Ok, so here is my "invention" web. Although, at the time (probably about 6 months ago or so), I didn't know this was my "invention;" I didn't have the right vocabulary. As I have said before, I tend to get writer's block, and I know that my biggest "block" is myself, so I wanted to see what it was that I thought inspired me. That way, if I ran into a block and felt like I couldn't write, I would have several options to choose from. I hung it near my desk and just recently looked over and though to myself, "What an ironic form of foreshadowing."
What is interesting to me about this brainstorming web is that I am trying to figure out whether I get my "invention" internally, or really as a "social act." There is only one leg that looks "social" to me, but then again, this web was created 6 months ago and I really feel like my needs have changed. I used to think that if I talked to someone else about my ideas and they gave me one, then I would be using their ideas as my own. But, I don't view it in this way anymore. I am valuing the power of speaking to others about thoughts and ideas other than my own. That is, of course, why we do consulting at the Writing Center (instead of just "correcting" or editing someone's paper) and why peer review is so valuable. Plus, I have to consider how incredibly lucky I am to be around such intelligent people and I need to take advantage of that.
If anything, I am really glad I kept this web and was able to go back and look at how I viewed invention (inspiration). It is useful to me to reflect upon how my views are changing - for the better. In fact, I decided to brainstorm a new web to see how things have changed and it looks quite a bit different. I think this one (below) was more conscious than the first one, but I think that's ok. The main differences are: with this most recent one, there are only two main types of invention. There are also a couple of things that I thought were important to mention, but wasn't sure exactly where they belonged, i.e., "the iterative writing process" and "revision," because I believe that both of things might be able to be "social" and "non-social," as I name them.
In this second drawing, I am struck most by the thick black diagonal line you have created to separate the 2 sides of your drawing. Are the social and the non-social elements really so diametrically opposed? In your first drawing, you had a happy co-mingling of social and non-social sources of inspiration. I'm not saying one is wrong and one is right. But it is interesting to consider what you have lost and what you have gained by this new representation.
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