Sheesh. After talking about lean writing, verbose writing, soundbite
writing, warrant writing, personal writing . . . what to do . . . I
wish I was just at the beach where I could think better . . .
Then I saw what I was doing and had a memory. (The class sighs. Dr. PD has a memory. Again.)
I was stuck. Chapter Three of my dissertation had my butt in a sling.
Really. Nada. Books piled on the floor, some of which that had
become make-shift coffee tables, were crunching in on me. I think they
call this writer's block. I tried everything: wine, t.v., calling my
bff and running it all down again, re-reading, screaming, pacing, and
railing at the sky that I should have gone into another major. My dear
friend and mentor, Frank Walters, ran into me in Haley Center and saw
that we were quite near a fundamental breakdown and out of mercy sat me
down somewhere on a bench. After the wailing and teeth grinding
subsided a bit, he offered his well-earned, academic-type advice:
Write crap. (Language cleaned up here for formality purposes.)
Not out of self defense, not as a last ditch effort, but very much ON PURPOSE. Aggressive crap writing. Take that.
Right, I'm with you. An English prof saying write poo? Seriously? What I would have given to have heard that all along.
And so I did. I wrote a load of ka-ka. Laughing all the way.
Somewhere along page twelve, I had an idea. My muse grabbed my brain
and went: Have you thought of this? Brilliant. Yes. I couldn't stop.
And it wasn't ka-ka.
Here's the thing: I had forgotten it was a joy ride, screams and all,
and had made it straight up work. Now. That's not what we are in it
for, is it? Turns out, I can revise crap and make it gold once the
muse starts singing. (P.S. That chapter is still my favorite.)
You ever notice how that paper with all the angst and sweat that you
thought was crap got an A? You ever notice how that one that was
perfect got a B?
We've talked about risk taking. Yeah, yeah. Gotta stay in the
parameters of the assignment, research the field, cite correctly . . .
but once you get that, you got it. Sometimes, the risk is worth it.
(Says the girl who included The Da Vinci Code in her dissertation.) But
wait: isn't this the same as our daily, grinding lives? Lesse--don't
speed, don't drink too much, go to class, don't be late for work, brush
your hair . . .
Where is the muse here? Does she get to sing off of paper or are we all
a bit too pansy to try that out? I'm thinking here that really being
awake, really throwing it out there in our lives (even though it may
start out as crap) could lead to our favorite chapter, the love of our
lives, the job that makes it all worth it, a lesson of unfathomable
proportions. Can we revise crap? As long as it's not in print yet, I
think so, and that print is pretty much the tombstone, yes?
I wrote this purposefully forgetting rules of grammar and propriety
(except for not saying the word shit, which I just gave in on) in order
to get something out. I know where the edit button is. Sometimes you
just gotta say . .
When I write, i always look at it as "taking a risk". I never know exactly what im doing, and exactly where these words that im writing down could possibly be taking me. I just go for the gold, without any gold standard.
ReplyDeleteI always seem to do at least well on my papers. Maybe its because i really don't draft that often, but just produce a product and make it final. To me im always writing crap. I just produce words that float around an idea until that idea actually starts to pull itself together. Is this the way to go? I dont know, and i dont really care to explore any other ways because this one works just fine.
So here I am writing crap, about writing crap. Where to go with this one?
One time i ran a red light. Not intentionally, but because i was just listening to a good-ass song. I got so lost in one thing that the other almost became second nature, but not in its entirety since I did run a red light, and honestly could have convinced myself into thinking that it never happened. You can write crap, as i do, but its also important to look up every now and then to see where you're going.
O man, where to start with this. Let me start off by saying that writing crap isn't always a bad thing. Really, its not! Writing down the "blah blah blah" can help you finish a writing task. It can sometimes turn into a shining piece. Ya I said it... the "shit" has the potential to be the framework of a great paper, article, or etc... A very good example of this is you, Dr.P. The paper you had the most trouble with in college ended up being one of your best papers ever. Do we really think thats a coincidence? No! This is because the big picture came out of the KaKa.
ReplyDeleteThats what I've realized through-out the whole semester in this class. "Sometimes you just have to write shit." Right Dr.P?...O and thanks for teaching me how to write "shit".Haha, but really.
