So what in the world are you going to do this week? Proceed with the writing! This week each of you will post your writing—a memoir or the alternative decided upon by your group—and you need to respond to what others in your group write. Plan to post your first draft by Thursday so that responses can be made by Sunday. It is important to be timely with these posts because others are depending upon you.You will post both drafts and responses on your group blog, google docs or via email, again depending upon what means your group established last week.
Being a good responder is not easy. For response, you need to offer specific comments on the writing that lets the writer know what you think is working well, what moves you, or what you relate to particularly. You should also make honest suggestions for improvement, clarification or extension. As a writer, you need to let your responders know what you want from them. For example, you might ask the group for help with your beginning or conclusion. Thus they become more empowered to comment on that section. The writer can then accept or ignore the suggestions, but at least, s/he has had other viewpoints and affirmations before completing the final draft which will be due the end of next week.
