EXERCISE: From Writing as A Lifelong Skill (10) aka Your Apprenticeship on WRITERS

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 13:29:33 -0500

As a prelude, allow me to note that deciding what you want to achieve here on WRITERS often goes a long ways towards deciding whether you enjoy the relatively unstructured format or not.  Let's face it, the listowner is a volunteer who doesn't have enough time to do a lot on the list, there really isn't a designated "instructor surrogate" (or even a reasonable facsimile of a guru.  Several unreasonable carbon copies, but those aren't the same thing at all :-)  Matter of fact, mostly we got some people who are learning, just like you and me, and some of us are willing to help out around the edges, which makes the list rumble and mutter and sputter along.  Sometimes the sputter gets pretty damp, but we waddle through.

So, tell me, what are your plans?

From Writing As a Lifelong Skill by Sanford Kaye and

(with some emendations by moi!)

"A good way to ensure your progress in writing is to commit yourself to a realistic set of goals.  Through regular evaluation..., you can adjust these goals to make the most of [your participation]."

"... this conscious decision about what you really want to accomplish and how much you think you can get done... is a contract with yourself to make the best use of your time.  You can continually revise and sharpen your plan."

"Keep in mind that goal setting is only a technique to track and support your continuing development.  You will need plenty of patience and a sense of humor about expectations that are subjected to the stresses and strains of real life.  People who set out to accomplish a goal (especially those who feel they have to make up for something), and tend to forget that an unrealistic plan becomes still another obstacle to learning.  Much of writing is experimentation: finding out what works and what does not work.  No matter how wonderful the textbook... how conscientious your instructor, or how constructive your fellow students, you need a trying-it-out spirit to strengthen your skills."

"Moreover, this search, sometimes fun and often frustrating, is inherent in the medium of words.  Once you feel at home with the idea that you will learn something new each time you write, you can begin to enjoy the satisfaction of doing the best writing you can."

Sanford's worksheet (p. 51) to help you think about your goals...

1. My demonstrated strengths as a writer:
2. My most important weakness as a writer:
3. Things that other people have told me about my writing:
4. My reasons for wanting to improve my writing:
5. My specific priorities for improving my writing:
6. Attitudes I hold that will help me improve my writing:
7. Attitudes toward writing that may get in the way:
8. Writing I have read that I like:
9. Writing I have read that I don't like:
10. Resources that can help me reach my goals:

Therefore, I hope to achieve the following:




(Wow!  Do you really want to... huh, I never would have guessed.  That much ink?

Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?
I think so, but how are we going to get a crate of fishnet stockings into the White House?
gnarf...:-)