Writer Teaches Writing - Murray

8/10/2019 Writer Teaches Writing - Murray

1/14

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2/14

Copyright

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Mifflin

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Printed in

the

U.S.A.

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Congress

Catalog Card

Number:

84 81981

ISBN 0 395 35441 2

Ec HuH j


3/14

7

he

h

e

PLA

N

t

he

mo

st

im

port

ant

writi

ng u

sual

ly

tak

es p

lace

b

efore

t

here i

s

w

riti

ng

at

t

ist

vh

at

vr

u

uial

lv

thmk

of is rit

ing:

the prod

ucti

on

o

t

h

t

runn

ing dr

aft Wr

iters

write

b

efore

th

ey

writ

e.

id had

the

strange experience

of

being

laboratory

rat

in

writing

i

s

tudy

b

y

Dr

.

C

aro

l

B

erke

nkot

ter

of \lic

higa

n T

echn

olog

ical

Un

iver

sity.

De

cisio

ns and

Re

visio

ns:

he

Pla

nnin

g

Str

ateg

ies

of

P

ublis

hing W

rit

W

e

r

Car

ol

Ber

kenk

otte

r

an

d

Re

spon

se o

f a

La

bora

tory Rat

o

r Bein

g

lot

P

rotoc

oled

Do

nald

M

.

M

urra

y Col

hy,i Ce

imip

ncif i

on

mud

C

oni

mum

nca

toun

,

vol

.

n

o.

2

, May

lo

pp.

5

l72

.

No

te:

the w

ord

not

s

houl

d

b

e

V

s

trick

en

fr

om

b

on

p

age 17

1. S

he

s

tudi

ed

my

w

ritin

g

ove

r

a two

-and

-a

ha

lfm

ont

h per

iod

f

ocus

ing

o

n

two

aca

dem

ic

art

icles

an

d

a

ne

wsp

aper

h

e

edit

oria

l

wro

te

lurin

g th

a t time

alth

oug

h di

d w

ork

on

o

ther pro

jects

mm

lu

dinh

tut

on

md

p

ot

tr\

Sh

t

hid mt

mp

rrro

rd

i

it

i

s

um

mt

w

hile

wro

te

a

s

wel

l as

kee

p

ev

ery

not

e

a

nd

eve

ry

dra

ft.

h

en

sh

e

stu

died

the 1

22

nin

ety

min

ute ta

pes

and

the dra

fts.

She

also int

ervie

wed

SO

m

e

and

o

bser

ved m

e w

ritin

g.

e

r

Th

e

o

st im

porta

nt dis

cove

rs

fur m

e was

th

at sp

ent thre

e-fif

ths

i

th

o

f

my

tim

e

or

mo

re

col

lecti

ng

i

nfor

mati

on

and

p

lann

ing

my w

riti

ng.

ise

Mo

st

o

f my rew

ritin

g t

urne

d out

to b

e in fact

pla

nnin

g. O

n

o

ccas

ion

a\

sp

nt 90

perc

ent

of

my

writ

ing

tim

e

pla

nnin

g.

r

l

3erk

enko

tter

s re

te

s

sea

rch and

my

ow

n

obs

erva

tions of m

y

m

ost

elfe

ctiv

e

w

ritin

g stude

nts

ful

a

nd

co

llea

gues

le

d me

to

the mo

del o

f t

he

wr

iting

proc

ess

pr

esen

ted in

thi

s

hook

.

it S

Inex

perie

nce

d writ

ers o

ften wr

ite to o soo

n.

c

an

hear

the

r

eade

r

S

sa

ying

But yo

u

sug

gest

ed

we st

art

th

e w

ritin

g c

ours

e by havi

ng

our

d.

stu

den

ts

pl

unge in and

w

rite. This

is on

of

the c

ontr

adic

tions

can

never

fully

resolve

in

my

own teaching.

Mv

beginning students need

t

o wr

ite im

med

iately

so

that

th

ey

exp

erien

ce th

e

t

errit

ory

o

f w

ritin

g

f

or

su

rpri

se.

