I will be taking quotes from three authors processes of writing. I will add my own quotes of my process of reading. All quotes are written in a scene as if we were having a conversation.
As I sat in the sports bar waiting for a couple of friends to arrive, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check my messages to make sure no one flaked out on me at the last minute. As I sat there waiting anxiously I over heard a very interesting conversation about the processes of writing taking place behind me. And when I turned around to get a look at the people that was having the conversation, it was Don Murray, Mary Karr and Anne Lamott. I did not hesitate to make my presence known. I got up out of my seat nearly tripping over my own feet as I made my way to them. As I got closer Karr say "Every writer I know who’s worth a damn spends way more time “losing” than “winning”—if success means typing a polished page that lands in print as is. Hello my name is Kenya and I couldn't help but t come over after hearing the topic you guys were discussing. I myself is facing some road blocks when it comes to writing. Its like I have the thoughts and everything but when I start to write I become so concerned about the audience that's going to read it, and how my work should please them, then the pressure builds, anxiety creeps up and thoughts get distorted and I become stuck. Karr gives a smirk and says '' I’ve heard three truths from every mouth: (1) Writing is painful—it’s “fun” only for novices, the very young, and hacks; (2) other than a few instances of luck, good work only comes through revision; (3) the best revisers often have reading habits that stretch back before the current age, which lends them a sense of history and raises their standards for quality''. Almost immediately Don chimes in and say "prewriting usually takes about 85 percent of the writer's time. It includes the awareness of his world from which his subject is born. In prewriting, the writer focuses on that subject, spots an audience, chooses a form which may carry his subject to his audience. Pre writing may include research and daydreaming, note-making and outlining, title-writing and lead-writing. Lamott places her salad fork on the plate and adds '' very few writers know what they are doing until they've done it. Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled. They do not type a few stiff warm-up sentences and then find themselves bounding along like huskies across the snow. As I stood there agreeing with what they were saying a part of me stayed focused on the struggles of it all. So I asked how do you deal with the rough draft, I mean go about it all? I can't help but to find myself stumbling even in that area. Lamott went on to say " the first draft is the child's draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later. You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page. 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. For Lit, I spent maybe two years writing about short stints in California and Mexico and the UK and some old boyfriends before I realized that those stories—by then hundreds of pages—lacked emotional gravitas said Karr. Wow, and here I was so absent minded about it all! Thinking that it was a natural born talent, that it was as easy as breathing for you guys. I always thought that it had to be textbook work material. Lamott popped a dinner mint in her mouth and went no to say " E. L. Doctorow once said that " writing a novel is like driving t night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. "You don't have to see where you're going, you don't have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice about writing, or life, I have ever heard. Don raised his finger to say " the writer, as he writes, is making ethical decisions. He doesn't test his words by a rule book, but by life. He uses language to reveal the truth to himself so that he can tell it to others. it is an exciting, eventful, evolving process. He went on to say " the suspense in the beginning of a writing course is agonizing for the teacher, but if we break first, if we do the prewriting for our students they will never learn the largest part of the writing process. I heard the bells jingle as my two of my three friends walked in laughing and pointing fingers at each other and by the looks of it they had already had a few drinks before getting here. I focused my attention back to the trio that had enlightened me on a subject that seem so daunting and difficult to over come. I extended my hand and shook each one and said "thank you so much for the info and letting me in on the conversation, I'll let you guys enjoy the rest of your evening.'' I met up with my friends and proceeded to carry on with our night plans.
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Kenya McDuffie
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