Feb. 1 Post

Lamott Summary: In her article, Shitty First Drafts, Lamott tries to describe with her own experiences that one should not be discouraged with thoughts of being a bad writer. Lamott tries to explain how everyone needs to write that one, or at least one, shitty draft that will help writers get all their ideas out and will hopefully will be able to come up with more material with the writing of this draft.

Response: I enjoyed this article not only because it was short and got to the other all message of the passage quickly, but also because the author kept the text interesting with her humor. It is an encouraging article to read because it tries to explain how we are not as bad as we think at writing. 

King Summary: In his article, What is Writing, Stephen King talks about how it is important to approach your writing seriously. He also offers the best methods of getting ones thoughts on the paper such as being in the right state of mind or the right environment. 

Response: The article as a whole was not that interesting even though it was exciting to read something written by Steven King. I do agree with his mentality of writing, which in his view the best way to go about it is to find your happy place so to speak and get serious about what you want to write. 

Goodman Summary: In her article, Calming the Inner Critic and Getting to Work, Allegra Goodman explains the importance of confidence in writing. Goodman’s article is very similar to Lamott’s through the fact that they both try to be uplifting to the inexperienced writer. Goodman tries to explain how we should not focus on the past and what has been done but focus on the task at hand and face our obstacles with a strong head. As long as we are confident with our writing it will come out as professional. 

Response: This is a good article to read because it is uplifting and help with the confidence of timid writers. I like how she expresses the importance of fighting the little voices inside your head even though this is not a problem that I myself face. Nevertheless, this is still a good article for students to read who struggle with their writing. 

Haruf Response: In his article, To See Your Story Clearly, Start by Pulling Wool Over Your Own Eyes, Kent Haruf describes how every writer has their own ritual or routine they go through when they write. He explains how good writers do “whatever it takes” to accurately get their ideas on paper. He even talks about how he may sometimes blindfold himself to keep himself from getting distracted by mechanical errors such as punctation and grammar and keep his thoughts with the actual idea of the paper. 

Response: I thoroughly enjoyed Haruf’s article not only because he preaches a main idea that we have had in this class, (that punctuation and grammar are not as important as the overall concept and structure of the paper) but also because it is obvious to see that he loves what he is doing and does a very good job of trying to get his point across. He is a great writer and seems to realize the more important things in writing. 

Susan Sontag: In her article, Directions: Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed, Susan Sontag attempts to explain the importance of rereading your work. She branches off from the typical academic format to show how creativity can triumph over form sometimes. Sontag also expresses how if you can write a good paper the first time then you can definitely write one that is even better the next time. 

Response: I feel somewhat indifferent about this particular article. Although the author did find some creative ways of incorporating what she was trying to express it was things that I already knew very well and good like the importance of rereading. 

Junot Diaz: In his article, Becoming a Writer, Junot Diaz talk about his struggle and journey to become a writer. He goes through the obstacles he had to face such as writers block. He explains how being on the tip of his hardships and about to fall over was when he realized when he had to be a writer. 

Response: This was definitely an inspirational article especially because Diaz talks about how his hardships led to to do what he loves, (write). It is important to take away from this article the fact that just because we hit a low point does not mean we can’t bounce back and realize our potential. 

Using these Essay: There is definitely a consistency between the articles with articles not using “rules” that did not work for them. Almost none of the authors of these articles followed all of the known writing “rules.” I do think that writers such as Tony would benefit from reading this passages because not only would it help his confidence as a writer but also offer some advice as to where to turn or what to do when you find yourself stuck. Every writer, even the most skilled of ones such as Diaz, faces problems with their writing but it is important to look at what these authors have to say and realize it is completely normal to have trouble writing. 

Meta Moment: 1.) Major things that I took from these passages is that your setting might have a considerable influence on your writing (King), that every good writer goes through their troubles but it is important to be able to bounce back (Diaz), and that writing an initial “shitty” draft might help you organize your ideas when you’re stuck with your writing. (Lamott)

2.) Not much of my opinion on writing and good writers has changed after reading these articles. I can say however that I now see that many of these great writers face the some challenges that we do we is reassuring. Also when seeing a very well recognized piece of writing I can appreciate what had to go into that paper and it was not thought of overnight and took many revisions and mistakes to come out the way it did.