PART 1 Gist
Many writers have the cupidity of picturing their completed work and the fortune it would bring them. However, the verity is that the focus on the final line would only mangle stories and deflect writers from their earlier decisions on the shape, voice and content. Zinsser put forward two principles of writing. One is quest, and the other is intention. If the writer can tell a story in the form of a quest for writing and his intention is well-grounded, then the time is ripe for a good writing. Writers should figure out what they want to do and how they want to do it, and infuse humanity and integrity into their work, then they wouldn't need to worry about the selling of their products.
PART 2 Expressions
1. The fixation on the finished article causes writers a lot of trouble, deflecting them from all the earlier decisions that have to be made to determine its shape and voice and content.
deflect: 1. (使)偏转方向； 2. to do sth to stop people paying attention to you, criticizing you etc; 3. to take sb's attention from sth
He deflected the blow with his forearm.
The committee is seeking to deflect criticism by blaming me.
Nothing can deflect me from reaching my goal.
2. Every editor of a lengthy manuscript knows that grim moment of irreversible chaos.
grim: 1. bad, unpleasant, making you feel worried or unhappy
The feather forecast is pretty grim.
We received the grim news in silence.
2. looking or sounding very serious
The child hung on to her arm with grim determination.
3. I wonder if there was any way to wrest writers away from their infatuation with the completed act of writing.
wrest: 1. to pull sth away from sb violently
I managed to wrest the photograph from his grasp.
2. formal, to take power or influence away from sb, especially when this is difficult
They are fighting to wrest control of the party from the old leaders.
infatuation: [ɪnˌfætʃuˈeɪʃn] a strong feeling of love for sb or interest in sth, especially a feeling that is unreasonable and does not continue for a long time
Shaw's infatuation with the actress is evident in his writing.
be infatuated with sb/ sth
My mother is infatuated with dieting.
4. One woman told us, describing how the fabric of life in the Midwest had frayed since she was a girl on her grandparents' farm.
fray: (v.) 1.（布等）磨损；
The collar had started to fray on Ed's coat.
2. if sb's temper or nerves fray, of if sth frays them, they become annoyed
Tempers soon began to fray.
fray (n.) an argument or fight
He launched himself into the fray.
5. The writer continued to dredge up fragments of his life.
dredge: 挖掘
dredge sth up:
1. to start talking again about sth that happened a long time ago, especially sth unpleasant
Newsweek magazine dredged up some remarks which he made last year.
2. to manage to remember sth, or to feel or express an emotion, with difficulty
Robertson tried to dredge up an image of her in his mind.
6. He stumbled into M, a long-forgotten memory, seemingly unimportant but unassailably true, encapsulating in one accident everything that made him want to write about the town in the first place.
unassailable: [ˌʌnəˈseɪləbl] 攻不破的 not able to be criticized, made weaker, or beaten
an unassailable argument
The party's position looked unassailable.
The result gave the team an unassailable lead.
7. The monster of all their school and college and postgraduate years, insatiably demanded to be fed.
insatiable: [ɪnˈseɪʃəbl]/[ɪnˈseʃəbəl] always wanting more and more of sth
insatiable appetite/ desire/ demand etc for sth
The public has an insatiable appetite for stories about the famous.
8. We can write to affirm and to celebrate, or we can write to debunk and to destroy; the choice is ours.
debunk: (v.) to show that an idea or belief is false 揭穿真相
His claims were later debunked by fellow academics.
PART 3 Thoughts
"But even if it never gets published," he said, "I'm glad I did it. I can't begin to tell you how important this has been to me -- how rewarding it's been to write about what soccer has meant in my life."
最近一次搬家的时候，整理出了自己高中的日记本和作文本，时隔几年再读自己的文章，发现日记本里写的真是太有趣了，满满都是回忆，而作文本里大多是一些冠冕堂皇的大话，各种名人事例和名人名言，文字很好但内容却觉得很陌生很空洞。如果在日记本和作文本中选择只能保留一个的话，我会毫不犹豫地选择日记本。有时候会觉得很遗憾，自己花了大量时间和精力写的东西大多是给别人看的东西，而不是写给自己的东西。读到文中这个律师的写作故事的时候非常感动，这种不带任何功利目的的写作本身就是一种自我实现。昨天通过群友的笔记学到了writer和author的差别，能成为一个author固然令人艳羡，但即使不能，当一个书写自己人生的writer也是一种成功。写作的意义不是要去成名致富，而是去表达和记录，是和自己心灵以及外在世界的一种沟通。读大学以后，我不再去写日记了，写的文章九成以上都是课程论文或者报告，在律所实习以后更是如此，每天的生活想陀螺一样转着，闲下来偶尔想去写一篇散文，但往往觉得手生，不知如何写起。读了文中的这段话，忽然心里有一个声音说，多去写写自己的故事吧，不管写得好坏与否，只要真实就好，就当是给自己的一份礼物。
