Showing posts with label Blog 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog 2. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Boiling it down
I guess the fact that many of you got hung up on Elbow's cooking metaphor is a good sign that what he's talking about is complex - just as writing is. Writing (the verb, not the noun) is messy, complicated, difficult, time consuming, experimental, trial and error, sometimes a chore, sometimes a disaster, needs clean-up, requires good ingredients, and hardly ever comes out the way we expect to. But as long as no-one is judging it, and provided we don't need to adhere to a strict recipe, it can be a lot of fun. Teachers often seem to have their own favored recipes, though. Many of us learned to cook without any teachers and some of us are still learning. And many of us learned to write despite teachers. Unfortunately, we can't microwave writing, even though some people might want to try that approach. And "canned" writing is given that term for a reason. So for me, anyway, cooking works well as a metaphor for writing without teachers. It's the "without teachers" part that seems most important, though, and something to keep in mind as we continue with other readings for the class.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Oh the joys of writing...
I liked Elbow’s last chapter on freewriting; he had a lot of interesting ideas that I could see myself using in the future. I’m not real sure how I felt about this chapter, though. Personally, I got tangled up in the cooking analogies. I was like say whaaat? The whole process he discussed seemed rather complicated, but maybe that’s just me. I suppose part of the reason is because I don’t recall ever having major issues with writing. The only issue I do recall having is thinking of what to write about, and I do believe that freewriting exercises are great for that sort of thing. The whole time reading this chapter on “The Process of Writing-Cooking,” I kept thinking to myself that he was making it too complicated and adding extra things to writing that I feel would just screw me up. For example, Elbow discussed that when you’re writing something like a research paper and just jotting your thoughts down, that it may lead you to writing a poem or something of the sort, and then by chance you might get an idea from your poem to add into your research paper? That whole thing was just bizarre to me; I can’t see me ever letting myself do that. It just requires too much thinking and seems like a waste of time. Of course, I do believe anything is possible, but that’s just not something I would ever do. That idea also goes along with his section of “cooking as interaction between modes.” I think it would be fun and interesting to take the same idea and write it in different modes, but if I’m trying to write a research paper, again, I would not take the time to do that. I do agree with Elbow that “two heads are better than one.” In my past writing, I recall discussing with someone certain ideas I wanted to include in a paper, and they were able to restructure, as he calls it, my ideas and show me how they would make more sense to someone. In doing that, it helped me think of more ideas I could include and opened many doors to improve the paper I had been working on. I guess the problem I am having with his ideas is how to apply it to research writing and other formal pieces of writing. I feel a lot of his ideas would work well with creative writing but not the former. Or maybe I’m just complicating his ideas more than they should be. Whatever it is, I really am trying to keep an open mind about how I could implement some of Elbow’s ideas into my writing for improvement; I suppose I just have to try them in my writing some time. I felt a bit better when Elbow stated, “If you have a way of writing that works well for you, keep it” (72). It helps me to realize that he is not challenging my way of writing but just trying to teach people about his way of writing. Although, I know I can’t teach my future students my way of writing because that would be real bad, sooo I enjoy learning about other ways because they probably do make more sense.
Interactions Between Words and Meanings
I have to say I got a bit weighed down with Elbow’s cooking analogies. He lost me a couple of times but I did understand what he was saying as a whole. Writing is a dynamic process of making words and ideas interact to produce something that is coherent and interesting.
Making wine made a better analogy for me than Elbow’s cooking comparison. His recipe seemed complicated some of the time so in my head I made similar comparisons to making wine.
Here’s my version of the cooking analogy.
The final product is to make good wine (coherent, interesting writing with a purpose). The grapes, yeast, oak and sugar are the words. You choose the ingredients to add according to your idea of what the wine should taste like. Sometimes you have to brainstorm with someone else to arrive at the correct ingredients (should it be oaked or unoaked, does it need more sugar, what kind of yeast will work best). Next mix it all together so it can work and ferment (cook). A week later squeeze the grapes (words), and remove the skins. The concentrated juice that remains should be close to your idea of a good wine. Sometimes you need to keep tweaking the wine to make it taste like you want (energy) and other times it needs nothing. Let the wine sit for a while. Go back and sample the wine and make final adjustments (edit) to your liking. Finally you are ready to enjoy your final product.
The taste of the wine is dependent on the quality of the grapes (words) and how well they interacted with the other ingredients. The problem is if you didn’t have an idea of what your wine should taste like you might never add the right ingredients to make a good wine. According to Elbow the most important interaction is between the words (grapes) and the meaning (good wine) (73).
I wrote an essay last year for another class about a car accident I was in. I had many thoughts in my head about a lot of things related to the accident. When I wrote the essay words poured out on the paper but didn’t amount to anything except me recounting the details of the accident itself. I was never satisfied with my essay and I didn’t know why. Now I see it was because I never really wrote my thoughts into words. There was no interaction between the 500 words and the real meaning. All I did was tell about the accident, which was very straightforward and as Elbow said not very “interesting, satisfactory or sufficient (56). I should have written about my own mortality because that was my point and it would have provided more “contrasting or conflicting elements to interact” (56). It would have been a much better essay.
I think if I had done more of what Elbow calls external cooking even though it is a lot of bla bla bla… I might have eventually realized that I was “telling” about my accident instead of “showing” what it meant to me.
For the most part I liked what Elbow had to say especially the six ways to facilitate the cooking process. I already use some of these and plan to try some of the others.
Making wine made a better analogy for me than Elbow’s cooking comparison. His recipe seemed complicated some of the time so in my head I made similar comparisons to making wine.
Here’s my version of the cooking analogy.
The final product is to make good wine (coherent, interesting writing with a purpose). The grapes, yeast, oak and sugar are the words. You choose the ingredients to add according to your idea of what the wine should taste like. Sometimes you have to brainstorm with someone else to arrive at the correct ingredients (should it be oaked or unoaked, does it need more sugar, what kind of yeast will work best). Next mix it all together so it can work and ferment (cook). A week later squeeze the grapes (words), and remove the skins. The concentrated juice that remains should be close to your idea of a good wine. Sometimes you need to keep tweaking the wine to make it taste like you want (energy) and other times it needs nothing. Let the wine sit for a while. Go back and sample the wine and make final adjustments (edit) to your liking. Finally you are ready to enjoy your final product.
The taste of the wine is dependent on the quality of the grapes (words) and how well they interacted with the other ingredients. The problem is if you didn’t have an idea of what your wine should taste like you might never add the right ingredients to make a good wine. According to Elbow the most important interaction is between the words (grapes) and the meaning (good wine) (73).
I wrote an essay last year for another class about a car accident I was in. I had many thoughts in my head about a lot of things related to the accident. When I wrote the essay words poured out on the paper but didn’t amount to anything except me recounting the details of the accident itself. I was never satisfied with my essay and I didn’t know why. Now I see it was because I never really wrote my thoughts into words. There was no interaction between the 500 words and the real meaning. All I did was tell about the accident, which was very straightforward and as Elbow said not very “interesting, satisfactory or sufficient (56). I should have written about my own mortality because that was my point and it would have provided more “contrasting or conflicting elements to interact” (56). It would have been a much better essay.
I think if I had done more of what Elbow calls external cooking even though it is a lot of bla bla bla… I might have eventually realized that I was “telling” about my accident instead of “showing” what it meant to me.
For the most part I liked what Elbow had to say especially the six ways to facilitate the cooking process. I already use some of these and plan to try some of the others.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am still finding in difficult to stop myself from editing as I am writing. This seems to be something that develops over time, but I wish I could get it the process done a little faster. I am guess the important thing to note is that I haven't stopped trying -- at least not yet. But, of course, I wont.
