Reading Response for 1/21

                                                                   Writing Down The Bones

When I was younger I used to keep journals of certain things that happen in my life. When I reached junior high school I just stopped writing. I saw no point in keeping a journal. As I read more of this book I realize that by writing in journals it would have helped to make me a better writer. I feel that I would have had something to compare my current writing to if I had still continued to write.

I liked how the author gave advice on how to find topics to write about. "Tell about the quality of light coming in through your window. Jump in and just write" (Goldburg, 25). It gives a place to start something to get your ideas flowing. "Begin with "I remember"(Goldburg, 25). You could write about anything that you remember. The process that the author uses are really helpful in the sense of they just get you to write down whatever your feeling and you are then able to take it anywhere you want to go.

I found the topic Man eats Car interesting. The author tell a third grade class about a yogi in India who ate a car. Most of the students ask the most obvious question of why the man at the car. But there was one student that bursted into laughter. "In a sense, this is how we should write. Not asking "Why?," not delicately picking among candies (or spark plugs), but voraciously, letting our minds eat up everything and spewing it out on paper with great energy" (Goldburg, 43). It so easy to let loose and express yourself, but most people find it intimidating to do such a thing. Afraid of what others might think afraid to laugh when everyone else is so serious. I find that your first reaction to something you are told is how you truly feel. That is the best way to go at writing with the first few thoughts that come into your mind. Even if they might not be what everyone else expects or agrees with.