Module 1 Lab: 55 Fiction
She was hungry. But for what? She hated when she didn’t know what to order.
There were only a few choices on the menu. That should make it easier but somehow it didn’t. The waitress appeared at the table - pencil poised ready to take her order.
Agh! Decisions, decisions!
“What do you recommend?”, she asked.
There were only a few choices on the menu. That should make it easier but somehow it didn’t. The waitress appeared at the table - pencil poised ready to take her order.
Agh! Decisions, decisions!
“What do you recommend?”, she asked.
How did you come up with the idea?
The idea to write about being in a restaurant came to me because I enjoy trying new places to eat. Living and working in the same area presents problems – I’m in the same place all week long and see the same surroundings. I like being able to venture outside of the “bubble” I am in five days a week and getting to know up-and-coming places or recommended restaurants.
What problems did you face?
The problems in creating this 55 word story was the most obvious – the word count. It’s difficult for me to write anything in small portions. As a first grade teacher, I find myself giving detailed instructions throughout my day. Limiting my writing to only 55 words was difficult – I felt that my story risked sounding unclear.
When did you see a solution?
I began to see a solution to my “detail dilemma” when I thought about my time spent working at a pizza restaurant. I thought about the customer calls I would take. Often times I was prompted by customers about “what specials we have” or “what would I recommend”. This was always something that I thought was pretty subjective, however, I did know what pizzas were the most popular or what kind of deals would interest customers and potentially have them return to order again. That’s when I thought about how my story wouldn’t need to describe a restaurant, a detailed image of the setting or the smells coming from the kitchen. Instead, my story became more of a narrative of what goes through my mind when I get venture outside of my familiar surroundings.
How did one idea lead to another?
Thinking about what my 55 words would consist of began when I was brainstorming about topics. I was going to begin with baking – something I enjoy doing and could easily describe a step-by-step process. But I found myself going over the word count fairly quickly. I stopped thinking about explaining baking and started to think about desserts/foods I enjoy. This allowed me to shift my thinking from detailed instructional steps to explaining my thought process when I go out to eat.
What did the entire process feel like? Frustrating? Liberating? A pain in the donkey?
This whole process was a bit challenging. The backspace button was the MVP in this assignment for me – lots of retyping. It pushed me to step outside of my typical lengthy writing/descriptions/directions and think more along the lines of a small moment in time – ironically a unit in the first grade curriculum.
The idea to write about being in a restaurant came to me because I enjoy trying new places to eat. Living and working in the same area presents problems – I’m in the same place all week long and see the same surroundings. I like being able to venture outside of the “bubble” I am in five days a week and getting to know up-and-coming places or recommended restaurants.
What problems did you face?
The problems in creating this 55 word story was the most obvious – the word count. It’s difficult for me to write anything in small portions. As a first grade teacher, I find myself giving detailed instructions throughout my day. Limiting my writing to only 55 words was difficult – I felt that my story risked sounding unclear.
When did you see a solution?
I began to see a solution to my “detail dilemma” when I thought about my time spent working at a pizza restaurant. I thought about the customer calls I would take. Often times I was prompted by customers about “what specials we have” or “what would I recommend”. This was always something that I thought was pretty subjective, however, I did know what pizzas were the most popular or what kind of deals would interest customers and potentially have them return to order again. That’s when I thought about how my story wouldn’t need to describe a restaurant, a detailed image of the setting or the smells coming from the kitchen. Instead, my story became more of a narrative of what goes through my mind when I get venture outside of my familiar surroundings.
How did one idea lead to another?
Thinking about what my 55 words would consist of began when I was brainstorming about topics. I was going to begin with baking – something I enjoy doing and could easily describe a step-by-step process. But I found myself going over the word count fairly quickly. I stopped thinking about explaining baking and started to think about desserts/foods I enjoy. This allowed me to shift my thinking from detailed instructional steps to explaining my thought process when I go out to eat.
What did the entire process feel like? Frustrating? Liberating? A pain in the donkey?
This whole process was a bit challenging. The backspace button was the MVP in this assignment for me – lots of retyping. It pushed me to step outside of my typical lengthy writing/descriptions/directions and think more along the lines of a small moment in time – ironically a unit in the first grade curriculum.