As for Elbow, sometimes his teaching principles can get a little confusing -- I mean all the talk that he does about internal and external cooking or whatever. What in the heck does that mean? I really have no idea. Maybe some of this stuff is working for me, though. I have noticed that I can do the freewrites with relative ease, but that's probably because I always have too much to say. Or I can never shut up or whatever. But, I don't get the same results when I try to cross things over into academic writing. Its laborious and painful, and, honestly, no fun at all. But I guess the question to ask myself is, how do I learn to take that editorial governor (is this how its spelled? Not sure but this is freewriting so who cares) off when I write? That's the big question that I will have to answer before I can find any sort of writing breakthrough.
I still haven't started the writing narrative yet, but I plan to use the freewriting tactics that we've discussed to do it. I guess that should keep quite a bit, but then again I never seem to know how those things will work out at this point.
I really haven't given the project much thought because I hoped that ideas will just short of spring out of me whenever I do begin to write. That's the stuff that Elbow is always talking about -- to just keep writing for 10 minutes with no interruptions and then go back and try to rework the stuff later. I imagine that is what he might refer to as cooking -- but then again, I am not much of a cook either. Unless you like to eat pasta, burgers, or something else that's really simple to make.
As for Elbow, sometimes his teaching principles can get a little confusing -- I mean all the talk that he does about internal and external cooking or whatever. What in the heck does that mean? I really have no idea. Maybe some of this stuff is working for me, though. I have noticed that I can do the freewrites with relative ease, but that's probably because I always have too much to say. Or I can never shut up or whatever. But, I don't get the same results when I try to cross things over into academic writing. Its laborious and painful, and, honestly, no fun at all. But I guess the question to ask myself is, how do I learn to take that editorial governor (is this how its spelled? Not sure but this is freewriting so who cares) off when I write? That's the big question that I will have to answer before I can find any sort of writing breakthrough.
I still haven't started the writing narrative yet, but I plan to use the freewriting tactics that we've discussed to do it. I guess that should keep quite a bit, but then again I never seem to know how those things will work out at this point.
I really haven't given the project much thought because I hoped that ideas will just short of spring out of me whenever I do begin to write. That's the stuff that Elbow is always talking about -- to just keep writing for 10 minutes with no interruptions and then go back and try to rework the stuff later. I imagine that is what he might refer to as cooking -- but then again, I am not much of a cook either. Unless you like to eat pasta, burgers, or something else that's really simple to make.
Marinated Elbow
Most days, I’m simply too tired to cook. I have things to do, places to go, responsibilities are beckoning. Perhaps, more accurately and truthfully, I don’t feel like it. Why make any real effort when I have a microwave, or my default, consisting of a bowl of cereal? I tend to do what comes easiest. The final result of my writing recipe is the same. I know how it turns out. It’s fail-proof. Done and done, as painless as the microwave.
But what if we allowed our words and thoughts to marinate? What if we prepared them lovingly as a creation, an extension of every messy part of ourselves, rather than nuke them in a minute flat? Cooking, when I’m in the mood, is enjoyable. I suppose it’s because I can become disorganized, with the end product being the same as if I had all my ingredients lined up within a row, labels facing out. After all, if I forgot the baking soda or added a teaspoon rather than a tablespoon of salt, I can just throw it out. As with writing, if we drift too far or substitute the wrong ingredient, it can be fixed.
Still, cooking is rather personal. There is no worse insult than when the recipient of my culinary toiling is ungrateful, or in deepest taste bud agony. Similarly, I think what propels my writing is embarrassment. I try to avoid it, and to stay within the recipe that it provides. Last week, in our group, we talked about how extremely difficult it is to put oneself “out there”, wherever “there” may be. In relation, Elbow writes, “It all feels lousy to him as he’s writing, but if he will let himself write it and come back later he will find some parts of it are excellent” (69). That’s the thing- I hate returning to my previous pieces. For some reason, it’s highly embarrassing. I’m one of those people who shy away from old works merely because, for some reason, they mortify me.
Why, I don’t know. When I’m done writing, I consider myself done for good, as it pains me that much to go back. In his examination of people like me, Elbow is right. I’m too much the perfectionist. I don’t want to revisit any past evidence of my voice for fear it won’t be as exemplary as I remembered. Probably the last piece of mine I reread was from my diary in second grade a few years ago. I think that is what managed to scare me off for good. My dumb personal thoughts immortalized on the page just make me want to cringe, along with rip the offending words out. The same goes for cooking. Failures are remembered with a certain burgeoning pain. Reminisces in writing can equate to the sudden burn of a finger on a hot pan with nary a potholder in sight.
Elbow encourages us to let go of this peculiar affinity for literary failure. As writers and chefs, we learn from the past, from our experiences and forays into the art. I’ve found that the best cooking does not follow directions in the slightest. It grows from taking risks, making substitutions, experimenting. Writing, as Elbow explains, is rather the same.
All this talk of cooking is making me hungry!
Silly me…
Monday night when I was sitting down to start the work I didn’t do over our long holiday break, I realize that I mixed up the readings and read this Elbow assignment last week. Silly me; Hopefully I’ll be somewhat of a pro on this topic... key word there being hopefully. So here it is.
I love to cook. I cook all the time. When I was living in State College, I would say I cooked [dinner] for my roommates and friends..meh.. 4 out of the 7 days of the week [Sunday thru Wednesday, while Thursday thru Saturday was left to dining out – aka 2am “drunk food” from Bell’s Greek Pizza after the bars]. So last Thanksgiving the other cook in the apartment – I’ll call her Jane – and I decided we were going to hold a classic Thanksgiving dinner for 20 of our friends and make just about anything you can think of on this holiday’s menu: mashed potatoes, dry and wet stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, baked corn, green beans, green bean casserole, warm bread, apple pie, peanut butter pie, blueberry pie, salad, glazed carrots, a pumpkin roll and, of course, the star of the show… a 21lb turkey glazed with a rosemary-sage rub. Yum! I think I’m ready for Thanksgiving now! But anywho…
My point is – the art of cooking includes interactions no matter what you’re making. That rosemary-sage rub wouldn’t have tasted [or smelled] so good had we’d left out the rosemary or sage. Or the mashed potatoes wouldn’t have tasted delicious we’d left out the butter and milk. Or cereal wouldn’t taste as good without the milk. To get a reaction you need interaction, and I believe that’s what Elbow talking about. To make a paper, article, writing, etc. have that sweet aroma you need to incorporate some other type of “spice” to, well, spice things up… and to have something to read! Whether it would be a play on words, talking to yourself, or writing down a bunch of nonsense until you get it right, doing something other than working with a base, I believe, will help in the writing process itself and help in the creation of a very yummy piece.
Maybe you’ve already have figured this out [which is great!] or maybe Elbow’s theory was just a little extra push that helped put the icing on the cake… with a cherry ontop!
Monday night when I was sitting down to start the work I didn’t do over our long holiday break, I realize that I mixed up the readings and read this Elbow assignment last week. Silly me; Hopefully I’ll be somewhat of a pro on this topic... key word there being hopefully. So here it is.
I love to cook. I cook all the time. When I was living in State College, I would say I cooked [dinner] for my roommates and friends..meh.. 4 out of the 7 days of the week [Sunday thru Wednesday, while Thursday thru Saturday was left to dining out – aka 2am “drunk food” from Bell’s Greek Pizza after the bars]. So last Thanksgiving the other cook in the apartment – I’ll call her Jane – and I decided we were going to hold a classic Thanksgiving dinner for 20 of our friends and make just about anything you can think of on this holiday’s menu: mashed potatoes, dry and wet stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, baked corn, green beans, green bean casserole, warm bread, apple pie, peanut butter pie, blueberry pie, salad, glazed carrots, a pumpkin roll and, of course, the star of the show… a 21lb turkey glazed with a rosemary-sage rub. Yum! I think I’m ready for Thanksgiving now! But anywho…
My point is – the art of cooking includes interactions no matter what you’re making. That rosemary-sage rub wouldn’t have tasted [or smelled] so good had we’d left out the rosemary or sage. Or the mashed potatoes wouldn’t have tasted delicious we’d left out the butter and milk. Or cereal wouldn’t taste as good without the milk. To get a reaction you need interaction, and I believe that’s what Elbow talking about. To make a paper, article, writing, etc. have that sweet aroma you need to incorporate some other type of “spice” to, well, spice things up… and to have something to read! Whether it would be a play on words, talking to yourself, or writing down a bunch of nonsense until you get it right, doing something other than working with a base, I believe, will help in the writing process itself and help in the creation of a very yummy piece.
