Blog 1

Sometimes writing is easy for me and sometimes it is frustrating. I keep a journal and I usually write down exactly what is on my mind. This always helps me. Sometimes great songs are produced in about fifteen minutes, and so is some great writing. It is not necessarily a break through moment, but more the flow of writing. When a person just writes what is on his or her mind without interruption, then they produce better writing. Yes, the work will need to be edited, but the idea is clearly written. However, what does a person do when they have to write a research paper? There is a lot of structure and little freedom to that particular kind of writing. Maybe that is why nobody likes to read research papers, because the writing is less fluent.

Something I do that I need to correct is how I prepare to write. I often think too much about what I’m going to write, rather than simply writing. I was always trained to have an outline and an exact plan before I began to write. I’m so used to writing in a very controlled way that I’m somewhat eager to try Elbow’s approach. Does Elbow’s approach really work, or does it work best for him? Shouldn’t every person have his or her own writing style and approach to writing? To me, it feels like the more writing a person does without interruption, then the more editing they have to do. Editing a paper is the worst part for me, so why would I want to make more work for myself? I suppose it is better to have writing that people will read than bad writing that is correct.

The problem is all how writing is taught. Good writing is all personal opinion, so teachers have to grade on correctness. I honestly don’t know how a teacher would grade a paper fairly on the quality of writing. I’ve taken creative writing classes and I never got a grade on a paper, but more of the progress I made throughout the semester. Yes, maybe a writer has made progress, but that does not mean they are not still terrible. This is why I really like Elbow’s idea that bad writing will lead to good writing.

Overall, I find Elbow’s methods for teaching writing very encouraging. I especially enjoy his idea that writing is a growing process. Elbow says, “Meaning is not what you start out with but what you end up with” (15). I love that quote because stumbling upon some kind of discovery is what makes writing so phenomenal and unpredictable. When I write I usually learn something that is so obvious, but was simply unclear to me before. Even the best authors are always improving and growing with their writing, which is nice to remember.