2/1/12 Reading

Summary
What seems to be the longest reading every assigned, I have broken up to summarize into mini-summaries by author:
-Lamott: This article is about not only the existance of shitty first drafts, but the importance of them. Bad first drafts allow you to get out all of your crazy, off-beat, silly ideas and onto paper, thus allowing you to put together a sensible second and third draft after you select the ideas and main points from the first draft that actually make sense and are relevant.
-King: Not quite sure if this is Steven King, as in the psycho who wrote Carrie, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and consider that to be a "common name". I have absolutely no clue how to summarize this article. I really want to say that it is a man rambling about his writing habits and where he likes to write, mixed in with a letter to himself regarding the book that he is writing that is going to be published soon. Quite confusing, if you ask me.
-Goodman: This article starts out by talking about how "lonely" writing is thought to be, however it is actually a process that requires a lot of company. The article then goes on to discuss how writers can very easily psych themselves out by pondering whether or not their topic has been written about before, and if their efforts to write are even valid.
-Haruf: This article is about the weird situations that successful writers prefer in order to produce quality writing. The article then goes on to explain how writers should have their comfort zone, and their own area and circumstances to call their own, and their designated writing space. Interestingly enough, he then talks about how writing should be spontaneous, and that it doesn't matter where you're standing or who is watching, if there is a good idea in your head- there should be nothing stopping you from getting it onto paper.

Meta Moments
1. I learned that 1) no two writers have the same writing processes 2) it is not important to always have a game plan, and to stick to that game plan when it comes to writing, and 3) I have learned that no matter what writing process you call your own, as long as it produces your best writing- there is no right or wrong answer.

2. After reading this chaper, I have learned that there is no formula to good writing. It just simply does not exist. I have also learned that, in the same regard, what is considered good writing to some people, may not be acceptable to others (discourse community) and it is important to understand your audience when writing, so you can adjust to them accordingly.I have also learned that no two writers are the same. Also, that there are a lot of things about your personal writing habits that you may not even notice that you do- but they exist. A lot of writing processes and habits go unnoticed unintentionally because we do them without even noticing it, while someone who would be observing me would pick up on this habit right away.

My Own Thoughts
While this reading seemed to be pretty long and boring in the beginning, it ended up not being too bad. It helped to have a new article every 2-3 pages. Also the formatting of the authors/articles/pages definitely helped to separate the thoughts and the different authors. It was nice to see what writing meant to different writers, becuase they literally all had different meanings of writing and also different interpretations of the question "what does writing mean  to you'' I thought it was interesting how one question could spark so many different and unique responses in so many different authors.