Maybe you’ve already have figured this out [which is great!] or maybe Elbow’s theory was just a little extra push that helped put the icing on the cake… with a cherry ontop!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Confused Cooking
I love to cook. I love the creativity involved in finding just the right ingredients then mixing them and having the end result turn out to be something wonderful. So when I began reading this section and he was using the cooking analogy I thought, ok, this makes sense. Writing and cooking; both take creativity and perseverance to do well. But the more I read, the more the analogy just started to get in the way. I would forget EXACTLY what he meant by cooking, so I’d have to go back to the beginning and re-read that section. It was cute for a while, but for me, it got old fast.
I did however like a lot of the ideas that Elbow was trying to convey. His suggestion that when we’re stuck we should talk to others in order to get other ideas. Different and even contrasting ideas. Ideas that we would have never thought of had we not gone outside of ourselves for help. Seeking help is such a hard thing for so many of us. We all seem to think we’re supposed to know how to do it on our own when in truth the most successful people are the ones who regularly ask for advice and help in many of the things they do.
I noticed some others wrote that they didn’t like his ideas on switching between different types of writing such as formal, informal, first-person, third-person, etc. I have to agree with my classmates on this idea. While it may be very helpful for others, and I don’t think I’ll have a problem suggesting it to my students once I begin teaching, for me it is just too confusing.
I also really liked his ideas on desperation writing. In fact, I had the opportunity to put some of his advice into action yesterday. A professor from one of my other classes e-mailed a new writing assignment over the week-end but due to technical problems I didn’t get the assignment until late Monday evening and it was due the next day! So I decided to give Elbow a whirl. Part of the assignment was to interpret some works of art so instead of just staring at a blank screen, I got out some paper and just jotted down as much as I could as I examined the artwork. I wasn’t trying to write the paper; I was just trying to write down my thoughts as they came. By the time I was done I had written 2 pages of ideas! It was honestly the easiest paper I’ve ever written. Thank you Peter Elbow!
Crazy ingredients
Well Elbow had me all the way until we got into the kitchen (so to speak). I was kind of lost at the beginning with the cooking analogy as far as putting words onto paper. I understood what he was getting at; I just did not see how it worked for me. I think that Elbow is correct to point out the “Even if you are writing from an outline, you still wander off the track”. For me I think that realizing that it is OK to wander off the track is good.
As I read further into the chapter though I started to see more of what Elbow was getting at with the “cooking” in the process of writing.
I like that he talks about people dreaming and that “everyone dreams”. I cannot tell you how many stories I have been able to create just by making sure I have written down just the idea of the dream.
I do disagree though when he suggests that you allow yourself to start writing and switch from formal to informal or first person to third person, even fiction to non fiction, to me that would seem like a heck of a mess to correct and edit on the back end. I guess that is his point though – lots of words and phrases to cook with.
His section on desperation writing caught my interest because I guess that I seem to write in this way already. I will write down maybe a page of words and end up with maybe two hopefully three good sentences that I can use in what I really want to write about. Sometimes I even just have a sentence in mind that I want to work into a story and that starts my inspiration.
Finally I really like how Elbow tells you that this is just one model or way of writing. It is not meant for everyone, but at least try it. He says to “Make each cycle complete” and that makes sense to me more than anything. He tells you to write for ten minutes, then sit back and see what it adds up to be. I will use this for sure!
As I read further into the chapter though I started to see more of what Elbow was getting at with the “cooking” in the process of writing.
I like that he talks about people dreaming and that “everyone dreams”. I cannot tell you how many stories I have been able to create just by making sure I have written down just the idea of the dream.
I do disagree though when he suggests that you allow yourself to start writing and switch from formal to informal or first person to third person, even fiction to non fiction, to me that would seem like a heck of a mess to correct and edit on the back end. I guess that is his point though – lots of words and phrases to cook with.
His section on desperation writing caught my interest because I guess that I seem to write in this way already. I will write down maybe a page of words and end up with maybe two hopefully three good sentences that I can use in what I really want to write about. Sometimes I even just have a sentence in mind that I want to work into a story and that starts my inspiration.
Finally I really like how Elbow tells you that this is just one model or way of writing. It is not meant for everyone, but at least try it. He says to “Make each cycle complete” and that makes sense to me more than anything. He tells you to write for ten minutes, then sit back and see what it adds up to be. I will use this for sure!
Cooking...
I think that Elbow makes a great point when he says to talk to someone about your writing when you get stuck. Disagreements are better than agreements. It makes a better paper when there are contradictions to the argument. Even though Elbow makes good points, I still do not understand how he doesn’t use some form of an outline occasionally. His approach to writing can be somewhat impossible for certain assignments. How would you free write a research paper? It is possible to incorporate some of his techniques to improve your papers. I just don’t think I would be able to free write an entire paper.
The cooking process can most definitely be helpful when you are stuck in your writing. New ideas evolve from the cooking process, which is always good. I am beginning to wonder if Elbow used his approaches when he wrote this book. It seems as though he repeats himself several times throughout the book. His words seem to flow.
I think that non cooking can happen quite frequently. How many times have you been in a group that either everyone agrees and nods or everyone disagrees and argues? When this happens, nothing can get accomplished. It starts conflict between the group, and no one can accomplish the task.
I will try this approach when I have nothing to write about. I think his techniques would work well with composing an introduction and a conclusion. This gives you the opportunity to play with your ideas and words. I am still going to continue to use some form of an outline in writing my major papers. I am looking forward to our first writing assignment in this class so I can use these new writing techniques.
The cooking process can most definitely be helpful when you are stuck in your writing. New ideas evolve from the cooking process, which is always good. I am beginning to wonder if Elbow used his approaches when he wrote this book. It seems as though he repeats himself several times throughout the book. His words seem to flow.
I think that non cooking can happen quite frequently. How many times have you been in a group that either everyone agrees and nods or everyone disagrees and argues? When this happens, nothing can get accomplished. It starts conflict between the group, and no one can accomplish the task.
I will try this approach when I have nothing to write about. I think his techniques would work well with composing an introduction and a conclusion. This gives you the opportunity to play with your ideas and words. I am still going to continue to use some form of an outline in writing my major papers. I am looking forward to our first writing assignment in this class so I can use these new writing techniques.
Interesting Elbow
After our first Elbow reading, I have to say I was a bit skeptical about the free writing process. I think I have come to terms with Elbow now. I agree with him to a certain extent. Some of the things that stick out to me…
Desperation writing…I loved the section on desperation writing. I can see myself doing this. This would be such an amazing way to organize random thoughts. Elbow mentions that you can come up ideas for a poem and for a lab report all within the same session. “And the report will have some of the juice of the poem in it and vice versa” (64). The means by which I would normally write these two different styles of paper are completely different from one another. A report would be outlined, organized. A poem would be something that I would write randomly, without a definite direction. I could see how the kind of spirit of that writing session could come through in both pieces. I find this concept very interesting.
