The writing process is a very creative and exciting process for writers to express themselves. We as a class discussed The Five Canons of Rhetoric which is the ideal writing process recommended. When I look at the five rhetoric, I can’t help but to feel somewhat encouraged because it is identical to how I approach my writing process. When I find myself starting from scratch while writing I tend to always start off my brainstorm and gather my thoughts because if I’m not educated on the topic, I am writing about then that will lead to a mean case of writer’s block. Once I have some background on my topic, I like to organize my thoughts into a structure of an outline. This goes hand and hand with the first steps of The Five Canons of Rhetoric which is invention and arrangement. Invention is described as coming up with a good idea, or having something useful to say to your audience which is my first step because I find myself lacking in self-motivation to write when I am not familiar with the topic. This hesitation that I face in my writing process was briefly covered in Anne Lamott “Shitty First Drafts” where she states that it is very common for many writers to experience various challenges when starting that first draft. In “Shitty First Drafts” on pg. 528 Lamott states “Very few writers really know what they’re doing until they’ve done it” this quote hit home for me personally because of how I can sometimes become discouraged in the early stages of my writing process. As a writer you have to be willing to fail and can’t be afraid of it because it will only allow for improvement within your writing. One of the things I struggle with and need to improve on is the style section of The Five Canons of Rhetoric, this piece suggested that studying the rhetorical appeal approach will help me see improvements. Some ways I could improve style throughout my writing is by incorporating unique word choice, use the appropriate tone, and provide my audience with some visualization through my words. Although there is room for improvement in my writing, it was refreshing to see that some other writers experience some of the struggles as me.
Works Cited
Jodi Detrick. “Clock-1274699_1920 (1).” Jodi Detrick, https://jodidetrick.com/2020/01/28/when-you-dont-like-your-one-word/clock-1274699_1920-1/.
“The Five Canons of Rhetoric.” The Visual Communication Guy, https://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/rhetoric-overview/the-five-canons-of-rhetoric/.
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life, Anchor, 1994, pp. 21–27.