W

he

n

the

y

kn

ow w

hat it

i

s

to

wr

ite

t

hen

t

hey ca

n

sta

rt t

o

i

tel -

lea

rn

to wr

ite

mor

e eff

ectiv

ely.

W

ritin

g

is

a

skill

and

stud

ents

need

to

irv

m

ess a

roun

d w

ith

pain

ts be

fore

they

learn

to p

aint

pl

unk

at a

p

iano

lOW

befo

re

th

ey

are

taug

ht

s

cale

s

fo

ol

arou

nd

wi

th a

b

aske

tbal

l

gett

ing

the

we

fee l o

f it be

fore

the

y

are

pu

t

thr

oug

h

a

form

al

p

ract

ice. W

ritin

g

un

like

in a

rt

m

usi

c and spo

rts

has

n

ot

bee

n a

m

atter

of

pl

ay

fo

r

ou

r stu

dent

s

for-

at

l

east n

ot s

ince

th

e

ear

liest

g

rad

es of sch

ool.

Th

ey ha

ve to

w

rite

to

ea

ls

reex

perie

nce tha

t

es

senti

al

play

.

Wh

en

they

a

re

in

the g

ame

w

e ca

n

b

egin to he

lp th

em

pla

n

s

o they

w

ill

w

rite befo

re

the

y

wr

ite.

lost Mu

ch

o

f

the

h

ad

wr

iting

w

e

rea

d from in

expe

rien

ced w

riter

s is

the

fec-

direct result

of

writing before

they

are

ready

to

write.

Effective

plannin

g

ter

s

doe

snt

di

scou

rage d

iscov

ery

as lo

ng

as it

is

o

pen-

ende

d

and ex

peri

rnen

tal

an

d

the write

r

un

ders

tand

s

w

hat

J

ohn

Fm

vles

say

s

F

ollo

w

the

t

I


4/14

U

L

HV

M

N

U

RP

R

IS

I IH

E

I

R

V

L

SS

m

LO

R

Y

VI

W

R

IT

IN

G

a

cc

id

en

t

tea

r

th

e

fi

xe

d

pla

n

tha

t

is

th

e

ru

le

.

Bu

t th

a

t d

oe

s n

o

t

m

ea

n

th

e

w

ri

te

r

sh

ou

ld

no

t

pl

an

P

la

nn

in

g

i

n

w

ri

tin

g

e

nc

ou

ra

ge

s

the

ki

nd

o

t

i

d

nt

s

F

o

wl

es

a

nd e

ve

ry

o

th

er

w

ri

ter

n

ee

ds

.

P

la

nn

in

g

tak

e

s

th

e

pl

ac

e

of

th

e

m

an

y

dr

af

ts

th

at

a

re

u

su

al

ly n

ec

es

sa

ry

w

ith

o

ut

a

d

eq

u

a

te

p

Ia

on

in

g

1

0

Ct

IS

A

n

e

ff

ec

tiv

e p

ie

ce

of w

ri

tin

g s

ay

s

o

ne

d

om

in

a

n

t

t

hin

g

.

A

s

Ku

rt V

o

nn

eg

ut

J

r

s

ay

s

l

on

t

p

u

t

a

n

yt

h

in

g

in

a

s

to

ry

th

at d

o

es

n

ot

ad

va

n

ce

t

he

ac

tio

n.

T

he sa

m

e

t

hin

g

ca

n b

e

s

ai

d fo

r

a

rg

u

m

e

n

t m

e

m

o

te

ch

n

ica

l

w

ri

tin

g

o

r

po

et

ry

.

E

ve

ry

el

em

e

nt

i

n

t

he

t

ex

t

s

u

p

po

r

ts

a

nd

a

dv

an

c

es

th

e

ma

in

po

in

t.

P

la

nn

in

g

st

ar

ts

w

it

h

th

e

se

ar

ch

fo

r

th

at

d

o

m

in

a

nt

m

ea

n

ing

.

Th

e

re

ar

e

a

nu

m

b

er

of

te

ch

ni

qu

es

t

ha

t

h

el

p

th

e

w

ri

ter

di

sc

ov

er

the

f

oc

us

of

a

p

ie

ce

of

w

ri

tin

g

b

ef

ore

it

is w

ri

tte

n.

