November is National Novel Writing Month. For the first time I have actually registered for the month (under the name fastdos) and intend to do what I can to compose a novel. Doing what you can has been the real tragedy of this semester. I don’t claim that I have been the best teacher this year, and to thicken the bad news I think I may have turned a group of writers away from the novel. I subjected them to the harsh reality of writing a novel on a tight schedule. Thus far, all but one has failed to meet the deadlines for the course at the word level requested.
Long story short, once they failed to deliver at the level they believe I expected, many of the students became dismayed and dejected. I think I am on the verge of losing them forever. This is wholly my fault. I did not explain the requirements clearly and what I did explain was so much of a top end expectation that it proved to be too much for most of them. Still, the class is about Planning and Structuring the Novel, so what they’ve all done is so far beyond my quiet and unstated actual expectations that I am super proud of the accomplishments. They can now approach the novel with realistic understanding and expectations.
I’m not proud of the way things went down for the students. I have a lot of making up to do in order to restore trust and understanding, but I know that I haven’t burned the bridges so completely that they will not recover.