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Pages Home Tips for Writers Contact / Support Wednesday, February 5, 2020 On Not Reading Enough of the Right Books... About ten years ago, one of my creative writing professors was curious about where I learned to write. I had finally admitted that most of my stories were science fiction, and that most of my reading choices were similar. Unlike my classmates in the MFA program, I had never been a huge fan of "literature." I love a good book, yes, but I don’t seem to have the attention span for great books. Getting through them is a real struggle for me — it should be no surprise that I usually earned B’s in my college literature courses. For an English major, I wasn’t exactly the best reader. Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 6:57 PM 28 comments: Labels: grad school , reading , workshops On Reading the Fantastic and Writing the Meh I learned to write when I was "young." As a sixth grader — all of eleven years old — I developed a fixation on The Lord of the Rings . And also Dungeons and Dragons . With character sheets on one corner of the desk and hand-drawn sketches of a "hobbit swashbuckler" in the other corner, I put all my attention to the beautiful blank page before me: the story. Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 6:24 PM 15 comments: Labels: fantasy , grad school , Harry Potter , Lord of the Rings , novel writing , science fiction , Twilight , Universal Design for Learning Saturday, February 1, 2020 UDL Project: Universal Design for Learning in English Composition To provide new resources for my students, I’ve started a new website that applies Universal Design for Learning to Writing Courses like English 101. Much as I love Blogger, I’m finding that Google Sites offers somewhat more flexibility in terms of layout and organization, so I’ve been starting the site from scratch rather than continue on my Intro to Fiction and Poetry website at IFP.12Writing.com . Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 11:15 AM 26 comments: Labels: Composition Studies , online teaching , teaching , Universal Design for Learning Tuesday, January 8, 2019 The Uncharted Neurology of Writing Presentation Slides for the 2019 CTLT Teaching and Learning Symposium. In neurology, imaging studies have shown specific locations in the brain associated with creativity, word recall, and the physical act of placing symbols upon the page. With these insights, we could theoretically come up with ways to better coach” the brain to maximize student writing abilities. Neurologically speaking, variations in access to the digital world wire” our students in different ways, and these differences may both enhance and limit their abilities to convey thinking through writing. But if we draw too heavily from neurology, there is an inherent ethical risk of imposing unfounded biological assumptions about the normal” brain upon the unique skills and personalities of individual students. In this presentation, I will discuss recovering from a wrist injury in Afghanistan, and how the physical limitations of that injury affected not only my ability to place words on the page, but the capacity to express thoughts. From there, I’ll look at the ways in which emotional investments have further affected my capacities to process and compose ideas. I will contemplate how my experiences may apply to our students, particularly in light of contemporary concerns surrounding digital natives,” trigger warnings, and disability studies. Posted by Ryan Edel at 11:20 PM 13 comments: Labels: CTLT , learning , neurology , research Thursday, March 29, 2018 Changing Directions: The Story of a Website I started 12Writing just over ten years ago. At the time, I didn’t know enough about websites, about teaching, or about writing. But I was confident. I was convinced I could do better than others who teach and write online. And I was wrong. So as I turn my thoughts forward, here are some reflections on the past. Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 11:49 AM 8 comments: Labels: blogging , books , business , networking , social media , websites Wednesday, January 10, 2018 Addressing America’s Racial History A presentation giving at the Center for Teaching and Learning Symposium on January 10, 2018. Link to Presentation Embedded Presentation: Monday, February 6, 2017 Lucas De Lima’s Wet Land Posted by Ryan Edel at 2:38 PM 3 comments: Labels: Lucas De Lima , Wet Land Friday, May 29, 2015 Digital Autography: CWCon 2015 Presentation Slides How do we assess writing students in a digital world where personal relationships remain largely untheorized? External Link to Presentation Slides Posted by Ryan Edel at 7:28 AM 7 comments: Thursday, May 14, 2015 A Research Gap: Life Writing, Epistemology, and Creative Writing Studies Link to Present This is above the break Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 10:31 AM 12 comments: Sunday, June 29, 2014 Books for Small Children - My Recommendations When I was little, my favorite book of all time was The Little Engine That Could . My mom says she read it to me so often that she had the book memorized. Apparently, so did I - if she turned to the wrong page and kept reading from memory, I would call her out on it. (Which would probably explain why she was tired of my not reading on my own...all the more reason to teach your children early, yes?) Now, we had many books at home, but there were always those few that stood out. With my own son, I’m finding the same phenomenon - there are certain books he loves, and he will keep pull those out from his little cubby while others gather dust. Some of these books are touching, others are beautiful, and still others just beg for small fingers to touch their pages. Here’s a short list of favorites. Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 12:58 PM 27 comments: Labels: books , children , reading , reading aloud Read Your Toddler Books All Day - Even If You Never Finish One Yes, everyone knows you should read aloud to your child. It’s common wisdom - read a book at bedtime, instill a love of reading. But is that really enough? I don’t think so. Instead, find those quick opportunities for all-day reading. Image courtesy of AKARAKINGDOMS / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 12:58 PM 7 comments: Labels: children , reading , reading aloud Monday, June 23, 2014 Manage Yourself Past Writer’s Block Let’s be honest - I hate time management. I hate the thought of planning out my days, of regimenting my writing. I prefer the idea of inspiration, like breaking the rules and ignoring your muse . But there are days when even that doesn’t work. That’s where time management comes in. And the acronym CREATE (Chunk, Read, Eat, Associate, Time, and Endeavor) . Yes, you can manage your time. But it might get messy. Not like this picture, which is disturbingly optimistic in it’s portrayal of personal control. (Original image courtesy of Stuart Mills on FreeDigitalPhotos.net .) Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 4:16 PM 10 comments: Labels: beginning the novel , CREATE , habit , inspiration , National Novel Writing Month , time management , writer’s block , writing conferences Tuesday, January 14, 2014 Spoon River Poetry Contest The Spoon River Poetry Review (SRPR) announces its Editors’ Prize Contest ( http://www.srpr.org/contest.php ) First Place Prize : $1,000, publication, and introduction written by prominent outside judge. Entry Fee : $20, includes one-year subscription to SRPR (two issues). Deadline : April 15, 2014 (postmark) Submission : ONLINE as well postal Click on for more details! Or simply visit their website for the submission form and more. Read more » Posted by Ryan Edel at 8:53 AM 6 comments: Labels: poetry , poetry contest , Spoon River Poetry Review Friday, November 16, 2012 Life Writing: A Bridge Between Writers and Researchers Hello, writers. If you check this website often, you will undoubtedly noticed a lack in activity. Ryan, Emily and I have been tangled in work and personal obligations, but hopefully as the semester winds down we’ll be...