COOKIN

It seems as though a lot of people are having an issue with Elbow's method... I am not whatsoever. The most helpful portion of this chapter I found to be "Goodness and Badness". Elbow reaffirms what he preached in his first chapter. One needs to put the words down on the paper no matter what. Don't stop to think or breathe, just write! Don't look back at the last words you wrote, and don't sit and have a mental battle to decide whether or not what you're writing is worth a hoot.

Elbow argues that after all that can be written in a sitting is written, one can go back. 90% of what one just wrote may be garbage and not worth anything, but it is the 10% that is the good writing that one can extract from the mess and put to good use. I believe in this principle with great reverence. I have found myself suck in what many refer to as "writers block" many times over, but its because I couldn't decide what to write. I had an idea of a story, but my mind would circle around what would be good words to put down on paper. Eventually I just decided to let the chips fall where they may and let the pen do the talking. While there was a lot of garbage on my paper, there was at least something on paper and some of it was pretty good... And I had established a bit of a direction; opened some new ideas.

One of the most interesting points Elbow makes as well is the idea of encouraging conflicts and contradictions to inhibit good writing. I had never thought of this idea before but after Elbow discusses it throughout the chapter it makes clear sense to me. Why not go into different directions just to see where you'll end up. It's like taking a road trip across the country with no map, and taking every wrong turn, then ending up somewhere amazing you never expected. How can one come up with new thoughts if they only concentrate on thoughts they already have and how amazing they are? It makes perfect sense.
Elbow, you are a genius.