Shanks n’ Show Tunes
A shameless plug for Blunt Trivia, which I host on Wednesday evenings at The Knife Shop.
Thanks to Zoë for this great flier!
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287 Wellington St Collingwood
Wednesdays from 7:00pm
Bookings essential: 03 9415 1488
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Got ideas for question topics and music themes? Post them below and let me know when you’ll be coming – I might just schedule your request in for that day!
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I’ve been teaching Communication subjects to undergrads for a while, and over the years, I’ve noticed an alarming trend: attendance rates begin well but drop off towards the end of semester. I can understand why students might miss a class here or there, but I’m mystified as to why so many skip half a semester, especially when they’re paying high course fees.
This year, I decided to try something different – and to my astonishment, I had great results. Not only did I get students attending classes, paying attention, and rocking up on time, but most of them were waiting outside the classroom when I arrived.
The trick is to award marks during the first 30 minutes of class time.
I’m not talking about marking attendance, although they did have to attend to be eligible for the extra marks. I’m talking about weaving a small assessable task into every lesson – at the beginning of the lesson - and linking it to a larger assignment. In my case, the larger assignment was a class presentation.
I think assessable presentations are a really useful learning tool, but for them to be successful, the parameters must be clear and succinct, otherwise students will either speed-talk for 2 minutes, or ramble on for 20, and nobody wants to sit through 50 long-winded presentations.
For presentations, my students must use the Pecha Kucha style. It may appear restrictive, but it works on so many levels: the set structure forces students to boil down their discussion to the most essential points; it encourages the use of images rather than text; and its strict timing trumps any excuse for going over or under time.
But Pecha Kucha wasn’t the reason students rocked up early for my classes.
I asked everyone to review their peers. I made this optional, and if they chose to participate, they could earn an extra 5% towards their final mark – but they could only earn the 5% if they attended the first 30 minutes of class, because this was the time we did presentations.
Voilà! Instant improvement on attendance.
As well as improving attendance, the peer review task nailed several key learning areas in one blow. It encouraged active listening, common courtesy (I hardly saw any phones out during this part of the lesson), organisation of ideas and diplomacy. The presentation subject choices matched important revision topics, which helped to consolidate learning. Students had regular practice writing meaningful feedback, and since all feedback was handed to the presenter, it also introduced them to the subtle art of receiving and accepting constructive criticism.
And all I had to do was collect slips of paper, glance through them to ensure their content was appropriate, keep a tally of which students participated that week, and assign them a mark out of 5 at the end of semester.
But the most surprising thing was that students actually enjoyed doing this task – I know this because they told me.
It’s amazing how a tiny bit of extra credit can nudge students into changing their behaviour.
On being a trivia host
For the past three Wednesdays, I’ve hosted trivia nights at a colourful local cafe called The Knife Shop.
Before this, I’d only ever hosted one trivia night.
One. Ever. In my entire life.
And it was a massive fundraiser for over 100 people.
But I found it pretty easy, and I enjoyed it, so I thought becoming a trivia host would be a great way to mix things up and have some fun. I suggested this idea to the cafe owners, and within a month, Blunt Trivia was born.
The result? I adore it.
It’s not like pub trivia. This is cosy and interactive. The people are locals who come in for conversation, warm winter food and a bottle of wine. They’re interesting and lively and love a good laugh. I take requests for the music round (my sneaky way of getting people back in the door the following week!), and I really do try to include a balanced mix of questions. Even sport (urgh).
We’ve had a few technical hiccups, and a couple of bonus point questions while the PC-savvy staff/patrons sort out the equipment for me, but despite the glitches it’s been a real success.
Blunt Trivia is only in its infancy, but I’m hoping it will continue on to provide locals with some quality midweek entertainment. So if you happen to be in Collingwood on a Wednesday night and are looking for something to do, come down to The Knife Shop to sharpen the mind, fill the belly, and have a laugh.
287 Wellington St Collingwood
Wednesdays from 7:00pm
Bookings essential: 03 9415 1488
Got ideas for question topics and music themes? Post them below and let me know when you’ll be coming – I might just schedule your request in for that day!
When to rewrite your novel
Lately, a number of people have contacted me requesting feedback for their writing projects. One of the big questions that keeps cropping up is: “Do I need to do a major rewrite?” This is a hard question to answer, and my usual response is: That depends on the details.
With any writing project, large or small, a solid plan and reliable structure are essential. I frequently return to the drawing board and map my work to check that it’s still doing what I originally intended. This is important even if the finish line is in sight – in fact, especially when the finish line is in sight, because by this stage I’m usually so close to my work that I can’t see the flaws anymore.
Mapping my work even at this late stage can be really useful – and it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll then have to rewrite the entire book. It’s a checkpoint process that identifies areas of strength and weakness, and highlights sections where the story’s focus and the reader’s attention have been diverted.
Before I do any rewriting, I try to objectively analyse my work, chapter by chapter. By unpacking the micro layers of the story, I can identify what’s there, and then decide if anything has to be removed or added. A chapter breakdown also provides me with a much more comprehensive overview of the whole book, and pretty soon I know what’s working and what still needs fixing.
Here are 10 questions I try to answer for each chapter:
- What stage/s of the Hero’s Journey does this chapter reflect? Is it a physical reflection of the journey, a metaphorical one, or both?
