Feeling a sense of nagging, which sounds terrible. Makes me think of all good habits - done a little everyday.
The more I read, the more I feel like a fake - I'm not a writer! I sign, sing, and play piano. I work in a copy center. I have no great desire to write memoirs or short stories. I don't know when I will ever write again in my life, at least "important" writing. The only thing that comes to mind is songwriting.. which, as it comes to mind, is the first time I've made the connection between that writing and this course. Either way, I like to pretend I am more a thief who takes the process and applies it to other parts of my life (or others' lives in my imagination.)
"rule of regular"
"induced depression"
I am still rather surprised that, even for writers or English majors, writing comes at such a cost to most who carry out these practices of binge writing or waiting and rushing.
I'd feel silly taking any songwriting or poetry to a composition professor. I would, however, enjoy sitting down with one to pick their brain about motivational aids to writing.
"involved first and motivated later"
The relation to joining a conversation was interesting. I tend to simply absorb information or my surroundings in conversational settings, or jump right in. Does personality have anything to do with writing styles? I'm sure they have some sort of an effect.
I feel comforted, even encouraged just reading the paragraph about joining the writing "conversation."
"waiting becomes less passive" "forcing becomes less active"
Big "ah-ha!" moments going off like fireworks in my head. Of course! How is this not obvious to us all? It may seem great on paper right now, but I still need more motivation or inspiration to actually want to begin research on a topic sometimes. Some days I don't feel like contributing to the conversation.
"about what could be said" an invitation heartily accepted!
Realizing how much confidence this process musters up makes me want to begin working on my paper, as well as songwriting
Tying together searching for success in your interests and admirations as far as writing
Fear or nagging realization found in this quote: "Impressive as these insights are, they don't always translate into action."
Leaves me wanting more - what other parallels do they find or look for?
I read this reading at a much quicker pace than yesterday, with a highlighter and pen in hand. I prefer the slower reading, so I hope to re-read this section after class or later this morning. I can compare the experience to going back to the theater to see a movie you've already seen and catching more subtle nuances or even obvious actions or intentions you may have missed when you were digging around your purse to silence your cell phone or grasping for the last small bits of popcorn in your bucket.
I reflect as I write in an immediate response way - have a thought, needs to get out. Don't know why it has to get out - just because it's the first thing to pop into my head doesn't make it automatically worthy of writing down. This is not a first-come first-served environment!
The more I read, the more I feel like a fake - I'm not a writer! I sign, sing, and play piano. I work in a copy center. I have no great desire to write memoirs or short stories. I don't know when I will ever write again in my life, at least "important" writing. The only thing that comes to mind is songwriting.. which, as it comes to mind, is the first time I've made the connection between that writing and this course. Either way, I like to pretend I am more a thief who takes the process and applies it to other parts of my life (or others' lives in my imagination.)
"rule of regular"
"induced depression"
I am still rather surprised that, even for writers or English majors, writing comes at such a cost to most who carry out these practices of binge writing or waiting and rushing.
I'd feel silly taking any songwriting or poetry to a composition professor. I would, however, enjoy sitting down with one to pick their brain about motivational aids to writing.
"involved first and motivated later"
The relation to joining a conversation was interesting. I tend to simply absorb information or my surroundings in conversational settings, or jump right in. Does personality have anything to do with writing styles? I'm sure they have some sort of an effect.
I feel comforted, even encouraged just reading the paragraph about joining the writing "conversation."
"waiting becomes less passive" "forcing becomes less active"
Big "ah-ha!" moments going off like fireworks in my head. Of course! How is this not obvious to us all? It may seem great on paper right now, but I still need more motivation or inspiration to actually want to begin research on a topic sometimes. Some days I don't feel like contributing to the conversation.
"about what could be said" an invitation heartily accepted!
Realizing how much confidence this process musters up makes me want to begin working on my paper, as well as songwriting
Tying together searching for success in your interests and admirations as far as writing
Fear or nagging realization found in this quote: "Impressive as these insights are, they don't always translate into action."
Leaves me wanting more - what other parallels do they find or look for?
I read this reading at a much quicker pace than yesterday, with a highlighter and pen in hand. I prefer the slower reading, so I hope to re-read this section after class or later this morning. I can compare the experience to going back to the theater to see a movie you've already seen and catching more subtle nuances or even obvious actions or intentions you may have missed when you were digging around your purse to silence your cell phone or grasping for the last small bits of popcorn in your bucket.
I reflect as I write in an immediate response way - have a thought, needs to get out. Don't know why it has to get out - just because it's the first thing to pop into my head doesn't make it automatically worthy of writing down. This is not a first-come first-served environment!
I absolutely love how you put this post together. A true model of the 'mindful reading' we did in class yesterday. I can just hear your voice reading those snippits of phrases that stood out to you. Thanks for showing me another model for how I can think about these posts :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, while you're probably right about bringing your songs to a Comp Prof. I think Boice has some perspective that might help. On page 15 he mentions Comp Profs and says they can help us think about problems (and how to solve them) in different ways. Maybe the prof wouldn't be able to comment on your chord progression, your major fifths, your harmony, etc, but maybe he could help you puzzle through a specific problem you're having with the composition of the song ( or maybe I'm just a bit biased when it comes to what writing teachers can do :)
If you're interested in the intersection of writing and music, Peter Elbow ( a Comp. Prof) has written about "The Music of Form". There are others out there, but this is the first that comes to mind.
Thanks for sharing, Sarah.
Your last paragraph really stood out to me, Sarah, specifically this piece:
ReplyDelete"just because it's the first thing to pop into my head doesn't make it automatically worthy of writing down. This is not a first-come first-served environment!"
I need to remember this more often, both with my writing and my speech. I tend to be someone who says what I'm thinking, immediately, without thinking, and at times this boils over into my writing. Fortunately with writing, I have the chance to revise, rework, reorganize, and edit, and I do this with regularity. However, I can't always do the same with talking. Thanks for this amusingly written reminder :)
Also, like Max said, your prose in this post is beautiful to read. I can follow it along and hear your sing-song voice saying it aloud with contemplation and a little humor. Nicely done.