Naturally Difficult

blog: Zinsser claims "The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis" (49). Why do you think he says this?

Response:
Randall Jarrell, the American poet, likens creative inspiration to being struck by lightning—one has to stand out in many storms in order to get hit. My inclination is to agree with both Jarrell and Zinsser. If one is regularly at the business of doing something, one is showing a willingness to let good things happen. Of course notice that Zinsser uses the words “force” and “certain number” and “regular basis,” suggesting discipline—and discipline includes a good heart. One can go through plenty of motions and get few results. Bad attitudes perpetuate bad attitudes and create bad products. I like Zinsser’s word “force” because it suggests that this routine, this discipline, is not a matter of natural inclination. If things don’t come easy, that doesn’t mean they aren’t natural to us—natural childbirth being a key example.

Critically Important

Blog: What are skillful, earnest critics good for?

Helping. Criticism is always a problem; constructive criticism is an oxymoron. I had a professor once who, repeating his father I believe, said "I have never seen a monument to a critic." But let's get a bit fundamental here: a critic is someone who evaluates things and makes a judgment. Don't we all do that, more or less well, more or less frequently, as human beings? (Of course on the MBTI test I am on the judging axis, so this colors my perceptions.) But where we take it from there is the mark of what we are as a person and suggests the mark we will leave in the human record.

I firmly believe that if one points out a problem, one must be actively, compassionately willing to help resolve the problem if possible. IF one sees something wonderful, one must not only admire it; one must emulate or act in one's own sphere with motivated, equal excellence.

Those who see well and respond well, both to problems and excellencies, are critics--but we call them leaders.

It Is Finished

blog: When I finish writing a paper I feel . . .


Relieved. Being the production-oriented person that I am, I probably have more pleasure--and always more security-- in having done something than in doing it. For me, writing an essay is like mopping a floor--it feels so good to know I've done it; it feels good to have smoothness under my feet rather than tackiness or crumbs; it smells nice, too. The actual mopping doesn’t do much for me.

It could be a let down to finish something well; Ellison's "King of the Bingo Game" underscores the idea that as long as there is possibility, there is hope-- but the thing completed may turn out badly, leading us to not want to finish. Mostly, though, my papers turn out in a way that I can live with or that even surprise me with their power (such are gifts).

But like the floor that will need mopping again, there will be another paper that needs to be written. The repeatability of and the necessity to repeat tasks--how we respond to these things--are a mark of what we are as a doer of those tasks.

Singing Praise

blog: Zinsser says it's hard to praise things (194) well. Why do you think that could be true?


It's hard to do anything well--praise or criticize. I think it's especially hard to praise well because people are less inclined (or people like me, anyhow) to believe good things than bad things; irony and negativity are easy defaults. Also, when praising, it's easy to fall to the cliches and superlatives that tell the readers but little. And praising is hard because our reasons for liking things can be so personal that to adequately explain our pleasures becomes difficult, either because we're holding back or because we're not. I think what can be truly said is that criticism and praise are somewhat alike as far as what makes them effective and what does not. Of course it's easier to make something bad than good, so it's easier to point out faults than point out excellencies. In the end, though, I always care more about what people like than what they don’t like.

The Breakfast of Self-Control; the Breakfast of Binging

Blog prompt: The Best Breakfast Cereal

For sturdy repetitions, I would say cooked oatmeal--old fashioned cut--with milk, no salt, nothing else but maybe some walnuts. One could live on this simply because there would be no impulse to binge on it! The breakfast cereal of pleasure, however, would have to be granola. It has, however, overindulgence as a built in feature--how not when 1/4 cup makes one carbohydrate exchange? I think to eat it well one needs to save it for dinner and eat 3/4 cup with milk. Almonds, raisins, dried apples, dates, whatever fruit--sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, oats, sweetener, coconut, cinnamon and vanilla . . .that's pleasure. However, just thinking of eating even 3/4 cup of it makes me feel anxiously deprived. I have heard that sometimes abstinence is easier than moderation. Maybe I should keep a safe theoretical distance from granola.

