Elbow’s idea of writing without outlines goes against what all of my English teachers said to do in high school. We were always told to do an outline first for our papers and in several instances it was due a few weeks before the actual paper. Most of the time, we were supposed to stick to this outline (although some teachers didn’t mind if you deviated from the outline). I always hated making outlines. It was hard for me to come up with the information, sequence it, and list it in a flowing way when I had not even started the actual process of writing. In the past few years I have tried to outline a few pieces, but I normally end up just jotting down a few ideas and then I begin writing. I do like to have a couple of ideas first, either in my head or written down, but I don’t like to brainstorm the entire paper. In this way, I resemble Elbow’s approach by letting the words flow from the beginning. This way I am not limiting myself with my basic knowledge and giving the words the opportunity to grow. (Although I never thought of it like this before.)
However, I do have problems picking up a pen and writing a paper nonstop. I can write and write and write, but if I encounter a roadblock, I go back and edit. I probably never finish a first draft without editing it several times. I will write a paragraph, go back and reread it, edit some of the words, possibly change the order, and then I will continue writing. I am constantly rereading and editing as I go along. I wonder if Elbow’s idea would be more efficient. It probably would. However, I do not know if I would be able to change my ways at his point. I am willing to try, but no guarantees.
I like the idea of freewriting to find a subject/topic for a paper. I have never sat down and done freewriting for this, but I think it would be beneficial. I have started writing about topics and realized that I didn’t agree with it, or preferred another topic, or whatever. There have been moments when I had an epiphany and realized that I should be writing about something else entirely. It is frustrating though because I always felt as though I had been wasting my time with the first subject. It always seemed as though if I had planned or outlined, I would have arrived at the second topic first. I like the idea that I had to explore the first topic to reach the second.
The thing that struck me the most in Elbow’s writing was the idea of throwing words away. On page 29, it states “…you’ll invest too much of yourself…you’ll care too much about them; you’ll make some phrases that you’ll really love; you won’t be able to throw them away.” This is something that I constantly struggle with while writing. I love the way a certain scene sounds that I wrote or a description and I won’t want to throw it away. I love to write fiction(short stories and I am working on a young adult novel), but I feel so invested in these words that even when I change the plot or realize that the character is moving n a different direction it is very hard for me to toss words out. I try forever trying to fit it in somewhere or change it a smidge to fit the new direction of the piece, but it never does it justice in the end. I have to give it up. I grieve for the lost words for awhile, but even then, I remove them from the story and store them somewhere else just incase I find their purpose later. I STILL can’t completely toss the words out. I am trying hard to work on this, but it is my biggest challenge. Sometimes the words are perfect and I did invest so much of myself in them that I still fall back into my routine. Elbow is like my mentor telling me, “just let them go, better words will come, its okay.” But, it is still hard to listen.