Cooking as interaction between metaphors…Ok, free writing is supposed to be your every thought put down on paper. Write as much as you can without stopping. Don’t think just write. I really don’t believe that I think in metaphors. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are a literal-minded person who doesn’t make metaphors: such people don’t exist” (54). They do. I am one of them. At least I think…I kind of wish I could think in metaphors. If this were possible, my writing would be much better, more creative. Would this be something I could train myself to do? I feel like it would kind of defeat the free writing purpose, to not really “think.” I would physically have to stare at the screen and think of metaphors, analogies, or comparisons.
Why the old, wrong model of writing persists…I can’t really say that I think the “meaning into-words model” is wrong or incomplete. I was really thinking about this over this past week. I think that a lot of what Elbow tells us is correct. I do think that free writing should be continued right up through school in the form of journaling, creative writing, etc. Once again, I think I am kind of getting back to what type of free writing Elbow is discussing. I believe it is all types of writing. By practicing free wiring on a fairly regular basis we would become better writers. I think that free writing should be practiced but structured, outlined writing would be necessary for students who are writing a report in history, biology, etc. I’m not planning on being a teacher, but I know that a lot of times teachers (especially elementary school teachers) need to overlap their subject matter. Making a student write a report on Spain is a good way to make sure they are learning their geography and also can structure a sentence correctly…I am kind of rambling on here. J What I am trying to say is that, yes, I think we put too much emphasis on structure, outlining, etc. We should back off a little, but maybe not altogether. A superior English teacher would find a way to merge the two.
Desperation writing…I loved the section on desperation writing. I can see myself doing this. This would be such an amazing way to organize random thoughts. Elbow mentions that you can come up ideas for a poem and for a lab report all within the same session. “And the report will have some of the juice of the poem in it and vice versa” (64). The means by which I would normally write these two different styles of paper are completely different from one another. A report would be outlined, organized. A poem would be something that I would write randomly, without a definite direction. I could see how the kind of spirit of that writing session could come through in both pieces. I find this concept very interesting.
Cooking as interaction between metaphors…Ok, free writing is supposed to be your every thought put down on paper. Write as much as you can without stopping. Don’t think just write. I really don’t believe that I think in metaphors. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are a literal-minded person who doesn’t make metaphors: such people don’t exist” (54). They do. I am one of them. At least I think…I kind of wish I could think in metaphors. If this were possible, my writing would be much better, more creative. Would this be something I could train myself to do? I feel like it would kind of defeat the free writing purpose, to not really “think.” I would physically have to stare at the screen and think of metaphors, analogies, or comparisons.
Why the old, wrong model of writing persists…I can’t really say that I think the “meaning into-words model” is wrong or incomplete. I was really thinking about this over this past week. I think that a lot of what Elbow tells us is correct. I do think that free writing should be continued right up through school in the form of journaling, creative writing, etc. Once again, I think I am kind of getting back to what type of free writing Elbow is discussing. I believe it is all types of writing. By practicing free wiring on a fairly regular basis we would become better writers. I think that free writing should be practiced but structured, outlined writing would be necessary for students who are writing a report in history, biology, etc. I’m not planning on being a teacher, but I know that a lot of times teachers (especially elementary school teachers) need to overlap their subject matter. Making a student write a report on Spain is a good way to make sure they are learning their geography and also can structure a sentence correctly…I am kind of rambling on here. J What I am trying to say is that, yes, I think we put too much emphasis on structure, outlining, etc. We should back off a little, but maybe not altogether. A superior English teacher would find a way to merge the two.
if you can't take the heat, stop reading elbow
My buddy elbow is back, and this time he’s cooking! I thought about it and I tried to figure out what kind of cook Elbow would be. I don’t see him in fine dining. That’s too refined. Poor elbow would stick out like a sore…elbow. Nope, save the ceviche and foie gras for the next guy. I see Elbow as the owner of his own diner. Let’s call the place “Eggs over Elbow.” Like other diners, Elbow’s place has a feast like breakfast special including all the works. But this one isn’t called “The Lumberjack Special.” It’s called “The Funny Bone.” (Tagline: Amuse us with your attempts to finish this meal. Eat ‘til it stings!) Elbow is not only the owner, but also the head cook. I think he would find his rhythm as a short order cook. Short order cooks are scrappy and have an attitude. They don’t mess around because they constantly have to keep cooking in a demanding environment for dozens of people at a time. Their goal is to just keep cooking! I can hear Elbow now as he calls out the orders to the other cooks on the grill line…
“I need a poached with dry rye and a Short Stack with sausage.” “Patties or links?” “Links!”
“Gimme three orders of scrambled. One with well done homefries, one with light homefries, one with tomatoes instead of homefries. Two wheat and one burnt white. And I mean BURNT! Or else this guy is going to send the whole plate back!” “Not this jerk...” “Get to work!!!”
Elbow is a toughie. But he gets the job done.
Alright, enough with having fun. I found Elbow’s chapter on cooking to be easier to read than his first chapter. Is it just me or is he getting edgier? I especially found his theories on cooking as an interaction between the writer and something else to be profound. Writers need confrontation and conflict. In this sense, I think Elbow is right on the dot when he expresses that for writing to taste good it needs interaction between the writer and other people/ideas/words/etc. I think that his exercise about cooking as interaction between metaphors would be something interesting to try in a middle or high school classroom. It could be a good way to introduce literary terms and techniques. For the more advanced writers, it could just be a good exercise, similar to free writing, to get the juices flowing. Having too much creativity and material within a piece of writing is always better than having too little.
I hate when the first kind of non cooking happens during a discussion in a classroom setting. It creates a boring and half-baked learning environment. Personally, within my own experience as a student, I tend to be drawn to the more confrontational and opinionated students. Usually these are the kinds of students that teach me something. Subconsciously, these are also probably the students that add some heat to my cooking. Oh man the cooking metaphors are endless! I agree with Elbow, however, and feel that people in a discussion who constantly interrupt others and who never really listen to what others are saying is just plain terrible. This leaves room for nothing productive. It is non cooking. It is just boiling water.
I think the quote that struck me the most within this week’s reading was this one: “It is crucial to learn to write words and not believe them or feel hypnotized at all. It can even be good practice to write as badly or as foolishly as you can. If you can’t write anything at all, it is probably because you are too squeamish to let yourself write badly.” BURN! Elbow called us out on the table. I will be the first to admit that I am afraid to write badly. I have so much pride in my writing that I am afraid to write badly, even in front of myself. I make excuses for trying new writing techniques, such as Elbow’s. I say I’m just too busy and don’t have time to mess around with Elbow’s stupid theories. I say that I’m perfectly happy with my way of writing. But I’m not perfectly happy with it. If you claim to be perfectly happy with your writing, than you are not a writer who is willing to grow. You are just stubborn and lazy, like me. I’m not saying that Elbow has all the answers. I am actually still pretty skeptical of what he has to say. I do not believe that there is one set way to write. I believe that some pretty incredible ideas come out of pressure writing. I think that some of Elbow’s exercises sound exhausting. I don’t think that writing should be like baking; there should not be a list of ingredients that everyone has to follow in a specific order to write an essay. Cooking is a much better term for the development of writing. Everyone cooks differently. Some people like it spicy. Some like it sweet. Everyone orders their eggs differently.
“I need a poached with dry rye and a Short Stack with sausage.” “Patties or links?” “Links!”
“Gimme three orders of scrambled. One with well done homefries, one with light homefries, one with tomatoes instead of homefries. Two wheat and one burnt white. And I mean BURNT! Or else this guy is going to send the whole plate back!” “Not this jerk...” “Get to work!!!”
Elbow is a toughie. But he gets the job done.
Alright, enough with having fun. I found Elbow’s chapter on cooking to be easier to read than his first chapter. Is it just me or is he getting edgier? I especially found his theories on cooking as an interaction between the writer and something else to be profound. Writers need confrontation and conflict. In this sense, I think Elbow is right on the dot when he expresses that for writing to taste good it needs interaction between the writer and other people/ideas/words/etc. I think that his exercise about cooking as interaction between metaphors would be something interesting to try in a middle or high school classroom. It could be a good way to introduce literary terms and techniques. For the more advanced writers, it could just be a good exercise, similar to free writing, to get the juices flowing. Having too much creativity and material within a piece of writing is always better than having too little.