What Day Is It?

blog prompt: Columbus Day, Native American Day, or both?

Today is Columbus Day (observed) and also Native American Day. If it really was a Viking who discovered America, I have a South-Dakota insight into why he didn't get the credit.

When I read in Writer's Almanac today about how small Columbus's ships were, I was amazed. It's almost like he was sent off to do something with inadequate support--sort of a gag gift or condemnation. Then again, I don't know how big other ships were at the time without doing some research. It's good to have it be Native American Day, too. My daughter wants to have a Columbus Day party (anything for a celebration, anything for some cake?) I was wondering if I couldn't make some Native American food and also something Spanish/Italian to recognize both events. It seems like I’m more looking for a celebration excuse than pushing myself for ethical and philosophical reflections. One thing I do question is why Peter Pan (a la Disney) didn't get recalled or edited for its embarrassing song "What Makes the Red Man Red?"

Sinless Omission

blog: Zinsser says, speaking of writing, "Be grateful for everything you can throw away" (16). Why?

Response:

It's easier to get rid of trash than to organize it. It's even easier to whole-sale throw away things than to sort and evaluate. How much tinkering could be avoided by trashing…I have heard a great saying: anything not worth doing is not worth doing well. To discard is to free oneself from pointless agonies. My best friend has maddeningly liberated me on multiple occasions by telling me simply NOT to do something rather than helping me work through the details of how to do it. I am speaking very broadly of life, but the writing is the same. Suffering syntax and insidious ideas are sometimes best resolved by omission.

Halloween Costume

BLOG PROMPT: blog: If I could be anything for Halloween this year, I would be . . .

RESPONSE:

Anything? Ha ha--I would be myself, completely and authentically--the angel of myself, that is. Wouldn't that be refreshing? I hear that my neighbor had about 395 trick-or-treaters last year at her house (we missed Halloween in this neighborhood last year), so I am looking forward to this event (in a way)…it would be nice to be the gracious door opener for Halloween. I remember being trick-or-treated at a student family housing apartment at the University of Southern Mississippi thirteen years ago--I didn't realize that I should hand the candy piece(s) rather than extend the bowl, and one young person took what I thought was too much. I wasn't the angel of myself then. But so much is adultness. What would I dress up as? Mmh…can't think really. Maybe as Deborah the judge from the Bible, or Queen Ester (Hadassah), or Joan of Arc . . .

Sports?

Blog Prompt: A Favorite Sport

I have not developed my sport talents; I am thrilled that my children are taking to swimming and city-rec sports, as well as basketball (my oldest son). The sport I most like to practice is WALKING! Ha ha, you say. Well, I can get a pretty good work-out with walking. I like walking outdoors in the early morning (alone, of course) and I like walking with my walk-aerobics video. For watching, my sport might be basketball because it's fast and more democratic than football (and less ritualized). It is the sport of small space and intense action. I remember listening to Seattle Sonics games on KIRO radio when I was a kid--why did I do that? I did; it was a type of connection with my father, I think.

Catch-up on my food

Blog Prompt: A Favorite Food

Ah, it's hard to pick a favorite food; I’m glad it's not the MOST favorite food. One thing I like is green bean pizza--a meatless version that I make. I like it because it is filling without being greasy (lots more green beans than cheese), and because the children prefer pepperoni, leaving more of the green stuff for me. I also like whipped cream--the old fashioned kind that one whips rather than frozen whipped topping. I love the inherent sweetness of dairy cream. Halvah bars are another favorite; I had a friend in college who said they tasted like stale Butterfinger bars--which reminds me of my grandfather saying that matzohs tasted like pasteboard…AHEM! I like matzohs, too. Really, my favorite food has to be the food that I can eat with restraint and not feel sick or guilty for having eaten, even in moderation.

It Works

PROMPT:

blog: Zinsser--and he's a writer by profession--once said "that writing wasn't easy and wasn't fun" (4). How do you feel about writing?

