Lamott has been a great read so far. There is so much I can connect with on a personal level. Although I have never been a writer nor have I wanted to write for a living, all her struggles in writing I have seemed to experience while trying to write college papers. As I was reading, I found myself shaking my head consistently in agreement with Lamott. Everything from tapping fingers on the computer for words to magically appear and then still waiting for something magical to happen, yet nothing does…well for me anyways! I can’t count the number of times I started “listing of things that must be done right at this moment: foods that must come out of the freezer, appointments that must be canceled or made, hairs that must be tweezed” (pg. 7) I found every possible thing I could do that didn’t involve starting my papers.
The need to be a perfectionist right from the beginning also really resonated with me. I have always been stuck with my writing because I have always tried to a perfectionist. I have always felt that it would be a waste of time if I had to review and edit my paper multiple times, but in the end I am sure I spent more time trying to get it right the first time around. After reading Lamott, I definitely appreciate the writing process a bit more than before. I especially found it interesting that a writing prompt of Lamotts, school lunches, could bring back so many school memories. I think it is a great idea to get kids exciting about writing and while Routman thinks teachers should not focus to much on prompts, I do think a fun and creative prompt will help get the kids get the creative thought flowing. Routman mentions that children need to enjoy writing and I think creative writing prompts will help with that. That doesn't mean I support writing prompts fully; some are tedious and unnecessary.
ps. Unfortunately my words did not magically appear while staring at the screen...maybe next time!
Ah - magically appearing words -- I understand that desire! Not everyone likes Lamott's writing, but she definitely gets people's attention. I especially appreciate her focus on close observation of the daily aspects of our lives - like school lunches. Lucy Calkins says that when writers write they find the significance in their own lives -- and that could include school lunches -- or literacy vignettes...
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I like the idea of prompts too, especially if they are opened-ended like Lamott suggests. I think some kids (and adults - I can relate to this)need a topic to get the creative juices going. Often the hardest parts are deciding what to write and just getting started.
ReplyDeletePerhaps prompts could be "in your back pocket" (as my dyad teacher says) to help kids when they are stuck.
Gladd you brought up the issue!
I also agree that students have a hard time getting started. I know that I am so much more successful when I just start writing, even if it's a crappy rough draft. It is so much easier to get the ideas down on paper and fine tune them later. I think a lot of kids also get stuck on it being perfect, and it stops them from writing. I have a much harder time writing a paper when there are strict guidelines that a professor is looking for vs. when I can write an authentic reflection. I think some kids may be worried about having their writing judged and can't write just for the pure joy of it.
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