I write to create a spark I write to busy the lonely blank paper I write because I wonder and because I can I write myself a map when I’m lost I write to forget the hate and bitterness I write to remind myself of what I care about I write so that I can breathe I write when the world is crashing down and I need something, anything, to go right I write to stir trouble when nothing seems wrong I write myself to a happier time I write to feel accomplishment I write to understand myself I write to exist in a place where the grass is pink, the sky is lavender and anything is possible I write when I’m confused I write when I’m certain I write to feel danger I write to know I’m safe I write to create what never was I write because words are a silent
“I write because I love. I write for the survival of self, my children, my family, my community and for the Earth. I write to help keep our stories, our truths, our language alive”. (qtd. in Anthology 396.)
Stephen King’s “On Writing,” is a memoir of the author’s experiences as a writer and serves as a guidebook for those who choose to enter the craft of writing. Stephen King writes about his childhood and young adulthood, relating stories that made him the writer he has become. Stephen King then moves into the mechanics of writing, offering advice and insight into a successful career that has worked so well for him but remains distant for thousands of others.
Over this past semester I have grown greatly as a writer. At the beginning of the semester I was not very confident in my writing because I did not think I had the skills to create strong pieces of writing. Not only have I grown as a writer, but I now enjoy writing more. I believe I have grown as a writer in many ways. Some of these include; I am now able to extend my wording to fit a page requirement, I am able to format my writing in MLA format, I have learned new writing strategies, and I am able to write in many styles of writing.
I consider myself a very dedicated person, because even though I didn’t like writing, I did well at it by fighting against whatever was stopping me from liking it. As time passed I conceived that reading and writing is a combination of important tools that are essential for life, something that everyone needs to be successful. Once I realized how important reading and writing was, I started to feel a passion for writing poems, songs and stories.
My relationship with writing has been much like roller coaster.Some experiences I had no control over. Other experiences were more influential. Ultimately it wasn’t until I started reading not because I had to read but because I wanted to, that's when my relationship reached change. I would have probably never cared about writing as I do today if it weren't for the critics in my family. When I was a child, my aunts and uncles always been in competition with who's child is better in school. I have always hated reading and writing because of the pressure to prove my family wrong was overwhelming for me. I had to prove them wrong and show them that I was capable of being "smart" which according to them was getting straight A's in all your classes.
Richard Wilbur’s “The Writer”, is a prime example of what happens when life runs its course, is forgotten, and wins the race after tying your hands behind your back. Life plays dirty and consequently, some situations are out of our control, but the important thing is to never forget, because then in order to remember, one must have a rude awakening. As shown in “The Writer”, the only way to survive this masquerade of life, is to simply love, because you cannot save. So it’s up to you to realize, remember and try not to subconsciously write the end of your story.
DeSalvo L. (1999). Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives. San Francisco, CA.
She explains the importance of writing, that it passes the hope for freedom from the past generations to the future. Writing is essential to maintaining hope. She reflects, “You thought that if you didn’t tell the stories, the sky would fall on your head” (195). The sky represents freedom, infinite opportunities, and hope. The feeling of the sky falling resembles the loss of hope past generations passed forward.
Often I sit at the computer, or with a pen and paper, and I think about what I should write. I reflect on my experiences with life, or with my feelings and emotions. If the subject that I write about is coming from my heart, I could write forever, opposed to something that I do not have interest in like the mating habits of fireflies. I don’t care about how, when, and much less why they procreate. I would always dread having to write a paper for my English class, and it was not until I discovered my own love for poetry that I began to enjoy writing. It was my junior English teacher in San Diego, Howard Estes. He allowed me to open my mind to not only the academic perspective of literature, but also to my own personal connection to this confusing written language. This newfound passion gave me a sort of sixth sense. When I look at something, I not only think about what it means to me, but what it means to the world on a larger scale as opposed to taking everything at face value. Through my own writings, and the writings of others, I have been shaped as a unique individual.
I just begin to write and see what happens. Sometimes it drifts off to being poetry, sometimes short prose. I sort of kind of follow it and see where it 's going. The process is pretty much the same. It 's sitting there with your notebook, waiting for something to happen (“Ted Kooser”).”
Stress is everywhere, one in eight Americans complain about being stressed. Thus, from stress people tend to get anxiety, depression, and feel unhappy with whatever situation is bringing them down. Writing as a form of therapy has been around much longer than we think. A lot of the time when reading poems or short stories we don’t even notice the flow of emotion that is vented through the piece of work. This has been said to be a huge stress reliever, by writing down your thought and feelings people can sit back after read their situation and look at it with a somewhat clear head. In Cangialosi’s article she states “Writing is not only a salve but often a tool that opens our minds and hearts to things that are deep inside us”
When I first began writing for The Odyssey, an online magazine, I was filled with ambition, ideas would constantly flash through my head, I was eager, I had finally found out what I loved to do, what I had wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I am not the kind of person who talks or writes much. Putting my thoughts on papers is something I have always struggled with doing. I believe this class will help me improve on transferring my thoughts to paper, in an organized fashion. I look forward to becoming a better writer because of this class.
While I was in daycare, I would sit next to a couple younger kids and I would “read” books to them. I would sit there and look at pictures and at that time I would just make up the words, having no idea what the story is about. The little kids loved it, but I was always curious about what it was really about. Days were getting shorter and I was getting older… Then school started.