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[Jun. 4th, 2012|11:49 am] |
I never share first drafts. But here I go. Introduction. If you have any comments, I'd love to hear them at this point, but it may be too rough for you to have an opinion yet.
Hey, wow. Hello. Can you read me? Testing testing. Wow! So here we are. Fuck. Okay, so the book. This book. What do I want to tell you about this book? I hate spoilers; I wish I could have seen Tootsie without knowing ahead of time that Dustin Hoffman would come out in a dress... oh well... okay. Fine. Here we go. Let’s talk about my book. Dear Lord.
Wow! Hi! So here we are... I’m going to start by offering you a wager. A real bet, with consequences for me if you win, and for you if I win. My elderly mom is a big gambler, and when she reads these words she will be happy that I’m starting the book this way - well, she would be if she weren’t so angry that I started out by calling her elderly. But she is. Ancient. And I grew up with her telling me that I should always honor the result of my bets. And I will. So here it is: I claim that after you read this book, you will find that your writing has changed for the better. Maybe subtly, maybe blatantly, but you will notice the change. If you choose to take this bet (and you have to decide now, before going on to the book proper) and I’m wrong, then you let me know , and I will write you a letter of apology, by hand. However, if I am right (and I wouldn’t be making this bet if I weren’t reasonably sure of myself) then you have to recommend my book to at least three people. Do we have a bet?
You’ve probably spent a great deal of time learning to write simply and clearly. That’s a crucial skill to have! Believe me, I understand; my other book is a Precalculus textbook. But if writing is merely simple and clear, it has the danger of becoming boring. Communicators don’t just want to impart information - we want to persuade, to entertain, to emphasize, to create something fabulous. This book is about figures of speech, also called rhetorical figures, which are techniques that people use to make their writing fresh and fun, their arguments convincing and compelling, their stories memorable and... and... something else that begins with ‘m’.
Have you ever read a book or seen a movie that was trying too hard? When The Tick says, “Deadly Bulb. I'm about to write you a reality check. Or would you prefer the cold, hard cash of truth?” we don’t think he is brilliant, we laugh at the clunkiness of his metaphor. I will never ask you to try to force a rhetorical figure into a paragraph - I don’t want you to wind up like The Tick. Instead, I will ask you to explore some of them with me - observe them in their natural habitat - fun books and movies. And you will find that as you get familiar with them, as you hunt them, they will start cropping up naturally in your writing where they best fit.
So that’s what we are going to do together. We will learn about specific figures, and then hunt them. I will introduce their names, so we have something to call them, but I would never ask you to memorize their names. I haven’t - I have them written down next to me as I write this book. The important thing is to find them and recognize them. Now, part of the fun of hunting is getting trophies. Here’s how we are going to do that. After you are done with this book, you can go out into the wild, and start noticing them when you see movies and read book that you like. When you find a good specimen, write it down and email it to me (there is a form on the back of this book you can use, or make your own with the same information on it). If I find it useful, I will put it in the next edition of this book with your name by it, and mail you a check.
Even if you don’t write very often, you will find it a delight to understand why Yoda seems wise, the Joker seems crazy, and Edward seems charming. You will be able to watch a presidential debate and, instead of getting swept away by rhetoric, think, “I see what he did there,” smile, and focus on the content. And when you do find yourself writing a text to someone you care about, you will notice that you have a new ability to make it sparkle just by adding (or taking away) a word or two.
I don’t exactly know what a pith-helmet is, but let’s pretend to put on our pith helmets, put down our gin-and-tonics, and go hunting!
Dr. Douglas Shaw
Call me “Doug” |
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| So what about today? |
[Jun. 4th, 2012|11:13 am] |
I'm writing the introduction to my book for the proposal. Because I don't want to spend more time writer's blocked, I'm spending an hour just writing, what the Learn-ed call "free writing" but what I call, "just writing" so I can at least get something down. This is what I have so far:
Hey, wow. Hello. Can you read me? Testing testing. Wow! So here we are. Fuck. Okay, so the book. This book. What do I want to tell you about this book? I hate spoilers; I wish I could have seen Tootsie without knowing ahead of time that Dustin Hoffman would come out in a dress... oh well... okay. Fine. Here we go. Let’s talk about my book.
(I will probably cut that all out) |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 4th, 2012|11:12 am] |
I'm trying to write a book proposal - it is one of the Major Summer Projects. I could not find my voice for it. It's an English book - so my standard voice for math and for blogging weren't quite write. Looked. Looked.
It hit last Thursday. Bang. There it was. I could write write write and even though it needs work, the voice is THERE - I just need to make it clear and shine through... but I have it.
The interesting thing is that I can pinpoint the moment when it happened, how I felt at the time. And the subjective sensation was that I did NOT find it. It found me. I KNOW that's a fucking cliche! But that's exactly how it felt.
No it isn't. Because I wasn't still like Sleeping Beauty waiting to be found. Here is what it felt like. It felt like we were looking for each other - and we would not have found each other if we weren't both looking. Like when you make eye-contact with your loved one in the busy airport baggage claim area and the feeling of "Is that... oh! Yes! THERE YOU ARE!"
