Pages 174 – 189- Eng 300

On page 176 I really liked there use of punctuation when listing things about Christmas. They used some semi-colons and then some commas. I'm not exactly sure how you can just interchange them. Maybe it was because they were changing thoughts or ideas. Near the end of this section they start to talk about how dear Christmas time is. And about how nice it is for the younger folks. I think this is true still even today. I mean I'm sure a lot of people these days would forgo a huge christmas tree, or even putting up Christmas lights when its like 20 below outside, but we do it for the children. Weather it be your own children, grandchildren, or even nieces and nephew. You want there Christmases to be just like ours were as children.

Pages 158 – 173-Eng 300

When starting to read this next section around page 160 it almost sounds like parts of a poem. Each line sounding so different and filled with enriched words. I'm not sure if this is how the author wanted it, or if maybe thats how writing was then. I find it interesting to read about Christmas as it used to be. As in fully based on the christian belief. Because in todays world most people just find it as a time to give and receive presents.

pages 142 – 157- Eng 300

I found it very interesting that this whole section was pretty much someone telling a story. I thought the layout was a little odd. Sometimes I would think we were back to the night with everyone kissing because of the mistletoe, but then it would just go back to quotations. I also didn’t get why when he was reading It would go

“”story story story.

“”more story more story.

How come it never had an end ”” Maybe because he never took a breath! Just kidding, it was just a different type of style I have never seen.

pages 127 – 141- Eng 300

In this section some of my favorite parts from the author is when he talks about going to the family for christmas. He tells about everyone that is there, and you can relate. You know you always have that one crazy uncle who will make jokes with the young girls. And then there is always grandma in the kitchen cooking. I just really liked how he was able to make you feel part of the family.
I’m a little confused though because when I’m reading I feel lost. Like I should have known more before hand, but maybe I’ll learn more by reading more.

"Relief in knowing others are like me" -Eng 300

In the article "Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott, I find relief in knowing that others have the same trouble I do when starting out newspapers articles/columns. Being a photojournalism major, I often have to write detailed story captions to go with photos. In the past I've also had to write articles. In the past I just sit there and look at my notes FULL of captions but have no ideas bursting out of me to start an amazing hook lead, or no witty-catchy ending to wrap things up.
While this article is meant to help us with the thought for our other papers, I'm glad I was able to feel more solid with my other forms of writing as well. I really enjoyed this article because the writer, Lamott, was talking to us on a personal level--letting us in on her most fearful moments in her career.