Welcome back! For this week's post, I had to read and annotate three articles discussing the writing process. I had to create a scene where I discuss writing with writers Don Murray, Anne Lamott, and Mary Karr, using three quotes from each of their articles. I made up this story through what I’ve read about the writers and what I would think the conversation would be like. The three links below are to the writings I read to make this story.
Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product (Don Murray) Against Vanity: In Praise of Revision (Mary Karr) Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life | pp. 28 -34 | Short Assignments & Shitty First Drafts (Anne Lamott) It was a nice summer day in the middle of July when I was with my friends Don, Anne and Mary. We were discussing about our plans for the day, so we just decided to go to the ice cream shop and hangout. We discussed about expressing feelings and emotions through writing a lot. Don always said, “once you can look at your composition program with the realization you are teaching a process, you may be able to design a curriculum which works.” This made me think about how writing effects other people other than yourself. I told him “writing does teach a process but also a story from many different views”. He then told me “the writing process itself can be divided into three stages: prewriting, writing, and rewriting. Prewriting is everything that takes place before the first draft. Prewriting may include research and daydreaming, note-making and outlining, title-writing and lead-writing. Writing is the act of producing a first draft.” Anne then stepped in to say “you need to start somewhere. Start by getting something--anything-down on paper. A friend of mine says that the first draft is the down draft--you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft--you fix it up. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it’s loose or cramped or decayed.” Anne and Don opened my eyes about the writing process by breaking it down into a three-step process. I told them both “writing takes a lot of mental concertation and thinking deep inside your creativity.” Mary stated you should “let your mind roam down some alleys that may lead to dead ends--that’s the nature of the process.” I agreed with her because that is a big step in creating a good writing. Anne than responded by saying, “the only way I can get anything written is to write really, really shitty first drafts.” Don told her, “what works one time may not another. All writing is experimental.” Then he said, “when you complete a draft you know how much, and how little, you know.” This sparked a thought in my head and made me realize “writing is really just a way of teaching yourself the process to make your mind stronger in writing and the more and more you do it becomes easier.” I told my friends that writing is hard for me because I never have an idea of what im writing about or how to start. Anne told me,” very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it.” Mary then said “Even the smallest towns have coffee shop bulletin boards or community centers with a writer’s workshop now. Even the less good groups can help you by speaking for your potential reader - they’re way better than the echo chamber of your own head.” That conversation inspired me to be a better writer and trust the writing process. Everything they told me effected my mentality about writing and changed my perceptive about writing.
3 Comments
Sabatino
2/10/2020 10:37:23 am
CIF
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Patrick
2/11/2020 02:58:16 pm
I like the way you did it as if they were just a group of your friends hanging out on a summer day and sharing their writing experiences back and forth with each other and with you.
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2/11/2020 03:05:10 pm
Anthony, I like how you used their quotes and replied with your opinion on what they had said. I think this was a great way to create this story. I also like how you made it a "hangout" with friends instead of having to introduce yourself to the characters.
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