RESPONSE:

I am too production-oriented, admittedly. Often times I take more pleasure in having done something than in doing it. Writing is one of those activities. But I mistake. There is a point in writing when I know things will work if I patiently see them to the end; before this there are false-starts and dullness. When I know something will work, I begin to take pleasure in it because I am secure. I remember once a writer who said that what he/she had done was so easy for you to read because it was so hard for me to write. That is so; I have looked at my completed lyrics thinking how simple and unassuming they appear--ah, what was taken away--you wouldn't know.

Just the Facts

blog prompt (make-up):
One of my favorite NON-fiction books

Response:
I would talk about the varieties of non-fiction books I like, starting with dictionaries that have etymologies. It's wonderful to know where words come from. I had a professor once, Cynthia Hallen, who shared the idea that words are fossilized poems. There is an element of magic in words that has to do with their origins. I also like books that share usage information. Another favorite non-fiction book would be a vegetarian cookbook that isn't political and doesn't call for expensive ingredients. I like scripture books, too, because they are so variable in their meanings--literally every person who reads can come upon a valid, personal meaning (in some ways a good book is equally about its reader as it is about its topic.)

ZZZZ

PROMPT for Blog: plagiarism is like ___________ because _______________.


RESPONSE:

Today I don't feel like moralizing or analogizing, so this won't be an easy topic for me to write about. In fact, the most I've typed today was repeated letters that came as my hand was down on a key while asleep.

But I'll humor myself. Plagiarism is like theft because we rob the world of our own ideas by using those of others instead. That has to be the worst crime. I hate to say I am unhappy when I receive FW: e-mails of "great ideas" and touching thoughts. They may be great ideas and touching thoughts, but I crave the authentic interaction, the personal perceptions of the other. I think the word plagiarism is related to the idea of kidnapping. Ironically then, to plagiarize is to get carried away with one’s self, too; a kidnapper goes off in hiding with his/her victim.

Good or Bad

I think it valuable to distinguish between bad writing and writing that deals with bad things. That's content. Bad writing is also presentation: a lack of care for words, for rules, for the readers.

Or bad writing can be beautiful and technically good but push for a bad thing. My example of this last type of bad writing is Javert's song "Stars" in Les Miserables--it is beautiful and sounds inspiring, but it is built around pride and a hateful vision of others.

I think there has to be some level of bad intentions in writing for it to be called bad--just making mistakes doesn't make one a bad writer. Perhaps I need to re-vision what I call "bad" (is "poor" just a synonym?) and reserve it for extreme cases, even as good seems to have a specialized meaning. At last there is Hamlet, with whom I don't quite agree, but find useful: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Good Enough?

BLOG PROMPT:
Zinsser claims "The only important distinction is between good writing and bad writing" (page 99). What are the qualities of GOOD writing?

RESPONSE:
Good writing comes from a good heart, or one that is trying to be good. Good writing cares about grammar, punctuation, proofreading and appearances as much as it cares about content and organization. I must be too set upon these ideas, for I can't say much else about "good writing" at present.

For the sake of 125 words though, I must write. The idea of "good" is curious when one considers the surprising use of "good" in the Bible: "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." By this standard, goodness is much more than we suppose, making "excellent" an exaggeration. So maybe good writing is God writing--and I think of God as a creator, a sustainer, the compassionate and merciful. Good writing would be all of these things.

Mixed Motives

BLOG PROMPT:
Zinsser writes "Motivation is at the heart of writing" (page 99). What does that mean to you?


RESPONSE:
Isn't motivation the heart of everything? Doesn't everything begin and end with desire? What does motivate me to write? Well…uh….a sense of obligation, truthfully. But what drives that? This is a trickier prompt than I thought. Perhaps the drive behind the writing is a sense of talent development, the thought that I can increase or lose it--there being no other option. Perhaps it is a desire for recognition. Maybe it's my poor attempt at competitiveness, since I never tried the sports thing. Maybe it's a sublimation desire. I'm afraid (or should I be?) it is nothing akin to the philosopher who held the boy's head under water and said as soon as you desire something as much as you desire air, you will be ready for it. Perhaps I should speak from ideal: I should be motivated to write as part of an ethical obligation to the other--I should create writing that serves rather than self-serves.

