Self Assessment of Competency

Keeping neutrality in assessing one’s own work is possibly the most difficult thing to do. I also suspect that keeping neutrality towards one’s work is also what allows for professionalism to flourish. There are many mantras in the world of writing that are spouted in this regard.

When writing, do not edit at the same time. Here’s the thinking: when one wants to write, let it flow and let it go. What comes out, supposedly, is thought and from that thought, meaning. This is good for drafting emotional content, exploratory thinking, and journalizing. And as I am currently involved in the study of poetry, I can see the value there.

But one must keep in mind one thing: It’s unpublishable. Okay, so maybe I get it published online when I submit some ramblings in a blog – but by and large, very little of it works the first time around – if any. Free association is important when writing. There are a few authors who can produce on first draft – but they are experienced and few and far between.

Prior to writing, have an outline. This is something some writers complain about. The argument goes, if they have an outline, the freedom of writing is lost. The difficulty is this: without a plan, even a loose one, meaning gets lost. Writing, unfortunately, is not an exercise in improvisation anymore than Reality TV is unscripted or real. Neutrality in composition – keeping the constant editor at bay – can actually be realized with a prior plan or outline.

Example: I can have a loose outline of three points (from English Comp): Hitler lost the war because he was 1) insane, 2) a vegetarian, 3) was unimaginative – admittedly weak reasons – but many “A” papers have been built on weaker premises. Then, as I write to prove these points, I remember something: The Allies let Hitler live, knowing that he would make more mistakes alive than those around him – who were inclined to do a better job. Now I can strengthen my argument to include that he was outsmarted.

When writing, know your ending. Here’s the problem. Writing from an outline, or knowing where you’re going to end up structures your writing ahead of time. The difficulty lies in being married to the concept or the outline. This is fine in a deadline situation – at least you get a product. But the product will likely be missing something.

I’m not referring to professionals who seem capable of writing off the cuff. Whether they’d admit to it or not, they are simply able to formulate the fundamentals before they get to sitting down to write. Either through brilliance, genius, or experience, they set down the guidelines of the work they are hoping to achieve, and get to it. This is why the Bridges of Madison County was written in two weeks: Waller had been writing seriously for 25 years before he came upon the concept of Bridges and hit the right note.

I’m inclined to do a bit of all of the above. In the last three years, I’ve seen my compositions grow and my ability to manage them after first drafts. When determining your own style, I would suggest an attempt at all of these. The second one is the one that has helped me most during essay exams, and I’ve always done well during those. (to recap an earlier blog: take five minutes of an hour to outline the essay and two to edit at the end)

When tasting these differing approaches to writing be wary of the one you ‘hate’ the most. Odds are there’s a great strength to be found there – some way to get to a greater truth or emotion or organic feel to the work.