"Voice" is one of the least concrete elements of good writing, and yet it is also one of the most important. Helping students find a balance between the "gush" of ideas and words and the "long-thinking" of reflection and craft, Tom Romano leads students to allow themselves creative freedom while developing the patience to hone that first rush into…

Discusses students' experiences with learning more about the "craft of writing." Considers ways to teach students to choose their own topics; to research; to organize for writing; to welcome imagination, metaphor, and memorable language; how to draft; how to give and get helpful responses; how to revise their writing to create strong beginnings;…

Describes the author's experience when the director and teacher-trainers of a writing program persuaded him that the oral interpretation he wished them to perform was too troubling and explosive to use. Outlines his questions and anguish about the incident, and the urgency of dealing with the dilemmas of multiculturalism, racial intolerance, and…

Maintains that the author's authentic voice as a writer is "constructed more than it is gushed." Describes how, when the author tinkers with words, when he shifts, cuts, changes, and arranges them to achieve certain effects, it isn't the writing only that he crafts: he is also crafting an identity. Notes how this applies to teaching students to…