Most of the time, which is to say when I'm writing for school, I really don't write the way Dr. Romano suggests. I write slowly, I think before each phrase and sentence. I consistently do poorly in any sort of situation where I am timed, unless I have had time to think ahead and prepare. When a teacher says, "Pull out you notebooks! We're going to write about -- now!" I'm often not in that "writing state of mind." I get lost in the thoughts before I stick them on paper. And how will I have time to revise and rewrite if I'm turning it in in five, ten minutes?
The subject matters, I think. I mean, just how passionate can one be, within the realm of decency, when one is writing about vacuum filtration in alum synthesis? A-Rod wasn't looking for me to rhapsodize. On the other hand, that sort of passion might create the sort of ease and fluidity that is valued in any writing, without necessarily a flowery aspect.
I am capable of the "gush," but people rarely see the result. I abandon it too soon, or devalue it, or decide to keep it to myself. What is beautiful in the park at 10:30 at night is too often garish the next morning. I hope that eventually I will develop a "writing state of mind" that is appropriate and useful in many contexts.
I think it's ok that you don't write like Dr. Romano thinks is good. Maybe it's good for him but not for everyone. I try to pour everything out like he says, but I usually get stuck. You're 10:30 "gushes" may not be as bad as you think, either. Bottom line, even though you don't write like he says, I like reading what you write and I think lots of others do too.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you about subject mattering. I know that if I don't think that something is worth my while to write, someone else is going to think that it's not worth their while to read it, and then we're both disappointed in me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree with Elise! I like reading what you write, even if it's not written based on Dr. Romano's standards.