Many students say the hardest thing about writing is getting started. Journal writing is one solution to that problem. Journal writing is informal. The point is getting the writing process going, getting your ideas down on paper. Therefore, you need not be concerned with organization or grammar. Just think about the topic for a few minutes and begin to write. You may be surprised about some of the ideas that come out of your head and onto the paper!

• Complete 4 (NOT 5) journal entries.
• Each journal entry should be approximately one page in length.

• All journal entries must be kept in a notebook. (I will not accept loose papers.)
• The second set of journals is due in class Thursday, October 16.  I will not grade the journals but completing them is a requirement of the class.

1.     In the first scene of Strangers on a Train, Guy meets a very unusual person named Bruno during a train ride.  Who is the most unusual person that you have met?  Describe how you met this person and in what ways he or she was unusual.  What happened?

2.  In "Is Anybody Listening" an older woman feels like a prisoner in a convalescent home.  Have you ever felt like a prisoner (at home, at school, at work, in a relationship)?  Describe this situation in detail.

3.     In "Sweet Promised Land" a sheepherder goes to a fancy restaurant and is completely out of place.  Have you ever been in a similar situation?  Describe a situation.  What happened?

4.  Federal law prohibits people paying for human organs such as kidneys.  What is your opinion of this law?  If someone wants to sell one of his organs, shouldn't he be able to make that choice?  Support your answer.

5.  Freewrite