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ReplyDeleteThat last paper... Whew! I had writers block like I'd never had before. I was thrown for a complete loop when I realized that there was no way that I could continue writing a paper on comedy without even being funny! And on top of that, how was I supposed to be funny in a research paper?? I've never been told to do that before in an English class. I've always been told to follow all the rules of grammar and joking in a research paper wasn't in those rules. But crap is funny, right? As soon as I started to write crap... yeah, literally the word "crap"...I laughed. Before I knew it, was cracking up at myself. And what self-respecting comedian doesn't laugh at themselves every now and then? Come to find out, laughing was exactly what I needed in order to be more funny in my paper! Because I was in a joking mood, the silly sayings and punch-lines came very naturally and it was all because of crap. And maybe some delirium. Either way, writing crap was just what I needed and it worked pretty well for writing on comedy. Because crap is funny.
ReplyDeleteReplyDelete
I won't lie, this is difficult for me. Not writing crap, that's easy. I can do that all day long. What is difficult for me is attempting to write on the same subject as others. I love papers where the teachers gives a basic prompt and lets us handle the dirty work, which you have done an exceptionable job doing might I add. You give us a prompt like, "choose an argument and write about it." BRILLIANT! I love it! I can do that all day long, because I can choose something for myself, I can retain my individuality. In eight grade, I had an english teacher who was very structured. She gave us prompts like, "write a fictional story about finding a leprechauns gold and the conflict that arrises." I hated it! She was pretty much giving us a damn ad-lib puzzle, the story was already in place and we could only control minor details. And adjective here, a noun there, maybe even a verb if you were lucky. But all in all, everyone's papers sounded the same. "FILL IN NAME HERE" came across a "ADJECTIVE" leprechaun named "FILL IN NAME HERE", and they proceeded to "VERB". It pissed me off! So what would I do? I wrote crap! And now here I sit, writing crap about crap, just as everyone else is. I feel the my commentary can't be different, that what I say won't be remembered because it is all on the same topic. THAT is why I write crap. Crap isn't a filler for me, its the bulk of my topic. I don't write crap to come up with a solution to a problem, I write crap to write crap. Why? Because it will be remembered. It is our differences that we are appreciated for. I want to sound different. I don't want to be remembered as just another human, I want to surpass that. I want to become something greater than myself, something that will live on after me. I want to become a legend. Writing crap can do that, somehow.
ReplyDeleteChaotic Beauty...
ReplyDeleteThere is something about chaos and messiness that grabs our attention.
We see potential in the chaos, we see what that chaotic paragraph can become.
When I write, I write every single thing that comes to my mind, yea it might not sound good or even flow well with the topic, i just write everything down.
By writing it down, it shows me what I know about the subject, anything that I can relate to is written down. Then I start organizing my paper.
When people read my first draft, they think its the crappiest paper that theyve ever read. Its not organized, there are run on sentences, everything seems to be terrible. It is, all i did was write crap, everything that came to my mind, i wrote.
What next?
There is a reason why its called a draft. Its not the final copy, you start editing and you shape your paper how you want it to be. You take that chaotic paper of yours and mold it into a master piece.
So does writing crap help?
Yes, but its not the end of writing a paper, its the beginning.
Writers block hits me on every paper (a whole lot on that last one). Sometimes I'll just sit there for an hour trying to figure out where to go next. Do I talk about this or that? How do I word this thought to make sense? How do I tie that thought to this one? I'll just sit there trying to make it perfect. In reality, what I view as perfection, could be totally different than my teacher's. Sometimes I'd be better off writing crap.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's what I do. I write down my thoughts- sentence fragments, jibberish- then i take a break. I'll go watch some tv, read a book, go on facebook. Then, I'll come back and form it into something that actually makes sense. It works.
It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to make sense, flow well, and be informative. Oh and it helps to follow the assignment.
Writing crap works.
Crape Diem. Seize it. Embrace it. Use it to your advantage. At this point in our lives, what is in our head is much more intelligent than what has ever been. So use it. If you've made it to a college level English class, then whatever flows from that brain of yours and out of your finger-tips cannot be that bad. It can always be revised, it can always be made better.
ReplyDeleteGo with your gut. Go with what your mind is screaming out to you. What your cranium is crying out to get on those pages. Leave out the fancy words. Leave out that properly compound-complex sentence structure and let your mind speak for itself. Not for the English Department. Not for the Modern Language Association. What does your mind have to say when you remove those borders? You can't put the white-picket fence up until your dream house if built.
