Weekly Response 3

Weekly Response

Week 3

 

This whole book is about what it takes to be a good story teller and a good writer. I like how he says to not use a passive voice while writing but use an active voice. I agree with this because I think it will make it a lot more interesting. I agree with how he says to avoid uncommon terms. Don’t try to be fancy with your writing but try and keep the reader interested. When I am reading something I’m not looking for how smart the writer sounds, I’m reading it for interest and for something to pull me in. I like how he says to make the writing conversational. I think that is important to get the reader’s attention. If it sounds more like a conversation it is easier to picture somebody in front of you saying it. This all fits in with me as a writer because I never think of it from the reader’s point of view. I think I write to get it over with and not make it very conversational.

This article was written really well. It used a lot of the examples that Dotson said would make good writing. I loved the way the article was started. It drew my attention in right away, not only because I a huge hockey fan but because who wouldn’t be interested in a story about $50,000? One of the big things that stood out to me right away was it was very conversational. It asked a lot of questions that were quickly answered after they were asked. All the quotes make it a little more interesting to read. Instead of a solid paragraph explaining what happened I like how he breaks it up. Also he used an active voice and it pulled me in right away. I think it is a little cliché he gives the money back. I don’t think there are many teenage kids or especially 11 year old kids who would give $50,000 back if they won it. After everything he thought of before doing it you would think he would follow through. I feel like in all stories the person ends up doing the right thing but in real life I don’t know if that would actually happen or not.

To start off I think this family is crazy. I couldn’t imagine having that many kids. They must really love football if they want every kid to go through all the same things. I’m sure there is a ton of pressure on you as a kid to be exactly like your older sibling. The news broadcast was really well done. It was conversational and I felt like I learned a lot about the family because I felt like I was the one interviewing them. They tell you everything you need to know without hearing the interviewer ask the questions. I think there was an active voice because it was talking us through the whole story. I was surprised she was disappointed that all of the kids were done. I understand having something in your life for a long time and then it suddenly being done but at the same time you would think she would be excited to have some free time.