How Should I Go About Writing My Paper? - Caley Savoie

Today for my English 103 assignment I was to read a few chapters in my Norton Field Guide.  These chapters included various suggestions on how to start your writing and what things to put into your writing.  

First they talked about drafting, which is just coming up with multiple ideas for your paper.  They says it's best to first establish a schedule with strict deadlines to meet.  Such as; when you will have your rough draft done, when you will edit it, when you are going to proof read, and then the date that the final paper is due on.  I agree with them in saying that you should not wait until the last minute to try to write a paper.  Whenever this happens it always seems like you just can't think of anything at the last minute, right?  That is why it's a very good idea to get a jump start on your assignments and make it a priority to get it done before the deadline.  They also say to make yourself comfortable when you are writing.  I definitely agree with that, because I know that I need my space and quietness when I write, or I become easily distracted.  Writers block happens, right?  "Take a walk, take a shower, do something else.  Come back in a half hour, refreshed."  I know that taking a break for awhile, usually, helps me out. 

Description and detail is a must have in any writing, especially in a narrative when you are trying to tell a specific story.  There were a few stories in my reading that were examples of detailed writing, only one really stood out to me.  Nancy Mairs is an author with Multiple Sclerosis and she wrote about her disease.  "My left leg is now so weak that I walk with the aid of a brace and a cane, and for distances I use an Amigo, a variation on the electric wheelchair that looks like an electrified kiddie car."  In this sentence she does many things; she describes what she is feeling and what she can't do, she lists what she has to use to move, and as she is describing these things she gives detail so the reader can more clearly understand.  When organizing your paper they say that you can organize it in a chronological order or in other ways.  Just to make it easier on yourself writing, and make it understandable to the reader.  

In dialogue, it's good to use your words to describe a situation, but using other people makes it a bit more interesting.  They say that it's a good idea to use what the person in the story said in your writing to give the reader a better look at what really happened.  This brings more than one voice to the story and makes it more vibrant and interesting to the reader.  

All in all, not a horrible reading assignment.  Some of the readings were interesting; such as the 9/11 passage.  The description really caught my attention, and I guess that is the whole point. :)