Reflection for WP#2

Writing Project #2 reflection

When I went back and read through my Writing Project #2 there were a lot less than I could tell immediately from looking at it. However, after going through it a few times, I notice there are some little things like punctuation that could have used some improvement. Specifically, I could have improved my use of comma and periods to make the sentences flow a little better.

Another thing that I did not notice until now was I never correctly cited readings.

Another thing that I notice after going through it a few more times and recalling writing this paper is the struggle I had while trying to start writing this paper. It was a little more challenging than I first had thought it was going to be. It is a little evident in the opening of the paper it starts off with a topic but immediately switches to what I think rather than what the first paragraph talks about.

Personally, I do not think that much has changed since I have written this paper. I still really enjoyed researching the topic of time spent writing and the length of writing and how it affects the emotions the author has

towards the writing. I would also say that this writing was also super fun and enjoyable to research and write about.

One thing that I learned from this paper was that I am way more comfortable writing research-related papers than more open-end papers. Comparing it to writing Writing Project #1 it was easier and enjoyable to write about research and the trends that I found

while reviewing the material gathered, to begin writing.

In addition to learning my preference for writing research papers. This was the first paper that I tried organizing what I was gonna write before actually writing my paper using either both a very rough outline and a word map before starting to fully write out my

paper.

Writing Project #3: Revised Theory of Writing

While looking back to my first day of class, I didn't know what to expect. To be honest, I just figured all we would do is write papers and read a lot about writers as that was always my experience with writing and English classes. In addition to that, I never gave much thought to what writers do and what makes a good writer. Of course, I had my ideas but I never gave it too much thought. You can really see this in my first writing project, as it’s just a hodgepodge of ideas about writers and heavily based on what I initially perceived as good writing without much evidence.

My previous perception of good writing was that all a writer needed to do was love their

work and truly enjoy the story they were writing. I got this idea from a mix of my old art teacher and my own ideas. My art teacher would say, “There is no such thing as bad art or good art, it is what the artist sees.” What I got from that quote was that writing is a form of art. In other words, if an author can create a whole fictional world with just their words, then there is no difference between Van Gogh and the writer — both of their works are

valuable.

As class went on, however, we had many discussions in both our large class and small group, read many pieces of works and had an opportunity to review previous submitted papers. I came to a realization that many of my ideas were wrong and needed to change. For example, I said that writing only needs to be loved by its author for it to be considered good. To some extent, I still believe that, but it was missing a crucial part — the audience. While it doesn’t always need to be perfect, if the intended audience for the piece does not relate, that might be a reality check that it isn’t “good.” In the reading Failure is Not An Option, by Allison D. Carr, she says that by failing while writing we can become empowered by the new possibilities that can emerge from what we learn. When I said that the writers just need to love their work I took away their ability to grow from their failures. In fact, I didn’t account for the author becoming more empathetic towards their intended audience by ensuring that their works reaches the people they intend to reach.

Another one of the ideas I proposed in my first theory of writing paper was an author needs to have a well thought out story before they even start writing. In hindsight, that was a foolish statement. Never having been required to write a fictional story or really a story at all, I had always thought that a good writer always knows how their story will end. For example, I read a lot of Shakespeare in high school and all of his stories had a clear beginning, middle and end. Attack on Titans is another example of a very clear story line; it’s a comic book from Japan and the author, Hajime Isayama, never wrote any tangents, making the story feel very fluid and natural. I always thought these stories, among others, were planned out to every last detail.

In my opinion, this idea about a well planned out story was the most incorrect. The reading that changed my perception was, Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott. The line that stood out the most was, “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it. Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled.” Reading this honestly shocked me. It felt like the world I once knew

was crashing down. I had always imagined writers as very well organized and having everything meticulously thought out, leaving no room for error. Seeing that they were less rigid in their writing, was also reaffirming though.

In Writers are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged, Teri Holbrook and Melanie Hundley, write almost a whole page talking about how to cope with the struggles of writing and the frustration they have with their own, including fears of rejection, failure and the book not doing well once it was published. Going back to Shitty First Drafts, one of her friends wakes up and says to himself, "It's not like you don't have a choice because you do — you can either type or kill yourself." That single sentence radiates the struggle of writing and how difficult it can be to just write.

I also saw the magic of writing. While the authors may not have known the full arc of the story, they did trust that their craft would get them there. These authors write and keep on going until they feel that it is “good enough” and then continue to improve what they have written through the editing process. I only realized this during our Writing Project Two, when we all shared our own writing experiences and how we felt when writing. This research really made me realize the true complexity of writing and the care that goes into it. I always viewed writers as simply ordinary humans. They are no different than you or me, and my perception of them has not changed. When I was first enrolled in this class, my definition of writers was quite broad. Writers are not just book authors, but web-bloggers, game developers, and even my Junior year English teacher. These people had barely anything in common, if you were to just see their title. It’s not like you can see some outstanding feature and instantly point and say, “Oh yeah, that person right there, they are a writer.” What I realize through this class, however, is that all writers have a perception on the world that they want to share with others. Writing is a universal platform that gives people an opportunity to share their voice. It shows that writing is for

everyone.

While writing is for everyone, what surprised me most is that many of my peers consider themselves to be writers. Classmates that I

met through this class, in fact, are writing books, have a blog, or even have daily writing practices. I didn’t realize just how many of my peers were passionate about this skill.

While reflecting on my own personal writing practices, for the most part, there is not much I am going to change. What I will take with me moving forward is having a more detailed outline of my essay before I start. This semester, I experimented with having a notebook dedicated to this class. In the

notebook, I would write out the instructions, create a word map that would include topics and points to touch on in the essay and then use that to create a formal outline. The reason

I started doing this is because of the discussion we had early in the semester where my peers shared what they do to stay organized for writing assignments.

Clearly, this pre-writing exercise will be something that I integrate into my writing ritual moving forward. I still plan to write at night as that is the easiest and most productive time for me and I also still plan to have some sort of music on while writing to help me focus and get into the zone. The pre-writing exercise simply helps to organize my writing and I feel confident in the time and how I

write. The reading that influenced me to keep my writing rituals such as listening to music and writing at night was, Writing Rituals: Superstition or Productivity? by Chip Scanlan. The article showed me that all of these

famous writers had writing rituals but what was interesting was that none of them were the same. In other words, it’s ok that your ritual is different as long as it is working for

you.

As I said, my ideas really were a hodgepodge — I had no idea what to expect from writing or what made a “good” writer. I’ve learned a lot and feel confident that the practices I’ve learned will serve me moving forward. I have also learned, however, there is still so much I don’t know and writing is a practice. You quite literally have to practice it over time if you want to get better. If nothing else, writers are persistent.