This excerpt not only reassured me that writing is not an
easy process, but that I'm not the only one struggling to get my thoughts on a
page. I guess I just always assumed that
being a world-renowned author or even just an English teacher that writing just
came naturally and easy for those individuals.
When Sarah Allen mentioned David Bartholomae and Peter Elbow both
struggled with writing, I was in disbelief.
In some weird way, that actually inspired me. I was not alone. Writing is not easy for me and takes me a
longer time than most. One thing that
stood out to me was when Sarah Allen stated, “we can talk about writing as a practice,
not a reflection of some innate quality of the writer.” Most do not thinking of writing as a
practice, but rather having your ideas read by someone which will be most
likely judged and analyzed. I know I
do. I feel as if my writing needs to be
perfect for the reader. Afraid of making
mistakes or writing the wrong thing, I’ll just stare at my computer contemplating
what I should write. In Sarah Allen’s
excerpt, I realized that mistakes and not being perfect is okay. Writing takes practice. Instead of just typing and deleting, I am
going to attempt to just write, make errors, and come back and fix them in the
next draft. Some of my friends are
amazing writes and can sit down in one setting, write a 10 page paper, and turn
it in. I have never been able to do
that. Writing takes practice and that is
what I plan to do this year.
I totally agree with you! Seeing other people admit to problems or faults help one realise their own. Even though our problems may not be the exact same, it was definitely comforting seeing that others could open up about where they need improvement.
ReplyDeleteReading your post actually helped me see that making mistakes, little ones at least, are fine. That's what drafts are for, and what revising exists for. Perfection does not exist in the first place, and even if it were to exists, it definitely would not come on the first try of something... i sometimes get luck and perfection confused haha
I also agree. Yes, in my blog post I mentioned how writing usually comes pretty easy to me, but at the same time it doesn't. I am constantly worrying about time as an issue, and it sometimes creates that "writer's block." I think it's awesome that the author could say that writing does not come easily to most people, and that she, herself has had her own problems or dilemmas with it. I think it's great that an excellent writer such as the author of this excerpt, can say that it's okay if you have troubles when writing a piece.. because usually most people do. Again, although the things that cause me to be anxious are not the same as yours, I still really agree with what you've said. No one can sit down and write a perfect paper no matter how great of a writer you are. Everyone's unique and everyone has their own little hiccups while writing.. I know I do.
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