Three Mysteries... by Peter Elbow

I often find myself wondering if I really have anything to write about, only to sit down and begin, and find the words pouring out of me. This has been the case for most of my posts for this class and fits beautifully with Elbow's thoughts on freewriting and "You still have to try a bit..." (Elbow, 12). I find myself getting frustrated each time I hear "I don't know what to write!" because I have heard it SOOOOOO many times and it always seems to come from either unmotivated or lazy students. Somewhere at my core, I feel stubbornness emitting from the student and by golly, the only one allowed to be stubborn in my classroom is me! I've learned to push past the frustration and ask guiding questions that usually light the bulb above their heads and get them writing, but I hadn't really put much thought into teaching the students how to turn that bulb on themselves. For most of the kids, it comes natural, so I guess I have just accepted that a few need the kick in the pants instead of just teaching them to fish for themselves (too many metaphors?).

I really like the idea of inkshedding (Elbow, 13). I think with a lot of modeling and preparing, it can effectively help students freewrite positively and gain from the experience. I'd like to try this with my stubborn students as a possible strategy.