Tuesday July 3rd - DeVoss "Kairos" site and W/D ch. 2

What an interesting website/study. The importance and uniqueness of the physical spaces and general conditions we prefer when composing is something that I briefly addressed in my last blog post. I’d like to expand upon it here now that it can be informed by the writing and videos on the Kairos website. I really appreciate their reference to Ball’s insight that “we need more work that does the showing, not just the telling—that is, we need more new media scholarship produced through/with/as new media.” It does seem slightly ironic that so much of the scholarship on multimodality is still written in alphabetic text in traditional formats - I suppose that could be an indication that that form is still the most prized. Nonetheless, it’s helpful to put the emphasis on showing rather than telling, and to have examples of people composing and presenting multimodally.

Of all the videos on the site, the person who’s composing process was most similar to mine was Michelle (except when she went to the coffee shop to write with some peers). We are similar in that we both require a simple and consistent layout of materials in front of us when we write. She had her coffee, notebook, phone, and computer. I typically have my computer, phone, water bottle, and book, article, or whatever supplementary material I might need. Something that I would add to this environment that I imagine we would agree on is the necessity of cleanliness. Before I sit down to write or read somewhere, I always make sure that things are put away, that beds are made, there is no clutter, and that there is as much symmetry around me as possible. It probably sounds somewhat insane but it really turns out to be just a minute or two of tidying that allows me to concentrate more on the task at hand rather than the minutiae surrounding me. The other video that I would certainly take something from was Michael’s, particularly the part where he took a break to play the piano. I often write with a guitar in my lap and when I get stuck at a certain point, it’s almost therapeutic just to mess around on the guitar while I meditate on what to say next.

I think there is something to be said about the type of composing that one is doing affecting the environment/conditions they compose in. For example, the description that I’ve offered in this post is a reflection of how I most often write which is generally analytic writing. However, I recently had to write a poem for my other Bread Loaf course which was something very new to me and it changed my composing process. I found that it was helpful to sit outside while coming up with a draft, or go on a walk. I also wrote the first few drafts with pen and paper, and read a lot of other poetry during the process.