B

u

t

th

e

wr

ite

r

s

h

o

ul

d

n

ev

er

fo

rg

et

t

h

at

th

e

ac

t

o

f w

rit

ing

i

ts

elf

is a

n

ac

t

of

d

is

co

ve

ry

.

Th

e

fo

cu

s

i

s n

ot

f

ou

nd

th

en

k

ep

t

unchanged

The

writing

will

refine the focus

q

ua

lif

y

it

a

d

ap

t

it a

nd

m

an

y

tim

e

s

c

au

se

it t

o

ch

an

g

e

c

om

p

le

tel

y.

Th

e wr

ite

r

d

o

es

no

t

ar

riv

e

at

th

e

f

ina

l

d

e

st

in

a

ti

o

n

b

ef

or

e

t

ak

in

g

t

he

tr

ip

b

u

t t

he

wr

ite

r

st

ill

ha

s

to

ha

ve

a

n

i

de

a of

th

e d

e

s

ti

na

t

io

n b

efo

re

sta

rt

in

g

o

ut

.

P

oi

ntl

es

s

w

a

n

d

er

in

g

is

n

o

t

v

er

y p

ro

du

ct

iv

e.

Si

gn

ifi

ca

nt

di

sc

ov

er

ie

s

i

n ch

em

i

str

y

ar

e

n

ot

m

ad

e

in

th

e

l

ite

ra

tur

e c

las

s

T

he

w

rit

er

n

ee

ds

to

h

av

e so

m

e

i

de

a

of

w

h

at

m

a

y

h

a

p

p

en

d

u

ri

n

g

t

he

ex

pe

di

tio

n

to

wa

rd

s

m

e

an

in

g.

He

re

ar

e

so

m

e w

a

ys

t

he

w

rit

er

fi

nd

s

t

he p

ot

en

tia

l

foc

u

s

i

n a

pie

ce

o

f

wr

iti

ng

.

The

Focal

Point

P

ai

nt

ers

an

d p

h

o

to

g

ra

p

h

er

s

d

ire

ct

th

e

v

ie

we

r

s

e

ye

to

a

si

ng

le

sp

ot

from

w

hi

ch

th

e

pi

ctu

re

c

an

b

e

un

d

e

rs

t

oo

d

I

t m

ay

b

e

h

elp

fu

l

to

s

t

ud

y

p

ai

n

ti

n

gs

or p

ho

t

o

gr

a

p

h

s to l

ea

rn

v

is

ua

lly w

h

at

w

e

n

ee

d

to

d

o

w

ith

w

o

rd

s.

Th

e w

rit

er

sh

o

uld

l

ea

rn

the po

w

er

of

a

s

in

gl

e

p

oi

nt

to e

n

erg

iz

e

a

n

e

nti

re

dra

ft

.

lik

e

to

l

oo

k

fo

r

a

n

or

ga

niz

in

g

sp

ec

ifi

c

a

q

u

o

ta

t

io

n

s

ta

tis

tic

co

nc

ep

t s

ce

ne

th

a

t

w

i

ll dra

w

a

ll

th

e m

ate

ri

al

t

og

eth

e

r.

fi

nd

it he

lp

fu

l

to

s

ee

k

a

rev

e

ali

ng

d

eta

il

a s

ig

ni

fic

an

t

f

ra

gm

e

nt

th

a

t

wi

ll e

xp

os

e

an

au

th

or

s

s

tyl

e

a

fa

ilu

re

in

a

la

w

a

c

ha

ra

ct

er

s

w

ea

kn

es

s.

M

an

y

ti

m

es

a

s

in

gl

e

i

m

ag

e

wi

ll s

pa

rk

or o

rg

an

iz

e

a

pi

ec

e

o

f w

r

iti

ng

.

W

ill

iam

Fa

ul

kn

er

ex

pl

ain

ed

T

h

e S

o

un

d

a

nd

t

he

Fu

ry

b

e

ga

n

w

ith a

m

en

ta

l pic

tu

re

.

