5.2 Interpreting the Comings and Goings of Life

CONNECTION Don Murray, Pulitzer Prize winning author, said “As writers, most of us have just three topics that we continually revisit. Even when we think we are writing about new topics, we are really, deep down, revisiting one of those three topics.” F. Scott Fitzgerald said “Mostly we writers repeat ourselves—that’s the truth. We have two or three moving experiences in our lives— experiences so great and moving that it doesn’t seem at the time that anyone has been caught up and pounded and dazzled and astonished and beaten and broken, and rescued and illuminated and humbled in just that way ever before. We mine those moments for big ideas, for themes.”

TEACHING POINT Today I want to teach you that writers don’t just chronicle their lives, they interpret them by asking “What are the big ideas here?” and looking for themes and issues that appear again and again in their entries and memories.

TEACHING Look back over your writing entries. I found one on when I wanted to be in the Civil War play and one of the kids said I could wear my dress because it looked antique enough. I liked my dress but never defended it and never wore it again. What is this entry really about? It’s not really about me wanting to be in the play. Or me being embarrassed. It’s really about how I was worrying about being popular. I’m going to put a star next to this entry. I just remembered another entry I wrote about when I teased the nerdy kid in class because I knew the other kids didn’t like him and I wanted them to like me. The idea of trying to fit in when I was younger must be a bigger issue than I realized!

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT Reread your notebooks, looking for underlying themes or issues. Then annotate your entries so you can come back to them. Look for topics that weave throughout a lot of your writing. Do you always write about soccer, your dad, or times with your sister. Ask, “What makes this so important? What do I really want to say about my dad or soccer or my sister?”

LINK Today you will invent ways to find your themes and issues in your lives. You will reread your entries and collect as you read, asking “What are some bigger themes or issues here?” and “Do my entries fit together?” Take notes! Annotate! Take ideas and write entries to explore it!

MIDWORKSHOP You have been working from small moments to grow big ideas. You can also go from big to small. I can put my big idea “The Struggle to Fit In” at the top of my paper and think “What small moments from my life fit with this big theme or issue?” THE STRUGGLE TO FIT IN The time Eliza made fun of my dress and told me 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

SHARE We need a map of where we’re going so we don’t get lost! Take a moment to jot down the work you plan to do next. For example, before you read your writer’s notebooks and wrote about the topics that threaded through, you could have written: Reread notebook, look for themes Write about themes Share with your partner what you did today and what your next steps will be. Reflect on how it went and what you need to do next.