I found my voice on the English book. For the meat of it anyway. Today I am working on the introduction. Voice is a little different for that part, but it is still the same voice - only it is wearing different clothing and going to hang out at Tiffany's for a bit. |
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| They will be leveling a special place next month |
[May. 30th, 2012|10:00 pm] |
Once upon a time, there was a bookcase that had been empty, and stored next to the door of the first grade room.
Once upon a time, I came to it and it had been transformed into a museum of the sea. There were shells, and nautical-themed toys, and pictures of sea life. But it was not a display - it was a museum. Each item had a sign, telling you what it was. And there were signs that said, "DO NOT TOUCH" but some said, "PLEASE TOUCH" and at least one explained what parts could be touched, and what couldn't.
Once upon a time, a first grade teacher told me that it wasn't her idea, after I congratulated her on the project. She told me that the students saw the bookcase, and several had brought shells to class that day, and all she said was, "Yes, you may."
Once upon a yesterday, or was it today, I went into a building for the last time and saw an empty bookcase that was a museum.
Once upon a time, that teacher had her class sing the Price Lab song, and I saw video my wife took of a bunch of kids being ridiculously enthusiastic as their teacher was clearly crying quietly. And then they lined up to hug her goodbye.
I know that museums become bookcases at the end of every school year, as art galleries become walls, and science experiments become compost. But to know that this bookcase will be thrown out, or auctioned off to someone ... it is a different thing.
My daughter helped conceive of, design, and build a museum of the sea. And I will always be glad that my wife and I moved so that, for at least a couple of years, my daughter was encouraged to do so. It was worth it. And someday she will read these very words I am typing, and the museum of the sea will continue to be loved. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 30th, 2012|07:10 am] |
I was at the price lab picnic (the farewell picnic) and I was in a conversation with some people I knew, and a woman I don't. And then eventually she said, "Oh, by the way, I'm Alice Way." (I didn't introduce myself, because I'm at the stage where I'm never 100% sure if someone is a stranger, and I don't want to embarrass myself) (I keep telling you this stuff, and I'm thinking I'm becoming less fun and eccentric and more pathetic) (Although I probably didn't cross that line until the last parenthetical) (Hey, it's been a week. Last night at 2:30 AM I was simultaneously trying to keep the L awake (she was on oxygen for a headache) and help F get back to sleep (she woke up coughing))
Oh, where the hell was I?
Oh yes. Picnic. "My name is Alice Way." So I said, "I'm Doug Shaw" and then her eyes got really big and she said loudly, "Oh my God! Doug Shaw! It's a pleasure to meet you!" This was a great moment. I knew that the next couple of sentences would be about how she knew of me, and then the conversation would go back to whatever... but in that moment... I was famous. Who the hell wouldn't love that?
(she was a big fan of my twitter feed) |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 18th, 2012|12:31 pm] |
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This may not be the project for a Tiki theme - but that will come. Oh yes, oh yes. |
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| The Devil Takes a Girl |
[May. 18th, 2012|12:22 pm] |
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Did you know Return of the Retrobats has tiki symbols? Did you know it was on my computer? This may or may not be very, very, important today. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 18th, 2012|12:18 pm] |
Sometimes, when you've discovered something that works, you hesistate to try it again, because you don't want it to be proven that it doesn't always work - that it was a fluke.
I'm really, really, stuck on developing this 2 week course I'm presenting in Ann Arbor in a month. I've read through almost 1/4 of the four volume book on the math I need to know - and I'm trying to make it into a course-shape.
And then I remembered what I did the last two times I was stuck on developing instructional materials. Fuck all that content-first, learning objective first, outcomes first, Earth-first, stuff... I'm Doug. And "Font First" has worked for me in the past.
I just put a bunch of content in a word file. But I'm not going to organize it. I'm not going to fuck with it now. I'm going to highlight it, and then find out what font it wants. And I will go from there. And if there is a conflict between what font it wants, and what font I want, I'm going with what I want, and then I will massage the content until it fits.
And then it will stop being Mort's course from last year, and Berelkamp et. al's mathematics - and it will be mine. And when you are in MY world, you will learn a lot of math, have a riotous time, and probably be in the mood for sugary desserts.
And yes, the fact that I've had too much coffee and my friend Jillian just turned me on to The Devil Takes a Girl by The Little Black Bottles is affecting me. Of course. It all affects me. You are affecting me right now. And FUCK yes that's all going to affect this course. And given the success of the last two times this happened (First time it was Grover's Monster In The Mirror video) (and the novel was Doin that Rag by the Grateful Dead) (and the Daughter was Yellow Submarine, Firefly, and Everything Else) I'm going to take that leap of faith.
For at least the rest of today, we are developing this course MY WAY. And the Devil takes a Girl! And Everything else that is in this lump of meat in my skull that has served me so well. More coffee! Doug's creating! |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 10th, 2012|08:52 pm] |
Cornerstone.
Year long class.
Cornerstone.
College success. College research/writing. Oral communication.
Cornerstone.
Grades for Cornerstone are done. As of a minute ago.
Cornerstone.
Is.
Done. |
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| 5:30 AM |
[May. 10th, 2012|06:24 am] |
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Nothing like grading an essay on procrastination the day after final grades are due. |
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