Resolving Writer’s Block due to Rigid Rules

As I studied Mike Rose’s Rigid Rules along with Patricia Huston’s Resolving Writer’s Block, both authors focus on the topic of the most frustrating obstacle a writer can ever face: writer’s block. Rose dramatically defines it as, “that frustrating, self-defeating inability to generate the next line, the right phrase, the sentence that will release the flow of words once again” (389). While Huston’s simple definition states: “a distinctly uncomfortable inability to write” (93). Although they have a similar definition, they approach their articles in different ways. As Rose ‘s article interprets the differences of composition process between blockers and non-blockers and determines how rigid rules applies to their struggle, Huston breaks down the ways to overcome writer’s block in three different levels of blockage. Similarly, the authors give out insightful ways to inform writers on treatments and preventions. The articles, in a way, respond to each other.

            From my last blog post on my connection with Rigid Rules, I concluded my thoughts with an extended question about writer’s block: in what ways can writer’s block be avoided or lessened? With gained knowledge on Rose’s article, I have found a way to collect more information by connecting my reading with Huston’s article. Huston illustrates direct answers to my concerns: treatment and prevention for writer’s block.

            These initial concerns I have trigger because of how often and likely I expect myself to encounter blocked writing when I have an essay assigned. The two main reasons why I face writer’s block frequently are due to procrastination and the rigid rules my teachers would have us apply to our work. And after reading and analyzing these two articles, I felt a sudden relief that I was not alone, and there is hope in improving my composition process.  

            If there was one thing I learned in both of the articles is that you must pace yourself while keeping an open mind while writing. Both authors suggest making a sufficient plan either before starting to write or passing by the stage of blocked writing. Rose demonstrates a problem-solving strategy that can be applied to the writing process that has an acronym of “TOTE”, which represents test, operate, test, and exit (392).  Huston also suggests having some type of approach when writer’s block has hit. She advises to create a web of ideas about the topic of the essay and “give yourself permission to be imperfect” (95) to get your brain to generate your mind flow. I completely agree with both authors, and applying them to anyone’s writing routine will make at least some type of difference in their progression. With these concepts in mind, writers will have more room for an open-mind on their topic, developing and improving their work more efficiently.

            Rigid rules are inevitable and are always going to be around whenever there’s a writing assignment, and it is almost always a guarantee it will be the cause of losing a writer’s train of thought, or any thought at all, about the topic of the writing assignment. According to Rose’s study on his 5 students considered the non-blockers, their common mindset was that if their initial ideas on their assignment does not work out with the flow of their work, they accept the fact that they have to change and recover it— writing around the bush of the rigid rules. Their practice then leads them to a better route in their writing, which Rose describes as “this lack of precision [that] simply masks habitually enacted alternatives and routines” (397).  It seems hard to believe, but I imagine that overthinking and focusing on applying the rules on writing instead of expressing what the writer thinks about the topic, can be overwhelming. Huston seems to be in favor as well as she indicates that minimizing anxiety is the key to prevention, and proposes that an efficient way is to “write as you go” (96). The correct and precise answers instructors look for are important, but the writer’s ideas are too. Although it may be difficult for some writers to balance them out, causing mild to major blockage during their process, having consistency and space to work around open-mindedness will do the trick. Being stuck with one problem, trying to constantly fix it, can be more complicated than changing the whole idea just for the writer’s flow to be back on track again.

            With an open-mind, another’s comments and feedback may be helpful for improving and refining one’s work. Even professional writers practice this part of the composition process. Rose and Huston give out similar advice when it comes to asking others for criticism on the written assignment. While Rose’s advice claims that the problem with getting stuck with rigid rules is because of “resistant to or isolated from corrective feedback” (399). He implies that applying the effective feedback a writer receives will show results in their work. Similarly, Huston suggests working with supportive people and making them an audience for your work. This concept’s purpose is to reduce anxiety and stress in order to gain confidence in the writer’s work to proceed with their process (Huston 95). In order to see improvement in writing after receiving feedback someone, taking actual consideration into what they have to say and applying them to your work are the only way to seek obvious results. Being stubborn about your work when you yourself are already struggling on the process is not going to be effective. Being an open-minded writer will give way for the mind to consider options and ways to retouch or improve upon their work.

            With my initial question of “what other ways can writer’s block be avoided?” examining both the articles of Mike Rose and Patricia Huston has provided more answers than I expected. Writer’s block, whether it be due to procrastination, rigid rules, or simply just anxiety about writing— can be treated and prevented in efficient ways. Putting the right amount of passion on what is being written will give the route to avoid that white blank page. Give the mind some freedom and loosen up on the information on rigid rules, and this will lead not only to less anxiety, but it will boost up the confidence in further and future writing.

