Cameron Bolin Professor Whicker English 151 10 February 2012 Writing: A Unique Process On the day my big paper

for Junior English was due, I of course was not finished. I rapidly threw as much information into my paper as possible and rushed to first period to turn it in. This was how I used to write my papers, until I realized that writing is an authors unique way of expressing themselves. I use to write as if writing were a mundane process of putting as many ideas down on paper as possible. However, scholarly writers help me to understand that there is much more to writing. Its the ability to convey your thoughts in a way that no one else can. Think of how you write; do you have to be in the same environment each time with limited distractions, or can you be in a noisy atmosphere? I know that if I am not completely zoned out in my own little world when writing, I cannot write much more than a few sentences at a time, and that is not the way I like to write; my best papers are produced in one draft, all written in one night. I have often found myself in that frustrating position where nothing seems to come to mind, no matter how hard I try. This, at times is the most helpless feeling in the world; but by recently acquiring confidence in my work and determination to produce successful writing, my thoughts have started to come to me more fluently. Over the years, as I have continued to write I have become a writer that does my best work when I incorporate events and memories that are important to me in my paper. Everyone has their own style of writing and this is what makes writing so special. Its not about following a certain criteria step by step, but rather being able to dig deep inside yourself and pull out that special paper that you may not have even known was there. So there I was, already a junior in high school, still having trouble writing papers for my English class. It was so demoralizing spending hours upon hours each day trying to finish a simple paper. I would

sit at the library during study hall, attempting to write one of these papers, but all I could think of was what I had to do or wanted to do later that day. Being a team captain on the basketball team, I often spent my time thinking of ways to help the team succeed at the next game or how I could make myself and the rest of the guys better at practice that evening. Then once I went home that evening, I either wanted to just relax, or I would go through the game play-by-play in my head, thinking of what I could have done better This, in my mind was a unique version of a writers block, but it always seemed to affect me. Even when I would clear my mind of the game or practice, I would still have a terrible time coming up with the precise words to fit the paper. Anne Lamott stated it best in her article, Shitty First Drafts, when she said, The right words and sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time (Lamott 301). Dont think youre the only one that has a tough time writing papers because it is a very common problem that many of us face regularly. The best technique I have found when writing is to get in that right place and to make sure I have a plan of what Id like to write about before I begin. I can always tell after reading my writings whether or not I had it all planned out in its entirety before starting. Planning is a key to my success in writing, as well as getting all my thoughts out and on paper at once. So here I am, sitting in a dark room at my desk with a dim lamp-light providing some visibility; that peaceful Jack Johnson beat humming through my headphones, and no disruptions anywhere. What is it about this environment that enables me to write? The best answer I have is that by being secluded in my own room away from anyone and everyone, I have that sense of freedom to write without worrying about all the other tasks I need to accomplish. Like Stephen King wrote in What Writing Is, If you construct your own far-seeing place thats your own little red wagon (King 305). Meaning the best writing comes from a place you have invented because in that world youre in your own comfort zone. I know if I am in a crowded area I can hardly ever write anything useful. The light sound of the air conditioner behind me, along with some music, puts me in my own peaceful world, just me and my

laptop. Envisioning all the papers I had written in the past few years, the best ones came to me when I was nearly in this same environment. Before finding this comfort zone, I struggled so much with writing. I see myself as a one-draft writer (Harris), although I do take occasional breaks; I try to finish everything in one night because I feel as though if I stop and then come back to my paper, I will have to reread it all and try to get back into the groove of writing. By being a one-draft writer, I tend to do all of my pre-writing beforehand, by simply designing some structure into my paper so I dont get off topic. One-draft writers have a tendency to do all of their revision and transcribing mentally while they are writing, rather than writing it all out and then revising it afterwards (Harris 178). I think I am a one-draft writer because each time I start writing a sentence, there is a little voice in my head telling me to reword or delete a useless word or phrase. By doing this, I edit my paper while I am writing it, instead of after I finish it. This little voice can be thought of as an inner critic because it forces me to keep working on my paper until I am completely satisfied. Fortunately for me, I always had coaches in high school that pushed me to my limits so I had that ability to do the same to myself through my inner critic. Although I often get aggravated from being so critical of my work, I think this helps produce better papers. If I just accept whatever it is I write down, then all of my papers will be lousy and unacceptable. I like to make sure everything I do is to my best ability and writing is no different. Allegra Goodman thinks once you relax your inner critic, you will often be able to shrug it off your shoulder and start writing effectively. I strongly agree with her in the article, Calming the Inner Critic and Getting to Work, when she says, Love your material. Nothing frightens the inner critic more than the writer who loves her work (Goodman 309). This goes back to what I said in the introduction about having confidence in what I write. A few years ago when I was not very confident in my papers, I could never please my inner critic no matter how hard I tried. Nowadays, I write with self-assurance in my work and as it turns out, it has proven to

be extremely beneficial. This doesnt mean I think my writing is as great as scholarly authors, but it does give me a boost to write with self-confidence. Perhaps you like to write in a crowded school library for one to two hour intervals each day until you finish a paper. Or maybe you are able to write without that pesky inner critic telling you what is wrong or needs changed. This is the beauty of writing, there is no one set in stone way of writing. Yes, everyone finishes with a relatively similar looking draft, but what is inside the lines comes deep from within that individual writer. For me, that comfort zone is required and I need to limit all distractions, while also writing my whole draft at one time. Confidence is crucial in satisfying my inner critic, as well as allowing me to believe that my paper will turn out well-written. Look for that comfort zone and calm your inner critic, if this is a problem you encounter when writing. You can look at writing as an assignment, or a chance to express your thoughts and feelings; the choice is yours.

Works Cited Harris, Muriel. Composing Behaviors of One- and Multi-Draft Writers. 2nd. 51. National Council of Teachers of English, 1989. 174-191. Web. King, Stephen. What Writing Is. Rpt in Wardle Downs. 305. Lamott, Anne. Shitty First Drafts. Rpt in Wardle Downs. 301. Goodman, Allegra. Calming the Inner Critic and Getting to Work. Rpt in Wardle Downs. 308. Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs. Writing about Writing: A College Reader. 1st. Boston/New York: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2011. 301-309. Print.