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Danni Colello
my blog will show you the mind of a young developing writer.
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." Maya Angelou
my blog will show you the mind of a young developing writer.
1/29/2019 0 Comments Writing Process RoundtableDon, Mary, Anne, and myself were all waiting for our orders as we stood at the end of the counter at Starbucks. As we began to discuss our own beliefs of the writing process, one by one all of our coffees were being called out by name, except for miss Anne who wanted her tea. We ventured outside to find a nice place to sit as the spring weather was refreshingly warm and inviting. Mary continued the conversation by starting,” In the beginning, when there are zero pages, you have to cheer yourself into cranking stuff out, even if it later lands on the cutting room floor”. As Don and myself sipped our Starbucks, Anne nodded in agreeance and said,” The only way I can get anything written is to write really, really shitty first drafts.” All four of us bursted out with laughter however Anne wasn’t wrong in saying that. Don chimed in saying that the first process, Prewriting will, “usually take about 85 percent of the writers time.” And also that the “prewriting may include research, daydreaming, note making and outlining, title-writing and lead writing. “So essentially its okay for your first draft in writing to be a piece of garbage but just getting started (however you personally do so) is just as important as what your writing. I chimed in that my initial beliefs in the beginning stage of writing stem from Terry Pratchett in that “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” “Yes, that’s very true” replied Don as Mary nodded and Ann sipped her tea. Don continued that the next step in the writing process would be actually, writing. That,” Writing is the fastest part of the process, and the most frightening, for it is a commitment.” Ann retorted that,” The writing is about filling up, filing up when you are empty, letting images and ideas and smells run down like water- just as writing is also about dealing with the emptiness.” We all took a moment to allow what Anne had just said to set in, such a true statement. Mary responded, “Yes girl!” and went on to say how she believes,” Each page takes you somewhere you need to travel before you can land in the next spot. “ What a wonderful sentiment, I continued,’ Mary, I couldn’t agree more. “And then Finally of course,” Don began, Rewriting is reconsideration of subject, form, and audience.” So we pretty much are completely reassessing / restructuring (if needed) our work entirely. This last part of the writing process is so very important. As Mary finished her coffee she nodded and replied,” I can honestly say not one page I’ve ever published appears anywhere close to how it came out in first draft.” And Anne went on describing how you need to find someone who will not just criticize your work but will constructively encourage you to revise it by saying something like, she continued, “I think it’s going to be great, I think its really good work. But I also think there are a few problems.” So you don’t become completely discouraged to finishing your work. I agreed that you should always have your work checked because when you’re so deep into your writing you may not notice small errors, as Mark Twain put it, ‘The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” “I love Mark Twain!” shouted Anne. We all chuckled as we started to gather our things and empty Starbucks cups and begin our departure. No matter what, I thought to myself, It will always ring true that if you want to write,” You can, You should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” -Stephan King. We all made our way to our cars as the sun’s rays shined down on us,” Huh, what a beautiful day to start writing.” I thought, as we went our separate ways.
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April 2019
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