Finish Writing: Dear World
Speak to Your Audience
In this lesson, you’ll write an open letter about something that matters to you, keeping in mind the community you’re writing for.
Why Personal Storytelling Matters
“What needs to be counted on to have a voice? Courage. Anger. Love. Something to say; someone to speak to; someone to listen.”
— Terry Tempest Williams[1]
DEAR WORLD
At a Glance
Introduction – read first
Lesson Steps — do them in order
- Dream First: Hates and Loves
- Write Fast: Dear [fill in the blank]
- Vision Share: Illuminations
- Think Again: Judgment or Insight?
Stretch Activities
Main Tools
- Self-awareness
- An Eye for Details
- Active Response
- Questioning
Main Takeaways
- Explore who you are and how you view the world.
- Express yourself more effectively and authentically.
- Discover your creative flow for generating new work.
- Document your journey as a writer.
- Extend your stories beyond words with multimedia.
- Make meaning of a messy world through writing.
- Connect your personal story with your community.
- Inspire yourself to keep telling your own stories.
Self-Evaluation – finish here
- From When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012), p. 44. ↵