Will Weaver and other things

I got to eat lunch with Will Weaver today.  He is the author of several young adult novels and short stories.  He vivited our school and all of the English teachers were allowed an entire hour for lunch to eat with our guest.  I am not sure what was more exciting though...meeting a famous author or getting an entire hour for lunch!  I only wish I wasn't so incredibly tired today so I could have enjoyed his company more.  He was an interesting man. Today in his lecture he commented that writing is such a private thing that it is facinating to see it from the public side.  He enjoyed visiting schools because it allowed for him to really see how his private work impacts others. (Some of the kids even wrote thier own endings to his cliffhanger novels and were very excited to talk to Mr. Weaver about his books)  He also said that writing was a process and that while writing is a solitary thing, it takes a team to make a book.  Of course, scholars that we are, we know all of these things.  We know them perhaps a little too well though, in that we don't give them much thought anymore...or at least I don't.  In respect to my research paper (which is not much more than a series of very loose ideas at this point) I think it is important to remind myself of these three simple truths about writing.  #1 Writing is a private solitary thing...in other words, at the very heart of it, the ideas and the paper has to stem from within myself.  This is true whether the nature of the paper is personal or academic (or both in this case)  Sometimes I find myself searching through books and syllabuses and websites (which is necissary) while what I have been looking for was inside myself the entire time.  Sometimes I think I need to stop listening to the world and simlpy put pen to paper and see where it takes me.  #2. Process....revision...many drafts...enough said.  I think too often I have turned in papers that have not been refined enough.  This is going to be a focus for me in this project.  #3 It takes a team.  From my loving fiance who will drive all the way to corpus with me for company when we have shortened class, to Joanie's chocolate, to Ada's funny post reminding me spring break is almost here, to Dr. K's helpful comments and guidence...(and the list goes on) it really will take a team to keep me going, not only for the project, but for this class.  I am completely worn out at this point.  It will take a team not only to help me revise and refine my ideas for my paper, but to come out of this semester and school year okay.  Thank you Will Weaver, for reminding me of some basic writing concepts that I knew all along, and to my own unofficial team that keeps me going from day to day and assignment to assignment.