Blog 1 and discussion thoughts

Thanks to all of you for submitting your first blog posts. They were all well developed and enjoyable to read, and provided some great insights into your writing processes and experiences with learning to write. The discussion prompted several interesting strands. Here's a few key ideas (apart from the blatantly obvious) you've begun to mention that we'll probably discuss more as the semester continues:
Audience Awareness
Experienced vs. novice writers
Genres of writing
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC)
Writing teachers as coaches
Choosing writing topics
Testing writing
Emotional (expressive) writing

Feel free to include any relevant links or images in your blogsand, as you write your next blog, continue to think about your own experiences with writing, your goals as writing teachers, and the difficulties or problems you foresee with implementing the theories we're reading about.

"It has been said that a preposition is a particularly bad word to end a sentence with." Porter Perrin.

growth process

It is ironic to me that when I walked into this class last week we were assigned to write a blog. I am a bit technophobic and for me writing a blog is like diving into a quarry full of dark water. I don’t know where I am going or what I am doing because I have limited experience with it. But here goes hopefully I won’t have as much trouble with this as I did posting in Angel when I first started grad school.

Reading Elbow’s book is something I wish I had done my first semester back in school after thirty years. The curriculum I am in is writing intensive which is exactly why I chose it because like Elbow says “everyone in the world wants to write” (xi).

I feel like he is describing my writing process when he said the problem for most people with writing is the editing that goes on “at the same time as producing” (5). My writing in grad school has been soooooo painful for me because of this and also because I try to follow a conventional process for writing. Start with an idea, write a thesis statement, create an outline and then stare at the computer for hours because I don’t know what to say to get started. Elbow makes a point about this when he says, “how can you write the beginning of something till you know what it’s the beginning of” (26)? Obviously the thesis statements and outlines have usually never helped me get started because I always end up rewriting them after I finally figure out what my message is conveying.

My kids laugh at me because once I do get started it takes me hours to write one paragraph. It’s true. After researching some topic to death you’d think I could at least write a couple of sentences that would lead to some profound thing I wanted to write about.

Not a chance because as I have discovered after reading Elbow my constant searching for the right words, the writing and rewriting of the same sentence over and over only to realize all I did was reorganize the words will never lead to “good writing” because there is no flow or fluency. (I know this is a big run on sentence but I am trying to practice Elbow’s theory of writing without stopping.)

I did discover this on my own. A few times I have actually written something that appeared to write itself and upon inspection actually seemed to make my point. I guess that is because I let that voice in my head run without any self-control. This must be why I feel like I should record my thoughts when I am jogging my daily route. The thoughts in my head seem so fluent, insightful, and creative when I am running because I can’t edit them. When I get home and try to write them down I can’t do it because I can’t stop editing and all I do is stop and start.

Elbow’s idea that writing is “growing as a developmental process” makes sense to me. It is like training runners. I have been a cross country and track coach and know that to train runners you have to develop them individually from where they are physically and mentally. I can’t expect a runner to run well or without hurting himself if I haven’t first provided steps needed to condition his body to handle the stress of each foot strike. I know the athlete has to develop by practicing. Often my athletes will ask me why they are doing certain drills or why I make them do a mile warm up when they are only going to sprint 100 meters. Even though it makes no sense to them they have to give up their control and trust me that it will make them a better runner. After the season we sit down and brainstorm about what training they think was effective and what wasn’t.

As a coach I know my athletes can’t skip over any parts of the training or they will get hurt or not perform well. I can see from the reading that a writer goes through a similar conditioning process and to skip any part of the “growing” by jumping ahead to editing (before there is actually something to edit) is really a setback like an injury would be to an athlete.





So even though for this blog entry I didn’t do a very good job of practicing Elbow’s theory, I hope to train myself as I would my athletes because I really would like to see if his method works. It sure would beat starring at a blank computer screen for hours.