I hate when the first kind of non cooking happens during a discussion in a classroom setting. It creates a boring and half-baked learning environment. Personally, within my own experience as a student, I tend to be drawn to the more confrontational and opinionated students. Usually these are the kinds of students that teach me something. Subconsciously, these are also probably the students that add some heat to my cooking. Oh man the cooking metaphors are endless! I agree with Elbow, however, and feel that people in a discussion who constantly interrupt others and who never really listen to what others are saying is just plain terrible. This leaves room for nothing productive. It is non cooking. It is just boiling water.
I think the quote that struck me the most within this week’s reading was this one: “It is crucial to learn to write words and not believe them or feel hypnotized at all. It can even be good practice to write as badly or as foolishly as you can. If you can’t write anything at all, it is probably because you are too squeamish to let yourself write badly.” BURN! Elbow called us out on the table. I will be the first to admit that I am afraid to write badly. I have so much pride in my writing that I am afraid to write badly, even in front of myself. I make excuses for trying new writing techniques, such as Elbow’s. I say I’m just too busy and don’t have time to mess around with Elbow’s stupid theories. I say that I’m perfectly happy with my way of writing. But I’m not perfectly happy with it. If you claim to be perfectly happy with your writing, than you are not a writer who is willing to grow. You are just stubborn and lazy, like me. I’m not saying that Elbow has all the answers. I am actually still pretty skeptical of what he has to say. I do not believe that there is one set way to write. I believe that some pretty incredible ideas come out of pressure writing. I think that some of Elbow’s exercises sound exhausting. I don’t think that writing should be like baking; there should not be a list of ingredients that everyone has to follow in a specific order to write an essay. Cooking is a much better term for the development of writing. Everyone cooks differently. Some people like it spicy. Some like it sweet. Everyone orders their eggs differently.
The Art of Cooking
Since Elbow dedicated this lesson to “cooking” when writing, I decided to think about my experience with actual cooking and what I like and don’t like about it. I like finding recipes and getting the ingredients set up for them. I love when cooking is nearing that end process, when the final ingredients are being mixed in and the (hopefully) sweet aroma is overpowering my kitchen. I like reaping the benefits of my efforts by enjoying a tasty meal.
I don’t like slicing, chopping, or cleaning up messes.
I found it interesting that these likes and dislikes line up so well with how I “cook” when I write. Elbow’s summary of what he deems “internal cooking” and “external cooking” led me to realize that I am an internal cook (68). It’s not that I believe that everything I write has a “magic” to it, or that things are always “going well;” however, my style of writing always seems to involve a lot of inspiration going on at once. It occurs in a continuous flow- ‘where once there was nothing now flows a stream’ kind of thing. As in my actual cooking, the cooking I perform while writing seems very goal-focused and produces as little mess for me to deal with as possible.
I can honestly say that I’ve never really tried much of what Elbow discusses in his description of external cooking. “Using lots of paper” and “producing a lot which you know isn’t good which you know you will have to throw away” are not steps that come naturally to me….just like when I’m in my real kitchen trying desperately to figure out how to chop up eggplants and onions to get the most out of my vegetables while creating the least amount of waste.
But even as an internal cook, I employ Elbow’s method of inviting conflict into my writing (50-1). I may write in inspired bursts, which I always go with while in the moment, but afterwards, I step back from what I’ve written, give myself time to detach from it, and approach it later with a critical eye. I try to read the words from the point of view of someone who is removed from them. More often than not, I do have someone else read my assignments and provide criticism for me to work off of before I hand them in. I think receiving constructive criticism and learning how to accept and apply it is a very important step for those who want to succeed in writing.
I had a little more reserve regarding Elbow’s suggestion to try different modes of writing as a form of cooking. He states, “Allow your writing to fall into poetry and then back into prose; from informal to formal; from personal to impersonal; first-person to third-person; fiction, nonfiction; empirical, a priori” (54). My question is, for what particular assignments or writing goals does he feel this method would be useful? Is he suggesting it could be applied in all situations? Personally, I think if I am working on a research paper and feeling stuck and confused, it may confuse me more to switch genres into poetry and such. I think I would either find myself wandering too far off topic to the point where I was distracted and not making progress on my assignment that needs to be turned in, or I would be led into further frustration if I wasn’t able to get my thoughts out any clearer in a poem or informal writing.
Has anyone tried this method of cooking? Did you find it to be successful? How did you discipline yourself or manage to organize all your thoughts and papers to achieve your initial goal?
I don’t like slicing, chopping, or cleaning up messes.
I found it interesting that these likes and dislikes line up so well with how I “cook” when I write. Elbow’s summary of what he deems “internal cooking” and “external cooking” led me to realize that I am an internal cook (68). It’s not that I believe that everything I write has a “magic” to it, or that things are always “going well;” however, my style of writing always seems to involve a lot of inspiration going on at once. It occurs in a continuous flow- ‘where once there was nothing now flows a stream’ kind of thing. As in my actual cooking, the cooking I perform while writing seems very goal-focused and produces as little mess for me to deal with as possible.
I can honestly say that I’ve never really tried much of what Elbow discusses in his description of external cooking. “Using lots of paper” and “producing a lot which you know isn’t good which you know you will have to throw away” are not steps that come naturally to me….just like when I’m in my real kitchen trying desperately to figure out how to chop up eggplants and onions to get the most out of my vegetables while creating the least amount of waste.
But even as an internal cook, I employ Elbow’s method of inviting conflict into my writing (50-1). I may write in inspired bursts, which I always go with while in the moment, but afterwards, I step back from what I’ve written, give myself time to detach from it, and approach it later with a critical eye. I try to read the words from the point of view of someone who is removed from them. More often than not, I do have someone else read my assignments and provide criticism for me to work off of before I hand them in. I think receiving constructive criticism and learning how to accept and apply it is a very important step for those who want to succeed in writing.
I had a little more reserve regarding Elbow’s suggestion to try different modes of writing as a form of cooking. He states, “Allow your writing to fall into poetry and then back into prose; from informal to formal; from personal to impersonal; first-person to third-person; fiction, nonfiction; empirical, a priori” (54). My question is, for what particular assignments or writing goals does he feel this method would be useful? Is he suggesting it could be applied in all situations? Personally, I think if I am working on a research paper and feeling stuck and confused, it may confuse me more to switch genres into poetry and such. I think I would either find myself wandering too far off topic to the point where I was distracted and not making progress on my assignment that needs to be turned in, or I would be led into further frustration if I wasn’t able to get my thoughts out any clearer in a poem or informal writing.
Has anyone tried this method of cooking? Did you find it to be successful? How did you discipline yourself or manage to organize all your thoughts and papers to achieve your initial goal?
I had trouble with this chapter when I first read it. It probably doesn’t help that I don’t do much actual cooking, let alone cooking with words.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Crafting Our Own Writing Recipes
I can’t claim that I am much of a cook. My experience in the kitchen is mainly restricted to the creation of scrambled eggs and spaghetti. But I do have an obsession with watching a show called ‘The F Word’ with Gordon Ramsey (the crazy chef on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’) on BBC America. And from what I’ve seen, cooking looks as if it’s all about taking individual ingredients and combining them with each other, letting them mix and simmer to create a perfect meal. The same appears to be true in writing. So that in both cooking and writing, it takes an experienced chef/writer to be able to put these various ingredients together in order to make a luscious end product. A knowledgeable chef/writer instinctively understands when they need to hold off on a certain component of their recipe or when adding an additional step or element will make a meal turn from mediocre to mouth-watering.
