Reflecton on after The End/Chaps 1-5

Response to Chapters 1-5 :
after The End : by Barry Lane
July 12, 2010
At the start of his book Barry Lane states that asking good questions is the basis of good writing. He spoke to the gardener in me when he said that each read is like a seed of revision. The analogy of the potato plant also held significance to me. He states, “When I think of writing I think of a potato plant. Most of our writing is simply the leaves and the stems of the plant, but as we revise more and more we dig for the right potato. A large part of writing is simply trusting your own instincts and asking questions that will help you dig deep enough.” I made a connection with this and what Anne Lamott wrote in her book Bird by Bird. She stated that there are hidden treasures in our writing. Life is messy and clutter in life and writing can yield “treasures”. Revision helps us find those hidden treasures or potatoes if we just give ourselves time to read and look for them.
Another important theme in this book is the element of detail. Lane states that detail is the best tool that writers have to bring writing into focus and find deeper meaning. Digging deeper and looking at our writing with a closer lens can help us find this detail.
Additional important components include the idea of snapshot, thoughtshot and exploding the moment. The techniques of snapshot and thoughtshot can be use to “explode the moment”. Lane makes the analogy that writers are like photographers, they have a giant zoom lens that can zoom in and pull back to make detail and sweeping generalizations. One supports the other. Thoughtshots “frame” the snapshots. They place events in context and according to Lane give readers and writers a reason to be interested.
The technique of exploding the moment lets the writer focus on a moment in time, in depth. Adding details adds interest and paints a picture for the reader to better experience that moment. Students can be taught this skill and use it as part of their revision. Most of my students use very little detail and just don’t know how to go about adding it. Explode the moment will give them a strategy for selecting a part of their writing and adding in those details to really let the reader see and experience that moment in time. They do not have to think up a new scenario, but rather embellish something they already have started in their writing.
The implication for the classroom is that these techniques (snapshot, thoughtshot, and explode the moment) can be taught at any grade level. Lane feels they need to be taught in isolation initially. I would model and practice these skills with my small writing groups. Conferencing during Writer’s workshop might be one place where conversations about using these techniques might occur.