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Wow, has my thinking shifted about revision since beginning my inquiry work at SI. Originally I wondered about whether or not revision was "good" for student writers. (I won't even clutter the blogesphere with how/why I now see this as a silly statement. It doesn't matter anyway-- it's inquiry, and it's my initial thinking on the way to somewhere else.)
What I have come to now, over these past 3 weeks of thinking and writing and sharing with The Naked Writers (my Writing Group) is that I want to investigate different ways of thinking about -- and teaching -- revision. It is not a linear process-- so we don't revise when we are nearly "done" with the paper. We are writing and adding to and refiguring our ideas all along, all through the writing of a piece.
My challenge now is to figure out a way to help my students re-see revision: what it means for us as writers, how it works in a very real sense as we are doing our writing work.
Thoughts? Ideas?
I think your students' view of revision starts with your view and attitude toward it(at least this is what I hope). I know that you will approach this topic in a new and positive light in future classes, sharing the inspiring quotes of Bomer and Urbanski, in order to change their points of view. Maybe start out with, "Who likes second chances? How about a third chance, or even twenty? How does it feel when you do something or write something you wish you could take back? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to tell you that with revision, you can do just that. Revisions is hope!" Love ya!
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