Beyond the Blank Screen:

Ten Habits of

Generative Writing

David Paré, Ph.D. dpare@uottawa.ca

1. Take care of your reader.

2. Give your reader signposts.

Give your reader signposts.

The reason I have chosen to discuss eggplants before other vegetables is that…

In the previous section, I outlined….

While it is arguable that tomatoes do not fit because they are classified as fruit..

Apples are an important fruit and are certainly central to the topic of fruit. For now, however, I will examine oranges in more detail; section five will be devoted to apples.

Having examined the role of broccoli in contemporary salad making, I will now discuss rutabagas…

It makes sense to begin with potatoes, because….

3. Distil your language.

Distil your language. The scope of the book defies any attempt by me to summarize it in a few words; and so instead I would like to stay with the metaphor of “maps” to shed light on what seems to me to be the authors’ skillful balancing of two aspects of what I will call, for shorthand sake, narrative practice.The scope of the book defies any attempt by me to summarize it in a few words; and so instead I would like to will stay with the metaphor of “maps” to shed light on what seems to me to be the authors’ skillful balancing of two aspects of what I will call, for shorthand sake, narrative practice.The scope of the book defies any attempt to summarize it in a few words. Instead, I will stay with the metaphor of “maps” to shed light on the authors’ skillful balancing of two aspects of narrative practice.

4. Keep things Parallel

Non-ParallelismsI wanted to be involved in this process with the

educators from start to finish: trying to make sense of their experiences with play, understand what training if any they had in play, and how they made the connection between training and classroom practice.

Through this assignment, I became aware of my cultural identity, was able to reflect on my beliefs, and how they might effect others within different subgroups.

I felt motivated to make some form of change so that I was not at a disadvantage and am able to understand and communicate more effectively, therefore, not be hindered in a city I love so much.

5. Don’t stray too far from home.

Don’t stray too far from home.

Apples are

healthy

Apples have long

history

Painters love to paint them

Tale of Johnny Appleseed

Oranges are

healthy too

Limes prevent scurvy

Europe imports

citrus fruit

6. You are always making a point.

7. Build your case systematically.