Most people correct and edit their text as they write it down. Why write something that needs to be rewritten later? This is one of the reasons people write this way. Peter Elbow shows that, in most cases, this is a very inefficient way of writing a text and offers several methods that can improve the creative process of writing any text.
When writing any piece of text, the internal editor can impede the creative process. Peter Elbow postulates that writers can get tangled in a web of editing and revising when producing a sentence or a paragraph. “Most people experience an awkward and sometimes paralyzing translating process in writing: ’Let's see, how shall I say this.’ Freewriting helps you learn to just say it.” (Elbow 15) Figuring out how
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For the first half, the voyage out, you do pieces of almost-freewriting during which you allow yourself to curve out into space—allow yourself, that is, to ignore or even forget exactly what your topic is. For the second half, the voyage home, you bend your efforts back into the gravitational field of your original topic as you select, organize, and revise parts of what you produced during the voyage out. (Elbow 60)
Loop writing forces the writer to view the subject from a different angle. The first half of the process the writer is free to explore different ideas, while the second half forces the writer to link these ideas to the original topic. This exercise in association can yield ideas that might not have surfaced when staying close to the original topic. Loop writing in combination with freewriting can be a powerful tool to keep the creative process going even when there is no inspiration on the original topic.
Other methods described by Elbow do not focus on creating the content, but on editing and revising the content. While these methods can be employed to battle writers’ block at a later stage of the writing process, these methods can potentially offer insights not gained by methods focused on creating content. Editing and revising requires content be edited or revised and this needs text to have been
Dusk had come, silent, ceremonious, which brought her painful but pleasant memories in the diminishing light. Her shaking hands and arthritic fingers from the passing of time were holding the record player’s metal arm. The stylus hopped, moving lightly and quickly over damaged grooves from excessive use, landing very deep in the vinyl recording. She attempted again, one of her hands embracing the other, to the point where the overture’s rewarding hop and crepitation signified the precise spot. The incongruous speakers passed a faint melody of music.
As I was reading Melissa Duffy’s “Inspiration, and Craig Vetter’s “Bonehead Writing,” I found myself connecting with Vetter’s paper more than Duffy’s. I found that the presentation in “Bonehead Writing” to capture my attention, and that Vetter’s feelings about writing was similar to my opinion on writing. Through his wording and humor, I think Craig Vetter wrote the best essay. I find that the wording and presentation of an article or essay influences my opinion of the writer, and it affects how I receive the idea they are trying to present to me. Craig Vetter uses a blunt approach to convey his idea that writing is nearly impossible to teach, and describes writing as “A blood sport, a walk in the garden of agony every time out.”
From the very beginning of Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg the theme of the novel becomes very apparent, freedom. She uses a variety of chapter length and themes in order to get her theme across. From the introduction of the book Goldberg begins to tell of her experiences of having to conform to the expectations of her teachers when writing. She says, “I wrote compositions with clear sentences that were dull and boring. Nowhere was there an original thought or genuine feeling.”
The article by Donald Murray entitled, “The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts” provides readers a better understanding of the writing process and argues that writers learn to write, by writing and rewriting. Murray also contends that writers must learn to be their own best enemy. Well, I believe I have this trait covered! I will confess, that I purposely saved this course for last, due to the number of years between my last structured learning experience and returning to school to complete a BSN degree.
In Stephen King's memoir, On Writing, he discusses many of the fundamentals of writing he believes are crucial to great writers. In the part of the book titled, "The Craft of Writing," King reveals some of his many rules which have led to great success in the writing field. Out of the many points he explained, I noticed three rules that could benefit my writing the most as an AP Language and Composition student. Though simple, these rules opened my eyes to how I could advance my writing skills by following a few easy fixes. King trusted in writing dialogue truthfully, using the most appropriate vocabulary, and his process of revising.
Anne Lamott 's essay, “Shitty First Drafts” explains to its readers that all writers, even the best, can have “shitty first drafts.” The essay presents the proper writing process from the first draft to the final piece of work. Her essay is intended to encourage writers who are in need of direction when it comes to writing and to teach inexperienced writers ways to become more successful in writing. Anne Lamott uses her personal experiences to build credibility, figurative language to engage the reader and provides the reader with logical steps for the writing process. To build credibility on her processes success, Lamott uses her own personal experiences.
They would rather procrastinate than to put in the time to begin working on their writing projects. Many writers tend to overthink every little detail. Other people tend to let inspiration guide them into a paragraph or even a whole story. However, many authors argue that inspiration will only come if you push yourself to keep putting pen to paper each day. Several writers have their own way of dealing with a writer’s block.
Fanasode 12: Brain Freeze- It's a snowy day in Paris, France, and Marinette and her best friend Alya are busy having a snowball, fight together, and they are having fun too. "Coming at you, Alya," Marinette said, chuckling as she throws a snowball at Alya starting a snowball fight between the two of them. "No fair, Marinette," Alya said, chuckling as she throws a snowball back at Marinette, but Marinette manages to dodge the attack. "Sneak attack!"
She also includes ways to get over writers block. Her article encourages people to apply this way of thinking into their own writing. Although she may not have had ill intentions while writing this article, some may argue that this style of draft writing gives writers an
The Process of Writing People believe successful writers sit down and create papers within a blink of an eye. This is a perception. Anne Lamott had many conflicts as a writer. She revealed her problems with writing in her excerpt, “Shitty First Drafts”.
Donna Woolfolk Cross posits that being informed about the many forms of propaganda is important for everyone living in a democratic society. She backs up her argument by pointing out the common misconceptions about propaganda, such as the reality that even though most people are against propaganda, they are likely not to understand some of the more common applications of propaganda. Cross suggests that, because of this misunderstanding, many of those who are against propaganda may be fooled by it frequently. This nation-wide manipulation occurs every day, and if a democratic system is to ever represent the whole of a population, instead of just a fraction’s manipulations, then it is essential that individuals learn how to detect and deal with propaganda. Cross offers up several points of advice for people in regards to handling propaganda.
Writing process is difficult to realize since it requires a lot of skills and knowledge. Definitely, not many of us can start writhing right away without having any problems such as grammar, vocabulary or organization. However, a person can become a better writer if he or she will practice writing every day and will pay attention to his writing problems. To become a good writer, I have to improve my grammar, follow specific steps in writing process, and avoid using similar transitional words. Grammar is the number one problem in the writing process and causes me a lot of issues.
In “Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer” Carol Berkenkotter. Berkenkotter did study and experiment on Donald M. Murray to see how professional academic writer writes and see his writing processes. In this essay I will talk about how's my writing process is the same or different from other people processes. Planning and proofreading is strategies I’m using during my writing assignment During the any writing assignment
I am now able to see the areas in which I lack in but I also recognize my strengths as well. To become a precise writer, you have to take the initiatives that will help you do so. These initiatives consist of working on different academic genres, planning and organizing material, identifying purpose and audience and for revising intentionally. It is also includes reading different types of texts and learning how to understand a writer’s argument and respond to the ideas of others.
I continued to type; I added in unnecessary symbolism and metaphors to give the illusion of a well-written paper. I was making good time, I had almost a page and a half done already, but suddenly I stopped writing. “ What next?” I had a case of writer's block, and it was bad.