Week Three

So here is what I generally think about this: It is boring. There. That is my response to "Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott. I mean, really? Everyone with a competent third grade education knows the writing process. It starts with brainstorming, continued with drafting, followed by several stages of revising and editing, and ends with a final polished draft. I really do not see why this has to be the subject of debate. Who in the world thinks that great writers just sit down, writing something, and publish it as is? I have never met anyone with such a skewed perception of the world. Now I know that there are people out there who have not experienced the benefits of free public education, and while it is up to debate about whether or not that is their fault or not, we can agree that there are uneducated, illiterate people living in our towns and communities. Nevertheless, are these the kind of people who enrolling at Penn State and taking English 15? Or better, are these the kind of people that are going to be reading novels and works of non-fiction?

            However, this piece does bring up an interesting method of writing. In the excerpt, she describes the process she goes through to write food reviews. It starts by her gathering observations and quotes from a group of friends about a large variety of food. Then she runs into a roadblock: she does not know where to start the first paragraph. After much procrastination, she just writes everything she can and slowly whittles it down. While this is possible, I am finding difficulty subscribing to the belief that it is the most efficient method to writing, at least for me. My simple, user-friendly alternative is a common enough solution: the outline. Now this may just be a result of my writing history containing mainly persuasive and informative pieces, but I also use outlines for a variety of purposes, including shopping lists and class notes. They are quick, easily adaptable, concise, and are personalizable for your specific needs quickly and easily. They also offer you a first glimpse at your finished product. With an outline, you can get a point across while using half the paper and a quarter of the words as an actual paper. It might not be the most graceful or eloquent, but that is not the point of an outline. A draft of a paper is easy to flesh out from the frame of an outline. Outlines form the content of a paper, and are editable until the flow of ideas and logic is clear and easy to follow. Then the rest of the work can be filled in with sentences and paragraphs, and run through another process of editing for clarity. Then voila! A finished work is in hand, and one is free to take on other tasks.

            The point Anne Lamott is suggesting in “Shitty First Draft” is combining the traditional brainstorming and drafting phases. Rather than have a period where one searches for inspiration, and then takes time to pick the best of the inspired ideas and apply them to the work, she is suggesting using the work as a source and method of inspiration. While I understand where she is coming from, I have my doubts. Personally, I do not foresee this ever producing great work for me. In others, I see if merely encouraging settling for the first idea one comes across, and attempting to write a significant and legitimate work of literature from that first mediocre idea. Whereas a period of brainstorming encourages other ideas to form and blossom, writing straight from the gun can turn into a mess without a meaning quite easily. Or worse yet, the point can be arbitrary, insignificant, or just plain unoriginal, in which case the paper is cursed before it can ever be written.

            In hindsight, I am not sure if I answered any questions, or just created new ones. I attempted to follow Ms. Lamott’s suggestion and just write whatever comes to mind when it does. I am still unsure if this entry is even clear enough to follow. However, I am not nervous about publishing this, as it is merely a blog, and the purpose of the blog is to consistently write on topic relevant to current class material. Therefore, whether or not this essay makes any sense is irrelevant to the fact that I wrote it, and attempted a new writing style while writing it. I feel I fulfilled the requirements in my own method, and if it is not accepted, I will know not to attempt this style again.

Week Two

The struggles of parenthood can often be overwhelming. They are nothing compared to the struggles of a parent whose child has become an addict. The essay “My Addicted Son” by David Sheff covers this situation. The author focuses on specific events in his life that directly relate to his sons fall into the clutches of drug abuse, rather than trying to narrate his entire life story. This story is especially relevant to our age group, as we are entering college and living on our own for the first time in our lives. While this independence is usually very welcome, it can also lead to the undoing of many college students, even those considered to be the “good students” in high school.

