Toolbox

Consider the poem by William Carlos Williams and his line "No ideas but in things" where ideas are the exposition, the information, in our writing and the things are the vivid descriptions, the interactions and dialogue with others, the sensory details, the connection to the human condition. Take his advise and show the reader your ideas through examples and details. Dont' just tell me you had a thrilling experience on a rollercoaster; take me on the ride with you. Don't just give me advice on success; show me what it looks like if I don't follow it or if I do. Use metaphor, simile, and analogy to make a point. Tap into your own sensory experiences to connect to your reader and share your ideas. Read the poem and complete the exercise below it.
 * No Ideas But in Things**

A SORT OF A SONG by William Carlos Williams Let the snake wait under his weed and the writing be of words, slow and quick, sharp to strike, quiet to wait, sleepless. ---through metaphor to reconcile the people and the stones. Compose. (No ideas but in things) Invent! Saxifrage is my flower that splits the rocks.

Take your composition book and pen outside. As you walk around, take notice of things: sounds, observations, words on buildings or statues, the feeling of the air, the sun, the breeze. Collect your observations; write them down in a list. Be as specific as possible. Use your zoom lens to write your observations from different cinematic angles: aerial, establishing shot, middle distance, close up, and extreme close up. With your list, create an original piece of prose or poetry. You may start with //I see, I hear, I touch, I remember, etc.//
 * //Walkabout Collection//**

In class, we'll do this activity with something tangible, but you can recreate it at home. The idea is not to simply describe an object, sound, sense, etc., but to let the experience transport you to a prior experience, memory, or connect you to some other idea. For example, you may hear the sound of an ocean wave and you are reminded of a trip to the beach or perhaps it just reminds you of the vacation you took in the mountains, far from the beach. It doesn't matter where it takes you; just let it trigger a memory or idea for writing. Plan to write for 5 minutes for each of the 5 senses. Follow the freewriting rules: don't censor yourself, don't cross out, take risks, keep writing.
 * Writing Exercise: Sense Memories**

Sense memory objects:
 * baby blanket
 * stuffed teddy bear
 * baby shoes
 * rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme, basil, garlic
 * vanilla, coffee
 * sand, silly putty, cotton balls
 * jelly beans
 * Images:
 * Sounds: a song, lullaby, classical music, ocean waves, cars honking, screeching tires, wind in the trees, snow, sleet, hail, laughing baby, playground sounds - swings, slide, etc.
 * media type="file" key="12._Soundzabound_Volume_3_Disc_3_Crowd_Laugh.mp3"
 * media type="file" key="55._Soundzabound_Volume_3_Disc_3_Baby.mp3"
 * media type="file" key="30._Soundzabound_Volume_3_Disc_3_Rain.mp3"
 * media type="file" key="06._Soundzabound_Volume_3_Disc_3_Car_Squealing_Out.mp3"
 * media type="file" key="08._Soundzabound_Volume_3_Disc_3_Crowded_Restaurant.mp3"
 * //Images//

This week you will develop a personal essay. This type of essay is typically developed for college applications but can also be adapted for other purposes such as scholarship applications. Some of the essay topics are also found on SATs or graduation tests. Listed below are some typical topics or prompts for this type of essay. Choose one to write and revise, polishing it throughout the week. Note: These are actual admissions topics. > If someone were to look at your music collection right now, they would probably know a great deal about who you are. Individuals are drawn to music, and each song conveys something about that person. Select a musical piece to be your theme song. Tell us what it would be, and more specifically, why it represents who you are. - (University of Georgia)
 * The Personal Essay**
 * 1) Describe your hometown or neighborhood and explain how it helped shape you into the kind of person you are today. (Yale and University of Chicago)
 * 2) Attach a small photograph of something important to you and explain its significance. (Stanford)
 * 3) It has been said [by Andy Warhol] that in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. Describe your fifteen minutes. (New York University)
 * 4) What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has influenced your thinking, and in what way? (University of Virginia applicants to the College of Arts and Sciences)
 * 5) What is the best advice you ever received? Why? And did you follow it? (University of Pennsylvania)
 * 6) If you could be a fly on the wall to observe any situation--historical, personal, or otherwise--describe what you would choose to observe and why. What would you hope to learn and how would it benefit you? (University of Pittsburgh)
 * 7) If you could spend a day with any real or fictional person in the past, present, or future, whom would you choose? Why? (Kalamazoo College)
 * 8) Names have a mysterious reality of their own. We may well feel an unexpected kinship with someone who shares our name, or may feel uneasy at the thought that our name is not as much our own as we imagined. Most of us do not choose our names; they come to us unbidden, sometimes with ungainly sounds and spellings, complicated family histories, allusions to people we never knew. Sometimes we have to make our peace with them, sometimes we bask in our names¹ associations. Ruminate on names and naming, your name, and your name¹s relationship to you. (University of Chicago)
 * 9) "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.” - Victor Hugo