what feels natural, what feels artificial about writing

Something to think about when I have more time:
What about talking in class about “what’s natural” and “what’s artificial” about writing?
Natural:
We speak already, we think already
Artificial:
We don’t speak naturally only on one topic (we ramble, our minds are fertile with ideas, so one thing reminds us of another)
We don’t speak in coherent order, necessarily. We [...]

photographs as writing prompts

Also saw this in the last Sunday’s New York Times: “What Do You See?” Seems could be a good writing assignment, a promising way of getting more interesting essays and avoiding plagiarized / re-hashed topics.
What does a swimming tiger suggest about public policy, or a pricked finger say about your goals? The Robert F. Wagner [...]

write poorly, but boldly!

I just did an OWL for a WR121 student. She says the assignment is, “Pick a symbol/sign and use an essay (from a list) to support your argument as to why this certain thing symbolizes what I’m saying it does. For example, a rose can signify love, romance, or even an overused stereotypical sign.”
– a [...]