Abstract
My goal is to write a place-based novel. This story will integrate the themes of the ELM
program as they relate to the Miami River Valley, my place in the world. It will make these
themes accessible to a broad audience. My objectives are to: produce a project that satisfies the
requirements for graduation, augment the research I have done for the ELM course work to
make it applicable to the story, and use my creative writing talent to construct a working
prospectus for the manuscript.
To prepare the project I will: schedule research and writing time for myself, find a
writing group and collaborators to guide the unfolding of the story, and work with my advisor to
prepare the project. I began imagining the project in August 2003 and will work steadily toward
the project presentation in April 2004 for a May 2004 graduation.
The project will make specific use of the research and writing done for EL501, the
ecological autobiography, and EL 530 the ecological self. The rest of the course work and
bibliographic material for same will supply background to support the themes. Joseph Amato’s
book Rethinking home: a case for writing local history will be my text. It supplies a myriad of
suggestions for grounding a place in natural and cultural history.