So build it.
Maybe this time, though, it's time to build the house that you want. Not into the log cabin? Try out some stucco. Get your hands dirty. Your mind knows what to build, sometimes you just have to let it go to work, then go back and fence it all in when you're done.
Why is it that I get into college and my teacher tells me to forget everything I learned in high school about writing? I thought high school was the build up to college. Well maybe for some subject matters it is, but I have found out for other classes that high school actually held me back from my true potential. I have found out this semester that I am actually a good writer despite what my teachers thought in high school. The coincidence is that I became a more polished writer once I started writing crap. Because writing crap inspires creativity and thoughtfulness. It doesn't require following a formula or making sure each paragraph has 7 sentences each.
ReplyDeleteWriting crap gives the writer full control. It inspires writers to think outside of the box. Writing is more than having the correct format or using the correct transition words. Our nation as a whole has been brain washed into thinking there is only one way to write, when really there is an endless number of ways to express ourselves by just writing crap.
When I was younger, I had a teacher that told me to just write when I became stuck in a paper. She told me to write something about anything and eventually I would find my way through the writer’s block. So one night after struggling through a paper about the Odyssey, I just wrote about everything that was bothering me and how I hated the book and certain scenes and about an hour later I was four pages into my argument. After re-reading it, I found that I did have a direction and after re-working several spots in the paper, it sounded really good. All the crap I wrote turned out to be a very creative argument that earned me an A on the paper and in the class. From then on, I try to just write. It’s when you stop writing and give up is when the paper is really a struggle and a pain. And it usually turns out bad too. But if you keep your hands moving on the keyboard or your pencil moving on the paper, the crap will turn into gold. It has always worked for me and I’m sure it will continue to work.
ReplyDeleteYou know that moment on a roller coaster... that moment when the train is climbing, climbing, and you're not really getting anywhere? Traveling at a snails pace higher and higher into the depths of blue. Then you reach the top. And there is a pause. You look down and the cars look like tiny blocks scattered throughout the parking lot. And suddenly, your mind just stops. You suddenly realize that you are on for good. There's no getting off. You're STUCK. And the only thought you can muster is, "Oh, CRAP."
ReplyDeleteThat's the thought I had when I read this post about writing crap. That moment on the roller coaster when you realize that you are stuck. You can sit back and enjoy the ride, throw your hands in the air and scream with all your might... a scream that sounds like a mixture of thrill, terror, and joy. Or you can just sit, a lump forming in your stomach. You're on it, but you're not gonna make the most of this moment. The ride is unending. It's miserable.
Isn't it the same with writing? You're getting along, maybe doing well as you climb the tracks. And then you hit it. The pause. The writer's block. The loss of words.
That's when you write crap. That's when you throw your hands up to all the grammar rules and the other pointless shit you were taught all through high school, like keeping your paper within the walls of five paragraphs. And you scream. With thrill, finding that it's actually fun to write. With terror, wondering what the result of a paper formed by writing crap is going to turn out like. With joy, knowing that you put your heart into the words and expressed your own voice in your crap.
The train screeches to a halt, and this pathetic little voice comes over the loud speaker, congratulating you. You did it!
Either way you have to. So what are you going to do? Enjoy the roller coaster, write a bit of crap and piece the loops together into something to be proud of? Or sit back in misery, following the rules, and get off with a pit and your stomach and a regret that you got on in the first place?
I'd choose the crap for the pride any day.
Risk taking is part of life. "One cannot win or lose if he doesn't first run the race" I have no clue who said that, but someone in history did and it makes sense. How can you win if you don't first attempt? Competition, the essence of human existence, (especially for those of us with lots of testosterone) requires sacrifice, dedication, and risk. Being alive is a risk, breathing and walking are risks, so why not risk it in a paper? It only makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThis past weekend I raced against forty other racecars on one of the most infamously dangerous racing circuits in the U.S. The track is known for carnage, and the Walter Mitty Challenge (yes named for the short story) is one of its biggest events. Everyone wants to win. The level of competition is extremely high for an amateur event. Why enter such a dangerous game? To tame the beast, to risk it all, to gamble. With forty cars heading towards turn one at one hundred and twenty miles per hour carnage is unavoidable. Some people spend up to $250,000 to participate in this event, and all of that can be lost with one mistake. If you can keep your nose clean and stay alert for the entirety of the race, odds are you'll make it out alright. But if your mind wanders, you may not.
