Writing for Social Scientists (Becker, 1986) - "One Right Way"

"Harvey Molotoch put the point like this in a note to me:

     A problem that writing people have is the idea in their heads that a given sentence, paragraph or paper must be the right one. Their training in a land of 'facts,' in the celebration of 'right answers' - including the 'right' way to approach their Chem lab book or English theme - immobilizes them at the typewriter keyboard.  Their problem is that there are many right sentences, many right structures for an essay... We have to free ourselves from the idea that there is only one CORRECT way.  When we don't, the contradiction with reality absolutely stifles us since no sentence, paragraph or paper is demonstrable [to ourselves] as clearly the right one.  Students watch their words come out, but of course these words - in first draft - are not even meeting the test of 'OK', much less CORRECT and PERFECT ESSENCE OF CORRECT.  Not having a vision of tentativeness, of first-draft, of n-draft, they can only feel frustration at the sight of failure.  After a while, one sees the first tentative thoughts of a paragraph or paper as obviously failing this test - and so one doesn't even start: writer's cramp.  The fear of failure is an accurate fear, because nobody could pass this self-imposed test of getting the one correct version, and the failure to do so is especially [and distressingly] evident at the point of first-draft.

Some very common, quite specific writing difficulities have their origins in this attitude: the problem of getting started and the problem of 'which way to organize it'.  Neither one has a unique solution to be discovered." 
(pg. 48)

I like this book.  I didn't read near enough of it over this past term.  I will, however, be reading it over break.

Also - once all of these finals are turned in, I will begin writing more about my experiences sans facebook and twitter - among other things.  But, I've got too much "one right way" writing to do in the present.

kp.