Journal Three

I really enjoyed reading “Shitty First Drafts” because I felt like it was saying what I was thinking, but in a better way. Like as if my thoughts were the first draft of what she was saying and her version of it was the final draft. I feel the same way about it that the first time I start to write something, I let my thoughts ramble and I make it a point to get everything out on the paper. Then later on I go back and organize, edit, and fix all the bad parts. In my head I thought I was in the rare few that wrote really really bad first drafts, but after reading this, I realize a lot of people do it. This reading helped me realize that I’m not the only one who just gets their thoughts out on the first draft, and it makes me feel better that such an accomplished writer has a similar thought process. Usually, in past papers written, I would outline, make webs, and organize because it was assigned. I could never just write, put my thoughts out, and feel like I was having a conversation with the paper. I always had to organize myself first because it was assigned when I’d rather just write. Then I would write and I would be too worried about it being organized and formal it would come out badly anyway.

When I get writing, my thoughts tend to pour out and a lot of my first drafts seem like rambling. In a way I like this because I can make sure I’ve said everything I wanted to even if it’s not in the right order. I wonder how many drafts it took Anne Lamott to write this essay successfully, and if her first draft of it was shitty too. The observation Lamott has in “Shitty First Drafts” gives me good insight on how my first draft will turn out, probably somewhat similar to how hers have turned out. It makes me feel better that she says that all writers write bad first drafts, and that it’s a normal thing to do. When she said that people confuse the view of writers with the reality of them, I was one of those people who believed writers were perfect for all of their drafts. I believed that writers woke up every morning and had the power to write a beautiful paper, and that the thoughts just kept flowing from their minds onto the paper. I believed they didn’t write, edit, rearrange, cut, paste, rewrite and reedit, I was under the impression that they could write something for the first time and it would turn out perfectly. All the time I’ve written poor first drafts I’ve thought it was a downfall in my writing, but now that I see that good writers do it all the time I’m much more comfortable knowing that the first time writing a paper definitely will not be the perfect final draft.

Journal Two

“Shirt-Worthy”. I particularly liked this memoir because I felt like the writer chose an unexpected topic, an experience that didn’t seem that it would be of much importance. Then by the time the story was over, I could tell that this shirt had meant a lot to him and his son. The subject of the story would be the shirt, or how badly the son wanted the shirt, and I think the intended audience could be anyone interested in the Ramones band, or even anyone who can relate to a typical-turned-meaningful experience. This story is relevant to a lot of people because even though not everyone has children, likes the band the Ramones, or celebrates Christmas, there is something in the story that anyone can relate to. For example, I don’t have a clue who the Ramones band is, I’ve never been to a rock concert, and I don’t have a child to buy gifts for, but many times have I climbed a fence and not quite made it over which led to a tear in my clothing. This story is relevant to English 15 students because we are also writing our own memoirs, but it is relevant to the general public because there are so many different parts of the story that can relate to a broad array of people.

David Giffels, the author, does a good job of illustrating the meaning of something simple to him and his child. The point of the story is to not only show us his dedication to the Ramones band, but also show a transition into parenthood. He reminds us that once he had children he had to reconsider his beliefs, and says,” Then I had children, which involves reconsidering everything you once believed to be true”. By saying this, he also made me think about how our lives are constantly changing, and sometimes the beliefs we once had as younger people have to change to suit our needs as we get older. Giffels does this through touching the readers emotions, using pathos, and making us feel that this tee shirt was of the utmost importance. Right from the start the author explains what it takes to get a Ramones tee shirt, and that it must be “scented with personal experience”. By doing this, right off the bat the reader considers this tee shirt important. Also, he uses ethos by going out and getting another shirt just because it would make his son happy, or even getting the shirt in the first place. The logical thing to do would have been to sew it up, but he knew his child wouldn’t have been nearly as happy.

Journal One

A lot of high schools back home, not including mine, are only required to write one research paper throughout the four years of mandatory English classes. My high school was different because it required a research paper every year, totaling up to at least four research papers. Still, however, I consider research papers one of my weaknesses in writing. Something about taking scientific research, sometimes even statistics, and smoothly incorporating it into a well written paper is very challenging to me. Another weakness I have is writing essays and papers in a given time limit. I like to have time to look over, edit, and re-edit my work before confidently handing it in. I’ve noticed that through high school and middle school I haven’t done as well on timed writing assignments than I have on assignments that have given me more time to read through it. This is something that’s hard to work on to fix, but I feel that if I can stronger my sentences the first time I write them I won’t have to go back to edit as many times, making the proofreading time shorter and, naturally, making the overall time for the paper shorter. As a writer I’d like to improve on converting facts and information collected from research to a well written, smoothly incorporated research paper. I think once my transitions improve, my papers overall will be better written. In order to make my transitions more cohesive in my writing, I need to learn the proper place to insert a quote or fact, where to cite it, and then the proper amount of explanation afterword. On the other hand, one of my strengths as a writer has turned out to be persuasive writing. In the past I’ve been particularly strong in this area because of a lot of practice with standardized tests. For as long as I can remember, a persuasive essay has been on the standardized test every year I was required to take one, so I feel that I’ve had adequate practice in persuasive writing. Another strength I have as a writer is organization. I try to keep my thoughts together, and then move onto another once the first one is complete. Organization used to be a much larger problem for me, but through high school I wrote a lot of essays and papers, and it has gotten much better. I think this course will help me improve as a writer because I’ll learn how to “clean up” my papers. Sometimes I feel like my writing can seem choppy, so I think by learning how to make my writing more cohesive I’ll be a better writer and rhetor.

As a writer I’ve been inspired by many things. When the song” Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield came out, one lyric stood out to me. In the song she says, “The rest is still unwritten”. This seems corny in the context as a writer, but I think about how if my life was a story I’ve writing since birth, the rest is really unwritten. I can’t predict the future, the end of the story, and I don’t know where it’ll lead me. My life is an unwritten story that will take time to finish. Another inspiration I’ve had is through J.K. Rowling. Although I’ve never read Harry Potter, I’m inspired by J.K. Rowling because she’s a successful writer. She started in a coffee shop with ordinary people, and has now made herself one of the most distinguished female writers ever. I admire her hard work and dedication to her passion, and her success has inspired me to become a better writer myself.