Presents commentaries on Peter Elbow's "Writing with Power." Murray comments positively on Elbow's authoratative voice, while Hashimoto observes negatively that Elbow relies on generalizations and that his previous book will likely be of more use than "Writing with Power." (HTH)

Discusses the prewriting process in terms of forces that affect prewriting, prewriting as rehearsal, and eight signals that tell writers that a piece of writing is near. (DD)

Examines the reading personna of the writer and its functions. Discusses how a writing instructor, by means of listening in a conference setting, can bring this other personna into existence. (HTH)

Explains how the author has come to understand that all writing, in many different ways, is autobiographical and that autobiography grows from a few deep taproots that are set down in childhood. Shares some of his own writing as examples. (MG)

Writing in the first person is not usually tolerated in academic writing under the illusion that the third person insures some kind of objectivity. But writing in the first person is honest, permitting the reader to know that what is being said is a matter of opinion. It is a direct way of speaking about what a writer sees or feels or thinks, and…

Views the writing act as an act of exploration rather than the reporting of what was discovered and emphasizes six elements that achieve the surprise in writing, including expectation, ease, and acceptance. (DF)

Intended to stimulate teachers to make use of their own experiences at the writing desk and in the classroom workshop to discover what is meaningful about writing and teaching, the articles in this collection reflect what the author has learned over the years through writing. The articles in the first section emphasize the writing process, and…