Assignments, prompts and general musings
Blog
Upon reading both articles, I cannot help but look towards my own writing habits and compare. The assigned articles portray two remarkably interesting takes on the writing process. The first, by Carolyn Chute, shows that no matter how busy and hectic one's life is at a given moment, there is a story in every second. Chute writes of her seemingly monotonous day with a wonderful grasp of the narrative structure, turning mundane facts into engrossing sentences.
The second article paints the impressive routines of the great Ernest Hemingway in an understandable light. As one of the most prolific writers of all time, reading of Hemingway's methods during his time spent writing is enough for any reader to immediately eschew their own habits and attempt to utilize what worked for the great author. After taking time and going through both articles, it is important to inspect the various habits and distractions that I personally face when writing; specifically the ones that arise in relation to setting aside time to do schoolwork. In this modern age, virtually all writing - academic or personal - is done sitting in front of a computer screen. This, of course, is a blessing and a curse. While the computer is a necessity when it comes to writing papers, it is also the leading distraction that I face and must overcome. All too often, a writing session can begin with the best intentions, only to wind up a veritable failure once one too many internet tabs are opened. Learning to manage my writing and shy away from the inherent distractions provided by the internet is easily the largest issue I face when attempting to write. Upon mastering the ability to put aside petty distractions, I wholeheartedly believe that I can become a better writer, as can anyone else in the world. My philosophy on writing better is that it is a simple skill to learn to improve if one is willing. As someone who writes everyday, I think that simply putting the time aside to sit down and put word to paper is the easiest way to genuinely improve. Simply becoming a better writer, however, does not mean that I choose bigger, better words or keep more people entertained at a given time. To me, being a better writer is an intensely personal, never-ending journey. To expand on this, look no further than Hemingway himself. Arguably the most influential writer of all time, Hemingway was notoriously short in his writing, never wasting extra words on a description. This is why there is no real way to be a 'better writer' than before, as this notion is different to everyone. As I have stated before, as long as I can set aside the time to write and feel more comfortable each day telling my story of the world as I see it, I have gotten better as a writer. The six strategies I will use to become a better writer each day are as follows:
1 Comment
I am personally quite thrilled at the idea of using a blog format for our class assignments. Outside of school, I am the Managing Editor of an entertainment website, so I am very familiar with blog-style layouts and formatting. Besides being familiar with the platform, I think that turning in assignments and curating our own personal blog is a perfect way for me and the rest of my classmates to better learn about composition in this modern, digital age. Almost everyone has some kind of digital footprint in 2014 and utilizing a blog in order to learn and grow as writers is a natural fit.
My goals for this course are simple. Through the next five weeks of class, I aim to improve my writing skills as much as I possibly can. As someone who has always enjoyed writing and telling stories, I aim to learn how to further my skills to the best of my abilities with the tools and advice gathered from class. I hope to learn how to better find my voice in all styles of writing - from nonfiction to creative and argumentative forms. Additionally, due to the expedited nature of this summer course, I hope to learn how to better manage my time, as juggling this class and working at the same time will take dedication and perseverance.
|