Welcome back to my blog! For my second post, we were tasked with three readings. All were focused on the writing process and what goes into it. All three readings can be found directly below this paragraph. For this post, I will be creating a scene in which myself and all three authors of the readings come together and have a constructive conversation about the writing process. I hope you enjoy! It’s a nice summer day, the sky is blue with no clouds in sight. The sound of a truck tailgate closing echoes through the air at the docks at Surf City North Carolina. I’ve grabbed my fishing poles and tackle box and I’m heading to the charter boat for a day of deep sea fishing. As I walk up to the boat and I’m greeted by the other three people going on this trip with me. They introduce themselves as Don Murray, Mary Karr, and Anne Lamott. I think to myself, “Well I came on this trip to get away from my writing assignments, and now this is who I’m greeted by. I’m probably never gonna get a chance like this again, so I might as well get some pointers.”
The three of us walk up onto the big, white SeaVee 430 Fishing boat, a center console fishing charter outfitted with; four 300 horsepower motors, tons of rod holders, a double story center console, and a 40 gallon live baitwell. The captain starts up the motors, and we set off for our trip. As we are speeding across the open ocean, wind blowing through our hair, and I over hear Don, Mary, and Anne talking about the writing process. “Perfect! this is the perfect moment to ask my questions.” So, I join in. “Excuse me, I overheard you three talking about the writing process, and I could really use some pointers on my writing. It’s not going exactly the way I planned.” “Of course! What can we help you with?” says Anne. I explain to the three of them that I’m stuck. I have no idea where to begin with my memoir. And quite frankly, my current draft is GARBAGE. They all look at me and chuckle a little bit. I think “what did I say wrong?” I didn’t understand why they were all sharing a small laugh. Anne immediately responds saying, “Oh don’t worry about that! Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.” This takes me by surprise, but once I looked around, they were all nodding their heads in agreement. Can this be true? That doesn’t exactly sound like the case, especially coming from someone who, lets be honest, is a phenomenal writer. “Wait, really…? That doesn’t make too much sense to me.” Mary immediately chimes in, “Every writer I know who’s worth a damn spends way more time losing than winning.” This starts to make me feel much more comfortable about my writing. I say “So it’s normal for my first result to be complete garbage?” At this point Anne says “Shitty first drafts. All good writers have them. this is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.” This makes me realize, this isn’t going to come overnight to me. It’s going to take time and work. “So I’m going to have to continuously work at it and going back and revising?” I say to the group, who all nod their heads in agreement. “For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts.” says Anne. I ask “Well, how long should something like this take? Multiple drafts I mean.” At this point Don speaks up. “Not overnight, for writing is a demanding, intellectual process; but sooner than you think, for the process can be put to work to produce a product which may be worth your reading” He adds, “When I teach, I believe the student should have the opportunity to write all the drafts necessary for him to discover what he has to say on this particular subject. Each new draft, of course, is counted as equal to a new paper. You are not teaching a product, you are teaching a process.” It is then that I realize that the entire paper is a process! “Okay, that makes sense! But where do I even start? I have no idea how to begin.” Mary speaks up again. “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.” She goes on to further explain. “The idea is to get some scenes down. Let your mind roam down some alleys that may land in dead ends.” I now understand everything they are saying to me, and I say “If thats the case then why is this so hard for me? I’ve done it countless times before.” Don explains to me “There are no rules, no absolutes, just alternatives. what works one time may not another. all writing is experimental.” I then thank them all for their input, and tell them how much I appreciate it. It is then that we get to our first anchoring spot, and it’s time to do some fishing. Our captain starts to rig up the poles, and we all get into position. “100 bucks to whoever pulls the biggest fish.” says Don. Everyone pulls out 25 dollars and gives it to the captain for safekeeping. It’s finally time to relax from writing, and focus on fishing. looking back at the trip I developed three key points about my writing and the process it involves. First “You can’t expect to create a masterpiece in one go. It’s exactly that, a masterpiece, and a masterpiece is composed of multiple tries to get it just right. Be patient.” Second “Start by writing down everything. Every thought that comes to your mind on the subject of your writing. It’s a lot easier to work from something rather than nothing.” Lastly “You’re gonna write like shit. It’s only after practice and continuous revision that you will reach your final goal.” And that is the way I will approach writing from now on.
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Douglas Neubauer"Expanding my writing through experimentation." Archives
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