 

 

 

 

Writer’s block

Rose, Mike. “Rigid Rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language: A Cognitivist Analysis of Writer’s Block.” Trans. Array College Composition and Communication. 1980. 389-401. <http://advancedcomposition2009.wikispaces.com/file/view/Rose+Rigid.pdf >.

After reading and blogging about rigid rules and its effects of writer’s block, the issue and study examined in the article “Rigid Rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language…” further came to my attention. The purpose of the study shown is to compare writing blockers and non-blockers and their reasons behind the differences when it comes to their writing experiences. The article includes a study and personal experiences from the students to emphasize the conclusions of the effects of the rigid rules for writing assignments. Based on this article, I can relate to the information that has been stated and concluded.

The author, Mike Rose, is a professor at University of California, Los Angeles with a background in English and counseling psychology. His background evidently inspired his study for rigid rules and the subtopic of writer’s block.

Rose starts off his study with ten students from UCLA: five students who undergo writer’s block because of the set rules assigned to them and their struggles with planning strategies, and another five students who do not struggle at all with the same given assignment (389). For his study, he analyzes the reasons for writer’s block and compares them to how the non-blockers do not go through the same issue as the ones who do. Along the lines of his analysis, he concludes that the effects of writer’s block is influenced by the rigid rules that students have to apply in their assigned essays. The obvious difference is shown to be that the non-blockers utilize minimal rigid methods, compared to the blockers, which enhanced their writing instead of affecting it negatively (Rose, 398). Although there may be other factors to writer’s block, Rose believes that one of the main reasons is the fixed rules that emphasizes the students’ mind over the actual assignment, which leads to the students’ misbalance of the contents of their writing.

Aside from the study he formed, Rose demonstrates how the procedure of writing can be compared to a problem-solving process. He breaks down the system to three stages: introductory period, processing period, and solution period (390). The period where the actual writer’s block hits is during the processing period due to the misuse of rules and plans. Rose further elaborated by defining two types of rules: Algorithms and Heuristics, and established that the blockers from his study mistaken rigid rules for algorithms (precise and constant answers) (398). Therefore, students, including myself, overthink their assignments and struggle to find a certain answer for their writing.

Writer’s block is personally my main issue when it comes to assigned essays, and that is why this particular article interested me the most. Procrastination has played a big part of this obstacle, but it has mainly been the rigid rules I had to apply to my writing that has gotten in the way. I have focused on trying to perfect my essay while incorporating all the rules set for the assignment; this then have led to not being able to balance everything that needs to be put on paper. Mike Rose concludes that blockers have imaged the rigid rules as restrictions and a process that must always be applied on their paper. Also, the blockers tend to have distracted themselves from their inappropriate planning processes, and merely did not ask anyone for feedback on their writing or clarification on the assignment during their writing process (Rose, 398-399). On the other hand, non-blockers have been able to apply the rules at necessary times, like when they need to change or ignore a part of their writing; they also have been more willing to adapt their plans to fit their assignment and ask for feedback and/ or clarification (Rose, 398-399).

After his study, the only solution to lessen students’ writer’s block is to consult instructors to examine their students’ work and progress in writing and their opinion towards the rules assigned to them (Rose 400). Rose believes that this will bring awareness to the teachers of which rules or plans may be unnecessary for the class. This will then leave room for those blockers to have space for their train of thought.

From Rose’s inferences, I definitely fall under the title of a blocked writer. Based on what I learn from his conclusions, I should not overwhelm myself with the many rigid rules I already know, because not all of them apply to every essay assigned to me. Therefore, using less rigid methods can adapt to my writing situations. Also, by asking peers or teachers for comments and advice to improve my writing will help me expand my mind flow and learn from past errors. Although, as valid and helpful Rose’s conclusion may be, there are plenty more long-term solutions for those who struggle with writer’s block. With that in mind, I have developed an arising thought for this topic: In what other ways can writer’s block be avoided or lessened— and which specific rigid rules trigger blockage of writers’ flow of thought?

To further reflect and understand the topic of writer’s block from Mike Rose’s article “Rigid Rules”, I want to add the subtopic of procrastination. These common obstacles of writing have been haunting me in every writing experience I’ve had, and that is why I want to analyze them deeper. Through my experiences, I never got the chance to enhance my mannerisms of procrastination— which is caused by the rigid rules I acquired throughout my life, and is led to writer’s block.

