Spandel's use of cooking and Jazz as metaphors for writing really hit home for me. In the same way that I love to cook but hate following a recipe, I love to write unless I am forced to follow a specific formula. As a student however, I can remember times when I wished that there was a formula to help an essay get started. Spandel offered in my opinion the perfect solution to the five paragraph essay when she said that writing should be "variations on a theme." Students who have been trained to use a formula and are loathe to give it up might find some comfort in this idea. Also, the steps that Spandel outlines on page 122 provide some structure without removing creativity.
I agree with Danielle that writing about what you love is not always possible. Sometimes for school or work we are stuck with assignments that are not always thrilling. However, I too have dreaded writing a paper only to find out later that I learned to love my topic by the end. Some of my favorite essays have been written this way.
Smith had a few quotes that really struck me. Particularly his solution to knowing when a piece of writing is the final draft. He says we know a piece is finished when "any further change would only detract from it." As a writer I think that this may be one of the most difficult concepts to grasp.
Finally my favorite line of all in this set of readings can be accredited to Smith. He said that "imagination is the basis of reality." I wholeheartedly believe that good imagination is key t o good writing. Teaching students to take risks and break the mold has become a theme to this course and I think that encouraging imagination is the best way to encourage individuality.
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