Escritura de viajes

In this ongoing group, we use a wide variety of prompts to generate new work, creating a framework for the essay, adding sensory details, building images that linger, and developing interesting settings.
We cover the roles of form, content, context (print, website, performance etc), language, and structures. 
The class starts with a quick three word check-in followed by a chat about what each student wants to focus on and why. Then we write with a prompt, read out loud and share positive and constructive feedback, and offer ideas of how to research more details about the place they wrote about. 


Topic 1: Plot/Story and what happens when you understand the difference - relevant even with travel essays! 

Topic 2: Characters and Narrators: How do we create an engaging yet authentic voice and share our experiences that show ourselves within the landscapes and cultures? 

Topic 3: Setting and context: How does the landscape influence the characters and their stories? How can we research the places we describe? 

Topic 4: Style and how we want to add more details to our essays though verb choices, adjectives, actions, and structure. 

I teach by example by which I offer published travel stories, ask the students to bring in ones they love, and we talk about the way they were written, noticing choices made. Then we write in a similar style and see how it feels. Does it make sense? Does it help you, the writer, to have a role model? 
After that we read outloud to each other our new work, asking for constructive feedback. (What we noticed and enjoyed, what we wanted more of and where we got confused.) 
Then we leave the class with actions to take, new prompts and ideas to explore on our own.