As I refer back to my blog post on rigid rules, titled “Writer’s What?”, I ranted about the stages I go through during my writer’s block, and it occurred mostly in high school. Mike Rose stated that writer’s block is due to “anxiety, insecurity, and fear of evaluation”, and I related my experiences to that explanation. Because I get too overwhelmed with the rigid rules I am required to apply in my writing, I think to myself that it is okay to give some time off away from the assignment to let my thoughts ease down. But it reaches to the point where I leave the assignment to last minute and a ripple effect happens— damaging my writing. I also blogged about my ways of refreshing my mind when I experience writer’s block, as well as some generic tips to avoid it. Recently, the type of writing we have been doing in class and for homework is completely different from my past writing assignments. There are certainly fewer rigid rules that we had to work with. Therefore, I did not face the same obstacles as the past.

Throughout the semester, I have come across very little writer’s block. I may have procrastinated here and there, but the type of given assignments had limited rigid rules to the point where it was still manageable to do without too much thought. For the class, there was more freedom in writing and therefore I had fewer restrictions that were able to affect my train of thought while writing. Although there was freedom given to us in this class, Rose made me realize that just because there was one point where rigid rules was not or barely present, I should still expect to come across some new and old rigid rules in future writing assignments. Thus, this topic of writer’s block and procrastination will still be around the corner for as long as I write. As I further explore more ways to prevent writer’s block and examine the affects of specific rigid rules, I’ll apply my findings throughout the rest of my writing experiences. Also, since I am striving to become an elementary school teacher, I will hopefully be able to apply my research to my future students to warn them what the school-English subject has in store for them in regards to writing.

To go on with this research, I would have to find other articles concerning writer’s block and procrastination, as well as certain rigid rules on writing. From there, I will analyze effective ways to prevent procrastination in the first place, so that a ripple effect that will lead to a bad writing experience does not occur. In addition, I will explore the common rigid rules I encountered in the past, and possibly some new ones, to dissect its ways of affecting people’s writer’s block.

I have filipino parents too!

It was hard trying to find blogs that were specifically talking about my topic. Fortunately, I found a couple and a few that were along the lines of my topic. For the most part, these blogs I came across are very relatable and interesting. I encountered many different types of blogs relating to my topic— it varied from personal ones to humorous purposes.

The blog that stood out to me the most was from Tumblr titled “I Have Filipino Parents”. Her blogs reminded me of my indirect rants about my parents here on this blog. If I were to have a personal blog about my parents, it would look like hers.  It seems that she uses the blog as her way of expressing her thoughts and feelings on the way her Filipino parents treat her unfairly, even at a non-minor age. Her venting seems just straight writing without any thinking involved. Just whatever pops in her head, she lets out. And in a way, that’s how I am with my blogs. Even though there are added assignments toward the blogs we write, I still find a way to use it as a tool to express.

From the few blogs I came across with a similar topic, they were all Filipino (obviously), and had some type of passion for their family members. Most were teenagers venting about how unfair and strict their parents are, how much pressure they receive from their family, and/or how harshly they get disciplined. Others express how much they value their family’s presence and how they cherish moments with them. They incorporate anecdotes to their explanations as well. Their combining of stories while conveying their points creates a better illustration how they feel. 

Since food was my second choice on the personal blog topic in the beginning of the semester, why not incorporate it with Filipino-American culture.

My family cooks and eats a lot. Most of the time, Filipino dishes will be served for dinner. But at some nights, they are more of experiments. My dad specifically likes to integrate Filipino ways of cooking to other cultural or American dishes.

Chicken adobo is one of my favorite Filipino recipes. I like eating it with a banana for some reason, and everyone in my family will always comment on having weird taste buds every adobo dinnertime. It’s the most common entrée we have for dinner. But when my dad whips up this meal, he does it way differently than how my mom and I cook it. Particularly, he fries the chicken before adding the main ingredients (sautéed onions and garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and basil leaves). My dad loves fried chicken to the point where he likes to incorporate it to every dish out there. And I guess that can be considered the Americanized adobo.

Even spaghetti can be made into a specific Filipino style. The main ingredients to make it ”Filipino spaghetti”: sugar, spicy banana ketchup sauce, and red hot dogs. The combination of sweet and spicy to the Italian dish changes up the authentic spaghetti taste.

Sometimes for lunch, we would just use finger foods as our “ulam” (viand) with our rice, like chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, or meatballs. It’s different, but it’s good!

