What exactly is free writing? It is a stepping stone, that helps writers step away from the notorious writer’s block and create a new beginning. When one is free writing they are advised to write continuously for a certain period of time without pausing regardless of reason. More often then not these free write produce nothing but random thoughts going through our heads but they create a gateway to a fresh start. We will take two essays, Elbow’s “FREEWRITING” and Lamott 's “Shitty First Drafts” and create an essay on their theories of free writing and will analyze their similarities and differences on when, how, and why we should free write. Peter Elbow believes that free writing should be done “at least three times a week…for ten minutes.”
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Go quickly without rushing. Never stop to look back, to cross something out, to wonder how to spell something, to wonder what word or thought to use, or to think about what you’re writing.” (Elbow, 1) Elbow believes the constant editing and reediting that occurs while writing, filters out all the thoughts that could have been. At a first glance being able to edit while writing is a great tool; but is it really? While we are all consumed with the idea of perfection, we spend hours upon hours editing, as we achieve our final product our piece eventually it becomes exactly what we did not want. Lamott struggled with the same problem when she was constantly rewriting and crossing out her reviews. She would take the notes that she took from when she had gone into the restaurant and try to write a review. Attempt after attempt, Lamott said “I’d write a couple dreadful sentences, XX them out, try again, XX everything out, and then feel despair.” (Lamott, 1) No matter how hard she tried she just could not create the review that she wanted. Eventually she let the writing take over, “It was almost just typing, just making my fingers move. And the writing would be terrible.” (Lamott, 1) Once she had allowed her mind to go free, ideas started too pour out, even though her thoughts were all over the place they were there, untouched and full of new ideas. With some minor differences Elbow’s and Lamott’s theories on how these free writes should be …show more content…
Practiced regularly, it undoes the ingrained habit of editing at the same time to produce.” (Elbow, 2) Elbow believes that the habit that we have formed has hindered the power that we could possess in our writing. We write because we want to voice our opinions but after the constant editing and reediting are these really our thoughts or thoughts we want people to agree with? In agreement, Lamott’s idea of free writing is just getting everything out into the open and then editing the fresh thoughts. She says “almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper.” (Lamott, 2) She quotes on of her friends who provided her with some great advice. “The first draft is the down draft — you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft — you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it’s loose or cramped or decayed, or even God help us, healthy.” (Lamott, 2) Both of these authors believe that free writing should be used to set the tone of one’s writing without exposing the piece to all the edits and other
Go quickly without rushing. Never stop to look back, to cross something out, to wonder how to spell something, to wonder what word or thought to use, or to think about what you’re writing.” (Elbow, 1) Elbow believes the constant editing and reediting that occurs while writing, filters out all the thoughts that could have been. At a first glance being able to edit while writing is a great tool; but is it really? While we are all consumed with the idea of perfection, we spend hours upon hours editing, as we achieve our final product our piece eventually it becomes exactly what we did not want. Lamott struggled with the same problem when she was constantly rewriting and crossing out her reviews. She would take the notes that she took from when she had gone into the restaurant and try to write a review. Attempt after attempt, Lamott said “I’d write a couple dreadful sentences, XX them out, try again, XX everything out, and then feel despair.” (Lamott, 1) No matter how hard she tried she just could not create the review that she wanted. Eventually she let the writing take over, “It was almost just typing, just making my fingers move. And the writing would be terrible.” (Lamott, 1) Once she had allowed her mind to go free, ideas started too pour out, even though her thoughts were all over the place they were there, untouched and full of new ideas. With some minor differences Elbow’s and Lamott’s theories on how these free writes should be …show more content…
Practiced regularly, it undoes the ingrained habit of editing at the same time to produce.” (Elbow, 2) Elbow believes that the habit that we have formed has hindered the power that we could possess in our writing. We write because we want to voice our opinions but after the constant editing and reediting are these really our thoughts or thoughts we want people to agree with? In agreement, Lamott’s idea of free writing is just getting everything out into the open and then editing the fresh thoughts. She says “almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper.” (Lamott, 2) She quotes on of her friends who provided her with some great advice. “The first draft is the down draft — you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft — you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it’s loose or cramped or decayed, or even God help us, healthy.” (Lamott, 2) Both of these authors believe that free writing should be used to set the tone of one’s writing without exposing the piece to all the edits and other