Brandi J. Clark

What exactly do you do during NANOWRIMO when you don’t want to write fiction?

Write Nonfiction of course.

I used some strong butt glue on my couch the entire month of November 2013.

I have sat with the resulting manuscript for six months and now I have decided to share it with you. I want you to get an appreciation for nonfiction writing that I believe has been lost in translation in our education systems.

Somewhere along the path to my Master’s degree, I discovered the heart of nonfiction writing. As I began to discover who I was as a learner, I unearthed a deep love for everything nonfiction. I began a quest to discover the process of creating great nonfiction and why I hadn’t discovered it before. It was not given to me in a tidy little book. I pulled parts of my mind together into a tidy word document. I let my muse take over, the keyboard was all hers!

Through writing 50,000 words, I discovered that we are doing a disservice to young nonfiction writers and ourselves but it doesn’t have to be this way.

I expect to experience more insight as I format my writing for the blog posts. Maybe my thinking will change. Maybe it will open up pathways that I never expected and maybe even a new future.
As with anything I write please enjoy!

Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out

Our new hamster is a biter.

Oh…Why Lit Maven????

According to the internet search, he is afraid. Afraid of what, you ask?

Well, we noticed that he was bringing his cage bedding to his wheel, packing it in and resting there.

Then it occurred to us, he is uncomfortable, he does not feel cozy in the cage so he made his own space cozy as he could…but good enough is not great.

Then the Eureka moment…

We had forgotten to purchase a sleeping hut.

Lesson learned…the Hamster needs a sleeping hut or he will bite us.

So…we bought a sleeping hut.

Lit Maven…is there a point?

Yes! I work in an open space and although I don’t bite, I could use a lower ceiling and added physical barriers so I can feel cozy enough to work.

But enough about me!

Educational Application:

Our students need to feel comfortable in order to learn. We need to provide cozy spaces of their own design.

Now I know…the hamster is my teacher and I have been schooled.

Until Next Time,
Lit Maven Out!