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Frisson

Published on Nov 19, 2015

A reflection on Ruth Culham's use of the word "frisson" in her book The Writing Thief:

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

The Writing Thief MOOC

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This is a true writing workshop, where writers support and coach each other toward frissons of discovery--

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even when they aren’t in the same room.

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frisson

Pronunciation: /frēˈsôn 

NOUN
A sudden strong feeling of excitement or fear; a thrill.

And when I feel that frisson

I steal little bits of technique
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in the hopes that I can improve my writing each time.

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I am a writing thief, after all.

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When you and your students find a passage...

you’ll feel the frisson:

Voila!

You’ve found a great mentor text! 
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When I find something like this, I feel a rush of energy, a thrill of excitement--a frisson.

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That’s a frisson--that tingly sensation you feel when something is just right.

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Seek the frisson.

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If we want students to understand this and embrace it,

we have to let them choose what they write

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and help them find the frissons that will carry them through the hard parts.

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iF ANY OF THE IDEAS

sparks a frisson for students,
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encourage them to record it in their writer’s notebook for future reference.

Good writing gives them a frisson of excitement

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that alerts the writer in them that there is more, much more, to find out about this idea.

fRISSONS

FROM tHE wRITING tHIEF, BY Ruth Culham