Here we are again. Some reflections on first class. Normally, I don't talk so much. I came home and had a sore throat. Recall the 5 principles of writing at COD. An example of the reflections on book. The book I will review for the 5 principles of writing is The Last Night of the World by Roberto Bolano. The intros are good because I can relate to his characters who are poor writers and teachers who win these tiny monetary rewards. The conclusions are not good because he never finishes his stories; he leaves us 'hanging' and that is not nec. good for a writer to do. We need finality, endings, which should be the writer's job. Transitions: he does not use particular words, but the narrator/main character is the same throughout the book of short stories. His thesis is the same throughout: "so, you want to be a writer/teacher? Good luck. You will starve to death, drink and smoke yourself to death (like me in real life), probably never find true love because no one understands your literary priorities." Topic sentences? Well, Bolano is not good in that dept. because he does not want the reader knowing where he is going in each story; he likes to play games with the reader and challenge us to create or figure out the ending of a story, or to realize it is just fiction and fantasy. Besides, he is not writing a formal essay but fiction. So what can we say of proof/explanation/evidence/support? He supports his thesis by different stories of his narrator's desolate experiences through Chile, Mexico, Spain, etc.... So I hope this helps--some. . . . I am trying to get the return button to work to no avail.... By the way, I am still mad at Raul Diaz from aristocratic dictatorial Chile (after '74 Coupe) who won the English award in 1981.... And then there is Robert Knapp, who wrote on a college midterm, "You do not write coherent essays." My point is: why are we sometimes good writers and sometimes bad ones? Part is expectations/audience and some is just time to write well.... more later, I am going to do that Diaz google search.....