After leaving class today, I felt inspired to go back and re-read Smith's article. I had read it before, but when I read it the first time, I never really placed myself within the myths. I just kept saying to myself, well duh, of course that isn't true... but when going back and actually placing myself in situations where I fell into those myths, I was able to better identify with the article.
For example, "A fixed period of "prewriting" can or should be distinguishable before any writing act", is one myth that was forged into my brain as a high school student. We HAD to come up with an idea, write an outline, include a thesis, draft, edit, and then begin the write the paper. Why? Why did I HAVE to write an outline? I understand it helps struggling students find a way to organize thoughts, and outlines definitely are not a bad thing...but they are not my thing. I hate outlines.. I would much rather just start writing and see where it takes me. Outlines scare me because once I write one, I feel I can't go out of it. I can't switch paragraph 1 with paragraph 2 because the outline says it should be that way. I like how Smith categorizes daydreaming as a prewrite. Some of my best ideas come to me while I'm on a long run, and just because it doesn't fit into those defined steps, it isn't considered a credible to my high school teacher.
I love the quote, "The act of writing does not break itself down into neatly identifiable and manageable "steps", rather it is part of all our existence" (30). I think we need to allow our students to go beyond these myths, and while some of them (like prewriting) are useful, people naturally go outside of them.
I agree that not everybody writes the same, and it is important to give students an idea of how to write. You make a good point. Writing shouldn't be confined just to one format. As teachers, we should allow our students to be creative.
ReplyDeleteI really like your personal voice- and I agree with the outline process and how brutal it can be! You have inspired me to reread the myths and apply them to my own experiences.
ReplyDeleteI, myself, have never been a fan of outlines, and I often wonder how the hell I'm going to teach the value of an outline, when I barely use it myself! An interesting challenge we face is stepping out of ourselves as writers and giving our students the tools to discover what works for them.
ReplyDeleteI thought your recognition of the variety of prewriting techniques, like your thoughts during a run, was really great. When I was reading this post, I was reminded of a professor recently telling my class about some well known author who wouldn't write at all for several years until he sat down and began typing out the novel he'd been composing in his head during that time. If professional authors can utilize these kinds of prewriting techniques, it seems remiss of us as teachers if we don't acknowledge their existence.
ReplyDeleteI liked your post as it reminded me of some the struggles I go through with my writing. Almost always, I force myself to complete an outline and oftentimes end up only using a small section of it in papers. However, as teachers, I think it's easy to forget that our students like options. If a kid writes best from outlines, then I will welcome that structure just as I will accept papers written from a daydream.
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