The Red Velvet Lawyer

Writing Imperfectly While We Strive for Perfection Pam Jenoff -- in her  article :  The Self-Assessed Writer: Harnessing Fiction-Writing Process to Understand Ourselves as Legal Writers and Maximize Legal Writing Productivity,  10  JALWD  (Fall 2013) -- admits that students have a hard time committing fully to the timed writing exercise I described in my last post. She explains: When I use Goldberg’s exercise with writing groups, I read a passage that explains the importance of such exercises in silencing our inner editors: "Our “monkey mind” says we can’t write, we’re no good, we’re failures, fools for even picking up a pen; we listen to it. We drift. We listen and get tossed away. Meanwhile, wild mind surrounds us—sink into the big sky and write from there, let everything run through us and grab as much as we can of it with a pen and paper. This is all about a loss of control." Janoff then asks her students to do the timed writing exercise.  She may in

Vomiting on the Page The timed writing exercise can help a writer jump start the creative writing process.  Pam Jenoff, in her article :  The Self-Assessed Writer: Harnessing Fiction-Writing Process to Understand Ourselves as Legal Writers and Maximize Legal Writing Productivity,  10  JALWD  (Fall 2013) describes the technique: Keep your hand moving. Frequently, a writer pens a sentence, then stops to consider it and edit, losing the flow of the idea. This exercise requires the writer to commit to writing without stopping for a specific period of time.  Lose control. Write without fear that the work is not good enough — a common problem that can stop writers mid-project. This underscores the idea, which many of us already teach in both legal and fiction writing, to “get it out there” and then fix it up later.   Be specific. Even on the first draft, look for language that gets to the heart of what you are trying to say and that captures the essence of the idea.

Recognizing the Source of Writer's Block A plodder is the type of writer who creates an outline or a well-established story structure before he or she ever begins writing.  A pantser -- as the name indicates -- flies by the seat of his or her pants. A pantser writes first, then organizes later. So says, Pam Jenoff, in her article : The Self-Assessed Writer: Harnessing Fiction-Writing Process to Understand Ourselves as Legal Writers and Maximize Legal Writing Productivity,  10 JALWD (Fall 2013).  Jenoff also suggests that each writer is both plodder and pantser depending on a number of factors, including: The nature of the project Size Subject matter Etc. Whether one is co-authoring. Whether one is required to submit an outline in advance of publication. Each type of writer faces different challenges when it comes to the next stage of writing.   The free-writing pantser often can't get the material she's written properly organized.The plodder, in

Non-Fiction Storytelling Advice for Lawyers Lawyers tell persuasive non-fiction stories in letters, briefs, motions, negotiations, transactional representation, and oral arguments. The Fall 2013 issue of the JALWD, the journal for Association of Legal Writing Directors , suggests two books that will make lawyers even more effective at describing the situations of the clients they represent. The reviewer of the first book, Jack Hart's Story Craft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction (U. Chi. Press 2011), notes that people learn best when they receive information through story. Neurobiologists have watched fMRI images of people thinking in story structure. Hart explains: [S]tory is story. The same underlying principles apply regardless of where you tell your tale . . . . Successful nonfiction storytelling requires a basic understanding of fundamental story theory and story structures the theory suggests. Ignore them, and you’ll fight a losing battle wi

Distinguished Alumni  of the  Appalachian School of Law:  David J. Robinson David J. Robinson is the Senior Legal Advisor at the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office in Springfield, Illinois.  Effective January 1, 2014, he will become its Deputy Director. Thus, in only seven years following graduation from the Appalachian School of Law in 2007, his career has taken him to this high level of responsibility and leadership in state government. As a Senior Legal Advisor, David prepares special prosecutions and the defense of criminal appeals.  Thus, his experience on ASL's Moot Court team prepared him for this career path. As a member of the Director's office, David helps to "promulgate[] and implement[] the rules and regulations governing the administrative and legal functions of the District Offices. The Director's Office is responsible for all Agency administrative and managerial functions, legal policy and

Distinguished Alumni  of the  Appalachian School of Law:  Judge Daniel T. Boyd Daniel T. Boyd became a Juvenile Court Judge in August 2011, less than a decade after graduating from the Appalachian School of Law in 2002. Judge Boyd is lifelong citizen of Rogersville and Hawkins County, Tennessee.  He graduated in 1994 from the Cherokee Comprehensive High School and in 1998 from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Prior to ascending to the bench, Judge Boyd practiced law in Rogersville with his father. Daniel is married to Melissa Cupp Boyd and has two children, Eli and Anna Mae. Tennessee Juvenile Courts Tennessee offers the public 98 juvenile courts with 109 juvenile court judges and 45 Magistrates serving parties appearing before them. Of these 98 courts, 17 are designated "Private Act" juvenile courts while the remaining 81 are general sessions courts with juvenile jurisdiction. At least one juvenile court exists in each of the state's 95 coun

15,000  Page Views Friends, family, and colleagues: Another milestone reached!  This time with the help of Brian Leiter , an ABA Top 100 Blawgger, who linked to several of my postings this month.