I had a really hard time deciding what to write this week’s blog post about. My first thought was to try and self-explore what I wanted to write my second paper on for this class and hoped to gather suggestions from my peers. After about two minutes I scratched that idea. Not only did I think it would make for a boring post, something else caught my attention. Yes, I was procrastinating and while on Facebook I read my old English teacher’s Facebook status: “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” I looked up this quote and found that it was said by Nathaniel Hawthorne. On this website, there were several other inspirational quotes about teaching writing and being a write that I found worthy to share for this week’s blog entry.
“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
This quote parallels to my thought process while I read and write. Whenever I read a piece of writing that sounds effortless, I often wonder how much time and effort was actually put into making it seem so flawless. What I find with my own writing is that whenever I have a finished product that I am proud of, I always wish that it could have happened a lot effortlessly.
“I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter.” ~James Michener
I found this quote to be very interesting and also encouraging for beginning writers. This quote will set the foundation of my writing classroom. I think it is very important for writers of any level to acknowledge that writing is a process. First drafts are never what we intend to be the finished product, however, it is a very important aspect of the writing process. Revision is something that demonstrates who great writers really are.
“Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say.” ~Sharon O'Brien
I love how this quote associates writing with a process of discovery. Often I find that what I think I am going to write about is lost or dramatically changed by the time I get to my final draft. It is amazing how writing can be used to free the mind and often times our papers, essays and literary works seem to have written without having an exact plan throughout the entire writing process.
Hope you enjoyed these quotes!!! J
Wow I love the Nathaniel Hawthorne quote. It is so true and I think that any of us who have tried to write can completely identify with this statement. Very thoughtful and interesting post to include a few quotes.
ReplyDeleteHaha I think we had the same thought process this week. I didn't notice we had the same quotes. Crazy! I think it's really cool how some quotes can say exactly what you want to say in a wonderful way. I have also always wondered how quotes become famous.
ReplyDeleteThese are great quotes, Keeley! Thanks for sharing. I particularly like the Michener one. I think that it applies to every writer. I'm not sure that any of us get past that point of only being "very good writers" and "excellent rewriters." I mean, almost everything gets better in revision, right?
ReplyDeleteI would definitely share the Hawthorne quote with your future students. So many of them probably assume that people just have a gift that makes their good writing come out effortlessly, so it would be good for them to see that even the best writers needed to struggle as they will to produce a piece that is easy to read.
ReplyDeleteI love the Michener quote and I think you are right about helping your students acknowledge that writing is a process. I think people have this romantic idea about writers - mad geniuses burning the midnight oil, producing extraordinary texts in one crazed, passion induced frenzy. I think by using someone as Michener as an example you may help them recognize that even the professionals revise.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could relate to the Michener quote. I feel like I'm TERRIBLE at revising! I feel like I never know how to do it without messing up my transitions, and I never know where to start. Most of all, I simply HATE it. Sometimes I feel like I'm butchering my work. But alas, in the end, I suppose it usually DOES turn out better. So maybe I am not so bad at revising after all.
ReplyDeleteGreat quotes and great food for thought! I especially liked your reflections on each of these. -Chandra Meyer
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I have found that the last quote only applies when I'm writing either poetry or something fictional. I long for writing in those instances - I NEED to write. I think about it during class, in the shower, while I'm driving. But there are so many times (and these times have occurred very often in the past two weeks) where I literally have NO desire to write. I have assignments piling up and I'm just so tired, so apathetic, so busy that I have just lost my will to write ANYTHING. I wonder if Sharon O'Brien ever had those moments?
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