Young Eui Choi
World Languages, Cultures and Communications
A Community of Whole Writers: From Writing Monsters to Writing Heroes
Featured Teaching and Learning Practice
Fall 2007
Young Eui Choi's English Composition I course challenges and motivates the dormant student writer. Students are guided through lessons designed to help them become better, more effective writers. Through a series of fun and interactive exercises, Young's students identify negative internal voices, examine writing myths, and discover their "writing monsters." These exercises create a safe environment that fosters creativity through writing rituals and celebrating the power of the writing process.
Young starts the course by encouraging her students to explore writing myths and rituals. Students gather in small groups to discuss these myths and examine how even a writer like Ernest Hemingway revised his books many times. Through this discussion, students begin to realize they, too, have a writer within.
She then directs her students to move on to describe their "writing monsters" or anything that hinders one from writing freely. Often times, it is the writers' own fear of writing. During this stage of the course, the students are asked to share their writing obstacles and brainstorm on possible ways to deal with them.
Once her students discover their writing impediments, they can then develop ways to overcome them. Young introduces strategies such as journaling, peer reviewing, and developing a personal writing plan. Through these exercises, students are able to develop the tools necessary to become more creative and efficient writers.