Freewriting...lalala

I feel that just reading Elbow’s chapter on freewriting gave me a boost of confidence in my writing, more specifically, the writing I will be doing in the future. Knowing that I’m not the only one who sometimes struggles to get thoughts down in formal pieces of writing makes me feel a bit better and more at ease. Of course, there are many, many people who would probably say that they struggle with writing papers and essays, but to read about this “issue” in a textbook by an author who has the same problem sheds a new light – even professionals have the problem of “writer’s block” and so on. It was very interesting and new to me to read about how beneficial freewriting can be. I honestly do not have much experience just writing for the sake of writing. Until this class, I never had a teacher or professor give the class an opportunity to write whatever they wanted to without ever stopping the pencil; it was kind of a new concept to me. I had a class in high school where the teacher gave us a prompt every day that we had to write about, but that was the extent of my creative writing. The prompt would be something like, “If I had a million dollars, I would…” I’ve heard freewriting can be very therapeutic but never tried it myself because I never made time to do so. I have to admit, it was a little awkward freewriting the first time; I could actually just write what I was thinking, and it did make me feel better, and of course, I loved the idea that no one was going to look at what I wrote. I liked Elbow’s idea of writing “I don’t know what to write” or repeating the last word of your last sentence when you don’t know what to write when freewriting; it really does make thoughts and ideas come to mind, and you then feel like you can write pages and pages after that. I never thought that freewriting could actually improve your writing (like when writing formal papers), but I would definitely like to try it and see what happens, like if my thoughts come easier or my sentences are more fluid. I am the kind of person that jumps right into writing a paper without much prewriting. I may jot some ideas down, but that is the extent of it. It may take me 45 minutes to write an introduction because I’m not real sure what I want to talk about yet, but most of the time, an idea just comes to me and I go with it. I am also the kind of person that edits my work as I go along, which I admit that it is rather annoying at times. After I finish a paragraph, I read over it what seems like a thousand times, and just rip it apart until I am satisfied, which I don’t think I am ever really completely satisfied. Elbow’s idea of writing an essay almost like a freewrite is bizarre to me, but I might like to try it. Also, I think freewriting about your topic or some sort of idea you are thinking of including in your paper is an interesting idea. I think the reason I got away from prewriting is because I hated how teachers would make it a long drawn out process. First there was brainstorming ideas, then there was the web, then the outline, then the notecards, etc. etc. I just wanted to write the paper and get it done! My method has actually brought me much success in my writing, but I’m curious as to how an exercise like freewriting could possibly improve my writing. I liked Elbow’s statement that “meaning is not what you start out with but what you end up with” and that “writing is a way to grow a message, not transmit one; a way to end up thinking something you didn’t start out thinking.” When he puts it like that, it makes perfect sense that you end up with meaning; that’s why you are writing the paper in the first place. Another thing that caught my attention in the reading was Elbow’s process of including freewriting in your formal writing. He discussed breaking down your time in intervals. The first 45 minutes would be freewriting, and then the next 15 minutes would be going back over what you wrote and seeing how things add up and how they’re related. In the second and third hours of writing, you would do the same thing but each freewrite would sort of build off of the last one. Finally, the fourth hour you would edit and try to form a final copy. This process seems grueling, and I don’t think I would want to spend that much time freewriting. I think at times it would make writing the actual essay a bit more complicated, but that’s just me because I may just be stuck in my old ways. I would be willing to try Elbow’s process when I have more time. So to sum all of my ideas up, I think freewriting is a very, very good thing, and I know that I would like to try it in my own classroom some day. Perhaps a student has something on their mind that he or she just has to get out because they cannot mentally function normally. That freewriting might relieve them of their troubles (at least for the time being), and they can get on with their day. So, I think freewriting in that sense is nothing but beneficial and would have a lot of positive outcomes. On the other hand, I’m still unsure about using freewriting in the actual writing process. I would be interested in further exploring that concept.

Abandoning Linear Writing

One of the best things about reading the first two chapters of Writing Without Teachers was that I had the rare opportunity of being able to almost wholly agree with and relate to the thoughts about writing Elbow put on the page. The “conventional” model of writing he discussed, in which writers self-edit as they are in the process of writing, typified my experience as a student writer. I’ve always been representative of the writers who while preparing to jot down one sentence are already thinking of how it sounds wrong. In my papers, I immediately begin to dissect my sentences as I create them, taking out words or phrases and continuously replacing them in order to try to improve my thoughts and the clarity of my ideas. So it ends up that, even before I’ve actually written anything on the page, I’ve probably wasted at least 15 minutes struggling to figure out how to write that crucial introduction and the all-too-important, attention-grabbing first sentence (which, nine times out of ten, ends up being mediocre anyway).

