Elbow, Lamott, King, and Diaz Response

Elbow:
Before you read:
When I first got my Facebook when I was a freshman in high school, I felt that I needed to have my whole life story posted. I switched schools my sophomore year and found that if everyone could find out things about me online, maybe they wouldn't try to get to know me in person. I have the bare minimum things posted now. People can judge from the facts if its me they're looking for. And also, no matter what you post online, true or not, people can find those things and it can get you into trouble, not only with the law or an employer but also your personal safety can be jeopardized by creepers.

Summary:
In Peter Elbow's article "Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries" he explains voice in writings. He exhibits an acceptance to both using it and prohibiting it. He claims that voice is alive in all aspects of writing that we do, whether it be online or educational.  He claims that students worst fear is that the teachers will call them out on their "voice" in their writings if they have different voices in their writing rather than in the classroom. He also talks about how in writing the writer can fall into a "stalemate" where they can not write any more at all. His audience is maybe teachers and instructors and also students.

Synthesis:
In Elbow's article he brings up stalemates in writing and states that the writer needs to work through it, and not give up.He says that the writer needs to stop over analyzing what their doing wrong and just go with what they feel. In Diaz's article "Becoming a Writer" he touches on this subject in a different manner. He tried to write a novel for five years and came to that trench and fell in and could not write at all. He gave up for a time, and eventually finished. But Elbow states to just move on quickly it seems, and Diaz explains that it is not so simple.

Questions for Discussion:
1.) I define voice as a few things: word choice, sentence structure, and the way the work flows. I think that these traits in a work affect how the reader "hears" what is being said. It also has to do with the side of the argument that the writer has taken. An example is that you are forced to write the positive side of a topic you do not agree with and support it in your writing. You would not write the paper with a negative voice, because then you are not being a critical thinker and are not following directions for the assignment. Elbow uses Aristotle's example of voice, with persuasion and being strong.
4.) He uses the "doubt and believe game" as, after writing your piece, read it once and believe everything that it says. Take every word to heart and cherish it. Then go right back and read it all over again, but doubt every word, question every thought on the paper, take nothing to heart.He states that if you do this, you can see both sides of your argument and therefore have a better open mind to being able to fix your mistakes and  add changes.

Applying and Exploring Ideas:
2.) I personally do not like to listen to readings, I like to have the words to look at and soak in. I like being able to go back and re read parts that I did not comprehend the first go around. Elbow makes a good point in ear training, but if we do not have text to reference we do not retain as much information as we could had we read along with someone else reading aloud.

Connection to other readings:
I don't think its part of the myth. I think that the Inspirational Writer has nothing to do with voice. I think that voice comes from the actual writer. Voice is not something to fear, its natural and not easily covered up in writings. Granted your tone and mannerisms will change in addition to your audience but that has nothing to do with not feeling like an accomplished writer.

Thoughts:
I did not like this article. And I do not agree with Elbow. Everyone has a voice inside their head for when they read and write. It's a little voice that simply helps you take the words off the page or out of your brain and commemorate them to your memory. When I have boring things to read I use a Morgan Freeman voice to make what I'm reading more interesting. It doesn't change what the paper is saying or the point it is trying to get across it just helps me pay more attention and stay focused.

Meta Moment:
I don't understand how he is against compromise, yet expects things to work together... If a student is personally against a topic they are writing and have to appear to support it, they will use their voice and tone to make the reader believe they support it. It does not matter what aspect you are writing for, personal or academic  You're voice can be altered and tone changed to make your paper great.


                                                  Dialectical Notebook:

Response	Quotation
I really like this quote because she is saying that writers do this, sarcastically. There are some days when I go to write something and feel confident like I have the whole world figured out, and then there are days when I couldn't tell you even what  I was thinking that day and write it down.	"They sit down at their desks every morning feeling like a million dollars, feeling great about who they are and how much talent they have and what a great story they have to tell;" Lamott 301
I also liked this quote by Lamott. She basically says that writing great things is almost accidental. You as a writer become so involved in the work that you don't know what you have until you come up for air.	"very few writers really know how what they are doing until they've done it. Lamott 301
I agree, my first drafts, even my pre writing is a big train wreck of chaos. There are unfinished thoughts, sentences, things scribbled in the sides, things crossed out, and added in. It is all part of the process though.	"The first draft is the child's draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later." Lamott 302
Steven King is a classic writer, who has always been a little on the weird side, but I love how he makes an example of "telepathy" in writing. I love his "experiment" following this quote.	"And here we go - actual telepathy in action. You'll notice I have nothing up my sleeves and that my lips never move. Neither, most likely do yours." King 306
This is his conclusion after his experiment, and the weird thing is, is that it works. No matter where you are, what time, your minds eye works with what you are reading and therefore you see what he wants you to. Granted you add your own details but the general idea is there.	"This is what we're looking at, and we all see it. I didn't tell you. You didn't ask me. I never opened my mouth and you never opened yours. We're not even in the same year together, let alone the same room.... except we are together. We're close." King 307
I know how Diaz feels. I get in moods where I can't write to save my life. And it doesn't matter what kind of writing its for. School or personal, writers blocks hits at anytime for many reasons.	"It was like I had somehow slipped into a No Writing Twilight Zone and I couldn't find an exit." Diaz 319
I love this quote. It makes me feel better about myself as a "Writer" because there are times when I feel confident about myself and other times I feel like I have no business trying to write and that people are going to notice that.	"I didn't become a writer the first time I put pen to paper or when I finished my first book (easy) or my second one (hard)." Diaz 320