Writing a paper is the same, we must risk it. We must write crap or else write nothing at all. Just like a broken car, crap can be revised, fixed. But writing nothing at all, not running the race, that's when you fail.
Writer's block is such a funny, uncontrollable thing. Even now as I respond to all of these blogs for the final, I am stuck... staring at this blank, white box on the computer screen that is just waiting for me to write something amazing in it. After going through all of the blogs again, rereading them, thinking of how I could make my responses better, trying to decide which blog I do first, I start with this one... WRITE CRAP.
ReplyDeletePersonally, this is a hard concept considering I am such a perfectionist. Yet, at the same time, it is so liberating! If I remember to tell myself..."Just write crap because you can revise it later..." it works! And not because I am writing crap... but because I am just simply writing. I forget about my perfectionist tendencies and just write whatever is on my mind. I break free from the chains and let my mind fly wherever the hell it wants to go. Which is what I have loved learning most in this class!
Though it may be hard... let your mind go!! Write what you want! Even if you think it's crap... it might be just the opposite. In some cases, it may be the perfect string of words you were looking for to illustrate a feeling. For me, rather than just sitting on my bed failing at coming up with the perfect sentence after perfect sentence... I type, and write, and let word check correct my misspellings as I try to keep up with my brain that functions at 1000 thoughts per second.
But this semester, I have learned to accept and embrace that my brain functions at speeds my mouth cannot keep up with as I speak and my hands cannot keep up with as I type. So yes... I started writing crap this semester in my english papers. Whatever thoughts come to my head I write. And it has led me to finally just write and say what I believe and what I think, rather than waiting for that perfect combination of words to spring forth into my head.
Who am I and why have I always been one that needs so much structure? It's like I can't let loose every now and then. Far too often, I get caught up in saying the right things, using the biggest words, and sounding like the smartest in my class, that I miss the very essence of what writing should be. I focus too hard on trying to make it perfect that I end up completely writing a bunch of nonsense instead of writing from my heart.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't I just write the word "crap" when I'm trying to write an excellent A+ paper? Why? Well it's because I feel that the word "crap" is not proper enough for a paper. But who am I to be the judge? So many inspirational leaders and writers started with the very "crap." This "crap" won them the Nobel Peace Prize and other honorable awards. So here is where I change. It's my chance. All I have to do let loose and break out of these freaking walls so that I can actually start writing the things that I want to. And it all begins with crap.
I would be lying if I said I've never had trouble writing a paper or even just figuring out a topic to write about. It doesn't seem to come easy to me as it does to some to just pour my heart out on a page and let it all out. I hit writers block very hard sometimes and the only thing that helps me through these times is to move away from the subject and go do something else, whether thats something productive or just sitting outside and taking nature in. Usually sometime during my escape from work, a new idea will hit me or a new perspective even. Writers block sucks and each person has his or her own way to approach it, no matter what you just have to keep going until the assignment is done.
ReplyDeleteI still agree a lot with what I wrote originally. High school English teachers ruined my ability to write crap. They preached planning and wound up ruining my creativity, those bastards. Luckily for all of us, I have slowly been regaining my ability to write creatively and have begun having fun with English papers again. I can safely say that after the end of my first semester at auburn that was not the case.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wanted to hit on the most this time around on the blog, is having fun while we write. I think this is what has been lost along the way with writing, especially formal writing. The education system has failed the younger generation of aspiring authors because instead of teaching them to enjoy writing, it has become a chore. Students cram out research papers, and cookie cutter topic papers, page by page until the moment their finished and finally they can do something enjoyable. I completely understand this to. Hell I wouldn’t want to read, let alone write a paper, on some boring topic that I don’t give a damn about. In middle school my teachers literally gave us topics and decided what we would write papers on. A little structure is ok, but that is just over kill.
That’s the reason I’ve really enjoyed this class. It is different. It has personality. It is not just a cut and dry class. Throughout this semester I’ve grown a ton as of writer because I was pushed to write about things that I have never dealt with. Sure it might have been uncomfortable sometimes, and I might have stared at a blank page for an hour, but it was definitely worth it, because I enjoyed it. I think its first English class I have ever enjoyed. Instead of having my creativity stamped out, it blossomed into some awesome papers. Zombies, Haiti, and of course the blogs have created an experience unlike any other, and fueled me to write some of my favorite papers ever. Sometimes I did feel like I was writing crap, but by the time I turned it in, it was a masterpiece.
