Hello! Welcome to my 4th blog post! In this post we were asked to read three different articles (links provided below) about the writing process from authors Don Murray, Anne Lamott, and Mary Karr. Then we were asked to create a scene using three quotes from each article we read.
Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product (Don Murray) -- introduction is not required reading 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 warm day in Los Angeles, California. I arrived on a Monday for a business trip. This was my first time in L.A. and I was looking for a good place to get something to eat. I went to the front desk of the hotel I was staying at to ask. There was a gentleman in front of me in line and I noticed his shoelace was not tied. I tapped him on the shoulder and said “ Your shoelace is untied sir.” He turned around to thank me and I said “ Oh my god your Don Murray!” He laughed and thanked me. I asked if we could get a picture. Don said “Yes, actually would like to join Mary Karr, Anne Lamott and I for dinner?” I said “yes, of course”. I was always interested in writing so I thought I would go and ask some questions about how they became so successful. We met Mary and Anne at the restaurant and we all sat down and got talking. “I always had trouble starting off my writings, what do you guys do to start writing?” I asked. Don Murray said, “ Prewriting is everything that takes place before the first draft, prewriting usually takes about 85% of the writer's time.” Mary Karr quickly responds after Don and says, “In the beginning, when there are zero pages, you have to cheer yourself into cranking stuff out, even if it lands on the cutting room floor.” I was also very curious about how much time they take to draft their work. I asked, “How many rough drafts do you usually do?” Anne says, “The idea of a shitty first draft, all good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.” She also says, “ In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts.” Mary chimes in as well and says, “In the early draft, the generative self shakes pom-poms at every pen stroke and cheers at every crossed t. In a month or so, this diligent and optimistic creature gins out, say, two hundred pages.” Don begins to talk about what helps him and says, “The writing process itself can be divided into three stages: prewriting, writing, and rewriting. The amount of time a writer spends in each stage depends on his personality, his work habits, his maturity as a craftsman, and the challenge of what he is trying to say.” “The first draft is like a child's draft, where you let it all pour out then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one’s going to see it and that you can shape it later.” says Anne. “Do you guys have any advice for me when it comes to writing?” Mary says, “After a lifetime of hounding authors for advice, I’ve heard three truths from every mouth: Writing is painful, it’s “fun” for novices, the very young, and hacks; other than a few instances of luck, good work only comes through revision; the best revisers often have reading habits that stretch back before the current age. Which lends them a sense of history and raises their standards for quality.” Don then told me, “We have to be patient and wait, and wait, and wait. The suspense in the beginning of a writing course is agonizing for the teacher, but if we break first, if we do prewriting for our students they will not learn the largest part of the writing process.” I was very happy that I got to speak to these amazing authors. They gave me so much good advice and plenty of tips on how to improve my writing.
2 Comments
Sabatino
2/10/2020 08:20:12 am
CIF
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Rongjin
2/11/2020 11:30:04 am
That is a pretty good story, and you got a wonderful trip in LA. Your page is really clear and easy to brows.
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