Write up each of our Guest Speakers as a portfolio entry.
The portfolio will include analysis and assessment of the Speaker's writing path. It's not a transcript of the Speaker's class participation (although some summary is expected), it is an exploration of what they said and how you followed up on that information.
Be specific, and focus on segments that are learning opportunities for you. For example, Tom Eblen's presentation touched on: the importance of rewriting; blogging; management vs. editing vs. writing; business writing; photography; his educational background; his employers (Atlanta Journal Constitution; the AP; Lexington Herald-Leader).
He talked about the fact that the HL has more readers online now than the print edition. What are the implications? He discussed social media as a tool. He discussed different audiences for different forms of writing (a blog audience is not the same as a column audience).
He talked about the cinematic style that engages readers today and why. He touched on NPR's This American Life. He listed a few favorite writers: Peter Taylor and James Agee. He talked about Kentucky authors, Bobbie Ann Mason and Silas House. He talked about the process that went into his Martin Luther King holiday observations (and civil rights history). He named a few favorite interviews: Minnie Pearl, Jimmy Carter, Loretta Lynn. How does who you work for impact your choice of subject -- and your access to the subject? How would you resolve these issues?
What is the easiest thing for a Reader to do....? Why do we read our writing out loud? How will curiosity (or being "nosy") serve you as a writer? How could you use a short attention span to your benefit as a writer? Do you have something to say? What is the most compelling way to say it? How is everything "material?"
Your portfolio entry will use the Speaker's discussion as a jumping-off point for additional analysis and research. Be specific. Review your notes. Think. Reflect. Then write.
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