where we could do timed writing together; since we are asynchronous, it’s hard to find a time that a lot of people can attend, but there have been three or four at each one. They also need to sign up for individual video conferences with me throughout the quarter.

I am happy to report that it’s working! My student participation level is close to 100%, and the students tell me they appreciate the organization of the course and the activities. They are reading closely and posting substantive comments. They have good insights into their writing process and seem eager to build on the exercises they’ve done so far. Tell it Slant has provided the strong backbone of the course for all of us.

If you would like to see how I organized the course using Tell it Slant, I’ve posted my syllabus along with a file that holds all the weekly Module descriptions in the “Sample Syllabi/Classroom Ideas” tab. You’ll see I wasn’t able to get through the whole book in the time we had, and I never did figure out how to do an effective workshop in this asynchronous mode, but if you had a semester course, I think you could easily get in all that you needed.

I hope you are well and hanging in there,

Brenda

 

 

Using Tell it Slant for a Graduate Course

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Though Tell it Slant is often considered a text for introducing students to creative nonfiction, it can actually be quite useful for writers at every level. I’ve just finished my syllabus for my winter graduate course in creative nonfiction (English 505), and after much deliberation I decided to use TIS for an intensive generative writing workshop.

I’ve found that graduate students often need to return to the “basics,” and they also need to learn how to generate a lot of new work in a short amount of time. We’ll be jogging through TIS at a quick pace, combining chapters to explore both content and form at the same time, and writing to beat the band! If you’re curious about how I’ve organized the course, I’ve posted the syllabus for ENG 505 on the Sample Syllabi page, as well as my Reading Response Assignment which ensures that the students practice reading closely for craft.  Enjoy!

 

Welcome to the Fall!

~ millerb


Since Suzanne and I teach on the quarter system, our school year gets going only this week. I know many of you have been back at work for a while now (don’t worry, you get to gloat in the spring, when you’re done in May and we still have a ways to go!), and we’re curious how things are going. Have you started using the Third Edition in the classroom? Where did you begin? At the beginning? Or are you creating your own structure?

Since Chapter One is so much about memory–and especially early memories–I often like to start there. A good first or second day of class exercise can be to ask students to write their earliest memory of going to school. (This can happen before or after they even begin reading the text.) You can have them start with the phrase “I’m _____ years old and going to ____” Then have them write for just 10 minutes, encouraging them to use all their senses to recreate this moment in time.

Not only will this exercise provide good practice for writing quickly based on intuitive memories, it will provide a good icebreaker if you have the students share this writing with just one or two others in class. Going to school is such a common experience, your students might begin to see how they’re connected. Or if some of your students had different experiences–such as being home-schooled, or going to school in different countries or cities–they can begin to glean connections within diversity. It can also lead to further discussion or writing about how schooling has changed for them over the years, up to the current day.

Please let us know some of your experiences using the book so far. We’re all ears!

Here’s to new beginnings of all sorts,

Brenda

Welcome to Tell it Slant’s Third Edition!

~ millerb

We’re so happy you’ve found us! 

On this website you’ll find resources that will enhance your use of TIS in the classroom. We have sample syllabi, discussion questions, and links to suggested readings that are available online.

You can reach us—Brenda and Suzanne—through our websites (see About the Authors page.) We’re happy to answer questions, or perhaps even visit your classroom via Skype!

We will be posting regularly to this site with fresh ideas, writing prompts, and stories of how people are using Tell it Slant around the world.

Subscribe (on the sidebar to your right) to join our mailing list to receive the latest dispatches.