Margaret and Angela

Blog Prompt:
the best writing teacher I ever had

Response:
I have had many good writing teachers; I want to resist the superlatives. I think though I must give credit to two teachers: Margaret Young and Angela Ball. Margaret maddened me at first because being around her made me feel that my theses weren't as good as I thought they were. This was, of course, for the good--a writing class that rewards students for doing what they already do well without inviting them to improve is not a learning situation.

Angela Ball taught me how to teach others to write. Angela was the soft-spoken one who used parentheses rather than cross-off lines. She would only work on a poem at the word and line level if the poem was going to fly. She gave the most wonderful advice: try the opposite--ah, how that quickens, for sometimes we pull up words that fit, but they are the blank side of the puzzle and must be turned right.

Happy Reserach Memories

Blog prompt: research memories

My first memorable research experience was writing a report on the Virgin Islands in fifth grade. I copied it out of a Funk & Wagnall's encyclopedia set my parents owned. In sixth grade my teacher introduced me to the concept of plagiarism, and drew on the metaphor of a bird of prey that found a (dead?) animal and flew away with it--but the dead animal froze to its talons, resulting in a crash landing and the death of the bird. I think the warning was that if we got a hold of the idea of plagiarism, it would catch hold of us and destroy us. That aside, I wrote (much more ethically this time) a report on Louis Pasteur. I misspelled the word "temperature" in my final draft.
In seventh grade I wrote a report on geothermal energy (not the drill-a-well type, but the type that harnesses naturally occurring steam and heat from the earth). As a high school freshman I wrote a report on the crusades. As a high school senior I wrote a paper on Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, and copied it on light pink paper (her nickname was "Pinkie" (sp?)) just as I read she had copied her master's thesis on pink paper.

I believe I enjoyed writing each of the papers except the first one. Well, for one thing, I didn't write the first one. Research becomes refreshing as it becomes our own.

One Way Writing

Prompt:
the writer I would like to be

Response:
Compare the front side of a restaurant to the back. If we came in the back way by the dumpster where the cooks are smoking on the stoop, would we want to dine at that restaurant? Or if we waited outside the bathroom door, would the sink run at least twenty seconds after a food server flushed the toilet? Even then, we would want to check if there were hot water and soap available.

The writing I serve to the world, I hope, would be prepared in consistency. I would be the cook and the server, the plate cleaner and table washer, and do all well. I would rather hold these ideals and fail at them than have no ideals at all.

Angela Ball, my best poetry tutor, said writers are "the angels of themselves when they write." So what would I hope for myself? Angel tongue and angel wings.

Words as serpents, harmless as doves

Blog Prompt:
the best thing I ever wrote


Reponse:
Write along with me; the best is yet to be. I have to believe that. I don't think I have yet to write my best. I will tell you, though, that when I do, my writing will DO things:

It will build a house with only household words.
People will prefer it to chocolate in an existential crisis.
It will help people love their oldest sons and mothers-in-law.
It will sound like me the way Mozart sounds like Mozart.
It will repel cliches and curses.
It will be crafted without being crafty.
It will have come at no one's expense but my own.
It will be the uttered life.
It will listen more than it speaks.

Stacks of Memories

PROMPT: library memories

RESPONSE:
How do I remember libraries? I will write about a few. The Renton (Washington) Public Library, my growing up library, was built over the Cedar River on cement pillars. Was this to symbolize the bridge over troubled waters? The Cook Library at the University of Southern Mississippi was small when I first moved to Hattiesburg, but then was built huge brick beautiful. When it was small and I was and expecting my first child, I stacked up bound journals on a table to rest my head on so I could nap without having to slump over my own abdomen. Another library memory was from the Purvis (Mississippi) Public Library. I tried to take my son there on Confederate Memorial Day, but it was closed--he put his body to the ground and cried.