From an early age, meaning about 2nd/3rd grade, I learned that papers generally follow the formula: introduction, body, conclusion. Start at the beginning and finish at the end. Like Elbow said, we’re taught to write linearly. This rigid structure became ingrained in my writing style and I still normally follow it today. It’s tended to work for me, but really reflecting on this now, I realize I’ve probably wasted a lot of valuable time by not using the innovative freewriting technique.

As I mentioned previously, I’m the type of person Elbow described as one who spends a whole frustrating hour trying to compose the first few paragraphs of a paper, the one who knows time is ticking by while I’m staring off into space attempting to work out the order of my words and thoughts and the brilliant way to convey them. Consequently, after spending all that time and effort in self-editing, I usually shut down at the prospect of having additional editing done by myself, a teacher, or a peer. This can be my downfall. I’ve heard it over and over again that papers typically need several drafts in order to get anything worthwhile out of them. But to my own detriment, I end up being a one/two draft kind of writer; my absolute best work, therefore, is never in the final product. I want this to stop. I want to be a better writer. I’ve never done freewriting exercises on my own, but I think I’m going to give it a go. I want to test Elbow’s theories and advice out, lose that sense of control I usually cling to in writing, and see if writing four drafts in four hours isn’t much easier and more gratifying than producing one drawn out first draft in the same time allotted. My aim is to grow as a writer. And I figure, even if Elbow’s methods don’t end up being the right fit for me, I’m certain there will be something cathartic in getting the “word vomit” out of my head and onto the page.

Elbow? No.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I abhor Elbow’s preferred method of improvement, the dreaded freewrite. Some students may celebrate the opportunity to write whatever their brain desires for ten minutes at a time. However, I groan internally. Perhaps Elbow is right, in that it is the lack of control that causes my discomfort. I always seem to digress to the finer points in life: sleep, food, drink. Just stick me in a corner, feed and water me instead. When it comes to my writing, I think it will do me more good.

I understand Elbow’s point in that “the main thing about freewriting is that it is nonediting” (6). Supposedly, if we let go of this societal tendency to obsess with mistakes, our writing will be all the better for it. However, I cannot help but to disagree. I don’t think our voices become deadened, according to Elbow, by editing as we write. I feel I need a sense of order to produce anything worth reading. What Elbow suggests involves a certain amount of chaos, a muddled and confusing foray of scrambled words onto a page. All these tactics for anti-writing? Bedlam. I fail to see the connection between a tactic so sloppily produced and the end result as being one that isn’t the same.

I suppose Elbow’s solution is that of a furious sort of editing, where words run for cover and whole paragraphs find their knees quivering in fear. I will concede to him in that the process of editing while we simultaneously write does cause a sense of fierce devotion to the words I have written to arise within me. What is wrong with believing strongly in what we write, with room for suggestion? I will never be able to detach myself completely. It may make me a stronger writer, but as people, is that what we truly want and desire?

I found Peter Elbow to be in possession of some valid points, but in summation of them, it appears that I have allowed the stifling voices of teachers past to influence my rigid opinion. However, after viewing Elbow’s writings and finding them to be no new product of genius, I cannot say that I am envious of his method. I think that how we get to the final product doesn’t matter, as long as we have a process that enables us to make that literary journey in comfort. In my future classroom, I will employ these strategies for those who have problems with writing, but I do not foresee myself using them to any great extent.

first blog 090209

To sum up the first reading, I'd have to say that I wish I would have been exposed to the teachings of Peter Elbow a long time ago. I don't know if anyone has tried any of his freewriting exercises yet, but I have, and I find that it does provide some good results.

For the most part, I think that it acts more as a journal exercise -- a way to simply get random thoughts and ideas out of your head and onto the paper...which seems to be a lot like what we do as bloggers. However, I do question how you can utilize his writing approaches when it comes to writing things like research papers or other forms of academic writing.

I know that he recommends writing for a span of at least 10 minutes each day, so I'd imagine that the idea is to gradually improve your approach to freewriting as you go along. Still, I wonder how well this applies to anything other than journal writing...or something like a diary. I assume that ideas will start to flow more freely during the freewriting process, and that regardless of the writing exercise you are undertaking, these ideas will just naturally start to spring from your head. I guess that's the general idea behind it all.

