Technology and Writing Process

In our first class, we covered the question "Why write?" That's exactly what Smith is trying to explain in this week's reading in WW. I feel we covered the issue well in class ans through our blogs, but I think brought up a point that needs to be discussed when it comes to technology. "I cannot imagine any technology making writing obsolete, in the sense of providing a complete alternative to writing (Smith, 8)." How true! How many times have you heard that the Internet was going to replace newspapers, magazines, books, etc.? Probably more times than you can count. Sure, the Internet has a lot of wonderful uses, but after being around for more than ten years, it hasn't replaced anything; instead, it's complementing what we already have. I believe later technology would do the same thing, allowing us easier ways to get our writings out to others; not get rid of it completely. Could you imagine just tossing writing out the window? Sure, there's text-to-speech/speech-to-text programs already, and there's ways to connect with people around the world just by slipping on a headset and logging online. But talking into a computer and having it type out your words is still writing, just in a different form. People who don't speak the same language as you do still have the chance to read your words through translating websites. Technology is vital to.. not "develop" writing, per se, but to allow it to evolve.

It's a factor in that "paradigm shift" Maxine Hairston mentions in her essay. When I was in high school, the emphasis was always on the finished essay, the finished paper. The five paragraph essay- Introduction with thesis statement, three supporting points, and a restatement of my thesis as I wrapped up my thoughts. Now there's more of a focus on the process of writing, teaching writing through more writing, but as time shifts, I can't help but wonder if we'll lose something by taking out the focus on grammar. In a first draft, it doesn't matter how you spell, how you format your sentences and punctuate them as long as you get your words flowing onto the page and get out your ideas. However, a finished draft needs to be properly formatted, have that correct spelling. There is a difference between "you're" and "your", between "to" and "too", and between "loose" and "lose," and I firmly believe that people should know those differences. Shift the traditional paradigm all you want, but don't lose hold of the technical aspects that need to be added back in after you have something that you feel can be published or turned in to a teacher. Does that make me old fashioned in the eyes of Hairston? Possibly, since I think we need that focus.

I do agree, though, that the process of writing is just as important as the finished product. On page 12, Hairston says "Writing is an act of discovery." She goes on to describe it as messy, raw, unfinished, stream-of consciousness. That's where the jewels are found. Start your story, your assignment, where you were told to, and then let it flow, jot down whatever you think for as long as you think it. Just get the words out of your head while you can, and then put them in order. Murphy quotes Barbara Hardy, "Human beings cannot keep from telling stories." Tell your story, get it out there on a page, and then make it readable. I'd hate for someone to stumble across the first drafts of some of my own writing. It's scribble, scratching written on the lines, upside-down, in the corner of the page. But once it's out there, it's easier for me to organize it into something real. To tie in with what I mentioned about technology, it's easier than ever to take those randomized thoughts and make them into something worthwhile. I think students would benefit more from something along those lines. Not an assignment that tells them "Write this here, now, what I say", but "write about this topic, tell me what you think, your story, and let's work on building something from your first impressions."