- What particular events/characters/themes have been mentioned in this chapter? Do they really belong here? Do I need to move them to an earlier/later chapter?
- How are the characters feeling? Have I shown this for every character, not just the protagonist/s?
- Is every character behaving in character? Does their dialogue reflect their thoughts and feelings?
- What’s happening around the characters? Have I included all the necessary contextual information, e.g. time, season, weather, temperature etc.?
- What is the purpose of this chapter? What does it do to progress the story?
- How do the characters change/develop in this chapter?
- What subplots appear in this chapter? Are they essential to driving the story forward or can I do without them?
- What’s the main emotion/theme/event that drives this chapter and does the language I’ve used reflect this?
- Is the narrative voice consistent with the rest of the story?
Once I’ve completed my analysis at the chapter level, I generally have a much clearer picture of the overarching structure of my book, and this helps identify strengths and flaws.
It also answers the big question: “Do I need to do a major rewrite?”
If you liked this post, you may also like this one or this one.
Some useful resources:
Between the Lines: Master the subtle elements of fiction writing by Jessica Page Morell
The Plot Thickens: 8 ways to bring fiction to life by Noah Lukeman
Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
Gorski and Jones
c/o gorskiandjones.com
DATE 11 April, 2012
ADDRESS 304 Smith St
SERVICE Prompt, professional and attentive.
AMBIANCE This place has character. It’s a modern venue with a vintage touch. Open kitchen and bar, exposed brickwork, warehouse style decor. Candles and good music are nice touches.
FOOD Good quantity, delicate, fragrant and delicious. Fine dining cuisine. Great selection of food – Wagyu beef entree, oysters, snapper, ravioli, chocolate cake and rhubarb crumble. All exquisite meals.
DRINKS Excellent cocktails and top shelf selections. Not a large wine list, but decent quality.
EXTRAS All fresh produce of exceptional quality. Fresh seafood, and a very honest kitchen.
SURPRISES Back room with rustic Tuscan atmosphere, heating and cover. Lots of little thoughtful details.
RECOMMENDATION Perfect for first dates, special occasions and intimate dining. Faultless.
STAR RATING
(5 stars)
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- K&T
White Night
After a wonderful (and free!) final concert from the MSO last night…
…I decided to check out the sights and sounds of Melbourne’s very first White Night festival.
It took me 30 minutes to walk about 500 metres. I didn’t expect it to be quite so busy. Or so interesting.
Princes Bridge
Flinders St buildings
People watching projections on the stained glass in St Paul’s Cathedral
Lighting in St Paul’s Cathedral turned night into day
Flinders St Station steps become a stage, and the streets a mosh pit
Buildings were alive with spectacular light shows
I wanted to see more, but I would’ve spent all night squeezing through crowds in uncomfortable heat just to get a glimpse of these wonders. Hopefully next year festival organisers will spread the light shows across a few more streets so viewers aren’t crammed into a couple of city blocks.
Or maybe I’ll just head into the city at 3:00am, when the crowds are a little thinner.
Prisoner X should not exist
On Tuesday night, Foreign Correspondent aired the findings of an investigation into the identity of Israel’s Prisoner X. The case has since attracted intense international media interest and shone a scorching spotlight onto Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs. But the questions raised regarding the case of Prisoner X have much wider implications not only for expat Australians, but for foreign nationals in any country.
For those who missed it, Foreign Correspondent documented a case where, in 2010, a man was held in an Israeli prison in ‘complete seclusion’ for reasons of ‘national security’. His gaolers didn’t know his identity or why he was there. The circumstances surrounding his imprisonment were so secret that the equivalent of a D-notice was issued to suppress not only any information about the prisoner and his circumstances being reported, but even the mention of the D-notice itself was forbidden. Then, in December 2010, Prisoner X committed suicide, in a heavily-guarded and supposedly suicide-proof gaol cell.
Foreign Correspondent speculated that Prisoner X was an Australian, Ben Zygier. It appears that DFAT knew of Zygier’s imprisonment in early 2010, and his subsequent suicide ten months later. At no time was any consular support extended to him or his family.
One report has linked Zygier to the Australian passport scandal in January 2010, where Mossad agents used duplicate Australian passports to travel to Dubai where they assassinated a Hamas official. Foreign Correspondent speculated that the nature of Zygier’s imprisonment – the secrecy and the suppression order – meant that the reason had to be something ‘touchy’ and ‘immediate’. The passport scandal certainly fits that profile.
While the circumstances surrounding this case are unsettling, the questions it raises are more chilling. How is it that a person can be detained in a maximum security environment without their gaolers even knowing their name? Why the need for such incredible secrecy surrounding an individual’s identity and imprisonment? And what might have happened to Zygier, had he lived? Would he have been kept in those same conditions, or would he have been secretly transferred to an even more notorious prison?
More importantly, did the Israeli government act alone, or were other foreign agencies complicit in this conspiracy?
The very notion of a Prisoner X should not exist because this type of imprisonment is illegal under international law. How many other people have found themselves in comparable circumstances? And are their governments really doing everything possible to assist the nameless ‘disappeared’?
You can catch the full episode of Foreign Correspondent here.
