Nester’s essay considers the unconsidered, exploring the less-traveled path that Morrison might be a “real poet.” What are the less-traveled paths that your essay might explore?
Your big question should lead to sub-questions (like Nester asking “Why is it embarassing to have been obsessed with the Doors?”). List out some sub-questions.
Starting the Counterargument
What are the likely objections to these “less-traveled paths” you might explore?
Leads, not Intros
Write a possible lead or two. You might steal a technique from Nester or Levine, or from a writer we’ve read earlier in the year.
Craft
List some techniques or moves that you might steal from this essay.
If you’re shy of 750 words, you might consider:
- wrestling with some of the sub-questions you just wrote about, or
- writing about your personal connection to your subject, if you haven’t done that already, considering the following:
- What are your experiences with the subject?
- What draws you to this subject? Why do you want to think about it?
- What’s the ambivalence, or internal conflict? Why do you feel ambivalent about it?