Reading Assignments

"How to Mark a Book"
 Marking a book definitely does not destroy a book. I think it helps the reader understand and become more engaged in what they are reading. If a book doesn't belong to you then you should write anything in it. This is the reason why I usually buy my own copy of books so I can dog ear pages and write things in the margins. This article opened my mind to new ideas. I never thought that writing in a book made it part of you. I guess in a way in kind of does. It helps you connect with what you are reading. Underlining, circling words, and writing key words are all good ways to keep yourself engaged in what your reading. For me, marking a book is a must when it comes to reading.

"Freewriting"
 This article seemed kind of crazy to me. I didn't completely understand the point of it. The not crossing out mistakes concept threw me off too. In school, I was taught to erase, fix, cross out, or white out my mistakes. Freewriting is totally different from regular writing. Freewriting is " nonediting".  You keep writing and say whatever is on your mind. The point of it is to improve your writing.  I still don't really get it but it's worth a try.

 "Shitty First Drafts"
   First drafts are usually not very good! No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. First drafts are usually not very good. That's why they're called first drafts! According to the author even good writers make them. That makes me feel a lot better about mine. The author describes the first draft as the "childs draft". The exercise where the author was talking about dropping voices in a jar was strange to me. I understand why she does it, I just don;t think it would work for me.

 "How to Say Nothing in 500 words"
 This article was very helpful to me because I find myself in this position all the time when I'm writing essays. I constantly check the word count. The author says to avoid writing obvious things because that is what everyone else will think of too. The author also talks about colorful words. I never thought about words as being colorful but I guess some words are more interesting than others. Some examples the author uses: fluttered, blistering, and muggy. He also talks about colorless words. Some of the words the author uses: aspects, factors, and attitudes.