Hola! This is my fourth blog post for this semester. We were assigned a few more readings, but this time the assignment is a little different. We are projecting that the authors of these writings are all having a discussion at a round table. The first reading is by Don Murray, called "Teach Writing As A Process Not A Product" which I completely agreed with his entire focus on that piece. The second article is by Mary Karr, called "Against Vanity: In Praise of Revision." I love the way Mary Karr writes this reading. She comes off aggressive right off the bat and you can tell she's passionate about this specific topic. The last reading is by Anne Lamott, called "Bird by Bird," which we only had to read 6 pages of. I am interested in reading the whole book at some point. Teach Writing as a Process Not a Product (Don Murray) Against Vanity: In Praise of Revision (Mary Karr) Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life | pp. 28 -34 | Short Assignments & Shitty First Drafts (Anne Lamott) On a warm Saturday morning in the spring, I saw an event on Facebook that there was several authors that were going to be at an invention in Philly. I had just started writing in my English class, and it's something I want to get better at. I haven't heard of any of the writers, but I figured they wouldn't mind answering some general questions I had about writing. It was only $20 a ticket, so I thought why not. I decided to jump on the train and head down there. I walk into the Convention Center downtown, and it was packed! For some reason I didn't think it would be this crowded. There were several aspiring authors there, but they had the famous Don Murray, Mary Karr, and Anne Lamott all at one table in the very front. I weasel my way up there through the crowds of people. I was actually nervous to speak to them! Which isn't a feeling I don't have very often. I've been having some trouble with the blog assignments, and I'm hoping they could just give a young writer some good advice. I waited in line for a little while, it went by pretty quick though because most people were just getting some autographs and wanted to say hi. I walked up to Karr, she was the first open author. I smiled at her, and said "hey Mary! My names Kellie. I just went back to college after taking almost 4 years off and I want to get better at writing. Can I ask you a couple of questions? I promise I won't take up too much of your time." She smiles back at me, and says "of course!" I thanked her and say "I feel like I don't pick the right words or use very good explanations when I'm writing for my English class." She nods and says "In the beginning, when there are zero pages, you have to cheer yourself into cranking stuff out, even if it later lands on the cutting room floor." Just that sentence alone made me feel more confident. I laughed and said "Okay, how did you feel when you first began writing? She says "Young, I hated the oldsters and often swallowed them with my nose pinched, as for a stank spoonful of cod-liver oil. They were rich and white and male. So I started off very slowly, reading closest to my time period and feeling my way back." She was cracking me up with her descriptions. Finally, I asked "Will it just click one day?" She giggles and says "Through sheer hardheadedness, even I can grant myself permission to run buck-wild down the page with sentences dumb as stumps and few glimpses of anything pretty. The idea is to get some scenes down. Let your mind roam down some alleys that may land in dead ends—that’s the nature of the process." I thanked her again for her time and for making me feel more comfortable in her own way with writing. I got back in line. Murray opened up next. Feeling better already, I walked up to him and he greeted me with a warm smile. I introduced myself and told him why I decided to come here today. He was a very bubbly, nice man. I proceeded to ask him if it wouldn't be a bother to ask him a couple questions, and he encouraged me to! I look at him and say "What are your thoughts about traditional writing classes?" He leaned in closer to me, and says "The product doesn’t improve, and so, blaming the student—who else?—we pass him along to the next teacher, who is trained, too often, the same way we were. Year after year the student shudders under a barrage of criticism, much of it brilliant, some of it stupid, and all of it irrelevant. No matter how careful our criticisms, they do not help the student since when we teach composition we are not teaching a product, we are teaching a process." I was blown away. I was not expecting that response at all! I told him about how this English class was different than the other ones I've taken throughout my years of high school and college. He was happy to hear that. Then I asked "How would you teach your students in your own class?" He smirks and says "First by shutting up. When you are talking he isn’t writing. And you don’t learn a process by talking about it, but by doing it. Next by placing the opportunity for discovery in your student’s hands. When you give him an assignment you tell him what to say and how to say it, and thereby cheat your student of the opportunity to learn the process of discovery we call writing." I couldn't believe how awesome these authors were. I was feeling better and better after each question I was asking them. I told him how cool I thought he was. I then asked him "Why do you think most English teachers are the way they are" He says "Instead of teaching finished writing, we should teach unfinished writing, and glory in its unfinishedness." I smile and say "It was a pleasure Mr. Murray, thank you." He winks at me, and I for one last time, got back in line. Anne Lamott was the last author for me to speak to. When it was my turn, I take a big step to her and explain who I am and why I was interested in speaking with her. "I've been asking the other authors some questions, hoping you wouldn't mind answering some as well. Her eyes lit up and she says "I'd love to answer some of your questions!" The first thing I asked her was "Was it easy for you to get into writing?" She replies "Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it. Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled." I appreciated her realness and honesty with answering that question. I then ask "How did you deal with your insecurities with writing?" She cleared her throat. "What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a shitty first draft is to quiet the voices in my head. There’s the vinegar-lipped Reader Lady, who says primly, "Well, that’s not very interesting, is it?" I started laughing, and explained that I have someone just like that telling me the same exact thing. "Quieting these voices is at least half the battle I fight daily. But this is better than it used to be. It used to be 87 percent. Left to its own devices, my mind spends much of its time having conversations with people who aren’t there." She goes on about these voices that speak to her and I couldn't believe how much I related to her. As I was leaving, I walked out confident and ready to take this class on. I was extremely glad I went to this convention today. If I had to make my own quotes about my own writing, I'd use "Let all of your different personalities tell your stories." "Don't get discouraged over the overwhelming feeling you get at first, it eventually turns into excitement." Lastly, I'd say "Anything is possible when you sit down and put your mind and positive energy to it."
4 Comments
Sabatino
2/10/2020 08:02:36 am
CIF.
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Tamika Jenkins
2/11/2020 09:55:34 am
I like were you at in this blog. I felt overwhelmed in my writing process
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Brandon Foy
2/11/2020 09:56:35 am
I like the story you made out of this it was really detailed!
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Daniel
2/11/2020 09:58:14 am
I love the way the quotes you choose work so well. They all somehow fit together and work with each other very well.
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Kellie KalbachThis is my blog page. I'm using this page to experience the beautiful yet messy process of writing. Enjoy! Archives
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