Crap. Crap crap crap.
ReplyDeleteAs the end of the year approaches I find it harder and harder to keep focused. I have to continually push myself saying "you're almost done, so close until you're back home." Repeatedly saying that only gets you so far though.
Writer's block happens to a lot of people- you don't have to be an english major or an author to experience it. There is no easy fix. This whole idea of writing crap --literally, "crap"-- seems like a brilliant solution that leaves me wondering- "why haven't I thought of this before."
I've found that the more I write from my soul and the less I worry about the rules and structure of my paper, the better my paper ends up being. Why? Probably because I put much more soul into it and not as much brain (granted, i put a lot of my brain into my writing too but now I have more dimensions). When I forget about what I'm supposed to be doing and focus on what I am doing I let myself be much more free with my writing which makes it much more interesting for me and whoever has to read it.
So I guess this is kind of my not-so-official "coming out" as a writer. I, Katie Fenton, promise to never write another boring paper again and to make sure that all my writing includes me, my style, my thoughts and feelings, me.
As I approach my last blog to rewrite, I just want to lie down and close my eyes. Serious crap is about to flow out on this one. I have exposed myself well beyond comfort, but I feel good about it. It is like lifting a 200-pound rock off my chest, or like giving Atlas a rest from holding the world. But sometimes we just need to “keep it chunky” (My headmaster would tell me that all the time) and continue on. Everyday begins with that first step; every paper begins with that first word. The word becomes a sentence, then an idea – next thing you know you have a whole paper. Writer’s block sucks, but really it comes down to motivation. In the world of growing technology, ADD and ADHD are on the rise. I believe there is a correlation between technology and the “disease,” but that is my personal stance. We just need a little nudge to get something start. Heck instead of writing a paper I’ll clean my room instead. Two tasks that do not appeal to me, both need to get done and one induces the other to happen. So what gives me the nudge to start a paper? Writing crap helps, but free writing is always better. Pressure/ deadline helps more. Scattered thoughts on a page are better than nothing written down. Everything just needs to begin to eventually reach an end.
ReplyDeleteWho'd uh thunk it. Out of all of the time spent barricaded into the concrete walls of an imprisonment for 12 years. They were wrong. All that we learned- impounded into our growing brains- simply wrong?
ReplyDeleteThey tell us: stay in line, quiet time, read this, write like this. We followed the rules only to realize in our next step of life everything before this never really mattered. This is the real deal. This is what is goig to get us where we are going. Robert mentions above me that motivation is the key. I agree to disagree. Craph, Craph, Craph.. so far i've been a college student for almost a year, and the best advice passed down to me is CRAPH. The simplicity of that word, why did it take this long for someone to be realistic? Writing takes motivation, yes. But, more importantly it takes dedication. Dedication to keep moving when things get tough. Dedication to get you through that fifth page. Yes, you have the option to give up at page four. But with a combination of dedication mixed with motivation you get pure blissful shit.
your profesor that told you to write crap must be related to me because that is all i do. sorry about it. you could probably tell with my other papers. you were probably absolutely astonished by my loads of crap in my 2nd paper considering you havent graded it yet. its okay. i understand. it must have been really bad. not surprised what so ever. anyways. i just wrote a bunch of crap right there. youre right it is so easy to do. before you know it you have written 54 pages of crap. holy crap.
ReplyDeletei believe the method of writing crap comes from the idea that if you let your mind wonder for a little while it will eventually catch up to you and you start to think of brilliant ideas to write down. never happened with me. but hey, i dont have anymore english classes. thank sweet Jesus. i loved your class dont get me wrong. i just cant write. i can write crap though. fairly easy. thanks for letting me write crap to you and making it smell like roses. it was truely fun.
If only all professors were as lenient and understanding as Dr. P.
ReplyDelete"Forget the style of writing you have been taught for the past 12 years. We will focus on Anthony Bordain's style."
HUH?
Forget to punctuate correctly and make complete sentences?
Make lists?
Use hyphens?
That is acceptable in a college English class?
I automatically knew from that day that I would enjoy this class.
However, I still found it difficult to simply write shit. I mean, I found it difficult to write a structured paper without structure.
Make sense?
