http://nnwp.edublogs.org/2008/09/07/bird-by-bird-by-anne-lamott/ The official (we)blog for the Northern Nevada Writing Project Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:04:14 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 http://nnwp.edublogs.org/2008/09/07/bird-by-bird-by-anne-lamott/comment-page-1/#comment-118 carolinehatcher Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:24:00 +0000 http://nnwp.edublogs.org/?p=15#comment-118 Hi Karen! So, yes, why is writing so scary? I did my Master's thesis on the connection between writing output and self-efficacy (one's insecurities about writing) and I found that many of the students I worked with wrote primarily for their teacher as an audience and not for themselves. They often took one negative or even constructive comment and internalized it to the nth degree about their writing, ultimately never forgetting it or moving on (I too remember my college German teacher telling me that "my writing skills were like fine grains of sand sifting through fingers with no substance!") So, ultimately, I think we need to devise a non-subjective rubric for writing or in a utopia, have students eventually determine what makes writing good or not based on what they have learned. We see those who write quickly and assume they are good writers, when in reality, they might merely be FAST, not GOOD writers. But, maybe we need to teach students that those who get stuck (aka Writer's Block) often come out with the best pieces- a good piece of writing can take time. We need to get our students to a point where they not only value re-writes, but understand the purpose behind them as well! Hi Karen!
So, yes, why is writing so scary? I did my Master’s thesis on the connection between writing output and self-efficacy (one’s insecurities about writing) and I found that many of the students I worked with wrote primarily for their teacher as an audience and not for themselves. They often took one negative or even constructive comment and internalized it to the nth degree about their writing, ultimately never forgetting it or moving on (I too remember my college German teacher telling me that “my writing skills were like fine grains of sand sifting through fingers with no substance!”)
So, ultimately, I think we need to devise a non-subjective rubric for writing or in a utopia, have students eventually determine what makes writing good or not based on what they have learned. We see those who write quickly and assume they are good writers, when in reality, they might merely be FAST, not GOOD writers. But, maybe we need to teach students that those who get stuck (aka Writer’s Block) often come out with the best pieces- a good piece of writing can take time. We need to get our students to a point where they not only value re-writes, but understand the purpose behind them as well!

]]>