Category Archives: revising

Living Words

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I often find myself giving students this note: “Anything occurring in a text (print, digital, or visual) is referred to in the present tense because it is “living” in an ongoing present. Shakespeare is dead, but you would still say, ‘In Rome & Juliet, he writes…’”

The late Brenda Ueland inspired me as a young writer. I have always tried to incorporate much of what she says when encouraging student writers. Ueland encapsulates her advice for writers at the end of If You Want to Write, and I have taken the liberty of passing on the highlights. She advises:

“To sum up—if you want to write:

  1. Know that you have talent, are original and have something to say.
  2. Know that it is good to work…
  3. Write freely, recklessly, in first drafts.
  4. Tackle anything you want to—novels, plays, anything. Only remember Blake’s admonition: ‘Better top strangle an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires.’
  5. Don’t be afraid to write bad stories [or essays, or papers.]
  6. Don’t fret or be shamed of what you have written in the past… It is so conceited and timid to be ashamed of one’s mistakes. Of course they are mistakes. go on to the next.
  7. Try to discover your true, honest, untheoretical self…
  8. Remember how wonderful you are…
  9. if you are never satisfied with what you write, that is a good sign…
  10. Don’t be afraid of yourself when you write. Don’t check-rein yourself…
  11. Don’t always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers…”

Pretty good advice, for the classroom, the writing center…the mirror.

Brenda Ueland wrote these words in 1938, but her wisdom, indeed, lives in an ongoing present.

Works Cited

Ueland, Brenda. If You Want to Write, a Book about Art, Independence and Spirit. Graywolf. 1987.

 

Giving Shape to a Stream-of-Consciousness Draft

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The process of transitioning from research notes to a first draft can be daunting, and the creation of outlines and mind maps eases the way for many writers. But what if your favored method of working is a direct dive into writing pages and pages of exposition until you reach the conclusion? Can stream-of-consciousness drafts result in quality essays?

The truth is, readers can easily spot an essay that hasn’t been shaped. Some telltale signs are repetitiveness, disorganizationStreet signs, paragraphs that don’t align with topic sentences, and a conclusion that doesn’t match the thesis statement. To a professor, these are signs of a hastily crafted, night-before-it’s-due paper; to an editor, they’re signs that an author isn’t invested in the work being done. No matter what your writing timeline is, these are impressions to avoid, and there’s a relatively pain-free fix. It’s called “the reverse outline.”

Sometimes the mention of the word “outline” has writers rolling their eyes and envisioning roman numeral exercises from elementary school, but a reverse outline is a fast and simple method for revealing the bones of your work and is a critical part of the revising and editing process.  Here’s one method for reverse outlining:

  1. Read each paragraph, and write out the main point in the left margin.
  2. In the right margin, write down how each paragraph supports and advances the thesis.
  3. Review the right margin notes. Is there a logical build and direction that moves the reader from your thesis to the conclusion? If not, what needs to be shifted, added, or removed?
  4. Review the left margin notes. Are any main points repeated? Are there paragraphs where it was difficult to identify a main point? Are several main points jumbled together in the same paragraph? Are there sentences that don’t support the paragraph’s main point? What shifts might be necessary to resolve any of these issues?
  5. Making those shifts: move paragraphs, delete sentences, and clarify connections and focus.
  6. Note if there are sufficient signposts and transitions for the reader to follow the re-ordered argument and evidence.
  7. Carry on with your usual editing and proofreading from here!

For more on reverse outlining, see this Writing Center handout.

With a small bit of fine-tuning through the use of these reverse outline suggestions, a stream-of-consciousness draft can evolve into a logically structured essay with great flow while fully supporting the thesis and effectively guiding the reader to a logical conclusion. Not bad for avoiding the use of roman numerals! Even your elementary school teacher would be proud.

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