New Methods to bypass Writer’s Block
We are seven weeks into the course, and again, here we are returning and discussing the importance and difficulty of writing. I guess we can note I was right when discussing Catherine Savini’s article from the first week of class. There is no way to avoid the difficult aspects of writing- but if I may speak for myself, it is also most enjoyable when you can find a solution to writer’s block. Of course, the many readings we have done thus far have taught us how to effectively write well and teach us how to avoid the intricacies of writing. It certainly has aided in understanding the “writing process.” However, I cannot assert that the process has been ‘easier.’ In E. Shelley Reid’s article, “Ten Ways To Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Students,” she summarizes the difficulties of writing but proposes to students ten solutions on how to bypass writer’s block. Now, there is no necessary reason to note all ten in this post, but I can claim that each held value in the writing process. Therefore, I’ll cover these three points, as I feel they are worth noting: The Little Green Ball and Some People: Doing Details Right, Lost Money and Thank-you Notes: What’s in an Audience?, and Short-Time Writing: Use Your Higher Brain.
3. The Little Green Ball and Some People: Doing Details
In her section of “The Little Green Ball and Some People: Doing Details Right,” she emphasizes the importance of including and making visual details in writing. When we tend to get lazy in the writing process, we write believing that readers can read our minds, which, unfortunately, they cannot. If you construct a sentence as such: “I have a green ball”– even an elementary student can comprehend this clause. This does not denote that a sentence should be entirely complex. However, it should have good quality of visual descriptions so that readers are on the same page. For example, instead of the previous sentence, a better substitution of painting a visual that Reid states: “I have a little green ball about an inch in diameter, small enough to hide in your hand. It’s light neon green-like highlighter ink and made of smooth shiny rubber with a slightly rough line running around its equator as if two halves were joined together. When I drop it on the tile floor, it bounces back nearly as high as my hand; when I throw it down the hallway, it careens unpredictably off the walls and floor.” Now, re-read these two sentences describing the green ball, and you will effortlessly know which is better quality. When we write, we should always seek to describe what we are talking about– Describe it- provide examples– It will enhance your writing if the audience can follow what you are attempting to demonstrate.
4. “Lost Money and Thank-you Notes: What’s in an Audience?”
To add, her next point, “ Lost Money and Thank-you Notes: What’s in an Audience?” talks about the vital role it plays in understanding writing to an audience. It can help ease the process of writing if you know who the intended audience is because you can convey that message specifically to them. In this course, when I write a paper, I feel inclined to say the intended audience is Professor Friend, but I feel it is also accurate to say that my peers are because they are the first to set eyes on my paper. Indeed, I am still conducting the paper in the manner that the Professor deems fit –both really–, but my primary audience is my classmates. It is important to identify your audience before putting pen to paper because it helps your message not get lost in translation. I think the challenging thing Reid asserted in this section was that writers must consider whom the audience might share a writer’s work with (secondary). If I happen to write a love letter to my ex-girlfriend, imploring her to take me back, I have established that the primary audience is my ex-girlfriend. However, if I knew she would show a multitude of people the letter because it was so charming and heartfelt, or unfortunately embarrassing, I might adjust how I write the letter. Will she show her mother, father, best friends, cousins, or social media? These are all possible secondary audience(s) in this case. I would not know who specifically she will show, so writing to the secondary audience is much more challenging than writing to the primary. In this class, we all know who the secondary audience is– if you believe it is the Professor or a peer, both are fine. It is not difficult to identify the secondary audience because we are writing on the same subject, so we know what we want to see from each other.
9. ‘Short-Time Writing: Use Your Higher Brain.’
The final point I enjoyed reading about was Reid’s section, ‘Short-Time Writing: Use Your Higher Brain.’ Writing is hard, so attempting to write at the last minute is a lose-lose situation. Reid discusses that when you are writing under pressure and time constraints, your brain will not deliver what it is you so desperately need for your paper. The higher brain is assisting me in writing this blog, and it is the same thing we all use when writing. However, if we attempt to do so last second, then the higher brain goes awry- Reid states, “The higher brain starts to lose out to the lower brain.” I have a few friends who claim that they enjoy writing last minute because “they work better under pressure.” I cannot say that they are lying or not, but from the marks they have received, perhaps it is not a lie. Of course, I am skeptical of the idea because I was not blessed with such a feat. I have to write one week in advance to write efficiently. It takes me a very long time (without exaggeration here, really) to write three sentences– It takes even longer for a paragraph. I am not sure if that is because I am overthinking, but I am certain it is just my way of writing essays. If I were to wait two days to write, I could possibly submit the worst paper in history, so I plan to avoid this issue. I do not like cram writing because, as Reid asserts, my lower brain would take over, which is something I would not want. We all are different writers and attempt to find solutions to avoid problems, but we always seem to forget the crucial importance of time.
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