Moro's Second Piece "3.11 Experience- Interview with a Boy in Tohoku"

Author’s Note:

This spring I went to Kesennuma Oshima in Miyagi prefecture in Tohoku (the northeastern part of Japan where the big earthquakes and tsunami occurred on 3.11) to do some volunteer work, and had an opportunity to interview one boy who experienced the disastrous situation. I thought it was very meaningful and important for me to be able to hear the actual voice of local people in Tohoku, so I want to share this experience on this occasion and want many people to know the real story of 3.11.

I tried writing an interview piece with a conversation style, because I wanted you to feel as if you were in the very place of interview with me. (At first, I wrote this piece with a question-and-answer style, but it was just simple and boring, so I made my mind and revised it so much. I think I made a good choice.) It was very difficult for me to make the conversation flow naturally, since I didn't remember the exact conversation with the boy or didn't record it. Part of the conversation might be a little awkward (since I'm not an English native speaker!), but I am confident that I did my best to describe our atmosphere at the interview. I hope that everyone that reads this piece will have stimulation or get inspired by a little boy, and he/she will feel like going to Tohoku to help the people there, not only as a volunteer but also as a tourist.

Thank you very much for your helpful advice, Mark and Risa.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bwd7SaNocZUrbFpnUUZPX3lwdmc

The Process of Publishing: Key Steps (Presented on 10/1 Monday)

Many of you have some drafts developing and getting close to publishing, so here is the process:

1. Drafting - Create a draft, even if it is rough, it is OK! Just put your ideas out on paper or other media to begin with.

2. Getting Feedback - Ask a classmate, family member, teacher or other person to take a look at your draft and give reactions. Getting feedback can be a scary thing, but it is good to choose a supportive person (like me or your classmates...fellow writers who know that expressing yourself includes a lot of anxiety).

3.  Revising - adding, cutting, modifying, making it more specific...adding images, illustrations, colors - try to make it full of the meaning that you want to communicate!

4.  Editing - After you revise, try to show it to somebody and get some feedback for polishing it up to avoid spelling mistakes or anything else that might interfere with your communication.

5. Publishing - Send to me your 1) link to your document or the text/images, and 2) your Author's Note about your feelings related to writing the piece such as why you decided to write it and what you felt as you wrote. I will post your link and note on your page on our website!

ALSO include in the Author's Note a reference to a classmate's reaction or comment or suggestion/advice that you used as you revised the piece.

I think this will have two positive effects on the writing process. First, I hope all of you will more actively seek advice from more classmates during the process, from the brainstorming stage, to the drafting stage, to preparing it for publishing using images, fonts etc. Second, it is nice for a classmate who gives advice to see their name receiving credit and thanks for helping in the writing process. If you get a comment from somebody outside of class, you can include that too! As for comments from me, the instructor, whether you refer to them or not is really up to you.

At least include two classmates' names in each piece! More is even better...actively get comments by sharing your draft in class or by email/online!

Examples of reference to feedback in Author's Notes:
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I want to thank my classmate Taro for giving me the suggestion to add more content to the part about..."

While I was writing this piece, I received many positive comments and suggestions from Taro and Hanako. The idea to use the spider image was Taro's. Also, Hanako gave me invaluable advice about expressions that are more detailed and specific in the description of the character such as "a cynical smile like that of a Japanese baboon who has just succeeded in unlocking his own cage.

I would like to express my gratitude to my friend Jiro who told me the first part was interesting, but frankly the ending was not very satisfactory. He suggested many ways to change it, and ultimately I chose the current ending. What do you think about it, Jiro? I don't know if it is really exciting or not in the final version, but it made me think about many different ways to end the story. Thanks Jiro!

"An Interview with Mark" by Uka

An Interview With Mark (Click Link)

by Uka O'Hara

Author's note: Uka has been having some technical difficulty with logging and posting on the site, so I am uploading this interview piece on her behalf. I had the pleasure of being interviewed by her for about an hour. It is very interesting to talk about yourself and then see the content written up as an interview article. Uka gave me a chance to review the content of what she wrote based on the audio recording, and we worked together to revise and edit it. I hope many students can try a similar genre in the future!