When reading these two pieces, I had difficulty relating them in one summarization. Carolyn Chute grew up in a poor slum while Hemingway grew up in a Chicago suburb with two educated, respected parents. Carolyn Chute married an illiterate handyman while Hemingway racked up an impressive 4 marriages (and many more mistresses). In the article “6 Ways to Be a Hemingway-Level Productive Badass", I was exposed to all the tactics Hemingway used to keep himself in check when writing. Contrary to Hemingway’s methods, Carolyn Chute’s “How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes To Call” is a description of her day full of distractions and problems that she can’t avoid. Though I wish I could relate more to Hemingway, I feel more like Carolyn Chute when it comes to writing.
Major distraction number 1: work. I don’t know whether I would call work a distraction or just something I do that is very time consuming. Mondays I work 7-1 at a daycare and then 3-6 with Jason (a special needs child that I nanny). The amount I work varies based off the day, but in all I work 32 hours a week. I guess you could say in my case the “grind” literally never stops. Major distraction number 2: school work. The second thing that distracts me is my other school work. I take four classes currently. If I have math homework and a writing assignment due Tuesday and I don’t get home until 10pm Monday (night class), I can only devote about an hour to each if I want to get enough sleep to function for my Tuesday 8 am. Major distraction number 3: stress. Though I am typically able to manage this well, I struggle sometimes. It’s something that everyone deals with. Too much stress can cause low energy, headaches, upset stomach, body aches, insomnia, and, in my case, styes. I wasn’t born with that swelling on my right eyelid that you have probably noticed. I get almost two a year and they are painful and just as distracting as the stress causing them. Honestly, I don’t have too much of a problem focusing (I take medication for that haha). The only problem I have that causes distractions is my horrible time management skills which I’m currently powering through. Personally, I believe I could become a better writer. I’ve definitely improved since high school so why couldn’t I improve more? I believe that you can do well in any subject if you commit and put the work in. Comments like “I’m just not good at…” aren’t justified in my opinion. If you aren’t doing well in math, you see your teacher for extra help or go to a tutor in the learning center. You aren’t allowed to say “I’m just not good at…” unless you’ve exhausted all the options, given it 100%, and still aren’t doing well, but that’s unlikely. I used to be the person who told myself I wasn’t good at something and then wouldn’t do anything about it. That’s not “not being good” at something, that’s called not trying. So yes, I believe everyone can improve. The steps I take to destress myself and get myself ready to write are not very long. I honestly don’t need to do much to get myself into writing mode. I’ve always been able to transition fairly easily. Here are just a few things I suppose help me (that is when I have time to do so). Step 1: I always have to be in a quiet environment. I live in a house with two 8 year olds that enjoy screaming as much as 12 year old me at the One Direction concert. I go into my room and I close the door and I have to be in my bed. I need to be in a comfortable environment. Step 2: Another step I like to take before tackling any writing assignment is jotting my ideas down on a blank sheet, much like Hemingway. On one level it bugs me because it is unorganized, but it is a good strategy to get my juices flowing and get my ideas where I can see them and I won’t forget them. Step 3: Although I like to be in the quiet when writing, I also find that music aids me in my endeavors. Some music inspires me and helps me to feel relaxed. I personally enjoy certain Spotify acoustic playlists. Step 4: When I have time, de-stressing helps me. I might read a little bit or listen to some relaxing music a few minutes before I start. Sometimes just lying in a dark room can help me calm down and think clearly before I start. Step 5: I can’t write when I’m hungry. To be honest, I can’t really do anything when I’m hungry. If I try to write while I’m hungry all I end up thinking about is how hungry I am. I have to have eaten something before I write or I just can’t focus. Step 6: I tend to be very fidgety and I can’t sit still. I like to have a piece of gum in my mouth or maybe a cup of tea nearby so that I can have something to do when I get bored (because who doesn’t when you’re writing a multi-page essay on something you likely couldn’t care less about?). Those things usually help me to focus and consistently write without stopping for distractions.
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When reading Joan Didion’s Why I Write, I noticed that she describes writing as “an aggressive, even a hostile act.” Personally, I do not write aggressively. I think of writing “aggressively” as the way I write when it is 11:55 pm and my 5 page paper is due at 12:00 am. I throw ideas on the page and I, myself, become frustrated and possibly “hostile”. I do not write because I want to impose my beliefs on anyone or invade their “private space”. When I write anything: an essay, a poem, a text message, I am writing because I feel I need to. My pursuits, or the reason I feel as if I need to write, are always completely different. Do you ever find yourself texting someone because that text is worth 65 points of your chemistry course? No. Have you ever written a private diary entry about a fight with your boyfriend that you planned to share so that you could “impose” your beliefs? Probably not. I find that most students my age keep their writing as private as possible. You have a passcode on your phone to hide your text messages, you don’t Instagram about the skeletons in your closet, and you certainly wouldn’t have felt comfortable typing this blog post honestly with the entire class staring at your screen. Joan Didion may write because she wants people to see it. Joan Didion may write because she wants to persuade people to feel the same that she does. Joan Didion does not write for any of the same reasons I do. I write when I feel I need to text my brother and tell him I love him. I write when I am told to by a professor. I write when I don’t want to tell anyone else what I’m going through. I do not write to change anyone’s mind or impose my beliefs on anyone. While Joan Didion sees writing as something aggressive, I see writing as something calm and something I keep to myself as much as I can. Clearly, Joan Didion and I write for very different reasons.
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GillianBlog for English Comp 1 Archives
May 2017
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