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.
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AshleyI will use this blog to further my knowledge in my English course. Archives
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