A Writer's Wanderings

Here’s a suggestion from someone who’s done a lot of writing and a lot of thinking about writing. No, I’m not perfect (that doesn’t even exist), and I have a lifetime of learning ahead of me. This is just something that’s helped me, so I thought I’d share. Instead of focusing so much on what to write, try to think about why to write. Before you roll your eyes, hear me out. I’m not just talking about the broad philosophical question of why we compose texts in the first place (though you should think about that if you haven’t yet). What I’m referring to here is closer to a specific text, and I’m suggesting you take this all the way to the sentence level. Each piece of communication, no matter how small, always has a purpose. The shirt I’m wearing is a small piece of communication, and it tells people a tiny bit about me, who I am, or what I like. I picked it from the store because I thought it would reflect those things (even if I wasn’t consciously thinking that at the time)...

Some of you may have noticed that we have a new buddy in the WRC! Well actually, we have three new buddies. Hiding in a little spot behind the printer live Thesis, Fishmael, and Connyclusion, the three WRC fish. As you may have noticed, these three fish have writing related names. Thesis, well Thesis’ name is pretty straightforward,  Fishmael from the narrator in the book Moby Dick , and Connyclusion, our female version of the word “conclusion”, regardless of it’s sex (we don’t really know).  Now, this might seem like an odd blog post, because it revolves around fish, but there is a reason we got them. You see, last semester we were notified that the WRC would have a change of look and that we’d be getting new furniture. Our supervisors kindly asked us to think of things that we could bring to help liven the place up, and my naturalistic mind went straight to plants. I love plants, especially succulents, but I’m a murderer. A warm hearted, loving, plant murderer who either ...

                       Because I’m a tutor, you might be under the impression that I have it all figured out, that I’m an organized, hardworking, perfect example of what a student should be. While I do have a firm grasp on what habits make and definitely do not make a successful student, putting this knowledge into practice is not always my strong suit.                  During these past few weeks, there has been a battle raging in this student’s head, my dreams and ambitions under attack, barely resisting the will of instant gratification. It seldom feels like a battle – more like a conversation between friends. I’ll wake up in the morning, and instant gratification will convince me each time my alarm goes off that I just need five more minutes. It’s a reasonable request, so I obey and hit snooze. But soon, those five minutes have turned into an hour, and I end up rushing to...

                   In order to be a good writer, it is important that you read often. Reading is a crucial step in improving your writing in many ways. It allows you to expand your vocabulary and exposes you to many different styles of writing that you can use for reference in your own writing. It also helps you out with knowing how to use all the different punctuation marks such as semicolons, colons, quotations, and of course, commas. As you read, you will notice that your writing will become more organized. After all, when you read, you are given information that your mind then organizes, which is a skill that is essential in writing: being able to take information and lay it out in an organized manner.          The other step to improving your writing is to simply practice. The more you write, especially if you proofread your writing, the easier you will ...

There are times when people really and truly should write. Those times are not always completely concerned with writing for money.  The motivation for writing may be a little bit about money, but the satisfaction and therapy achieved from writing can be priceless, transcending values imposed by money. I have felt much in tune with these non-financial factors in my capacity as writing teacher as well as that of writing judge. In the first case, I have been allowed into the lives of students through their essays. I have  learned what my students are coping with, what they have learned from, and what they are aiming for. Sometimes the goal a writer describes is something as humble as being happy to go to work. The significance of that goal is without measure–our physical and psychological health is impacted by our happiness or unhappiness in our workplace. I am not sure my students understand how valuable their writing is to me. Everything they write tends to impact and ...