T

he

p

ic

tur

e

w

a

s

o

f

t

he

m

u

d

d

y se

at

o

f a

l

ittl

e

gi

rl

s

drawers

in

a

pear tree

where

she could

see

through a window where

h

er

gr

a

n

dm

o

th

e

r

s

fu

n

era

l

w

as

ta

kin

g

pla

ce

an

d

r

ep

or

t

w

h

at w

a

s

h

p

p

n

in

g t

o

h

er

b

r

o

th

e

rs on

th

e

g

ro

u

n

d b

elo

w

.

N

on

-f

ict

io

n

as

w

e

ll

a

s

f

ict

io

n

or p

o

etr

y

o

fte

n

be

gi

ns

w

it

h

a

n i

m

ag

e

th

at

co

nt

ai

ns

i

n

a

se

ns

e

the

w

h

ole

st

or

y

t

he

ac

or

n

th

a

t

c

on

ta

ins

an

oa

k


5/14

\jV

hat w

ord

s

or

p

hrase

s

hav

e sp

ecial

me

anin

g

to

me as

w

ork

on

pie

ce of

writ

ing? O

ften

a r

athe

r or

dina

ry wo

rd

W

e

a

ll

have

s

uch code

wo

rds

i

n our

life: th

e nam

es

of our

fa

mily

the

nam

e

our

h

ome

tow

n

th

e tit

le

spe

cial

son

g

Som

etim

es such wo

rds

or

ph

rase

s

p

rovi

de

lo

cus

To

f

ind

t

he loca

l

poin

t

the writer often starts

by

simply

standing

back

from

al

l

t

he res

earc

h

cl

osin

g

the no

tebo

ok

push

ing

the

file

draw

er

s

hut

an

d

si

tting

back

with

a pad

pape

r a

nd

tryi

ng

to put

dow

n

t

he

mo

st i

mpo

rtant

thi

ng

the

wri

ter

ha

s lear

ned

from

all

th

e m

ater

ial

t

he

w

rite

r

has

col

lecte

d

W

riter

s

s

ome

time

s

fin

d it he

lpfu

l

to st

and

ba

ck and

a

nsw

er

som

e

time

s in

a

par

agrap

h

us

ually

in

a

sente

nce

o

ften

in

a

p

hras

e o

r

a

word

su

ch

qu

estio

ns

as

:

W

ha

t sur

prise

d

me th

e mos

t?

Wh

at

orga

nizin

g spe

cific

w

ill

he

lp

me

cont

rol m

ater

ial?

W

hat

is the

m

ost rev

ealin

g

de

tail

have

disc

over

ed

or

can

r

emem

ber

?

What

im

age

s

ticks i

n my

m

inds

e

ye a

nd see

ms

to

sy

mbo

lize

t

he

ent

ire

subje

ct?

Wh

at pe

rson

r tac

e do rem

em

ber

f

rom do

ing

th

e re

sear

ch?

W

ha

t id

ea

k

ept

co

min

g h

ack to

me

d

urin

g th

e

tim

e was

colle

ctin

g

ma

teria

l?

[

Wha

t

co

de w

ords

h

ave

spec

ial mea

ning

to

me no

w?

W

hat is

the

mos

t

imp

ortan

t sin

gle

fa

ct h

ave lea

rned

?

W

hat

is

th

e most

sig

nific

ant quo

tatio

n

he

ard

or rea

d?

W

hat

i

s the

one t

hing

my

re

ade

r n

eed

s to

kno

w m

ost

a

ll?

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r

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tail?

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What

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sta

tistic sti

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in

my he

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did

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thin

k w

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was

do

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the resea

rch?

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t di

d

fee

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en

w

as

do

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he re

searc

h?

o

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hat

per

son

i

mpre

ssed

me

t

he m

ost?

W

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tory

or

a

necd

ote

d

o

rem

em

ber?

o

Wha

t p

atte

rn

or ord

er

d

id

b

egin

t

o

see?

