“You write your first draft with your heart. You re-write with your head.
The first key to writing is to write.”
As wisdom goes, the above statements are so simple, yet so profound.
The above clip was posted by someone on my Academic Writing Club site yesterday. I was grateful for the inspiration. After watching the clip, I wrote three single-spaced pages from my heart.
"The first key to writing is to write.”
The mantra reminds me of the first rule of "Fight Club: "The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club."
But I digress.
Forrester's wisdom resonates with me for several reasons. First, I realize why I have been so enthralled with Andre Agassi's autobiography... because it was written from his heart. People have questioned why he revealed some of the things he did; they have suggested his revelations were "bad" for tennis. I think what he wrote is good for humanity. He has written about what it means to be human. That, according to my doctoral advisor, is what the humanities are about... learning what it means to be human. That is why I want to write... not because I have to write so many articles to become a full professor. But because I want to explore what it means to be human. And I want to share the discoveries that result from my exploration.
I remember another profound statement from the movie, Shadowlands:
"We read to know we're not alone..."
Perhaps that is why I am so avidly devouring Andre Agassi's book. Apparently I am not alone, since it is No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller's list.
How does this relate to the writing I have begun and want to pursue in academia? The writings of several scholars inspire me to write performance ethnography (Norman Denzin) and autoethnography (Laurel Richardson). Richardson wrote one especially provocative article entitled "Writing as a method of inquiry." That is how I want to write... from my heart. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNU_HofAfPQ&feature=related
4 comments:
WOW!! I completely agree with what you wrote in this entry. I also think that its is so much easier to reveal how you feel with writing rather than speaking. Writing down your thoughts is the most honest that you can be with yourself or anyone else because it seems like there's less to be self-conscious about than if you were tryin to explain your thoughts to someone else. But all in all I really loved the quote and this entry!
Thanks Courtney. Sometimes it feels like I am writing to myself, so when someone reads an entry and replies to it, that is really nice! I am looking forward to reading the remainder of your blog entries and comments, especially the one you shared about Caster Semenya. Thanks again for posting a comment.
I agree with Courtney. When I have to express myself with word I all ways get messed up and either what I said gets misinterpreted or I don't remember to say everything I want to. Writing to me is the best way to express yourself. That is why I really liked the blogs we had to do because it gave me a chance to say everything I wanted to say.
I am glad that you liked doing the blogs, Nick. Quite a few students indicated that they were able to "find their voices" through writing their blogs. That is one of the best reasons to do them, in my opinion.
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