Watching writing

Would that be interesting? Somehow I don't think so but someone does and if you do then you should attend this event.

Word nerds, bring your pyjamas and your procrastination. And don’t forget your thesaurus.

Dalhousie University embarks on a unique experiment today designed to expose the usually solitary act of writing.

The event, called Write Here in Plain Sight (the apt acronym is WHIPS), is meant to help students and others witness the actual writing process.

Five professors from Dal will engage in academic writing and one other writer, Chronicle Herald columnist Gail Lethbridge, will exercise her creative writing powers.

"You will see among the six people some very different approaches, and I hope that might encourage students to think through the question of what processes work for them and which ones don’t . . . so they can modify their own writing behaviours to get better outcomes," organizer Sunny Marche, associate dean of graduate studies and a professor of management, said in an interview.

The event, which is open to the general public and goes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will happen in the Scotiabank Auditorium at the Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building on University Avenue and at the Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building up the street.

Each writer will be in one room all day, while onlookers will be free to float among the six rooms. The writer’s words, warts and all, will be displayed on a large screen for the audience. They’re also being asked to do the things they normally would while writing. That includes bringing any accoutrements or items of comfort they usually have at their disposal.

I won't be going. I just don't think I would learn much. I would be better off staying at home and trying to write myself which is something I have had great trouble doing lately.