My second blog post will consist of dialogue between myself and three professional writers. The conversation stems from an article written by each author. The three articles are titled Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product, Against Vanity: In Praise of Revision, and Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
It was a hot summer day so I decided to take my kayak out on the lake to get some sun. I paddled out to the middle of the lake and ended up next to two other kayaks, in the green kayak were two females and in the red kayak one male. When I paddled closer I realized the three people were professional writers: Anne Lamott, Mary Karr and Don Murray. I introduced myself and they informed me that they were having a discussion about The Writing Process. Since writing isn’t one of my strong suits I found this to be the perfect opportunity to ask a couple questions. “The only time I really write is for assignments in school and the hardest part for me is always getting started with an introduction. How do you get started in your writing?” Mary was quick to respond with, “Writing is painful- it’s ‘fun’ only for novices, the young and hacks”. Anne nods her head in agreeance, “You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you”. Don just sat quietly in his kayak. So, I proceeded to move on to the next topic, “Whenever I have to have my work edited I get really nervous because I’m afraid it’s going to be so horrible the person won’t even know where to begin.” Anne smiles softly and says, “I go on telling people to consider finding someone who would not mind reading their drafts and marking them up with useful suggestions.” Mary adds, “Revision is the secret to their troubles- and yours”. I ask Don, “Sir, how do you work through The Writing Process?” Don responds with, “The writing process itself can be divided into three stages: pre-writing, writing and rewriting”. He paused before adding, “Prewriting is everything that takes place before the first draft. Prewriting usually takes about 85 percent of the writer’s time”. He then said, “Writing is the act of producing the first draft”. Mary chimes in to add more on first drafts saying, “Let your mind roam down some alleys that may end in dead ends- that's the nature of the process”. Ann decided to add her thoughts about first drafts, “All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts”. At this point I could feel the sun beating on my skin and the sunburn starting to turn my skin pink, so I thanked everyone and paddled back to shore. I headed back to my cabin to go work on my latest writing draft keeping Ann, Mary and Don’s wise words in mind as I continued writing.
2 Comments
For my first blog post I answer the questions found in The Proust Questionnaire written by Marcel Proust. The questions in the questionnaire are used to help one find their true nature. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions and the next 34 questions reveal mine.
1.What is your idea of perfect happiness? My idea of perfect happiness is a room full of family and friends with no debt. 2.What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear is dying alone. 3.What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? A trait that I most deplore in myself is I get angry really easily. 4.What is the trait you most deplore in others? The trait that I most deplore in others is disrespect. 5.Which living person do you most admire? A living person that I most admire is my mother Gina. She is the best. 6.What is your greatest extravagance? My car that I bought on my own. 7.What is your current state of mind? My current state of mind is living my best life. 8.What do you consider the most overrated virtue? I consider money to be the most overrated virtue. 9.On what occasion do you lie? I pride myself on not lying. 10.What do you most dislike about your appearance? I dislike most about my appearance is my acne. 11.Which living person do you most despise? There’s not a particular person that I despise. 12.What is the quality you most like in a man? Self confidence. 13.What is the quality you most like in a woman? The quality I most like in a woman is not being fake. 14.Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I over use phrase “it’s fine”. 15.What or who is the greatest love of your life? My family. 16.When and where were you happiest? In my house with my family. 17.Which talent would you most like to have? I would like to be able to sing. 18.If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? If I could change one thing about myself I would change my height. I want to be taller. 19.What do you consider your greatest achievement? My greatest achievement is earning my LPN license at the age of 19. 20.If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? I would come back as my dog. 21.Where would you most like to live? I would like to live in Hawaii. 22.What is your most treasured possession? My family. 23.What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Homelessness. 24.What is your favorite occupation? My favorite occupation is nursing. 25.What is your most marked characteristic? My most marked characteristic is loyalty. 26.What do you most value in your friends? I value an honest friend. 27.Who are your favorite writers? Sarah Dessen. 28.Who is your hero of fiction? My hero in fiction is Damon Salvatore. 29.Which historical figure do you most identify with? 30.Who are your heroes in real life? My heroes in real life are my parents Tom and Jeannine. 31.What are your favorite names? My favorite female name is Carmella. My favorite male name is Luka. 32.What is it that you most dislike? I most dislike Mondays. 33.What is your greatest regret? My greatest regret is buying my car. 34.How would you like to die? I would like to die peacefully from old age. 35.What is your motto My motto is “It’s fine, everything's fine” |
AshleyI will use this blog to further my knowledge in my English course. Archives
April 2019
Categories
All
|