Re: Shop Talk

Craig Branham (branhacc@SLUVCA.SLU.EDU)
Fri, 19 Jul 1996 02:09:26 -0600


This is a late response (sorry) to all who posted to my holiday prompt
for a discussion of invention strategies. Looking over the many fine
responses to my note, I notice that an overwhelming number of you begin
with some form of freewriting. Is it safe to assume that most people on
this list use some form of freewriting early in the writing process? Is this
the trend among students or the general population? If it isn't, what
does this say about writing instructors? Does the influence
of wordprocessing have anything to do with it?

Here's what I do to get started. Since I tend to agonize over writing, I
have had to come up with my own variant of freewriting. I start by taking
lots of vitamins. Then I make a short list of possible sections of what I am
writing, grab my trusty wind-up kitchen timer that makes loud clicking
noises, open Word, turn off my monitor, set the clock for an hour, and
smash out all of my thoughts in each of the sections as fast as I can
without stopping until the bell goes off. I usually come up with 10 pages
of pure garbage, but planning and drafting are usually easier afterwards.

Craig Branham

NP: "Marine 475"