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ing

A

noth

er wa

y

to

de

velo

p

foc

us i

s to

fra

me t

he

s

ubjec

t

T

his i

s cour

se

another

word

for

the

tra ditiona l

counsel

achieving unity

But

unity

fo

r mos

t b

egin

ning

w

riter

s

impl

ies

a f

inish

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inter

wov

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om

p

leten

ess

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y

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ncei

ve

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m

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nk

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ram

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bjec

t

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uildi

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ce

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roun

d it

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6/14

2

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7/14

p

ro

ble

m

so

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in

g

anim

als

a

nd

we

need

pr

ob

le

ms

to

solv

e. Som

e

stu

d

ies

of

cr

eativ

e pe

rs

on

s

ha

ve

h

ow

n

tha

t

they see

pro

blem

s

to

be

olve

d

wh

er

e

oth

er

s

do

no

t. We

see

a

pil

e of b

eer

b

ottle

s

an

d th

e

arti

st

sees

the

p

roble

m o

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flect

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ff

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gree

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in the

same be

er bo

ttles

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a

s

tory in

t

he

way

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ke

pt com

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o

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oo

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ro

to th

e girls

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he party and the kindly

way t

ha

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ut

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n Th

e socia

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rk

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ooks at th

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bot

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the

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Q

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fecti

ve

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ith

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w

riter

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lear

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tic

ip

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eade

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ome

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it

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estio

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bject

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ake the re

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r

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us

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iter

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lyi

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to

Voic

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f

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qu

ality

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bc

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ni

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qu

ih

tv

mor

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other

that allows us

to

recognize

excelIenvriting

We

respond

to

ucd

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wh

e

n

we

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it

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write

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Ne

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child

ren w

riti

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o

f

the

f

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th

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gs

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m

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ctiv

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wr

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d


8/14

trite

por

art a

tntly

iters

iting

;

its

the

i

the

use

with

23

DFS

The

writing process

is organic.

It

grows

and

changes

during

the

act

writing.

What

is

being

said

changes

what

was

intended

to

he

said, The

structure

the

piece

writing

must be

adapted to

the

evolving

message

that is

being

delivered

to

the

writer by the

draft

and

will be

delivered

to

the

reader

in the

finished

version.

There

is

no

one way

to

design a

piece

of writing.

As

we

study

effective

writers

we

find some

pieces

writing

that were

written

without

the

slightest

hint

the

order

that

would

be

imposed by

the

raw

material

on

itself and

other pieces

of

writing

that

were

constructed

from

precise

blueprints.

The

type

of plan

depends,

to a

large

degree,

on

the

persom

ality

the

writer.

But

think

it

is

dangerous for any

writer to

feel

that

he

or she

can

never

work

from a

careful

plan

or,

on the

other

hand,

must

always

have

a

careful

plan.

The

academic

article

wrote

before

starting

this

draft

was

written

without any

formal

plan at

all It

evolved

from the

first

paragraph

as

naturally

as

a

river

flows

to

the

ocean.

It

seemed to

flow

naturally

from

a

plan

that was

unconscious,

if it

existed

at all

Each

part

the

writing

came

to

me as

if

were

following

invisible

instructions.

accepted

that;

who

wouldnt?

Then

turned to

write

the

final draft

of this

book,

and

found

myself

making

the

most

detailed

plan

have

ever made.

It

was

necessary,

and

it

was

helpful,

so

made

the

plan.

But, of

course,

havent

followed

the

plan,

not

exactly.

And

when revised

and

edited

the

book,

had

more

plans:

three

that

mailed

to the

editor in

separate

envelopes

in

one

day.

Each

plan

thought

was

the

final one.

None was.

The

outline

is

only

a plan;

the

writing

demands

its

own

direction

and

develop

ment.

have

had

to

leave

things

out

and make

room

for

new pieces

information.

have had

to

change the order and the

pace, the

proportions

and the

dimensions.

have

had

the

excitement

writing

a

book

that

is

more

than the

plan,

but that

does

not

mean

that

didnt

have to

have

a

design

from

which

to

work.

In

fact,

had

a

number

designs,

each

one

more

complicated

than

the

last,

until

saw

a new

simplicity.

And

then

that,

in

turn,

became

more

complex,

until

it led to

a

simplification.