Not only recipes are changed under the Amores family dinners, but also the way we eat things. We don’t always use utensils to eat. Eating with CLEAN hands usually makes dinner more fun and taste better.

A contribution to the tragedy

About a week ago, a disastrous 7.2M earthquake struck Visayas— one of the three island groups of the Philippines. Over 200 presumed deaths, over 650 injured, and 53,000 homes damages— 13,000 destroyed. Aside from the loses and destruction, land slides became an effect all over the island, also causing the major buildings and churches wrecked and popular tourist spots ruined. Visayas is currently at a delicate and sympathetic state. Many aftershocks have unfortunately been in effect since the first shock. As of right now, the families who have lost their homes, jobs, and loved ones are in need of every little support they can get.

  

I have no family relatives in this area of the Philippines, but when my parents saw the news, it struck their hearts. Our whole family felt empathy towards those who are struggling now because of the catastrophe. Through the news on TV, we watched the ways some organizations from the other island groups who are funding for those in need. From this, my parents wanted to contribute somehow and started to call some close relatives if they wanted to donate as well. By the end of the day, we combined the donation at $300 altogether. We sent it to our relatives in the Philippines to donate it to the victims. Although it was not a lot, it was always the thought that counts.

Even though we knew no one personal at all who was victimized by the natural disaster, my parents were still considerate enough to think about them and contribute to their needs. Until now, my parents still left their hearts in the Philippines and are still willing to share what they have to the country.

Americanized

My parents are both pure Filipino, born and raised in the Philippines. Before having me (first child, yay), my mom and her parents immigrated here in America. While waiting for my dad to be able to migrate, my mom would take me with her every six months for 2 months to the Philippines to visit my dad. The routine continued for years and I was basically raised in the Philippines until my dad finally came here.

Since then, my Filipino roots were more emphasized. By the time third grade came along, I was solidly back to school in America. My accent was still rich, and awfully embarrassing.

This story may not be common for those young pure Filipinos who were born here. Their parents suddenly raised them to become Americanized and completely forget about their Filipino roots, because it is “too embarrassing” to show it off in front of pure Americans. Filipinos have the tendency to want to fit in. Their pride suddenly takes over. I found a blog in which I can relate with concerning Filipinos trying to Americanize themselves.

Most newly migrated Filipino parents create this idea of social acceptance being so important. They have this strong desire to adapt the American ways, causing them to lose sight of their true Filipino roots.

For example, Filipinas try so hard to have light skin because they think that would make them look richer. This idea has been around for ages. I have to admit, my own mom is actually like this as well. But she does not try to whiten her skin for appearance and for others to think she’s rich; she just thinks it looks better and cleaner for her when she looks at herself. So through the years, these adaptations to fit in have become a natural concept in Filipinos.

Fortunately, I am raised from a family whom is still stuck and practices filipino traditions and culture. We all talk to each in Tagalog, have huge family gatherings, and watch filipino shows together. 

Although filipinos just want to fit in, they are still known to have great pride for their country. It is just that they slowly drop their natural culture without realizing. And it’s pretty oxymoronic. 

Amores Family Dinners.

Amores Family Dinners. “Loud and entertaining” is mainly what my boyfriend would describe it as.  I combined both our opinions for this review since he’s been invited to my family dinners most of the time.

Derick— my boyfriend— said my family is very welcoming and polite. The setting of our dinner is usually informal and casual. It is unlike those “silence while eating” dinners; it is actually the complete opposite, he said. Dinnertime is known as story time as well. Random questions would be thrown at him throughout the night, and we would go from one topic to another. During dinners, mostly everyone speaks Tagalog, however my boyfriend does not understand, so there are some points where he is left out in conversations. He gets ideas about the subjects of the conversations, but most of the times I have to translate.

My dad is the quiet and strict one, so it’s awkward whenever Derick is over at our place. They don’t usually communicate, but Derick tries his best to bring him in the conversations. My mom is the loud and welcoming one. So she tells most of the stories, embarrasses me in front of Derick, and engages into discussions with him, which creates his feeling of being part of the family. My grandparents are the ones who speak Tagalog all the way, and even to him. So I become the translator.  My grandparents are famous for their random questions. So Derick is suddenly in an interview during dinner, but he enjoys it the spotlight.

After many dinners with us, Derick has appreciated our company during dinners. It may be loud, obnoxious at times, and requires a lot of communicating, but he sure loves the welcoming and comforting feeling my family brings upon him.

(boyfriend is not on the picture)

Wanna date a filipina?

