UCF The Rose Metal Press Field Buide to Writing Flash Nonfiction Responses Responses (four) should be substantive and thoughtful, but they need not be form

UCF The Rose Metal Press Field Buide to Writing Flash Nonfiction Responses Responses (four) should be substantive and thoughtful, but they need not be formal. They should be in standard written English, though, not text-speak. You are welcome to comment “I totally agree with you, Jane” or “Great point, Bill” but these will not be considered substantive enough for credit. Responses should expand on a point, disagree with a point, compare or contrast to another passage or text, or explore a new way to look at the craft point. Make sure you read all the responses before yours, and please refer to others who have responded before you by name when appropriate (e.g., “Although I agree with what Susie said about Wallace’s repetition, I think what he was really after was a sense of . . . .” ). Do not simply repeat a response that has been submitted before yours. This would be plagiarism.

—————-

1- Shumaker (2012), one of the book’s contributors, The Rose Metal Press Field Guild to Writing Flash Nonfiction, focuses her article on the importance of a writer ensuring that they create a sense of location for their readers in their texts and proses. In her article, Shumaker (2012), emphasizes that “Once time, place, and character are established on the page, the reader has plenty to hang on to.” Shumaker (2012), therefore, suggests that one of the most vital elements that determine whether readers not only understand and relate to the text but also follow on the insights and remain interested and engaged by the material they read is the writer’s skill to define the place, time and the characters. Can you identify how Peggy Shumaker employs the definition of time, place, and character in her story “Moving water, Tucson” to create a sense of location?

———————

2- In The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction, Jennifer Sinor states, “It is because he has so deeply explored his subject—literally in primary and secondary source material, as well as reflectively in the way he has carried the piece with him through the days— that we recognize an author, one with authority over what he writes.” Sinor uses this statement to explain what “voice” is in writing. She explains that it is not something you can see, but it is something you identify as you read a piece. When using voice in our writing, it should come from a place of deep understanding and thought about our subject, because that is how we create a quality voice. When writing about a topic, you should express you own experience of it to communicate your voice. How can you create voice in your writing when it’s not something you can just see on the page?

A guy replied with : Voice is created through how you write, craft words, and form your sentences. It’s not something that can be seen on a page, but it’s something that’s hidden within the words. Creating voice requires confidence, and assertion. There are different types of voice, such as active and passive, but both do require a level of confidence to make it known, and choosing good vocabulary is one of the ways you can do so.

———————

3-In this week’s video “A Masterclass in Narrative Nonfiction,” Ben Rawlence said, “You also have to think quite carefully about the role yourself.” He goes on to say, “Are you going to insert yourself into the story as an authorial voice…if so, at which point and how much?” This begins to become a fine line that you have to walk to determine where to draw that distinction when you are writing narrative nonfiction. I struggle with this, since whenever I insert “I,” I tend to add it too much into my writing. How do you draw this distinction to determine when to insert yourself into a piece of exposition, but try not to overdo it?

A guy replied : In terms of exposition, adding too much information is a problem of mine as well. For me at least, the best way to not overdo it is limit your word count prior to writing. For example, if the piece you’re writing is a shorter one, maybe limit yourself to about 2-3 sentences worth, or less.

———————

4- In The Rose Metal Press Field Buide to Writing Flash Nonfiction, Lee Martin writes “The voices we us in our writing come from sounds and tones we’ve soaked up from the people and the institutions around us, particularly when we were young.” I have never really thought about how other people affect my writing other than in poetry. I took the poetry class last summer and my life and others really did affect me then. In my general writing I have never thought about how other have affected me. Do you think that others affect how you write and how you act?

A guy replied : I do, and a prime example is my family affects how I write and act. Whenever my family has something amazing happen to them, I feel that joy as well. On the opposite side of this, whenever tragedy happens, I feel that anguish and sadness they do. This changes how I act, write, and how I go through my daily life.