Bon Accident

Prompt:

An accident

Response:

I really don't want to remember any accidents I was involved with; accidents are either associated with vehicles (true to American automobile obsessions) or potty training (true to that obsession, too). Beyond these traumatic and melodramatic axes there is the sense of "a mistake" (my credit to Liz K. for reminding me of this), but it is used in phrases such as "I accidentally" or "I did it on accident." I want to talk about one of those accidental things, because it's more fun.

Once I was given "creamed honey" as a gift and put it on the table for guests (and myself). At some point in the meal I realized that it wasn’t creamed honey, but solidified drippings--bacon or hamburger grease probably; I don't remember which. Phew--food trash put out for a delicacy. Bon apetit.

Insatiable Cure

Blog prompt:

words to live by: a saying that shapes my way of seeing the world

Response:

It is also hard to share words that inspire me, for fear people will judge me: Oh? You believe that? Then why do act as if you didn't?

But here's a phrase that I remember a boy in college sharing at a church meeting: "You can't get enough of what you don't need because what you don't need won't satisfy you." Gluttony is on the big seven list for a reason. The strongest choices for me have been, when faced with a crisis or angst, seeking what I know I really DO need, even if it is less palpable, even if it takes more work, than letting loose the locusts that live in my brain and stomach and descending upon the fridge and pantry. Self-control is the beginning of satisfaction.

Nicest Things

Prompt: the nicest thing someone ever said to me

Response: It feels odd to share with others the nicest thing someone ever said to me because it seems private, and also like boasting. Why? Because the three things that come to mind were all affirmations of me as a person, or the person I would like to be.

But a fourth thing comes to mind, also very helpful--that I will share. Once when I was in existential free-fall, someone told me--if not precisely in these words--"It will be all right." Now, that's a ready-made phrase. But it became powerful to me later when, finding myself (as I often do) facing someone else's crisis, thinking back on the exchange someone had with me and saying "It will be all right."

Now, I don't know how much good it did the person, but I know it did NOT hurt him/her, which was gracious, because my usual response at that time would have been irritation and probably cross words. "It will be all right" was the perfect phrase, and one of the nicest phrases someone told me, because it made me nicer.

The Day Is Not Over

Prompt: 9/11/01: Why remember?

Response:

Six years ago today I woke up on the wrong side of my soul--the palpable darkness of the morning hung about my front door and within me as I left the single-wide to feed horses.

In the barn it was grey boards and dust, old hay, shadows and the glare of the light at the end of the hall. I felt oppressed, but for no particular reason. Driving home I listened to an NPR radio essay critiquing George W. Bush's lingual blunders. That was the last memory until Bridgette Arroyo was on the phone with me later, lighter on in my kitchen: a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

All else belongs to us all; my memories of 9/11 and yours are all part of the dust and ashes of glass, beams, bodies, and office equipment that the camera person wiped off the lens so we could witness collapse.

My oldest son was seven then. After school he brought out a battery-powered fighter plane to play with. He must have intuited what responding to militant criminality would involve.

A problem is that leaders, both inept and corrupt, both courageous and circumspect, will always do things that irritate and enrage; they may defend their choices, or they may only listen and hold their course.

Remembering 9/11/01 is like remembering 9/11/07; it's the same day, six years later.

Bea and Port

PROMPT:

Yesterday was grandparent's day. What do you like/remember about your grandparents?

RESPONSE:



I knew both sets of grandparents, but will only write about the paternal. When I think of grandparents, most of memories are concrete; it wasn't concepts that they taught me that most remain; it was the things they made. My Grandparents Richardson were very production-oriented people. (My father's birth certificate lists the occupations of his parents: housewife and laborer. )

Grandma's cooking was what I liked best: sausage circles, toast with grape jelly, apricot nectar. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and walnut halves. Citrus sponge cake and lemon/pineapple/banana jello with a frosted top.

Grandpa was the woodshop man who made us toys: a table, a range, a cupboard and counter, a cradle, and a toy box in the shape of a train.

The things Grandma and Grandpa made form my argument from design: they are real, and I believe, even in their ornery ways, they loved us.

This is My English 101 Blog

I have another blog but would like to blog along with English 101 students. Here we go!