Then again, there has to be some type of format. A writing prompt, or page limit, or style.
And just like that, it hit me.
This English class and this particular blog reminds me a lot of what is to come in the future.
Write shit on paper. Begin with something in life. You may not know where it is leading, but at least you have a start. As you continue, your paper will turn into a beautiful masterpiece (or so you hope this masterpiece is equivalent to an A). In reference to life, as you matriculate through the land of nothingness, you begin to find your way. Finally, it all makes sense and comes together.
This first year of college has been the first few shit lines. I have not the slightest idea where this is taking me, but I know it is something promising that will end up a lovely masterpiece.
So, once you begin with shit, the promising thing to know is that it will end up a masterpiece. Do not be discouraged because the transition from shit to understanding is coming.
If only every situation in life involved the solution of crap. Ha. Wouldn't that be joyous- to somehow drop all of your cares,live life like it's finally meant to be lived, forget all you've learned, and just plug in crap.
ReplyDeleteEnglish paper? Write Crap
6 finals in 5 days because I somehow thought it would be a GENIUS to take 18 hours as a freshman?- Don't Study...Just bubble in crap
Life would be a lot easier like this ya know?
Unfortunately, as genius as writing or conveniently plugging in crap at the moment may sound, eventually we must get down to business, put all bs aside, and lay down the hard work. (Other wise I wouldn't be up at 2 am working on these blog assignments)
Personally I'm not the biggest advocate of the whole crap writing process. I dunno. I'm more of one of those, write and edit until it's perfect type of gals....I guess that's just the miniature perfectionist in me. But when I do think of this "crap writing" technique, it does remind me of something else- the fact that everything, no matter how awful or meaningless, always serves another purpose and can be turned into something great. Perhaps that's one of the most beautiful things in life. Knowing that no matter who you are- your back round, your lifestyle, your family income- you still have potential: the potential to do something great. But only you can ignite that fire. So instead of sitting around, engulfed by the fumes of our own crap, let us get up, make a change, and finally embrace the people that we were called to be.
Writing crap? Hahaha, I laugh at the idea.... OH WAIT! I do that for every paper. Writing never came easily and inspiration was scarce, so writing crap bought time.
ReplyDeleteThis semester it seems the only thing I have been good at is writing -as the rest of my grades aren't up to par- and it has actually been about topics that interest me. When writing if I have some knowledge of the subject and an interest in it then I will be able to stretch it out and make a masterpiece out of it. Well maybe not a masterpiece, but for me that could be the case.
There is nothing better than the relief of seeing that A on Blackboard and knowing that the paper was completely yourself. Writing crap doesn't seem to work that way for me. I may write some crap to fill in dull spaces, but the paper as a whole isn't anything but pure interest. Writing about playing golf is just a journey into my memories and didn't require an ounce of crap writing. Paintball is one of my favorite hobbies and I know a good bit about the game which prevented me from filling in the paper with crap. These type of subjects make papers easier to write, but it may have grammar problems. The only thing writing crap did for me was a space holder. Something we are passionate about and what we are is what unlocks our writing potential, not writing crap.
I keep trying to let the world know, writing crap isn't easy for me. Now writing to get my point across to get a good grade on an assignment is easy. Coming up with point after point and example after example comes naturally and when I get stuck, I manage to find another point to back up. But then again, maybe this is my writing crap. The word vomit that comes out of my fingers when I really need it to can be quite impressive and it sounds great, but doesn't always have the most meat to it. I seriously wish my writing crap could be turned into a great literary masterpiece, but I wasn't born to do that, so the sooner I accept that the better off I'll be. This way, I'm not insulting anyone else's talents with my cheap imitation of their work.
ReplyDeleteIt does royally suck that I've been told to only write a certain way all this time when just writing to write and not to do it correctly is actually 10x better. It's hard to go back on all that. The grammar rules, the comma splice rules, spelling, etc., have taken a permanent seat on my brain and making them leave is going to be a tough act, but trying to peel them away hasn't been that bad. This adventure has been a nice change from all of that by the book writing. It's liberating and it's kind of nice to flip a middle finger to all those proper writing lessons. Now I'm sure I can't just delete those from my writing filling cabinet, but letting them take a nice ride and only making them drive when absolutely needed is going to be a nice change. Having the freedom to write crap has been lovely. I can only hope this wasn't my last opportunity to do so.