I used to write for a newspaper before I went back to school, and often times I'd find that I experienced periods when writing became difficult for me. Looking back, I think that a lot of this had to do with pressures that I was placing on myself. I also believe that I had to do with fear of failure. I think that Elbow addresses some of these topics in his text, but it's been a few days since I've read, so I am not exactly sure. Anyway, my point is that I think that freewriting is a good way to begin to unlock the brain during the whole writing process. You don't get a chance to sit and think about what you're going to say or how you're going to say it -- it just sort of spurts out onto the page. I find this exercise to be very refreshing.

So where was this book when I was in my creative writing class last fall? The very first chapter alone in this book I think would have helped me. I always seem to have a lot to say, until it is time to put it on paper. I seem to write as I would speak and that is not always conducive to the English teacher’s forte. That is what I loved about Elbow, write to just write. Who’d a thought?

In reading the first chapter I had to stop there. I needed to try the free writing exercise for myself. I sat down and just began to write. I actually wrote the word “write” about six times before the words just started to flow. When I was finished I found myself lighter on words and surprised on what resulted. It was not just gobblety guck it was actually decent. By no means nothing to turn in for a grade but was still worth re-reading.

To say the least I enjoyed my reading of Elbow and his idea’s of writing. It makes me think that even though I have always enjoyed writing I never really opened myself up to just write. When I find time to sit down and write for pleasure and for grade I am always self editing. I think that I could find much more success in just placing the words on the page in full, then go back and edit. This will be a hard thing to break I am sure.

I have always had a joy of reading, but writing has been something that I have found that I liked to do through time. I fortunately have had great English teachers that have encouraged me to continue on with my writing and actually opened my eyes to the fact that I could write. I wonder though what my writing would equate to now had I read Elbow earlier.

I think that before you can teach how to write, YOU have to be able to write. With this book I think that an individual wanting to teach writing could start a good foundation on their skills.

Let me start by saying I'm someone who's done a lot of writing -- as a liberal arts undergrad, a college newspaper writer, an ad writer, a creative writing dabbler -- but I've never taught writing. So, in discussing Elbow, I can only say what type of teaching methods worked for me, but not for others.

I was a pretty facile writer by the time I reached high school -- though I do remember a lot of floundering and lack of confidence when I had to write in grade school and middle school. What helped me through was learning to outline my thoughts with Is and IIs, and As and Bs. Once I had jotted a short description of what I wanted to say, the job of developing a full-blown, well-written sentence or paragraph came much easier. And if I found myself disagreeing with something in the outline, I had the freedom to change it.

Of course, the majority of writing I did in school was "informative" writing, not creative writing. I wish that Elbow were more specific about what type of writing he's discussing -- it seems to be creative writing, but I'm not sure. Also, I think he's aiming at adults but again I'm not positive. Wouldn't adults and children be taught differently, and creative and informative writing be approached differently as well?

I also think a prompt -- a suggestion of a few possible topics to write about -- would be helpful for the fledgling writer. Writer's block can be made worse if you feel your choice of topic is boring or foolish, and therefore you're doomed to write drivel. When someone gives you a subject, at least it takes that burden off you.

One thing I do agree with Elbow on, however, is the use of multiple drafts and the flexibility to change focus. Sometimes I've written a few paragraphs and found the best idea in one little phrase. Years ago, I wrote an ad for a book called The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense. I started by describing the frustrations of being verbally browbeaten by mean bosses, manipulative relatives and other stock villains. I then went on to claim you could transform your life by learning how to shut them up. In the last sentence of this long ad, I wrote something like "become a black belt in verbal self-defense". The black belt idea became the headline and the unifying idea of the ad -- which ultimately sold 250,000 copies of the book (which by the way I thought was very silly and was of absolutely no help to me in my life.)

To sum up, I've never taught writing, so it may be that majority of people find outlines burdensome. It may be that the freer style of Elbow is more effective with more students. But I still think giving people a subject -- even a simple one like "my favorite vacation place" or "my most embarrassing experience" -- would make it easier for those who find writing difficult.

I love outlines...

