Writer's Web:The Essence of Writing Well as Told by E.B. White

Immediately after we are born, we start picking up sounds; the sound of our mother’s voice, the music playing in the elevator on the way to the car, and the happy cheers from a small child seeing their new sibling for the first time. We are always listening–picking up on conversations not meant for our ears, eavesdropping on the gossip of the adult world, and finding the meaning in the portentous silence. From all these auditory stimuli, we piece together the world around us to better understand what is happening to us, around us, and the secret happenings that were not for us to know. Great writers are the ones who listen and say nothing–who take it all in and save their classified information for a day when all the right words flow and form one epic story of the wondrous world we live in.

Lamott compares the process of writing with the painful process of pulling the teeth. She believes that in order to produce a high quality writing, the author must first put together all their ideas and thoughts in form of the “child draft”. This draft determines the flow and dimension

Writing is a powerful tool for communication and connection. As an extension and expression of the mind, writing is as much about the mental processes of the author as it is about the final marks laid to paper. As we write, we hold in mind our own thoughts on the work, anticipate the reader’s thoughts, and think both in concrete and abstract ways in order to accomplish the task at hand. Whether an academic research paper, a novel, or text message to friends, writing seeks to engage, persuade, or impress concepts upon an audience. Like language and other art forms in general, the practice of writing is ever-evolving and is subject to cultural and contextual influence, expectations, and conventions. Each writer holds a theory

Charlotte rejects her mother’s ideology from a young age, and has the perspective to see past the illusions of perfection her mother creates, and Miss. Hancock gives her the weapons to fight her mother. In seventh grade, Miss. Hancock teaches Charlotte about the metaphor, sparking the creativity within Charlotte her mother shunned. The metaphor becomes a symbol throughout the short story, but it also develops into something deeper. The metaphor becomes an allegory of Charlotte 's rebellion against her mother’s influence, and her future. Writing is an outlet, an opportunity for Charlotte to express and understand herself. The form of expression was a gift from Miss. Hancock, who arms her with the power of creativity. “‘My home,’ I said aloud, ‘is a box It is cool and quiet and empty and uninteresting. Nobody lives in the box,” Charlotte says in seventh grade. She has a complex understanding of herself, and is able to articulate her frustrations through metaphors. After graduating out of Miss. Hancock’s seventh grade class, the story picks up introducing the reader to Charlotte as a

The article “The Writing Revolution” by Peg Tyre is a piece which aims to address the problems in school systems often associated with the way in which writing is taught to students. Tyre’s article conveys the different arguments presented in the course of teaching writing to students, which have been shown to be on opposite sides of the creative and analytical spectrum. These different perspectives of how to build the foundation of writing for the children of America as well as other countries are backed similarly on both sides, though the debate still continues. “The Writing Revolution” instead of focusing on all aspects of writing, highlights the effectiveness of analytical fundamentals over that of creative writing in helping to

She begins by pointing out that writing is not an easy process with a clear path; according to Anne it is something that almost everyone, even professional writers, struggle with. She explains that the only way she can begin to write is with horrible first drafts because they are private, can be written more loosely than typical essays, and can lead to a more defined

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

The standard impression most people have of writers is that they can sit down and just let a perfect composition flow from their heads onto paper. In her writing career, Lamott has observed how “writing is not rapturous. In

In the article “Shitty First Drafts,” the author, Anne Lamott, observes and comments on the flaws laced in having a worthy piece of writing. Through her experiences, Lamott demonstrates that writing does not come easily, comparing writing to “pulling teeth.” Generally, she encourages that every writer should engage in writing a shitty first draft because the writer will eventually follow through in producing a better second draft and possibly, a “terrific third

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.”

In order to be successful, the students must fully dive in and give themselves to writing. Though her students say that yes they do want to be writers, Dillard questions if they understand what the choice really means. She asks herself “why do I want them to mean it?”; perhaps because just as she can recognize a moth, she can also recognize that many of them will not end up becoming writers. They do not understand that writing will be hard work but relatively unrewarding. Only after the moth had died did it truly begin to burn, acting as a second wick. Only after she falls asleep do the candles in Dillard’s last paragraph flame and thrive. The true success of the writing-- the inspiration and understanding it creates for others-- will remain relatively unseen by the writer.

The desire to attain a pensive repercussion to readers through the work of literature is limned in Richard Wilbur's, The Writer. The poem follows the progression and contemplation of a father’s daughter who is aimed to write a story in the peace and serenity of her home. As he observes her, he finds that she types at unequal rates, breaking at certain intervals sometimes puzzled to regain her thoughts. “Young as she is, the stuff / Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy: / I wish her a lucky passage.” The father believes that her message is to be of significance and that she should not fret when stuck in a state of absence. He only desires the best for his daughter and acknowledges that despite the length of time needed, one should

Charlotte’s grade seven class was pleased with having Mrs.Hancock as their teacher for literature and creative writing. Although, Miss Hancock could be perceived as “flamboyant” her brilliant talent of capturing young students attention, showcasing fulfilling and meaningful lessons to her students were part of her teaching expertise. Miss Hancock demonstrated passion while she was teaching, which mesmerizes Charlotte and sparked her passion for writing. Charlotte's passion all started with an expressive metaphor: “My mother is a flawless, modern building, created of glass and the smoothest of pale concrete” (Wilson 3). The whole entire class was astonished and amazed with Charlotte's beautiful metaphor.

Charlotte 's Web was written by E.B. White. This book is about a spider named Charlotte and a pig named Wilbur that is going to be killed but is saved by Charlotte when she makes a web that says “Humble, Radiant, and Terrific.” People from all over town would come to see Wilbur and the web. Wilbur becomes famous and he gets to go to the fair, and while they are there, Charlotte lays her eggs and dies. Wilbur takes the eggs home, and when they hatch the newborns start to leave, but three of the baby spiders stay with Wilbur and he loves them, but no spider can ever take Charlotte’s place. Through symbolism in Charlotte 's Web, E.B. White conveys that it is better to have true friendship than to be liked and admired by many.

At an early age of five I had started writing books that ranged from books about dinosaurs that lived in trees to books about ‘My Angry Mum.” It didn’t matter if the drawings and writing were poor, the fact that I was able to put them together and channel my creativity into it gave me a sense of accomplishment as a child.