Been talking to that Filipina chic for a while now huh? Is it time to take your courting to the next level? Well before approaching that pretty lady of (unofficially) yours, here are some heads-ups on Filipino women by someone who shares the same ethnicity and culture as your dream date.

First thing first is family first. There is no doubt that girl is family-oriented.  Nothing will ever compare her love to her family. So learn to love her family and culture to get that sweet approval. If you’re not Filipino yourself, no worries, the Filipino culture is fun to learn and experience. A little adjustment is all it takes. When approved, expect many loud family gatherings, karaoke, drunken relatives, and thanksgiving feasts. Get yourself comfortable in those gatherings, and be yourself because that’s where the interviews from her relatives come in. Even though they may be drunk, stay appropriate and keep the offensive jokes on the low, because it still may be a test for you. One wrong and offensive joke to one relative, one moment later the entire household party knows, and you’re suddenly the bad guy. But don’t get too shy, the relatives are always approachable; so don’t forget to show them you know how to have some fun.

Filipinas are into well-educated men. So prove to her you know how to get your priorities straight and you actually have something set for your life. Make her feel you know how to be independent, so she doesn’t have to worry that you might not know how to take care of her. It won’t only be her that’s interested in your education background, but also her family members. So, “school is cool.”

Filipinas learn how to be independent at a young age. Due to this, they may come off as aggressive at times. This way you’ll learn patience through her. But I promise you she will offer you more positive things than bad ones in your relationship. Love is a roller coaster. But it’s a good feeling at the end.

There are more in-betweens for a guide to dating Filipinas, but this is basically the gist of it.

Good luck!

I come from a world of a pepperoni pizza family. The contents of this food item represent my parents’ actions and abilities that fairly well influence who I am today. They made me go through some tough and frustrating times through their lectures and strictness, but their purposes eventually became clear to me at the right age.

Now back to the pizza. The bread and crust is the one that hold all ingredients together into one piece; therefore the base is my father, the head of the family. He certainly manages the family to stay being a whole, showing me how important we are to him. On the contrary, I do have a bad relationship with him due to his constant contradicting of my actions and arguments. It was my fifteenth birthday, and I wanted to have a small celebration dinner with my friends. But it was a Tuesday, a school night. I asked permission from my mom, and she made me ask my dad for permission because he gets to decide at the end. I let out a big sigh before approaching him. He seemed to be in the good mood, so I kept a positive vibe and hoped to be lucky.

“Dad, can I go out for dinner with my friends later?”

“Why?”

“Because they wanted to celebrate my birthday with me.”

“Maybe next time.”

I was furious inside. I walked away, holding back my tears of anger. I didn’t even want to argue. He never lets me out. He never lets me be with friends. He never lets me have fun. For that, my dad is the crust, the stalest part of the pizza, and his staleness is the contradiction to the rest of the pizza; which makes me rebel and not eat the crust and not follow my father’s guidance. I slammed the door and ran to my pillow to scream in it. “Worst birthday ever”, I thought to myself. My mom gently knocked on my door and came in. She talked to me to calm me down. My mother, my best friend, is the cheese to the pizza, the glue to everything. If there’s anyone in the world who tries to understand me, it’s her. She may have gone through stages at my age, but she does the best she can for me not to go through the same struggles. She just makes things work out, like feeding twenty out of one medium pizza. She provides the lectures I need in a different approach than my dad’s.

“I know it’s your birthday hun, and I understand. I’ll talk to your dad and I’ll see if he lets us out so you can be with your friends,” my mom said. I nodded my head and wiped my tears. I took another sigh, but of relief. She continued and explained to me why my dad is the way he is. My dad disagrees with the choices I make because he’s afraid of the bad influences that my friends may make toward me. And there goes the pepperoni. The most flavored, yet unhealthiest. I enjoy my friends’ company, mostly because of the freedom I have from yelling ranting. But without realizing that my dad’s constant lectures are only for my own sake, my friends suddenly become the unhealthy part of the pepperoni. They take me away from understanding my dad, and growing some type of anger towards him.

When my mom talked to my dad and asked permission, my dad explained to me the same reasons my mom had just stated. He just didn’t want to let me go and tell himself that his only daughter is officially grown up. I ended up going to dinner with my friends at Elephant Bar, but my dad only gave me two hours. It was better than nothing I guess.

Now eating the entire pizza will mean the intake of my parents and friends’ influences combined toward me. With my dad’s strictness due to his values that is being applied to me, my mom’s empathy because she’s gone through strict parents as well, and my friends’ company to balance out my social life.