Elbow’s theories are the absolute last thing I would have expected from a writing teacher. Every instructor that I have every worked with has stressed the importance of making sure that my writing was exceptionally organized from the very first outline. This has been what has been ingrained in my brain from the time I was ten. The idea of writing without detailed preparation is somewhat foreign to me. I am VERY attached to my outlines…

The biggest problem that I am going to have with following Elbow’s way of writing is not having a “plan.” I will admit it, I am an organizational freak. I am one of those people that not only arrange my underwear drawer by color, but by the actual color wheel. I’m really not kidding. My children think it is hilarious to mess up my alphabetically arranged DVD collection, and “watch Mommy go crazy!” You may laugh, but disorder causes me panic. I have always attempted to fit my writing into a very specific and organized little box. Now I think that maybe I have been doing it all wrong. Again, I am VERY attached to my outlines…

As much as I don’t like to admit it, Elbow’s theories make sense. I think that applying his techniques to certain aspects of my writing can really help me move forward. I can definitely see how it would help with “writer’s block” and coming up with that very frustrating first sentence. Though I recognize that he makes sense, just leaving my DVD collection unorganized makes sense too. I know that in the next 24-48 hours, my children will have “The Shining” slipped right in front of “Armageddon” anyway. Though I WANT to try and use free writing regularly, it may physically hurt me to slip out of my writing routine. Did I mention that I like outlines?

Before I absolutely consent to completely giving up my very controlled writing, I would have to give myself a trial period. I was very pleasantly surprised by my writing during the free writing exercise last week. I wrote without any specific direction and it was actually fun! I can see how free writing a first draft can be helpful for creative writing. I am slightly skeptical still as to how I can apply it to my research papers, but I’m willing to give it my best. My organizational obsession drives everyone in my family nuts and probably isn’t entirely healthy for my children. Perhaps giving up a slight bit of control in my writing will help me to relax a little and really, what could be better than that?

Elbow's bent

The assignment on Elbow touched me with a realization of two things. First, that I have not
been approaching writing in the way Elbow prescribes, based on his years of experience with, well,
failures and struggles. Second, I am game to try any method offered by someone with so much experience, yet refuse committing to any system as a type of panacea or final authority. I maintain
that application of any theory is worthy of test and if afforded enough time and diligence, may prove its
worth, that is for some or many...not for all. The analogies used in the book are very workable, indeed.
Growth of a living organism expresses Elbow's idea of change of word, to idea, regression,development, never skipping stages as a living organism would practice, all are very sensible and might I say refreshing in comparison to ways in which, I am sure, most of our class have learned the entire writing and composition process. But again, I believe that all are different—writers that is. Content varies to
the same degree as word choice, as approach, as there are variances in writing.
I cannot help but draw the very, if not obvious to all, real comparison between a composition with words and one of music. Now follow me. Music writing may have various applications with various results. For instance, one may strive for a certain melody which he or she hears inside their head and
place all effort on getting the exact representation of this melody on paper, formulating a definite melody line, accompanied by just the right chord ensemble, in the right meter and so on. Others, though, have adopted various means of getting the song out of their heads and onto paper, such as: free-playing,(as Elbow would recommend), starting with a basic melody and embellish and embellish, and yes, regress and go in another direction, all chipping away making and breaking connections of musical ideas and connotations that arise from them. Others prefer rote methods of composition, utilizing every technical facet of music writing that they have been taught. But the end result? There are great and poor works alike in all methods.
I do agree with Elbow that we think of writing in a very restrictive way. Too many rules to think of. Too many critics for everything written. Fear of others not grasping the point due to your own failure at getting the point across in the most effective manner. Free writing helps us expound on previously stumped or tired ideas of which we thought there was nothing else to say. Elbow's example of touching toes by reaching up to the sky says a lot about learning the wrong way to wright, our struggling approaches built on a faulty paradigm, though no fault of ours. We must change the approach.I whole-heartedly agree.
But I am left hanging with Elbow's notion that method is the most important factor, not talent. Now we are warned on pg. 12 that excuses form those with education and those without and those with talent and those without are abound. Elbow talks of the “old world “ psychologists and their belief in a
“special writing faculty” or the “some people have it; some people don't” I don't know! I am a student and am here, like you all, to find validity in this. But I must say there is something to be said about talent. Excuse my skepticism. It is my style.

