I discourage my students from beginning their essays with a quotation. They’ve learned to write with a hook to grab the reader’s attention. They go to BrainyQuote or something like that is quick and easy, but I say something, like, “Your first words are copied from someone else?” Why? It’s your name at the top of the essay. You want to begin with something credible? You’ll do better to establish who you are with your own idea. But, here I go despite my own advice:
“WE TELL OURSELVES STORIES in order to live.”
I’m beginning my most recent blog post with a Joan Didion quote. I just read her collection of essays The White Album. I’m planning to bring her “On Keeping a Notebook” into the classroom. We’re all maintaining blogs and notebooks. I mean, we live to write. Joan knows what she’s talking about…
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