Sunday, August 31, 2014
Blog #2 - Alexander Wohlert
For me, writing is like a chore to be done. It only comes about if it has to be done for
a class, or if I am told I must write.
This can mean a class assignment or a simple thank you note to a
relative who sent me a gift. Comparing
my writing to doing a chore doesn’t bode well for my writing motivation. It’s not that I don’t enjoy writing, it’s
just that it’s not a part of my everyday make-up of something I want to do. It’s the same with chores. It’s not that I don’t want to have clean
clothes or take a shower in a clean stall, it’s that I’d really rather be doing
something else. Once the writing begins,
it can be like a flowing river of ideas.
Most times, however, it’s more like the start and stop of a toy whose
battery is failing. I write, think about
it, write some more and then think about other things I need to do. Since most of my writing has had to do with
school, I do associate writing with class assignments. Perhaps that is part of the problem in that I
didn’t get to write about what I wanted to write about, but instead had to
follow certain requirements. I had to
read a lot in school and so was exposed to many different styles of authors. I’m
not sure if this really has influenced my writing style. Now I read books that
interest me and am probably more influenced by these authors so perhaps I will
begin to see a change in my writing style.
My mother writes for her profession and at times looked at my writing
for high school assignments. She
explained that there are many different styles of writing and it can be very
subjective. So, she would make
grammatical suggestions but never really changed my writing. I found this helpful because she wasn’t
imposing her writing onto mine. That
would have been like a person telling someone they liked their painting but
then they painted over the picture. If I
had my choice, when I had to write, I would rather write similar to how I
speak, directly and simply. This way, I
would really feel I was communicating rather than trying to please the reader
and meet their expectations.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree, most of the time writing does feel like a chore. In school the majority of the time you have to write a well structured agrument about an idea or topic in a book. Rarely does one ever get to express themselves through creative writing in a high school english class. Hopefully that chore will no longer be a chore, but a game.
ReplyDeleteI feel the exact same way as you do about writing. As much as I don't want to do it I know it has to get done. The only way to get me to write something is to give me an assignment and a due date, and even that I can't guarantee it will get done. Hopefully be the time I graduate I will have learned how to write without having an objective because I will be doing a lot of writing for the next couple of years.
ReplyDeleteI feel exactly the same as you. I'm not usually one to write for pleasure so the only time I actually sit down and write is when I have to for class. I've never been a fan of writing in general so I try to put it off as long as possible (usually the night before). I definitely feel this class will help me get over my writing phobia and I will no longer think of writing as a chore, and I hope it will for you too!
ReplyDeleteYour analogies are very accurate. I understand exactly what you mean when you say writing is a chore. It takes a lot to get me to write but I often enjoy it when I get around to doing it. My writing comes almost entirely from assignments. I very seldom write outside of school. When I actually do, I end up enjoying quite a lot actually. When you talked about writing sometimes being like a dying battery, I often feel the same way. I struggle getting all my work out in a constant flow. I write and then pause and think much like you do. It's tough, but hopefully this class will help our writing. It sounds like your mom was very helpful with your writing as well. Your analogies were very insightful and helped me realize some problems I have with writing.
ReplyDelete