Crafting authentic voice / Tom Romano.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Romano, Tom.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Rhetoric.

English language.

Exposition (Rhetoric).

Physical Description:

x, 228 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Portsmouth, NH : Heinemann, [2004]

Summary:

A Good Writer has a distinctive voice. A great writer has an inimitable one. Regardless of subject or place in time or space, good and great writers share one trait -- they are true to their personalities, spirits, and characters. How do they do this? How can WE do this as teachers and writers? And how can we show our students what crafting an authentic voice entails? One of our premier writers on the writing process and writing workshop, Tom Romano, tells us. In a compelling and manageable text, he makes the case for giving special time and attention to voice as a means to get students involved and improve their writing, particularly expository writing. Using his own strong voice and trademark narrative style, he teaches by example -- his own and his students -- how writers can be true to themselves and vivid on the page to pull readers in and keep them reading.

More than that, Romano is an irresistible motivator to write well. His infectious enthusiasm, intellect, and heart shine through every chapter -- from his tempting "antipasto" of stories and poems beginning each section of his book to the delicious courses that follow. He divides his text into small readable parts that consider the "delight and dilemma of voice," the qualities of voice, and the relationship of voice and identity. Many examples indicate ways to "trust the gush." And there are practical ideas here, too -- strategies and techniques for immediate use in your teaching and writing. Read and take heed of Romano. Craft an authentic voice in your own writing. Teach students how they can do the same. Then revel in the candor and insight, the absorbing and entertaining stories, the clear thinking -- the good, maybe even great, writing.

Contents:

Part I The Delight and Dilemma of Voice 1

Antipasto: Stopping By Woods After a Bronchoscopy 3

1 Reasons to Read 5

2 Voice Lessons 10

3 Email Admissions 16

4 Two Bands 19

Part II Qualities of Voice 21

Antipasto: "Poems," / Gary Gildner 23

5 Qualities of Voice 24

6 Information Please 25

7 The Appeal of Narrative 29

8 Perception and Surprise 33

9 Surprise for Whom? 36

10 Humor, Lightness, Play 39

Part III Trust the Gush 43

Antipasto: Olivia Leads the Way 45

11 The Place of Passion 48

12 "Outcast," / Lorie Barnhart 52

13 How Voice Is Lost 54

14 The Five-Paragraph You-Know-What 60

15 Of Buts and Burrs and Bad Advice 70

16 Grammatically High-Strung 72

17 Whatever It Takes: Breaking the Rules in Style 77

18 Mischief, Rebellion, Attitude 87

19 Many Voices 91

20 Imitation 99

21 "It's Alive! It's Alive! It's Alive!" 108

22 Wear a Mask, Unleash a Voice 110

23 The Generative Power of Parallel Structure 113

24 "Who Said That?" / David Schuster 121

Part IV Crafting Authentic Voice 123

Antipasto: Squirming, Fretting, and Fraud 125

25 Enter Craft 126

26 Making It Rougher 128

27 Mind Pictures 130

28 Hit Dem Senses 136

29 What the Ear Knows 140

30 Linguistic Inebriation 147

31 Living Leaping Words 149

32 Who's Got the Action? 157

33 Weeding the Garden 160

34 Placement and Payoff 166

35 Great Lengths 170

36 Get Your Pipe and Blow Doughnuts: The Speed of Metaphor 175

37 Ingmar Bergman, Janis Joplin, and Howard Cosell: Allusions to Extend Meaning 181

38 Behold This Visage: How Speech Helps Writing 184

39 In the Beginning 187

40 And in the End 193

41 Working Together 199

Part V Voice and Identity 201

Antipasto: Huck, Holden, and Talya 203

42 The Moves in One Piece 206

43 A Small Work I Have to Do 213

44 Utmost Essence 216.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [219]-223) and index.

ISBN:

0325005974

OCLC:

52937896