my new buddy elbow

Reading books about writing is not something I do a lot. I think it’s kind of a boring subject to read about. However, when I picked up this book I didn’t initially plug my mind into a “get ready to learn about writing and like it” mindset. All I could think about was the author’s name. Elbow. What an awesome last name. Quite funny in my opinion and not intimidating in any way. A guy named Elbow has to be a cool guy. He’s probably a little weird, in a good way. I bet he was the butt of lots of jokes growing up due to such a rare last name. He’s probably funny, too, because he had to come up with creative comebacks to the jokesters (e.g. “my name may be elbow but at least I’m not an ***hole”). At least his childhood traumas will give him something to write about. I like Elbow from the start. He’s an underdog, as most writers are. So in my mind, as I set off to read the beginning chapter of this text, I do not picture an intellectual beast that has an intellectual mustache with an intellectual accent. All I picture is an elbow. I see a guy with an elbow in place of his head, and he’s talking to me about writing. And this makes me giggle. It’s like Saturday morning cartoons all over again.

Now for another E word. Emotion. Emotion is necessary within writing. It is not a bad thing. In fact, I really believe that some sort of emotion has to be present in any kind of good writing. However, I tend to become too emotionally attached to every single piece of writing I ever produce. I’m even emotionally attached to the previous paragraph I wrote for this blog. How pathetic is that? I tried to make it witty and silly. It took me about ten minutes to write. That’s a lot of minutes to write a short opener for a blog. And I’m not even that funny. I always want my writing to be great. I always want it to impress people, including myself. Basically, I have a lot of pride in my writing. This can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing. Sometimes I just need to get over myself and write. Let me try to start doing that.

I love that Elbow starts off his book talking about free writing. What a freeing way to write. I personally think this is an activity that I should start doing every day. Even when we did the free write in class last week, I noticed myself second guessing ways to phrase a sentence and crossing out words. These are no no’s in Elbows rulebook. I really need to let go of my control freak perfectionist outlook on writing. I really need to practice writing more. Outside of class, I don’t really write that often. I think this is one of the reasons I put so much pressure on myself when I do begin a paper for class. I don’t do it often enough, so when I write it feels familiarly unfamiliar. That doesn’t really make sense. But I guess I mean that because I always get anxious and initially uncertain to write a paper for a class, I always feel this recognizable terror in my stomach when I start to write. English majors are sick people. We all love to write, but it brings such pain! I definitely want to at least try to start a free writing journal. Plus, extra levels of serotonin are always welcome.

Honestly, reading some of Elbow’s theories and instructions on writing was pretty intense for me. I think because I am so stuck in my own ways of writing, I become skeptical when looking at his writing compass. I was not especially drawn to write about any of his writing techniques in this blog and feel that it will be more beneficial to listen to opinions and feedback from others in the class. However, I do agree that we NEED to start writing more and start thinking about writing less. Elbow encourages us to just keep writing and writing. It will be hard to teach an old dog new trick, but this is definitely something that I am putting a lot of thought into. Ahh I just caught myself! I shouldn’t be putting thought into it; I should be putting writing into it! I’m lame.

And now for the dreaded E word. Editing. Evil? Yes! Easy? No. UnEasy is more like it. Here is where the emotions come back with their nostrils flaring. Elbow writes, “Editing must be cut throat. You must wade in with teeth gritted. Cut away flesh and leave only bone” (41). Whoa. Chill out Elbow. Where did my cute cartoon elbow-head friend go? But he is actually absolutely correct! As other post have mentioned before editing is the hardest part, aside from starting, for me in the writing process. I become so emotionally attached to every word and phrase within my writing. I need to step back and take some time to get over things. When I write, especially poetry, I often need to take a couple of weeks before I really delve into the editing process. It’s like going through a breakup. After you take some time to get over the lost love, you realize “Wow, he didn’t have a job” or “Huh, it probably wasn’t a good thing that he hated all of my friends.” Now I can see the truth clearly! I don’t always need to add that extra adjective. Or, that line that I thought I couldn’t live without actually did not help my thesis statement in any way. Elbow says, “Think of throwing away not as negative – not as crumpling up sheets of paper in helplessness and rage – but as a positive, creative, generative act” (41). This is such an eye opening thing for me. Editing doesn’t always take away; it can create a new and better piece of writing. Hopefully, I can start to learn how to become less emotional when editing essays and argumentative papers. Poetry will probably take a little while though.

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.