Here are a couple of ways to promote self-reflection about the writing process EARLY in the semester...
1. FOR DISCUSSION: This one works if you employ a revising process in your own writing. Think about a writing project that you are working on that is comparable to what your students are doing. Telling your students about what you’re doing, and why and what your process is. Try to describe your process as if you are telling a story. Include descriptions of the Real People from whom you request feedback, and examples of the crazy things you might write in your early drafts (if you are that type). Describe the whole process, including what’s going to happen with the piece (publication? fellowship application?) Then ask your students to comment on which parts of the process that you described sound the most appealing, which parts they resist, which parts they are already familiar with, which parts they don’t understand yet. This could go in many directions, and it doesn’t really matter WHERE it goes, just as long as they are talking about writing. Talking about writing may be an entirely new experience for them. And it can lead to a sense of ownership of both product and process.
2. FOR WRITING AND DISCUSSION: Impose odd restrictions on your students, starting with the Freewriting Rule that “The Pen Must Not Leave the Page”. Try other things, too, like “Write for 3 minutes, then don’t write for 5 minutes, write for 3 minutes, then don’t write for 5 minutes.” Write a journal entry in which each line must start with the same four words, in which every line is a lie. Rewrite a paragraph so that it follows a particular syllabic structure. And so forth. Then find out which set of odd circumstances they liked the most and the least, and why. This can lead to interesting discussions about Structure and Form (“That exercise was as constrictive as a 5 Part Essay!”), Teacher’s Expectations (“I liked it but I know the teacher wouldn’t”), and Student Assessment of what is Good and Worthwhile Writing (“I like writing that raises philosophical issues...”).
