“The writing process is too experimental and exploratory to be contained in a rigid definition; writers move back and forth through all stages of the writing process and they search for meaning and then attempt to clarify it.”

I agree with Murray about how this is the writing process for most people because this has also been the writing process for me. Every process until you reach your final product has been very messy for me. You have to make sense of the mess to create some meaning from it. There is not one method that all writers follow to create their final product because every writer has their own process that is personal to them.

“Before this first draft, which Peter Drucker calls “the zero draft,” every-thing seems possible. By completing this vision of what may be said, the writer stakes out a territory to explore. “

I can relate to what Murray says in the quote. Typically in my first draft I write down everything I need to get off my chest. Then for my second I take what I said in my first and create what I want with it. This allows me to explore what I want to do and go through my options.

“I did not intend to write an academic short story. I do not like the genre. I didn’t particularly like the character who is appearing on my page, but I am interested in being within his head.”

When you are writing mindlessly you create mindlessly as well.  This is exactly what Murray does. I find his dialogue about it to be interesting because I like to hear his opinions about his mindless writing. When I write mindlessly I also find myself not liking what I wrote. I do believe this is a part of the process of finding out what you want to produce and what you don’t want to produce. 

1. Internal vision is the writer’s process of writing and finding out what they want to say in their writing. External vision is what the writer wants to convey to the audience through the mechanics and structure in their writing. Murray makes this distinction because he wants to explain the different processes of writing and what they mean to the writer. He does this so the audience can recognize their own process through writing and be more mindful of it. 
2. I have understood revision by an exploration. I find that when I write I have so many options to choose what I want to say and how I want to convey that to my audience. Revision helps me go through my writing and really understand what’s best for my work. An example of that is through structure. Normally I review my work and see what structure is used in my writing. From there I can choose how I want my audience to understand what I am saying.  My attitude towards revision is that it is a part of the writing process whether you like it or not.  Murray hasn’t convinced me to see vision as an opportunity for discovery because I already thought that before. Murray helped me understand why I thought that in the first place and broke down why I see it that way.

“Most writers accept rewriting as a condition of their craft it comes with a territory. It’s not, however, seen as a burden but as an opportunity by many writers.”

Rewriting is exactly that because it can be used as a second chance for writing if whatever is being written doesn’t sound right or could be better. It stands out because of how well it was put together in one sentence.

“And yet rewriting is one of the writing skills least researched, least examined, least understood and -usually least taught. The vast majority of students, even those who take writing courses, get away with first-draft copy.”

This also stands out because rewriting is also treated almost like an ignored option.  Everyone knows that is an option to make when it comes to writing, we all just purposely ignore it and don’t acknowledge rather because it is obvious or it’s just annoying. Rewriting for the most part happens to occur during the first draft.

“Discovery, however, can be a frightening process. The terror of the empty page is real because you simply do not know what you are going to say before you see it or if indeed you will have anything to say.”

Discovery is a frightening process in a weird way because you would not know what to expect and it is mostly a blank slate. This is exaggerated perfectly and is true in a way how discovery is when it comes to writing. A really good idea or thought should be present to make your writing great.

1: The ideas of internal and external revision are very similar a require thinking more and processing better of what is in front of you. Meanwhile Internal focuses more on the main context of what is going on, external is more outside the box and gives different ideas from different sources.

4: Revision is small punishment to yourself and fixing your errors for the better to improve your writing. Murray is saying in a unique way that revision is an opportunity for discovery because it is helping yourself rediscover and fix your writing especially when it comes to a specific context.

“Now, practically even better news than that of short assignments is the idea of shitty first drafts. All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.”

This stands out because of how true it is; trial and error weirdly enough is the key to writing and perfecting any assignment. Everyone is bound to make a writing error even if it is a first-time writer, that is the way writers grow and evolve.

“The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later. You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page.”

That is what happens the very first time you write you become a writer and you are clueless about what is expected. Your thoughts while writing for the first time have no restriction and later on, you will discover what is needed while writing anything.

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper.”

This also stands out because of how true it is when writing for the first time you will experience errors but as time goes by you will experience and grow into writers that can think. And the more we think and experience as writers the better we are and grow as writers.

1:The fantasy of the uninitiated means before writers write the first draft they usually brainstorm all of their ideas and then put them into action when putting it onto the draft.

2: More or less because when it comes to a writing limit most of the time the goal could be more than the limit or less the limit. I do not think that her wariness is personal because there is plenty to worry about when it comes to a writing limit and this is something most experienced with.

3: When it comes to a first draft it is more of a process because it is the thought put into action and although they are not perfect it is more of an idea than a product. The real product in this context is the final and that is where everything can be judged at its full potential. The process is just what I see in my eyes but the product can also make sense in a way. Processing the first draft is mostly how the final product is made and built out of. The writing process comes into a form from thoughts and ideas, those thoughts and ideas are then executed into paper and that is what eventually spawns the first draft. That first draft is not perfect and there is most likely an error or errors of some kind that need to be fixed. When I write I try to cram everything I can think of in one package and although that is a good thing, there is always a chance of that being too much, too little, or not necessary at all. That is writing is, well in my eyes for the most part; it is always important to make the first draft to give the first impression and after that draft another draft, it is all about progression, trial, and error.