The

writer needs

a

plan as

an

explorer

needs

a map.

Its

the

guess

how

things

may go

from

past

experience.

But

it

is

only

a

guess.

Ye t

nothing

will happen

most

of the

time

if

there is

no design.

The

writer

will

simply

wander

and

have

to try

to

impose.a

design

later

on,

when

it is

much

more

difficult

to do.

Each

sketch

what may

be

the

design

the

writing is

a

predraft,

in which

problems

are

identified

and

solved.

And

the

more

experienced

the

writer

is

and

the

more

difficult the

writing

task the

more

likely

the

writer

will begin to

work

with

sketches

what

may

need

to be

written

before

the

first

draft is

begun.


9/14

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d t

he s

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f

fe

c

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p

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b

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e t

h

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m

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c

o

n

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uming process

of

completing a

draft.

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h

e

r

e ar

e al

so

s

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m

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p

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ec

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f

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a

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s m

u

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fi

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a

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.


10/14

There

are

a

number

ol dilterent vavs

to

sketch i

piece

of

writing in

Fr nnc.

Fhe

sketch

most

frequently

use builds

naturally

trom

the

planning

te hniques

used

in

this

section of

the

book.

have

a

title

a

lead

the

three

to

five main points

and an ending.

have

built a

frame

around what want

to

say.

know where

will

start and how.

know

where

expect to

end and how.

And

have

a

strong

sense

of how

will

get

from

beginning to end.

have

the

same feeling.

am sure

that

a builder

has when

a

house is

framed

in;

theres a lot

of work

to

do

but

the entire

job

can he

visualized.

Fhis

sketch

allows

me

to

examine

the

voice

as well as

the

structure

of

the

piece of

writing. In

an

article

or

a

chapter

usually

write a

draft

very

fast

it one sitting

or

two and Im

able to

do this

because

the sketch

is

so complete.

As

build this frame

may look back

and

use

titles

leads endings

trails

have

sketched earlier. may look back

and

use

some and

use

new

ones

that

come to

mind

or

may choose

not

to look

back

but

just

to

sit

down

and make a

new

frame knowing

that all the

work

have done is

in

my head

where it belongs. can

check

back later if feel

it

will

help.

Qucri.

Nonfiction,

both magazine

articles

and

books is

often

p

r

posed

and sold

by

a query.

Many

writers

use

a letter to

query

an

editor

but find

that letters

tend to

become

discursive and

do not

allow

the

writer to

show how

he or

she

intends

to

write

the piece and

do

not

help

the

editor

visualize

the

piece.

write my address

and phone

number

single spaced

in

the

tipper

left hand

corner of a

piece

of

plain

paper.

Two

lines

down

in

caps

and

underlined

put the title and under

it in upper and

lower

case

en

tered

the

name

intend

to

use in

writing

the piece. Two

more

lines

down

single spaced

write

the

lead

as

think it

will he written

in

the

final

copy.

do not

tell

the

editor about the

piece

but reveal

it

through

this

lead which is

ordinarily

not

more

than ten

lines.

Then

indented

single spaced

and

hulleted

make in

five lines

or less

the

three

to

five

main

points. Then

back

out to

the normal margin

and single spaced

write

a

paragraph

or

two telling

the editor

about

any

special

qualifica

tions

have permissions

to

get the

story research

materials

market

possibilities anything

the

editor

needs to know. This

takes

no more

than

one page

unless

am proposing

a

book in

which case

the bulleted

items

become

chapters each

one

with a title

and five lines

telling what

would

he in

the chapter.

In that

case

the

proposal

is

two to

three

pages

long.

The

query

of

course

is not appropriate

for

the mood

or humor

piece.