As cooks or writers (or both), it is imperative to practice our craft. In the traditional method of writing we’re taught not to digress, not to set off on new paths that may take us away from subject X and onto subject Y if that means finding contradictions in our writing. We want to avoid conflicts because they are blatant reminders of our need to let go of the words and ideas we’ve placed on the page, the words which we’ve nurtured and become attached to in the process. But too often, Elbow points out, by not letting go, writers get stuck in the middle-they are too timid to follow their impulses, to write at the extreme ends of an emotional spectrum. This produces boring writing and weakens a writer’s skills as an editor. It takes practice to give up some of our control; it takes courage to step away from our work and analyze it with a stone cold eye. It can be painful, but it’s only by doing this that we can cut through the jungle of ‘bad’ writing and discover the ‘good’ morsels that are entangled with our less savory babblings.
This is where cooking really comes into play. By using the techniques Elbow sets out for us-like bouncing our ideas off of other people and our own ideas when others aren’t around, moving back and forth between words and ideas and different modes of writing, and using metaphors (like cooking for writing)-we become more open-minded, we see the inner workings of our minds through new perspectives, and we are able to produce our best writing. Here, experimentation is key. As writers in the growing process, we have to carry through with our thought processes and words and allow necessary interactions without stifling emerging ideas. We may make mistakes along the way, but, like with food, it takes a lot of tinkering to get a recipe just right.
In addition to tinkering, it also takes a great amount of energy and patience to get through any writing process. To help, Elbow presents different methods for getting out of a writing rut. His desperation writing/external cooking approach is a great starting point for anyone who feels they can’t bring together any coherent thoughts to the page. But realistically I think the organizing of words and ideas into piles of cards and trying to gain some unity from those cards may be too much work. From my own experience and from what I’ve heard other students say, most projects (writing or otherwise) get left until the last minute. People don’t have the time or desire to use note cards and then hope that something will miraculously emerge from their rambling. Therefore, I think one of Elbow’s last points in the chapter remains a crucial lesson: “If you have a way of writing that works well for you, keep it…” (72) For most of us, Elbow’s suggestion for allowing an interaction between words and meanings in writing (cooking) and making sure that the “words evolve through stages” (growing) is not completely foreign (73). But his emphasis on free-writing and initially forgetting about audience-awareness may be something we’ve never fully considered due to the methods of writing ingrained in our education. It can’t hurt to test out Elbow’s guidelines for writing, but in the end, each individual may find that only certain aspects of his method work for him/her. Like taking a new recipe from a celebrity chef’s cookbook, we can all choose to use what tips and advice are given but, ultimately, we must tweak that instruction to our own satisfaction.
As cooks or writers (or both), it is imperative to practice our craft. In the traditional method of writing we’re taught not to digress, not to set off on new paths that may take us away from subject X and onto subject Y if that means finding contradictions in our writing. We want to avoid conflicts because they are blatant reminders of our need to let go of the words and ideas we’ve placed on the page, the words which we’ve nurtured and become attached to in the process. But too often, Elbow points out, by not letting go, writers get stuck in the middle-they are too timid to follow their impulses, to write at the extreme ends of an emotional spectrum. This produces boring writing and weakens a writer’s skills as an editor. It takes practice to give up some of our control; it takes courage to step away from our work and analyze it with a stone cold eye. It can be painful, but it’s only by doing this that we can cut through the jungle of ‘bad’ writing and discover the ‘good’ morsels that are entangled with our less savory babblings.
This is where cooking really comes into play. By using the techniques Elbow sets out for us-like bouncing our ideas off of other people and our own ideas when others aren’t around, moving back and forth between words and ideas and different modes of writing, and using metaphors (like cooking for writing)-we become more open-minded, we see the inner workings of our minds through new perspectives, and we are able to produce our best writing. Here, experimentation is key. As writers in the growing process, we have to carry through with our thought processes and words and allow necessary interactions without stifling emerging ideas. We may make mistakes along the way, but, like with food, it takes a lot of tinkering to get a recipe just right.
In addition to tinkering, it also takes a great amount of energy and patience to get through any writing process. To help, Elbow presents different methods for getting out of a writing rut. His desperation writing/external cooking approach is a great starting point for anyone who feels they can’t bring together any coherent thoughts to the page. But realistically I think the organizing of words and ideas into piles of cards and trying to gain some unity from those cards may be too much work. From my own experience and from what I’ve heard other students say, most projects (writing or otherwise) get left until the last minute. People don’t have the time or desire to use note cards and then hope that something will miraculously emerge from their rambling. Therefore, I think one of Elbow’s last points in the chapter remains a crucial lesson: “If you have a way of writing that works well for you, keep it…” (72) For most of us, Elbow’s suggestion for allowing an interaction between words and meanings in writing (cooking) and making sure that the “words evolve through stages” (growing) is not completely foreign (73). But his emphasis on free-writing and initially forgetting about audience-awareness may be something we’ve never fully considered due to the methods of writing ingrained in our education. It can’t hurt to test out Elbow’s guidelines for writing, but in the end, each individual may find that only certain aspects of his method work for him/her. Like taking a new recipe from a celebrity chef’s cookbook, we can all choose to use what tips and advice are given but, ultimately, we must tweak that instruction to our own satisfaction.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with writing as cooking. I think I expected it to say that you need a list of ingredients in order to write. However, it was more about the process of cooking than they actual materials used. It took me a while to understand the analogy. It was a good visual when it illustrated external cooking as a mixing of dry ingredients and internal cooking as a dissolving of them in water. It was interesting seeing the ways the Elbow drew connections between the two.
I liked the idea of cooking as interaction. I have experienced times where two heads were better than one. There were moments when I was stuck or trying to get a certain idea across and I got frustrated and let someone else read it. They would read it and immediately see how it should be done or what I was doing wrong. With their criticism I was then able to write what I originally intended. The outsider always can read your material much more cleanly and detached since they don’t see what I think- they see what I wrote. They can see the difference and it can help me fuse the two together.
I have had the problem with noncooking where I stop and evaluate my writing while I am doing it. I was writing a short story this week and I tried to do it without stopping or evaluating. I started with one idea and realized I didn’t like it and instead of going back and rewriting it, I just kept writing. I didn’t revise, instead I just wrote as though it didn’t exist. It worked really well because I didn’t have to worry about how to introduce the new idea until after I finished writing it. It was almost like desperation writing at times because I just kept writing it even though scenes didn’t really match up or have flow, but the story’s essence came out. This made it much easier to revise.
I think it is ironic that Elbow states that one of reasons that the old model of writing still exists is because “it promises structure and control.” This is something that we are taught we need and it is something that makes you feel like you are in power of the writing. It makes it sound as though it is easier to write with outlines and structured guidelines. It is ironic that this book argues that the old style delivers the exact opposite by being the cause of frustration and wasted time and energy. This is how I felt about it when I was in school.
I also enjoyed the list of writing suggestions for when you have trouble writing at the conclusion of the chapter. I think that they all sound effective. I wonder if anyone would decide to use any of these methods in their classroom. Maybe have everyone do the 30 minute writing activity where they have to tell a good story in half an hour on paper. I think it would be encouraging to tell students that they can use all- purpose beginnings for a first draft and for you to tell them that they don’t have to worry about word choice at the beginning. It might take the pressure off and let their writing flow more freely. You could work on cleaning up the writing the second time around when they already have a basic idea and movement for the piece.
I liked the idea of cooking as interaction. I have experienced times where two heads were better than one. There were moments when I was stuck or trying to get a certain idea across and I got frustrated and let someone else read it. They would read it and immediately see how it should be done or what I was doing wrong. With their criticism I was then able to write what I originally intended. The outsider always can read your material much more cleanly and detached since they don’t see what I think- they see what I wrote. They can see the difference and it can help me fuse the two together.
