Since we didn’t
discuss the Quintilian readings on Friday, I thought this would be a great
opportunity to look back and write about a section I found extremely
fascinating…Welcome to “Let’s Break All Modern Writing Conventions You’ve
Learned in College.”
Modern
convention #1: don’t sweat the first draft; just “get your thoughts out on
paper” and write it quickly.
Convention
breaker: “The sum of the whole matter, indeed, in this; that by writing quickly
we are not brought to write well, but that by writing well we are brought to
write quickly” (404-405). According to Quintilian, the “first draft” should be
as close to your “final draft” as possible because although you may decide to
revise and mend “the words and rhythm of the sentences,” the ideas might still
not adhere to a completely logical—or well-connected—line of argument and
thought. Therefore, to save yourself time and effort, you might want to “use
care” on your first draft (405-406). In the long run, a more polished first
draft may actually help you “write quickly” by expediting the writing process.
Modern
convention #2: revise, revise, revise. Revision is not line editing—it is
wholesale change.
Convention
breaker: “[T]hey think whatever is different from it is better, and find
something to correct as often as they take up their manuscript, like surgeons
who make incisions even in sound places; and hence it happens that their
writings are, so to speak, scarred and bloodless, and rendered worse by the
remedies applied” (408). This “modern convention” and “convention breaker” may
seem similar to the first, but they are nuanced differently. I’ve always
assumed that my writing always has
room for improvement, and I still
assume that. However, Quintilian says that “different” is not always “better.”
Even if our writing has room for improvement, what we’ve written may be the best we could do; if we alter that
writing, then, we might detract from it. Contrary to our American mindset, we
do have limits to our abilities; Quintilian asks, “Do you wish to write better than you can?” (405). Ideally, yes.
Practically, no. After exploring all options and you still don’t know how to
revise a paper, sometimes you just need to give yourself permission to let it
be.
Sadie,
ReplyDeleteI generally have a tough time commenting on posts in this class, either because i'm intimidated that I don't understand what i've read, or because inspiration is difficult to come by when it seems that some weeks we are all grasping at straws in some way or another. Your post has broken both of those trends for me, and I thank you for that. I read straight through this section without realizing how awesome it was. I experienced a similar "mind=blown" moment after reading your analysis of it.
I detest revision, and I always have. I'll spend 12-14 hours on a 3 page essay just so I can do it in one sitting in a single frame of mind. No matter how well I know my subject, if I approach the page more than once then my frame of mind changes each time. It's like 10 separate personalities trying to write one paper. It quickly becomes disjointed after a few revisions, and to this day I still have not preferred a revised version of my paper compared to the original. When the passion to write strikes, it's best to channel that passion into a single sculpture instead of chipping away at the limestone one tick at a time, where the last chisel blow doesn't even recognize the first.
Our major as writers is a strange one, because all 'good' writing is dependent upon passion and inspiration, two things which usually occur without respect to a schedule. So if I have class in 20 minutes but I caught the inspiration bug, do I write what little I can by "writing quickly but not well" or do I skip class and ride the inspiration train all the way to the end, and "write well by writing quickly (with passion)?"