Such pieces

have to

he written

and

then

submitted

because

the

editor

has to

see and hear

the

voice

to

decide if it

should

he published.

hat

the

de

r

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w

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11/14

th

the

ore

SI ii

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ts

the

yard

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ns

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N

were

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rmal

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to

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VIAs

37

or belo

wav

erag

e

stud

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. Ihe

re

w

ere

no

pro

gram

s

For

stu

den

ts

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ha

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ther lang

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n En

glish at h

orn

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sch

ool

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very

Few

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wer

e

o

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out

of an

cien

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thoo

ks

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courses

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at

req

uired

spe

cial

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r

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cher

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ubje

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w

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we

re unp

pared

s

tayi

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day

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tude

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luck

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a

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ethod

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p

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itive

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titive

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pelli

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wa

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one

w

ere el

imin

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n

augh

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tenti

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wen

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to

the good spel

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gain

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.

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e

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ye a

str

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rson

al

poi

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of

view

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still

angry

at

the educati

I

did not receive

in

a school system which

w

as

c

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dere

d

one of

th es

t in the natio

n. I d

o

h

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ver hav

e access

to

re

cord

s

ev

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stu

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pape

rs fro

m the goo

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be

twe

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nd W

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ar

11

and

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ocum

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my

case

wit

h ob

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ive

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cc

will l

ight

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the sta

tistic

s

with q

uote

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s

tude

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a

nd tea

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out th

e goo

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and a

few a

necd

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my

ow

n su

ch th

e day

the

te

ache

r

was r

emo

ved from class

beca

use

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r enga

gern t

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b

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noun

ced

.

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re

w

as

no

ev

iden

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it

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t

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men

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nce

men

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how

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wom

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ers wer

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ag

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m

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trict

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rried dur in

g the D

epre

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th

jobs They were

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p.

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each column. Obviously some things

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ne

w it

ems

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ul

ty

or

g

a

ni

z

in

g

.

p

ut

w

r

i

te

r

s b

lo

ck

a

t

th

e

le

ft of

t

h

e

pa

g

e

,

t

h

en

at

th

e

to

p

o

f th

e

p

a

g

e

p

u

t

g

o

od

a

n

d

a

t

th

e

b

o

tto

m

o

f

th

e

p

a

ge h

a

d

.

T

h

e

n

w

o

r

k

e

d o

u

t

th

e

e

x

tr

em

e

s

of g

oo

d

an

d

b

a

d

in

a

se

r

ie

s

o

f b

r

a

ck

e

ts

. In

th

e

en

d

w

r

o

te

a

p

ie

c

e

th

a

t w

a

s

e

x

a

c

tl

y

th

e o

p

p

o

si

te

o

f

w

h

at

in

te

n

d

e

d

b

ef

o

re

d

id

th

e

s

k

et

c

h.

w

r

ot

e a

bo

u

t

th

e i

m

p

o

rt

a

nc

e of

w

ri

te

r

s

b

l

oc

k

an

d

t

h

e

b

e

n

ef

it

s

for

the writer.

T

re

e.

A

n

ot

h

er

w

ay

to

s

e

e a

h

ea

d

t

o

w

h

a

t

m

a

y

h

e

w

ri

tt

e

n i

s

to

d

ra

w

a

tr

e

e th

a

t

sh

o

w

s

ho

w

th

e

su

b

je

c

t

th

e

tr

un

k

m

ay

b

ra

n

c

h o

u

t

a

n

d

g

r

ow

in

m

an

y

d

ir

ec

t

io

n

s

.


13/14

39

duct

Shapt We

have all

seen

shaped

poems

in which the

typography

way

mi

tafts

the

subject a

poem

about

bird

appears in

he

Iiape

ol

its

ot

bird Shape

is

important

to a

writer

and

its helpful for

me

sometimes

w

a

to

sketch

the

shape

of

the piece

of

writing. It

may be

triangle

a

fever

chart

stairsteps

- idewavs

cone

leading

to

one point or its

reverse

it

the

expanding

[rom

one point.

These

sketches

may help me

see the

structure

next

may

attempt in

the writing.

List

Lists

are

a powerful

tool

and

the

simple

list

may

he

the

best

way to sketch what is

written

The

writer

can

start

y

putting

down

everything

that

has to

he in the piece

of

writing

and then

either

num

dapt

bering

or

renumbering to

achieve

a

working

order. The

writer

usually

ipters

also uses arrows

and circles and

lines

to maneuver

the parts of

the

piece

with

into

coherent

and logical

order.

used a variation

of

list

in sketching

end.

this

book

y

writing

increasingly

detailed tables

of contents.

