What Is The Madman/Architect Article

There are many who strive to become famous writers and although some succeed, many do not find such great prosperity. In the words of bestselling author Stephen King, “while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one,” (142). King’s thesis from his novel On Writing can be debated because with “hard work, dedication, and timely help” it is possible for a writer of any skill level to improve to become better. On Writing is intended to teach the basic skills of writing so readers can develop writing skills to progress to be better writers. If one has passion for writing, patience, and the willingness to learn they will succeed in becoming great writers.

In chapter 3 of Everyone’s an Author, the main purpose is to discuss the writing process and its components. The chapter emphasizes the idea that practice makes perfect and it may take time and patience to find the writing process that works well for you. In order to find a writing process that leads to you working the most efficiently, one must approach their writing and take note of the habits they make, and analyze whether or not they work well.

When students complete a first draft, they consider the job of writing done – and their teachers too often agree. When professional writers complete a first draft, they usually feel that they are at the start of the writing process. When a draft is completed, the job of writing can begin. That difference in attitude is the difference between amateur and professional, inexperience and experience, journeyman and craftsman. Peter F. Drucker, the prolific business writer, calls his first draft “the zero draft”–after that he can start counting. Most writers share the feeling that the first draft, and all of those which follow, are opportunities to discover what they have to say and how best they can say it. To produce a progression of drafts, each of which says more and says it more clearly, the writer has to develop a special kind of reading skill. In school we are taught to decode what appears on the page as finished writing. Writers, however, face a different

Whether while writing an essay or a birthday card, we have all struggled to find the proper words to illustrate our thoughts or feelings from time to time. Upholding the occupation of a writer would multiply that struggle tenfold. An occupation that depends on interesting, fluid pieces of writing every submission requires an adequate number of attempts and patience. Lamott expresses that writers “all often feel like we are pulling teeth” (Lamott), which proves the difficulty of writing is still there no matter the level of writer behind the work. Lamott also emphasizes that a writer “has to start somewhere” and shares her friend’s ideas in her writing to simply “get something - anything - down on paper” (Lamott). Lamott, and the other writers mentioned in this piece, carry incredible track records, while still admitting that perfection did not come initially, or even easily. Thus, proving that the Shitty First Draft has a place in any writer’s notebook or Word document. Lamott’s admission to struggling to properly begin a piece of writing surprised me, given of her success. I could not imagine a woman of her accomplishments stressing out over a food review, yet I felt relieved that someone of Lamott’s title relates to an amateur writer like myself. I often put off my writing as well when I cannot articulate a proper introduction. I do every other possible homework, or shy away from homework in general because the

Everyone knows what writing is to one extent or another, but we all have different definitions of how it should be done and varying degrees of seriousness about the art. We all have a process of writing, but each is unique to ourselves and our own experiences. Annie Dillard and Stephen King are two well known authors who have published many pieces, two of which describe how they view the writing process and let their readers get a peek of what goes on through their minds when they write. These two pieces are Dillard’s The Writing Life and King’s “What Writing Is.”

Teachers, parents, and friends often tell students exactly what the writing process should entail and how long it should take. However, the older I get, the more I realize that the writing process varies not only from person to person, but also from one writing project to the next. Throughout my years of life, I have written countless papers, ranging from a persuasive speech to an extensive research paper, and each project requires an altered version of my personal writing process. While each individual has his own writing process, there can be many similarities between different writing processes. Finding one’s individual writing process takes trial, error, and repetition. When an individual finally uncovers his unique writing process, better thought, work, and writing is produced.

Writing is a practice that most of us were taught when we were young. We were taught the basics of grammar, how to form a sentence, conjunction words, how to write paragraphs and more. Although we have learned this skill while growing up and have used the skill every year after entering kindergarten, this does not mean our writing process will ensure the best work. The authors that I chose each encourage their audience to excel in the art of writing in their own way to help with the writing process.

Every writer has a particular way to describe their writing. Whether they describe it as a form of telepathy like the distinguished author, Stephen King, or as a painting like the renowned author, Annie Dillard, an abundance of writers can compare their process of writing to something. Even I have some way to describe my writing, I believe it is like being an architect creating marvelous building and cities made of words. This paper is meant to explain the writing process of the two aforementioned authors as well as outlining my own writing process. By comparing and contrasting the different metaphors used by each author one can see how similar every writer is to some extent.

In the essay “The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts “, Donald Murray explores the relentless process a writer may go through to edit their work. Murray explains that a writer should depend on himself to successfully scrutinize and edit the multiple drafts it takes to create a writing piece. This process can require the creator to rewrite a draft many times. This is necessary for the writer to produce a writing that will express exactly what the writer is trying to convey.

“To write to be a writer, I have to trust and believe in myself as a speaker, as a voice for the images. I have to believe that can communicate with images and words that I can do it well. A lack of belief in my creative self is a lack of belief in my total self and vice versa- I cannot separate my writing from any part of my life. It is all one” (95).

Writing my research philosophy and paper about writing spaces and rituals reflect Laurel Richardson’s words, in WRITING, A Method of Inquiry, “ None of us knows his or her final destination, but all of us can know about the shape and makers of our lives, that we can chose to confront, embrace, or ignore” (p. 967). When I began the writing journey I wasn’t quite sure where I was going, but through assemblage, I was able to produce some type of order.

"To write to be a writer, I have to trust and believe in myself as a speaker, as a voice for the images. I have to believe that can communicate with images and words that I can do it well. A lack of belief in my creative self is a lack of belief in my total self and vice versa- I cannot separate my writing from any part of my life. It is all one" (95).

Donald Murray provides strong advice on the drafting process in his essay, The Maker’s Eye. By beginning with a boost in confidence, Murray reassures his reader that everyone, even the most renowned writers have to start somewhere. In explaining what he perceives to be the chronological order of the writing process, he tells his readers to: “detach themselves from their own pages so they can apply both their caring and their craft to their own work” (Murray 1). In order to understand how one’s audience perceives a piece, they must remove themselves and be critical. Murray continues by describing the seven elements one must consider in constructing their first draft: subject, audience, form, structure, development, dimension, and tone. In tackling

Creativity allows people to find their purpose to write without feeling like it isn’t good enough when it gets read. Schwalbe claims that the importance of writing freely is to enjoy the process of writing and also enjoy reading what is being written. “Reading isn’t just a strike against narrowness, mind control, domination: It’s one of the world’s great joys.” (Schwalbe, 20) When writing, the words should make sense that they flow freely onto the page and be read without any confusion. Sometimes when we write, we get stuck, especially when we must write a certain way that we may not understand.

Every great writer, whether it is a poet, novelist, journalist, or any other type will share a common beginning with every person, this I see. Where they take it from there is up to them, the choice is free. The common beginning is simple, even quite easy. It usually starts in kindergarten learning the ABC's. From there you learn to form and read words-the first step of literacy. In my opinion, writing can be fun, but it did not always seem that way to me. This paper will give a brief background on my steps in the writing experience; this is my writing history.