Relationship to Writing


In my experiences of writing there have been few assignments that I could not complete in a thoroughly satisfying way. Only a few serious issues in my writing and in the process of doing so have risen up over the years. Through years of research papers, analyses, timed essays, persuasion essays, and fictional stories I have learned the sought-after craft of writing though only to the extent which I am now capable. Various writing processes have been taught to me by equally varied teachers, each telling me their way was best and the only correct way to write an essay. However, as the memory of each teacher faded into oblivion so too did their methods until only the most recent remained in my memory. The writing style and process that I currently employ is a result of my senior year English teacher for which I have the greatest respect among one or two others whose names are lost to me. Here I shall be descriptive in my telling of my personal process for writing various essays, my overall writing strategy, my emotional reactions to writing, and specific examples of writing assignments that shaped the writer I am today.

  Over the years, my strategies for writing any paper have changed dramatically so now I am left with the strategy that I will describe to you in some detail. Generally, the current strategy which I use, to me, is simplistic though not quick enough for my liking. Ideally, my professor or teacher and I are the only proofreaders and the only people to ever lay eyes upon my work. Only if I am required to do so by my teacher or professor do I ever print off a rough draft to edit. I prefer my papers to all be typed and therefore fluid and easy to correct. In writing my rough draft, I am often found to be constantly correcting my sentences as I go along as I am probably doing right now. This way I can make certain there are very few grammatical errors before, if required, a peer proofreads my work. Oftentimes my final draft will only be a slightly altered version of the rough draft I had proofread. Additionally, in the process of writing any sort of paper I often consult an online thesaurus to improve upon any word choice that I find do not do my skill level justice. If I happen to be typing a paper, I am, most likely, listening to classical or folk music as well as checking my online accounts every so often in order to distract me from the task at hand.

In order for the reader to fully comprehend my process I shall present a specific example. To begin a research paper, I decide on a topic then research that topic using various sources and taking carefully constructed notes which usually become a typed outline for I try to avoid hand-written notes when researching. As in any essay I then construct my thesis statement and start writing my introductory paragraph. I, however, sometimes find that the body paragraphs are the easiest to write so I may begin on those first if I am having trouble with the introductory paragraph. If I began with my body paragraphs, I then go back to construct my introductory paragraph based on my body paragraphs. Once my beginning paragraphs are completed to my satisfaction I write my conclusion paragraph if the assignment calls for one.

As I reflect upon my experiences in writing, it has occurred to me that while I have described in detail what my writing process is and my thoughts on writing in general, I have neglected to include the particulars on my emotional responses to writing. I shall, of course, remedy that. In the beginning, writing was overly simple until I hit the middle of my elementary school years. I began getting stressed out whenever a writing assignment was brought up in class. By the time I was in sixth grade, a greater emphasis was put on writing so I became more familiar with the formats and I calmed down. In middle school, writing morphed into an unpleasant business in which the assignment took on a bestial form that I had to conquer and tame in order to win. It took all the willpower I had to complete each grueling assignment. If I had procrastinated quite terribly on a writing assignment and found it necessary to complete it at night, I often became so stressed and filled with anxiety that I would have a complete emotional breakdown. My father would calmly talk some sense into my head and I usually took a half hour break to calm my nerves before they completely incapacitated me which was something quite unacceptable to me.

Thus far I have only provided the reader with my negative reactions to writing and have neglected the positive side of writing so I shall now do so. When writing a fictional piece with a subject to my liking my body shivers with excitement and my mind races with various ideas and concepts. Themes and situations from a variety of fantasy books come to mind and I am caught trying to pick just one. For example, in tenth grade, I had to write a Greek mythological story with a god or goddess of my own creation. Naturally, my mind ran through every Greek myth I had ever heard and was determined to research whether or not a goddess of dreams and thought had been used in Greek mythology. I soon discovered not a one so I began creating one which I later named Astoria. This story, to my happy surprise, won first prize in a local writing contest for the senior division. I also learned I have a decent ability for storytelling which is most likely due to my obsession with books.

It is only logical that I should provide the reader with some of the particulars on the lessons I have learned in regards to writing over the years. One of my major writing issues occurred to me as I began writing my first timed-writing essay in elementary school. I simply could not complete the essay to the best of my ability in the amount of time allotted to me. Hypothetically, I had the ability to write the best essay in the class if I were given sufficient time but as the countdown began for the essay I completely blanked out. I realized that if I were not given sufficient time to compose a coherent essay, mine would be inferior to those who could write well under such pressures as time constraints. Fear enveloped my mind and stress took over my body. Stress was always a large issue that affected me and usually created stomach pains, cold sweats, and the occasional asthma attack. However, during these periods of timed writing, I tried breathing deeply and convincing myself that work must be done and I was already falling behind my peers. These measures only increased my stress and therefore decreased the quality of my essay that, though well thought out, was consistently lacking in length. I felt devastated. To this day I cannot write a timed essay without feeling an inordinate amount of stress and a feeling of inferiority. So the moral of this story is that timed writing have never been and never will be my friend.

Another of my issues occurred to me as I began my first research essay. In late elementary school, my teacher assigned an environmental issues research paper. I decided to base mine off of the effects waste has on sea turtles as per my passion for animals. My teacher explained that it needed to be a five page paper and that there needed to be an introduction paragraph with a thesis, three body paragraphs describing each effect separately and in great detail, and a conclusion paragraph in which I restate my thesis  and conclude my essay. This, of course, became the standard I have usually followed regarding essays whether they are timed or out-of-class essays. After being told this, I rejoiced. Now, there was a plan I could follow! Ambiguity is certainly not my strongpoint so having a strict layout for a paper made writing my research paper far simpler.

During my senior year of high school my English teacher assigned a poetry analysis paper. She instructed my class to use literary devices such as diction and metaphors in our essays. I had never done such a paper so I was, understandably, having problems while attempting to write. I did not know how to properly use literary devices in writing nor did I know what a poetry analysis is supposed to look like. After I got my paper back I was unsurprised to find my grade was not up to my standards. My teacher then explained that, to properly write an analysis with literary devices, I must use the word explicitly, use a specific example of that device, and tell what that example does for the literary work. In this way she made me understand that I could think of each sentence as a math equation. This method worked far better for me than any other I had used before since I am a very logical-minded person by nature.

As I have said before, all of these factors influenced the writer I am today but I never was specific on what type of writer I really am. I am a logical-minded writer yet I would rather write a fictional piece than an essay. I am a writer who doesn’t do well under pressure or stress but thrives on structure. I am a perfectionist yet I often skip words while typing because my brain is so much faster than my hands. I am, myself, a paradoxical writer that none have probably seen before and have a difficult time understanding yet I am satisfied after all with my own style. I hope, dear reader, that you have gained a valuable knowledge of myself and my writing that may help shape your own style of writing as my experiences have shaped mine.

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