My personal writing process has never really been exactly traditional. I've never been a fan of outlines so much as I am a fan of grabbing a sheet of paper and running with any idea that comes into my head. I specifically remember actually, in 9th grade my teacher at a parent-teacher conference, (I went with my parents), said: "Allysa has a lot of good ideas, but it seems she gets carried away with what she's trying to say and ends up vomiting everything she has in her head onto the page". That stuck with me, and I realized then the importance of a focused idea instead of many ideas, and to achieve that it required organization.
So in tenth grade, I started using outlines more and really thinking about the purpose of what I was saying and if how I was saying it reflected that purpose. Becuase of the "vomit comment" (as I refer to it), I was able to realize that not everyone can see inside of my head and see the pattern of my thoughts; I learned that I had to spell it out to my reader. This was also when I began to write in a very formal way, however, once I began eleventh and even twelfth grade Google Docs became a very big thing and taking time and care to think of the perfect words to write on a physical sheet of paper became a thing of the past.
Typing my papers became a time when I no longer worried about having to erase what I had written if I didn't like it. I admit that sometimes I miss the serious and conscious effort that existed with a paper and a pencil, but typing my paper meant that it was also more likely that I would revise my paper. For me, writing out my paper by hand made me feel like it was my absolute best effort...and it probably was my best effort, but it wasn't necessarily my best. Because typing is fast it makes me feel better about "re-doing" my work...even though it's more about improving my work.
What was even better was when Blogger came along, however. Blogger created this really casual place where I felt as a writer that I could have a voice and a personality and an opinion. Writing and making something that I think other people would enjoy reading is really big with me right now. Especially as I get to higher levels of education and I'm forced to read these stuffy articles that nearly put me to sleep...it makes me want to be a writer that can get my point across in both a smart and interesting way.
So in tenth grade, I started using outlines more and really thinking about the purpose of what I was saying and if how I was saying it reflected that purpose. Becuase of the "vomit comment" (as I refer to it), I was able to realize that not everyone can see inside of my head and see the pattern of my thoughts; I learned that I had to spell it out to my reader. This was also when I began to write in a very formal way, however, once I began eleventh and even twelfth grade Google Docs became a very big thing and taking time and care to think of the perfect words to write on a physical sheet of paper became a thing of the past.
Typing my papers became a time when I no longer worried about having to erase what I had written if I didn't like it. I admit that sometimes I miss the serious and conscious effort that existed with a paper and a pencil, but typing my paper meant that it was also more likely that I would revise my paper. For me, writing out my paper by hand made me feel like it was my absolute best effort...and it probably was my best effort, but it wasn't necessarily my best. Because typing is fast it makes me feel better about "re-doing" my work...even though it's more about improving my work.
What was even better was when Blogger came along, however. Blogger created this really casual place where I felt as a writer that I could have a voice and a personality and an opinion. Writing and making something that I think other people would enjoy reading is really big with me right now. Especially as I get to higher levels of education and I'm forced to read these stuffy articles that nearly put me to sleep...it makes me want to be a writer that can get my point across in both a smart and interesting way.
Hi Ally, I was also prone to the "vomit technique" and tried to write everything at once. I like how you comment on the transition to typing papers, and completely agree that more thought was put into pen and paper as it felt etched in stone so to speak. Rewriting is much more accessible today, but we may lose out on that serious, conscious effort you brought up.
ReplyDeleteHey Ally! I also agree with you and Jules that re-writing is much more accessible these days! Also, writing with pen on paper really gave us the opportunity to really put our thoughts out there. Blogger is such a great place to basically "free write"!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Renee
Wow, the "vomit technique" I'm not sure I would choose that language in describing a student's writing style ... maybe in describing my own but not another's. It seems to have really stood out in your memory. I can't help but think of how Flowers and Hayes may see that more as a process of invention, or searching for purpose, and then needing to make decisions.
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