Plot Summary “Ain’t” So Bad

Looking at Melissa’s post about motivation, I thought it would be interesting to post something regarding essays instead of solely discussing my thesis about The Conjure Woman, which no one else read. When I first started my reading paper, I was excited that I had an idea that I thought would be fascinating to explore. Having noticed the difference between the John’s and Annie’s reactions to the stories presented by an ex-slave, I decided that I would try to link their reactions to how these slave folklore was received by the white folks. Although the initial planning got me excited about writing the paper, I found it rather difficult to get myself started, despite having started the planning rather early. This would have been the time when I needed the motivation to get me started. As words started appearing on the page, the more excited I became about writing about my hypothesis. I was rather careful to make sure that my ideas would be fully supported and would be clear for readers to understand. I even tried to avoid plot summary. However, I realized that I was still victim to plot summary. Though it seemed bad to have a paper full of plot summary, I am actually grateful that I had some plot summary in my draft to begin with because this just makes it easier during the revision. Knowing that I had lots of background to begin with, it is now easier to take a red pen and cross out extraneous information. It also provides the opportunity to review the plot and to reconsider how the particular evidence chosen applies to the hypothesis and how it would need better support. For all those people who feel bad because of excess plot summary in the draft, it’s easier to cross. It’s better than trying to add more information when it is probably better to focus on analysis in the revision.