5.5 Choosing a Seed Idea

CONNECTION Just like in other writing units, we will be shifting from collecting ideas to selecting our seed idea.

TEACHING POINT Today I want to teach you that because writing has many layers and can go many different ways, writers study other authors before starting their own pieces.

TEACHING We need to narrow in on the materials that will become a draft by rereading, thinking “What do I really want to say?” It can help to study how other authors do this. This unit will be about making something—a true story, an essay, an article—that conveys an important message about your life. Some of you will be able to reread your writing today and find your focus. Others will establish a direction and begin collecting material but you need to make some choices and commit to a direction. How do we do this?

TEACHING Interviewer: How do you choose an idea? Author: I started by reading the entries I had collected. A bunch of them were sort of related to the way I wanted to fit in when I was a kid, so I asked, “Do any of my other entries (under the surface) connect to the idea about fitting in?” As a reader, I realized that I had a lot of entries that connected to the issue. Also, I’d listed small moment ideas earlier that fit with the issue. THE STRUGGLE TO FIT IN The time Eliza made fun of my dress and said it was antique The time I made fun of Jason to impress Krysta The time I pretended to be a Vulcan in front of my cousin so she would think I was super smart

TEACHING Interviewer: So you reread your entries, saw that a lot were about your struggle as a kid to fit in. Then what? Author: I also wrote some entries showing my ideas about this. This is a tiny bit of one of them: When I was a kid, I knew I didn’t fit in the peer groups and that haunted me. The funny thing about this is that really, I don’t exactly fit in now either, but I don’t see it as a goal to do so. I’m not sure when this changed for me.

TEACHING Interviewer: So after you wrote an entry, thinking about your other entries and the issue you were covering, what did you do? Author: I knew that fitting in was one possible idea I could write about, but I wanted to go back and mine my notebook some more—see if there were other issues or themes that have been important in my life. I found a bunch of stories and seed ideas that had to do with my dead, and I realized that a relationship with my dad is am important part of my life too. I put yellow post-its on entries about fitting in, and green ones on entries about my relationship with my dad. Some of my entries about my dad were also about fitting in, so I put two post-it notes on those! After I finished, I thought about which category of entries felt most powerful, and I chose fitting in. Now I have been reading all the entries that relate to my fitting in, and I am getting myself ready to write. I have been thinking about what to say that is deep and true and surprising to me.

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT Talk to your partners about what you observed the writer doing to select her seed idea.

FINDING AND GROWING IDEAS Reread entries and mark the parts that light sparks or stand out Reread marked entries, looking for connections and patterns between them. Grow ideas by writing to explore patterns and ideas Don’t stop with the first theme you find. Look for other issues or themes that underlie several entries. Choose one theme or issue and reread the entries related to it. Plan an entry that combines thoughts and stories related to this theme/idea

LINK What will you try first? Next? Use our chart to help you but don’t be afraid to try something else if you have a different idea!

MIDWORKSHOP STRATEGIES FOR WRITING WITH DEPTH Try to understand what is so important about your topic. Ask: What are the reasons I keep writing about this topic? I’ve written what’s obvious about this; what else can I write? What do I want to show about myself? What does this say about me?

WAYS TO PUSH OUR THINKING SHARE Many of you have picked a theme and are exploring what you want to say. This is like the process we went through for literary essay. WAYS TO PUSH OUR THINKING In other words… To add on… That is… The reason for this is… The important thing about this is… This is important because… As I say this, I’m realizing… On the other hand… An example of this is… This is similar to…This is different from… This shows… This makes me think… This connects to… This proves… I see… The thought I have about this is…