When I sit down to write and I’m inspired by something, the words flow. No problem. I have words bouncing around the inside of my cranium, asleep and awake, some with musical notes dangling, others wearing commas. One of the most difficult things for me, though, is reining in those words to make them do exactly what I want them to do.
Backspace and erase are difficult. When the words are on the page, particularly in big chunks, it is hard to be ruthless and to delete them because they really aren’t doing the job. It’s like if you delete something that you think is basically good but not applicable, you are destroying the baby, so to speak. So each class I take helps me to focus on writing more clearly and succinctly, disciplining the “baby” to do the work it should. So is that child labor? Off topic!
One of the hardest aspects of essay writing is developing a cogent thesis that is truly arguable and presenting it in one, not two or three, but one sentence. Can’t we revise the rules and have a three-sentence thesis! And what’s this thing about its always being at the end of the first paragraph. See, when you’re famous, you can break all the rules. So like the poet Cummings, you can mess with upper and lower case and spacing, and you get a bye because you’re famous. I’m sure he drove his teachers nuts, though. So I’m going to work on being famous so I can break as many rules as I feel!
Now in music, you can put things in any order you like, and you can write in poor grammar as long as it’s funky. ♫ “Don wanna go there no more, yeah, baby.” ♪♪♫ But in writing, the rules make your meaning discernible; whereas, in music, if it’s got a groove and you look profound, the audience can assume it probably is—profound, that is.
Back to the thesis: Pruning down my ideas and the direction my research is heading into one precise statement is like catching mercury. When I was a kid, I was sick in bed and broke the thermometer after taking my temperature. I kept trying to catch all these little balls of mercury rolling around on my sheets, and they would not be caught. When you get them going in one direction, they slither away in another. It was a near impossible job to collect and dispose of it—that is saying nothing about the toxic mercury exposure I was having. But writing a thesis is like that. It is reining in the almost unreinable. Writing a thesis that is more like a schmooze session with friends is so much more comfortable. It’s like thinking out loud. But being put in a position of needing to do it, paper by paper, helps me refine the process more and more even when I don’t like it.
The grammar and MLA part, I can handle—it’s that obsessive compulsive part of me. I punctuate my grocery list, and I read grammar books for fun. But speaking of reining in: I see the word number thingy says 535, so I’m reining in. Done! J
The music part made me laugh. I have a hard time writing sometimes if I've just played music, or have been listening to music, or if I've even tried to write music recently. Everything else comes out sounding like a song!While it's very fun and interesting, it isn't the most productive. Or even profound. *insert dramatic sigh*
ReplyDeleteI love your mercury example. I feel like writing a thesis can be like that for me--I finally gather my thoughts into one big blob, and then they all go shooting off in different directions (I dropped a thermometer on the tile floor, and I know exactly what that stuff does.). It can get so frustrating when I can't do things my way, like have a three sentence thesis. I have too many thoughts for just one sentence. But, however, when you are famous, you can not only make up your own rules, but everything that you write, say, and think suddenly has become much more profound. Hmmm... all the more reason to become famous!
But anyways, back on topic. I'm glad you have an easy time with the MLA formatting. I appreciate all the help I get from you on the PDRs. I sure need it!
I completely understand where you coming from in your second paragraph. I will write a big chunk of words and then fight myself to delete it because I think it sounds good. Then I have to come up with another chunk of words that sounds better. That can take a while to do. I dislike it when I will write something that I think reads well and someone will point out all the mistakes. I have yet to write the perfect essay. I think the perfect essay is a mythical creature. Haha
ReplyDeleteA three sentence thesis would be amazing. Usually I just write a really long sentence. Sometimes my introduction paragraphs have multiple sentences that could be the thesis statement. That can be tough considering the entire essay has to reflect one of those sentences. Yes, the rules can be suspended when you are famous. You could probably create your own style of writing and formatting.
I like your reference to catching mercury. I feel that way when I have to organize all my information to reflect my thesis statement. I jump around through an essay to put things in order so that the information is cohesive. I need to work on that more since my ability to transition isn’t so great.