defining moments
Writing in general can be difficult, but when you are given something and expected to stick to the script it makes things all the more difficult. I feel much better about writings where my thoughts are confined to a rubric, I love the free topic type of writings. The writer's notebook was like a general outline of ideas and class discussions for me. I enjoyed in particular the first writing in class on the very first day. Our assignment was to write about how we define ourselves as writers. I remember immediately diving in scribbling the melting pot of perspective I had of myself. I talked about how writing was cathartic for me, just a way to express my thoughts feelings, judgments and beliefs. I also touched on how my very first form of writings were raps and poems. The nostalgic feeling I got from writing the first assignment made me feel back at home in that small corner writing poems and raps. In retrospect I still view writings pretty much the same, but with the addition of this class I think they have matured to much more.
"I define my writings as life between the lines of paper. Often times writing for me is cathartic, just a way to express judgement, feelings, and philosophical beliefs without having to say those things out loud."-Darius Ashe, Writer's Notebook
what writing has to be
Before I started the several types of writing we covered in class, I wrote in my writer's notebook what I believe writing has to be. This made me think back to my elementary days, not that it was juvenile in any sort of way, but because the things teachers expressed that they desired to see in my writings. I felt that writing had to be confined in an educational context, which is kind of displayed in the writer's notebook on the subject. Initially my view on writing was what I had heard basically from someone else. In the process of the class my eyes were open to new and different ways to write. I now know writing doesn't have to confined even in the classroom, but as I reflect on this notebook entry I see how much my perspective has grown. Writing can be abstract, like art, or it can be long, lengthy, complex, this is contrary to what I believed before now. Writing can also be simple like a six word memoir and still make a valid point. I still believe however that writing has to engage the audience and capture the imagination.
Things I value in writing
Things I value in writing was the title of discussion the class had one day. I took some time to jot down some ideas of what helps me write. The list was short, but the things on the list were important tools of what I believe makes a good piece of writing. First on the list was organization, which I believe is still the most essential piece of any writing because without it the writing looks like a collection of different pieces. Subconciously i created a hiearchy of things which I recognized after I wrote them down. Knowing what I do now I would've put thoroughness higher on the list. Writing in this class I saw that being thorough essential because detail better helps the reader understand the point you're trying to make.