          The author includes adequate descriptions of major events in the narrative that help the reader visualize them and feel the emotions pulsating through the story. From the crying of the authors son Jasper after Nick was arrested to the utter helplessness when Nick relapsed the third time, one really gets a feel for the desolation and loss this story reveals. The intended audience is all parents, whether their children are drug-free or going through the same trials as Nick went through. It serves as not only a warning to all parents, but also as a testament to what one might have to go through should their child fall victim to drugs. Although dialogue is rare, what David does include highlights Nick’s detachment from his family and society.

          David has done an excellent job providing context for each of the major events, and flowing the story smoothly from one to the next. The only time I had trouble following was on page 6, when he reminisced on times he and Nick had had at the Steps of Rome café, and how he had slowly made more and more excuses for Nick’s behavior through the years. This whole process of fighting meth for control of Nick has showed David how much pain and loss parents can bear for their children. As he says at the bottom of page 6, “Every time we reach a point where we feel as if we can’t bear any more, we do.” The bonds between parent and child are some of the strongest in the world, able to forgive the gravest travesties. I have only known one side of this relationship, but I can see it at work when I Skype my parents. As a parent, David is torn apart by watching his sons slip into addiction. As a writer, he does a fantastic job characterizing and documenting every major event without letting his own emotions cloud the story, only spice up the tale whenever appropriate.

Week One

There are a few things that are always with one during the walk of life. Unfortunately, the things that stick with you seem to always be those that you despise the most. For me, one of these things is writing. I've never been a very good writer, and continue to struggle to this day. Writing just takes too long. Often I feel I could easily express my opinions and arguments in a much more concise and practical manner than that which is expected of me. My problem first materialized in fifth grade, when I got a C in English. It was my first C ever, and came completely out of the blue. I thought I was doing just fine. As a child, I was devastated, and gradually grew a discomfort for English, which grew into an annoyance, which grew into a dislike, which grew into a hatred, which grew into abhorrence. I'd really rather do just about anything than write. Unfortunately, as we are all painfully aware, it is not possible to exist in today's society without writing. English exists as a core curricular subject in every level of education. Scholarships and applications for school and work often require essays that are the deciding factor. So one learns to live with such things and get one with life.

My situation as a rhetor is slightly different. I have adequate competence in observing and understanding exigencies, but my motivation and determination to see my message through to the end is lacking, to say the least. A prime example would be current events. In all honesty, I really should at least follow the state and national government, as the policies my representatives write and put into effect are those that affect my day-to-day life. But instead, I find myself asking my friends, peers, parents, and instructors whether or not things have already changed, only to be met with the same blank stares that occupies my face. Everyone knows that the local news stations are not the best source of relevant information, but it’s better than nothing. I have, in effect, become another one of the blind mass of the American public, uninformed and apathetic to global happenings.

Despite my lack of appreciation for writing, I find ample satisfaction of reading the work of others, provided it is thought through and well written. Some of the most inspiring works to me is Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. This book contains a description of their nonviolent, teen-led revolution against the low expectations society places upon adolescents. It is written in a very up-in-your-face manner, demanding one put down the book and do something for oneself, a friend, or a stranger. Another very influential book for me has been Diary by Chuck Palahniuk. In this novel, the theme of suffering and true inspiration and their intimate relation are discussed and theorized. Seeing as how architecture is technically an art, I consider any discussion on inspiration to be intriguing.

Writing can be considered a very broad topic in the career path of an artist. In all artistic fields, it is difficult at best to quantify an improvement of an individual. Of course, it is possible for one to determine one’s own preferences, and even for society to determine their preferences. However, is that really a valid form of judging an artist’s talent compared to those of other artists? I do not believe so. Therefore, the only really judge of what is an improvement in an artist can be the artists themselves. As time passes, the artist’s tastes and preferences change, and therefore their product does as well. All of these changes can be considered improvements in the eyes of the artist, as their current tastes and preferences dictate that their current work is an improvement upon previous products. We then arrive at the conclusion that the only way to improve one’s work is to let time pass, tastes and preferences evolve, and oneself dictate what work they desire to produce, as that will be an improvement upon their previous products.