I had just finished playing a charity soccer game at the Bernabeu Stadium in Spain when I decided to head to the locker room for a quick ice bath recovery session. Sure enough as I walked in I found a set of four ice baths one of which was available. The three other baths were occupied by players from the opponent team. As I stepped in, I congratulated them on their good performance and introduced myself. They introduced themselves and I discovered I was in the presence of professional writers : Don Murray, Mary Karr, Anne Lamott. I was told by Don that they were talking about the writing process.
As I was listening in on the conversation, I realized that this was the perfect chance to get an answer on my writing problems from three different professional perspectives. “I always tend to struggle expressing my thoughts on paper at the beginning of every assignment in my English courses, what do you recommend I do to avoid this struggle?” Marry looked over and smiled before speaking “In the beginning, when there are zero pages, you have to cheer yourself into cranking stuff out, even if it later lands on the cutting room floor. Each page takes you somewhere you need to travel before you can land in the next spot.” Anne nods her head agreeing with Marry and saying “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 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 age.” She took a moment to adjust her position in the tub before continuing “What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a shitty first draft is to quiet the voices in my head.” - Anne I found myself mostly able to relate to Anne on letting it all out and shaping it up later. This sparked another question in my head “As writers, how do you shape or edit your pages?” Don quickly responding as if he knew what I was going to ask “A good deal of writing is censorship—keeping irrelevant thoughts out of the paper. Many of the ideas that arise in our minds have little relation to the purpose of our writing, and the habit of following impromptu ideas may result in a jumble of pointless remarks.” Marry elaborating on Don’s response “Rewriting on the page is safer than revision in, say, painting, where you can paint past a good place and wreck a canvas. Performers can’t revise at all. A writer can always go back to an earlier draft. The point is to have more curiosity about possible forms the work could take than sense of self-protection for your ego.” Takes a sip of her water before adding on “The editor self thinks only of saving the reader time and shaping a powerful emotional experience.” This far into the conversation, I realized how much knowledge I have gained from their helpful and detailed answers. However, I still had one more question I had to ask “How do you revise your paper and make sure it will all make sense to the reader?” Don took his hand out of the water and pointed at me “Of course the writer attends to an “other self” that reflects the voices and expectations of a wider public.” Don adding more on “A student who clearly understands his purpose is not likely to be trapped by an accidental sequence of ideas, for he will recognize when he is going astray.” Annie finished off by talking about her experience “I always show my work to one of two people before sending a copy to my editor or agent. I feel more secure and connected this way, and these two people get a lot of good work out of me.” It was at this time my set timer went off and was time for me to get out the ice bath. Before leaving, I thanked each and every one on their helpful tips that I plan on taking into consideration when writing my future papers.
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The list of questions below are known as The Proust Questionnaire, made by famous French author, Marcel Proust. Proust believed that in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true character. Therefore, I have answered the questions below to help the reader discover my personality in a unique way through the list of specific questions.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? My idea of perfect happiness comes from the saying “Do what you love, and love what you do” Many people spend most of their time at work. If you are enjoying most of your time, you are happy. What is your greatest fear? One of my greatest fears is “Ophidiophobia” fear of snakes. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? The trait I mostly deplore about myself is when I seek the approval of others. However, I realize afterwards it has no effect on me. What is the trait you most deplore in others? The trait I mostly deplore in others is when someone judges another on their actions without knowing the causes that lead to those actions. Which living person do you most admire? The living person I mostly admire right now is Cristiano Ronaldo. He has shown me how much can be changed by hard work and dedication. What is your greatest extravagance? My greatest extravagance is definitely food. I either eat fast food at least 3 times a week or spend money on healthy food for my workouts. What is your current state of mind? My current state of mind could be described as optimistic. What do you consider the most overrated virtue? I think good counseling is an overrated virtue because sometimes problems can only be solved by that person in particular. On what occasion do you lie? I lie when I am about to get in trouble, life is on the line, or playing a joke on a friend. What do you most dislike about your appearance? I mostly hate when I have long fingernails. I always make sure they are cut or very short. What is the quality you most like in a man? The quality that is most important in a man is bravery. It is important to be brave enough to stand up for yourself or protect your family. What is the quality you most like in a woman? The quality that is most important in a woman is Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I tend to overuse the phrase “oh my god” and according to my friends I oversure the word “guys” a lot. What or who is the greatest love of your life? The most thing I love in my life has to be sports and specifically soccer. I have been playing and watching soccer from the age of six years old. When and where were you happiest? When I went on vacation to Egypt in August 2017. I visited many historic places and ate at very good restaurants. Which talent would you most like to have? The talent I would most like to have would be drawing. I have always been fascinated by people’s imaginations and their drawing skills. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? One thing I would change about myself is my procrastination towards getting things done. I would have had much better grades in high school. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Regardless of how easy it is, I think graduating High School is one of my greatest achievements. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? I would die and come back as Bill Gates. At least I can guarantee I will be a billionaire. Where would you most like to live? I would like to live in Dubai. It is a very advanced place and I love the weather. What is your most treasured possession? My most treasured possession would have to be my car. It is the most expensive thing I own. I also take very good care of it because I am a car person. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? The lowest depth of misery for me would be to be far away from family and loved ones. What is your favorite occupation? My favorite occupation would be a soccer player. You get to play your favourite sport at a high level with a nice paycheck. What is your most marked characteristic? My most marked characteristic would be great optimism. I always like to be optimistic and look at the positive things of a situation. What do you most value in your friends? The most value I look for in a friend is trustworthiness. Who are your favorite writers? My favorite writers are Jeff Kinney and Shakespeare. I read many of Jeff Kinney’s books like Diary of A Wimpy Kid. Who is your hero of fiction? My hero of fiction is spider man. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Napoleon Bonaparte Who are your heroes in real life? Some of the people I look up to are people like, Muhammad Ali, Dwayne Johnson, Cristiano Ronaldo. What are your favorite names? Leo, Draxler, Ramos, Marcelo. What is it that you most dislike? One of the most things I dislike is racism. What is your greatest regret? My greatest regret is not building my confidence on the soccer field at an early stage. How would you like to die? I would like to die around family and loved ones peacefully. What is your motto? “The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit” |
AuthorMustafa Al-Qaraghuli “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”
- Louis L'Amour Archives
May 2019
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