I have had the problem with noncooking where I stop and evaluate my writing while I am doing it. I was writing a short story this week and I tried to do it without stopping or evaluating. I started with one idea and realized I didn’t like it and instead of going back and rewriting it, I just kept writing. I didn’t revise, instead I just wrote as though it didn’t exist. It worked really well because I didn’t have to worry about how to introduce the new idea until after I finished writing it. It was almost like desperation writing at times because I just kept writing it even though scenes didn’t really match up or have flow, but the story’s essence came out. This made it much easier to revise.
I think it is ironic that Elbow states that one of reasons that the old model of writing still exists is because “it promises structure and control.” This is something that we are taught we need and it is something that makes you feel like you are in power of the writing. It makes it sound as though it is easier to write with outlines and structured guidelines. It is ironic that this book argues that the old style delivers the exact opposite by being the cause of frustration and wasted time and energy. This is how I felt about it when I was in school.
I also enjoyed the list of writing suggestions for when you have trouble writing at the conclusion of the chapter. I think that they all sound effective. I wonder if anyone would decide to use any of these methods in their classroom. Maybe have everyone do the 30 minute writing activity where they have to tell a good story in half an hour on paper. I think it would be encouraging to tell students that they can use all- purpose beginnings for a first draft and for you to tell them that they don’t have to worry about word choice at the beginning. It might take the pressure off and let their writing flow more freely. You could work on cleaning up the writing the second time around when they already have a basic idea and movement for the piece.
After reading the section on "cooking", I am more convinced than ever that Elbow is writing about the process of creative writing, even though he doesn't explicitly say so.
The reason I'm convinced of this is that Elbow identified a problem I've had with my creative writing, but not with other types of writing. This problem is that my creative writing can be static and johnny-one-note ish. In two instances that come to mind, my writing has taken one particular perspective and beaten it to death. Elbow suggests trying different modes and perspectives on the same material. I think this would be an important step toward enriching my writing -- and perhaps anybody's writing.
Several years ago, I tried to write a story about my co-worker Carla. Carla had dated a very good-looking, rich, high-profile businessman -- until he broke off the relationship after a year. Not too surprisingly, Carla got depressed -- and my writing described various manifestations of her depression that I observed at the office. What a snoozer I wrote! I now see a few different tacks I could have taken:
1.Instead of just having me describe Carla, I could have written about Carla's state of mind in her words.
2. I could have written dialogues with Carla telling someone about the break-up. One dialogue could be with a sympathetic friend, another with an unsympathetic friend.
3. I could have portrayed a different side of Carla. For example, in real life, she hired me and was helpful and encouraging about my office work. If I'd described this experience, Carla would have come across as empathetic and capable -- and this would have provided a more multi-dimensional picture of her.
Earlier in this class (ENGL 470), we had a writing exercise and I chose to write about my beloved mother's increasing senility and how sad it makes me. As with the Carla story, I found myself writing the same idea over and over again -- to no great effect. Here's what I might do now:
1. I would try writing about my mother from my sister Betsy's point of view. While I live 3 hours away from my parents, Betsy lives close by and took the responsibility of arranging for full-time household help for my parents. So her experience is very different from mine.
2. I would write about my mother as she was in the past. I could try remembering her from my point of view as a little kid, or as a teenager. Or maybe I could focus on a few of the funny remarks she made, or the helpful things she did for me.
The reason I'm convinced of this is that Elbow identified a problem I've had with my creative writing, but not with other types of writing. This problem is that my creative writing can be static and johnny-one-note ish. In two instances that come to mind, my writing has taken one particular perspective and beaten it to death. Elbow suggests trying different modes and perspectives on the same material. I think this would be an important step toward enriching my writing -- and perhaps anybody's writing.
Several years ago, I tried to write a story about my co-worker Carla. Carla had dated a very good-looking, rich, high-profile businessman -- until he broke off the relationship after a year. Not too surprisingly, Carla got depressed -- and my writing described various manifestations of her depression that I observed at the office. What a snoozer I wrote! I now see a few different tacks I could have taken:
1.Instead of just having me describe Carla, I could have written about Carla's state of mind in her words.
2. I could have written dialogues with Carla telling someone about the break-up. One dialogue could be with a sympathetic friend, another with an unsympathetic friend.
3. I could have portrayed a different side of Carla. For example, in real life, she hired me and was helpful and encouraging about my office work. If I'd described this experience, Carla would have come across as empathetic and capable -- and this would have provided a more multi-dimensional picture of her.
Earlier in this class (ENGL 470), we had a writing exercise and I chose to write about my beloved mother's increasing senility and how sad it makes me. As with the Carla story, I found myself writing the same idea over and over again -- to no great effect. Here's what I might do now:
1. I would try writing about my mother from my sister Betsy's point of view. While I live 3 hours away from my parents, Betsy lives close by and took the responsibility of arranging for full-time household help for my parents. So her experience is very different from mine.
2. I would write about my mother as she was in the past. I could try remembering her from my point of view as a little kid, or as a teenager. Or maybe I could focus on a few of the funny remarks she made, or the helpful things she did for me.
“People fail forward to success.” – Mary Kay Ash
The first time I read this chapter, it did not make much sense to me. Perhaps I was tired, but I think the cooking metaphor was confusing for me to grasp. Or maybe I was hungry and thinking of writing as food wasn’t too appealing.
I read the chapter a second time, and then began to grasp some of Elbow’s concepts. I will say that I understood more once I read the conclusion than I did while in the midst of the chapter.
The point that hit home the most for me came late in the chapter, page 70 to be exact. Elbow says, “Of all the steps in the growth cycle, this one [mopping up or editorial stage] is the most obvious because it is the most conscious and manipulative. Thus people easily mistake it for the writing process itself.” We live in a society where, on so many levels, we strive for perfection. We look for the best in everything. We are told to never settle for second-best. So, in our writing, we are taught to always put our best on the page. Never are we taught, conventionally-speaking, to put your best, second-best, mediocre, and worst on the page. Yet this is exactly what Elbow prescribes for us all. Put it all out there…something will eventually come through. I know that I need to be able to be comfortable with the idea that there can be lots of chaos on the page, lots of “vomit on the page”, and that this is okay. I typically don’t fret about writing. It doesn’t bother me too much to have to write. But I have realized, in the past 3 days, that I do a lot of my verbal “vomiting”, my cooking, in my head. I think things through in my head first, and then start to put in on the page. It is as if I write my first drafts in my head, but the first draft anyone physically sees is really my second draft. So guess I do more editing than I should near the beginning of the writing process.
The ideas for writing when you get stuck are intriguing to me. The freewrite that is then dissected into ideas that are further cut apart and stitched together sounds to be a great way to work through writer’s block. It’s a great “test” recipe for writing: put your thoughts out there (the ingredients), sort out what works as ideas (weed out the rotten fruit or eggs first), start combining ideas and words (mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another), get words and ideas to interact in more organized state (combine wet into dry ingredients), polish and edit the words and structure (put into the pan and cook it), and then make sure it is right for you (check for doneness). Sometimes test recipes result in really burned charcoal, and other times it is a dish worthy of the harshest food critic to enjoy. But you never know until you experiment and then taste what you’ve made. This is what (I think) Elbow is saying in terms of writing.
After mulling it over, I also really liked the ideas of cooking and energy. Writing is not easy for most people. But, Elbow constantly reminds us, you need to do it, to practice it over and over and over, and then it starts to become a little less painful. I had a band director in junior high school that used to tell us that practice never makes perfect if you don’t practice properly. Elbow gives some ideas in this chapter for ways to get close to proper practice. But he also talks about good and bad energy. Putting four hours of sweat, tears, and curse words into an assignment doesn’t make it better than someone who only spent 25 minutes on the same assignment, just because you expended more energy doing it. Very rarely is it about the time or tears put in to something; it is usually more about the quality of energy you put into something that makes it work or not. I tended to learn this the hard way while studying Chemistry in high school. No matter how much I cried, nothing was going to be absorbed in to my brain until I finally found a study method that worked for me. So, for a struggling writer, this is a way to get out the bad ideas and the good, but he must be willing to put in the proper energy to find it.