Fhat helped

e

and

me

see

where all

the small

parts

of

a large

topic how

to

teach

writing

ketch

might

fit so

they

would

be

available

to

a teacher in

a

logical

order.

in

Sten

beard

Most

him

writers

make a

sketch

by

using

three hytive

inch

cards. Each

one will

have

a

word

or

a few

lines about a

potential

have

scene

in the

movie. The

writer

pins those

up

on a

corkhoard

and moves

ccc

of

them around

until

they are in the

best

dramatic

order.

have

found

this

nning

technique

helpful

for

nomfiction

writing. The

writer

puts

each

element

also

a

that

may be in

the

final

piece of

writing

down

on

a card

or slip

of

paper

is to

and then

plays

around

with them

until

the

writer has

a sketch to

follow

stions

in

the

writing

of the

piece.

Often certain

elements

are discarded

and

t

You

new ones added.

re

able

Feldtrs

If

the

writer is

doing

a complicated

research

subject it is

often

helpful to

set

tip

a

series

of file folders.

Then

notes tear

sheets

:h

that

and copies

of

articles

even

books

can be

placed

in

folders

and those

within

folders can

be moved

around

as

the

writer

works towards

an

effective

hnique

sketch

of the book. The

earliest

sketches

of this hook

took place

in that

put

way

in

my

file drawer.

e1

PU t

Outline.

The

formal

outline

can

be a

helpful

way fo r

some

writers

te

to

sketch the

subject. The

advantage of

a

system

of

Roman

numerals

did

the

Arabic

numbers capital

letters

and

small

letters

is

that

it

allows

a

detailed

enefits

form

of

planning.

An

early

version

of

the

table

of

contents helped

me

see

this

book

and

used

a whole

symphony

of

typographical

marks to

divide topics

into subtopics

then

divide them

again

and

again.

o

draw

The

danger of

a

traditional

outline

is

that the writer

will

take

it too

iut

and

seriously.

It

was

helpful

for

me

to

make a

detailed

outline for this

book

but

it

was important

for

me in

drafting the

book

to

loosen

up

and


14/14

3

if

LJ

II

11

SI

;

L

P

RO

E

* J

if

i

1Y

O

F

ti

i

O

m

p

ro

v

s

e

m

m

t

ha

t ou

tl

ine

th

e

w

ay

a

ja

zz

m

u

sic

ia

n u

se

s a

me

lo

dy

a

nd

a

z

i

t

ra

di

tio

n 1

m

m

wh

ic

h

to

d

ep

ar

t

in

p

er

to

rm

in

g

R

e

m

em

b

er

tha

t

t

he

a

m

ou

nt

p

la

nn

in

g

fo

r

a

g

iv

en

pi

ec

e

of w

ri

tin

g

w

il

l

d

ep

e

nd

o

n

t

he

co

gn

iti

ve

st

yle

an

d

x

p

ri

n

o

t t

he w

rit

er

as

wc

ll

a

s

th

e

na

tu

re

a

nd fam

i

lia

rit

y

t

he

w

ri

tin

g

t

as

k W

rit

ing

is

n

o

t a

m

il

ita

ry

ex

e

rci

se

an

d students should

not

be

marched

through

writing

by

the

nu

ni

be

rs

a

ch

pi

ec

e

w

ri

tin

g

sh

o

uld

b

e

se

ar

ch

in

g

fo

r i

ts

o

w

n m

e

an

ing

a

nd

i

ts

ow

n

w

ay

ex

pr

es

sin

g

m

e

an

in

g w

it

h

th

e w

rit

er

fol

lo

wi

ng

al

on

g

h

el

pi

ng

b

ut

no

t

in

ter

te

rin

g

w

it

h th

e

n

atu

ra

l

pro

c

es

s

o

f

dis

co

v

ery

th

a

t

ta

k

es

p

lac

e

i

n

a

ll

g

oo

d

wr

iti

ng

Writer Teaches Writing - Murray

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