Blog 2

In The 9 Rights of Every Writer, I particularly appreciated Vicki Spandel’s notion that “when we teach the writing process, it’s like preparing students for anything that’s based on experience, such as traveling” (41). I think she is right on point in stating that writing comes in many guises and looks a little different each time one undertakes it. Even when traveling to the same location, the experience can be completely different, with the destination itself varying depending on the time of year one is visiting or the type of people who happen to be encountered there. Spandel goes on to compare writing to traveling in several other ways, which in turn, leads me to form some of my own comparisons between the two.

When going on a trip, some people plan for weeks ahead, carefully booking hotels and identifying places they want to be certain to see along the way. Others, however, forsake prior planning and simply go with the flow, preferring not to prearrange precisely where their travels might take them. Rather than following a blueprint, they base their journey on what may suddenly strike their fancy. To a similar extent in writing, some individuals plan where they want to go and map out all the stops along the way, while others simply sit down and see where their writing takes them. In a related vein, some travelers faithfully depend on handy forms of guidance, employing maps and travel guides to keep them on track. Similarly with the writing process, some writers swear by the use of a thesaurus or/and dictionary.

I also agreed with Spandel’s point toward the end of the chapter that good writers are not always good editors and vice versa. I would like to add here my own personal opinion that good writers may not necessarily be the best teachers of writing. As a music major in my undergrad degree, I can certainly attest to the fact that not all amazing singers are amazing voice teachers. In order to be the latter, one must understand the appropriate techniques necessary to teach someone about such a unique and personal form of expression. Also, one must be able to adapt his or her teaching style to effectively mentor various types of singers. To a very similar extent, teachers of writers must be able to adapt their teaching approach to differing types of writers.

In Chapter 3 of Writing and the Writer, I found Smith’s focus on separating the aspects of composition and transcription to be very insightful. There have been numerous instances in my own experience as a writer when I have stopped an extremely productive flow of thoughts just to go back and fix a grammatical error that could have easily been mended at a later point in time. As Smith notes, a writer must be careful not to let the task of transcribing stand in the way of the creative process.

Finally, I found Smith’s use of the words groundwork and review in place of pre-writing and rewriting to be highly appropriate. It is important to remember that both of these aspects of writing take place during the actual writing process, not only before and after it. As a future educator, I definitely plan to employ these writing terms in place of the ones traditionally used by my English teachers. I also hope to convey to students Smith’s idea that finding the words to fit an intention is the purpose of composition.