So, while I got lost in the muddle of Elbow’s cooking, by the end I could make sense of his multi-course meal, and I really savored dessert (his conclusion). If only I had had dessert first (like I wish I could eat every meal), I think I would have had less of a hard time with this chapter.
I read the chapter a second time, and then began to grasp some of Elbow’s concepts. I will say that I understood more once I read the conclusion than I did while in the midst of the chapter.
The point that hit home the most for me came late in the chapter, page 70 to be exact. Elbow says, “Of all the steps in the growth cycle, this one [mopping up or editorial stage] is the most obvious because it is the most conscious and manipulative. Thus people easily mistake it for the writing process itself.” We live in a society where, on so many levels, we strive for perfection. We look for the best in everything. We are told to never settle for second-best. So, in our writing, we are taught to always put our best on the page. Never are we taught, conventionally-speaking, to put your best, second-best, mediocre, and worst on the page. Yet this is exactly what Elbow prescribes for us all. Put it all out there…something will eventually come through. I know that I need to be able to be comfortable with the idea that there can be lots of chaos on the page, lots of “vomit on the page”, and that this is okay. I typically don’t fret about writing. It doesn’t bother me too much to have to write. But I have realized, in the past 3 days, that I do a lot of my verbal “vomiting”, my cooking, in my head. I think things through in my head first, and then start to put in on the page. It is as if I write my first drafts in my head, but the first draft anyone physically sees is really my second draft. So guess I do more editing than I should near the beginning of the writing process.
The ideas for writing when you get stuck are intriguing to me. The freewrite that is then dissected into ideas that are further cut apart and stitched together sounds to be a great way to work through writer’s block. It’s a great “test” recipe for writing: put your thoughts out there (the ingredients), sort out what works as ideas (weed out the rotten fruit or eggs first), start combining ideas and words (mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another), get words and ideas to interact in more organized state (combine wet into dry ingredients), polish and edit the words and structure (put into the pan and cook it), and then make sure it is right for you (check for doneness). Sometimes test recipes result in really burned charcoal, and other times it is a dish worthy of the harshest food critic to enjoy. But you never know until you experiment and then taste what you’ve made. This is what (I think) Elbow is saying in terms of writing.
After mulling it over, I also really liked the ideas of cooking and energy. Writing is not easy for most people. But, Elbow constantly reminds us, you need to do it, to practice it over and over and over, and then it starts to become a little less painful. I had a band director in junior high school that used to tell us that practice never makes perfect if you don’t practice properly. Elbow gives some ideas in this chapter for ways to get close to proper practice. But he also talks about good and bad energy. Putting four hours of sweat, tears, and curse words into an assignment doesn’t make it better than someone who only spent 25 minutes on the same assignment, just because you expended more energy doing it. Very rarely is it about the time or tears put in to something; it is usually more about the quality of energy you put into something that makes it work or not. I tended to learn this the hard way while studying Chemistry in high school. No matter how much I cried, nothing was going to be absorbed in to my brain until I finally found a study method that worked for me. So, for a struggling writer, this is a way to get out the bad ideas and the good, but he must be willing to put in the proper energy to find it.
So, while I got lost in the muddle of Elbow’s cooking, by the end I could make sense of his multi-course meal, and I really savored dessert (his conclusion). If only I had had dessert first (like I wish I could eat every meal), I think I would have had less of a hard time with this chapter.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Cooking with Mr. Elbow
No offense to Peter Elbow, but I know that I cannot pretend that I have an audience and I only have a half hour to tell them what I wanted to say. To me, that is like saying that my paper is due tomorrow, even if it is not really due for two weeks. I cannot do that or I would be extremely on top of things. I do, however, get stuck with my writings sometimes. When I do I'm not sure that forcefully writing is always the best thing for me. I know myself and I know that sometimes I need to walk away and come back. Sometimes I need to go do something active or simply take a mental break, and then I will be ready to spit something out.
I liked Elbow’s idea of connecting the two ideas of writing and cooking together. I understand that writing and cooking have to be internal, in order to produce the optimal product. A chef is always putting internal emotion into his or her cooking. The chef might show emotion by drizzling dressing over a salad ever so carefully. Also, the more a person cooks the better they become at it. There is good cooking mixed with bad cooking, the same as writing. However, the key is practice, because the more a person cooks the better they will get. This chapter even made me think about audience awareness. If someone is cooking for a kid, then they would prepare something different, then they would for an adult. Plus, writing and cooking are both subjective, so the audience is crucial. This chapter made me realize that people might have a writing talent, but they are always cooking to get better. When an individual writes they have good writing intertwined with bad writing and that is the growing process of creating quality writing. A Chef might throw all kinds of random ingredients into a bowl, but it is the process of adding and taking away that makes the food nearly perfect.
Elbow says, "Allow your writing to fall into poetry and then back into prose; from informal to formal; from personal to impersonal; first-person to third person; fiction, nonfiction; empirical, a priori." This sounds kind of fun and I have done this before in my diary, but it seems like it is too much. I understand that this method will me with cooking up ideas, but the editing will be excruciating. I don't want to have first person and third person all intermingled or I'm going to confuse myself. Yes, my writing will be more personal, but I don't think I can find the fluency in my writing when I'm jumping around in so many different styles.
I’ve realized from Elbow that writing is very personal, and Elbow’s book will not work for anyone exclusively. The writing process truly is unique to everyone. Of course, I can pull ideas from Elbow, but I will never go about writing the same as him. I think it is important to learn how other people write, so you can know what does and doesn’t work for yourself. I was glancing at a couple other blogs, and I found this one kind of relevant and funny. http://strictlywriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/masterchef-putting-novel-in-mix.html
I liked Elbow’s idea of connecting the two ideas of writing and cooking together. I understand that writing and cooking have to be internal, in order to produce the optimal product. A chef is always putting internal emotion into his or her cooking. The chef might show emotion by drizzling dressing over a salad ever so carefully. Also, the more a person cooks the better they become at it. There is good cooking mixed with bad cooking, the same as writing. However, the key is practice, because the more a person cooks the better they will get. This chapter even made me think about audience awareness. If someone is cooking for a kid, then they would prepare something different, then they would for an adult. Plus, writing and cooking are both subjective, so the audience is crucial. This chapter made me realize that people might have a writing talent, but they are always cooking to get better. When an individual writes they have good writing intertwined with bad writing and that is the growing process of creating quality writing. A Chef might throw all kinds of random ingredients into a bowl, but it is the process of adding and taking away that makes the food nearly perfect.
Elbow says, "Allow your writing to fall into poetry and then back into prose; from informal to formal; from personal to impersonal; first-person to third person; fiction, nonfiction; empirical, a priori." This sounds kind of fun and I have done this before in my diary, but it seems like it is too much. I understand that this method will me with cooking up ideas, but the editing will be excruciating. I don't want to have first person and third person all intermingled or I'm going to confuse myself. Yes, my writing will be more personal, but I don't think I can find the fluency in my writing when I'm jumping around in so many different styles.
I’ve realized from Elbow that writing is very personal, and Elbow’s book will not work for anyone exclusively. The writing process truly is unique to everyone. Of course, I can pull ideas from Elbow, but I will never go about writing the same as him. I think it is important to learn how other people write, so you can know what does and doesn’t work for yourself. I was glancing at a couple other blogs, and I found this one kind of relevant and funny. http://strictlywriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/masterchef-putting-novel-in-mix.html
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