Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Myself as a Writer

Although I enjoy writing very much, I have never actually deemed myself a writer; therefore thinking about myself as such is a change of pace. I suppose when it comes down to it, I write not only to express myself, but also to arrange my thoughts and ideas about different moments, events, subjects, etc. Mostly I do this through poetry. I don't usually sit down with an idea or experience in my mind, rather they come to me sporadically (often in the middle of class or at night when it is most inconvenient). The end result is usually a stream of consciousness piece that I slowly craft into a poem, later structuring and making sense of the words on the page. Although I have the strongest passion for poetry, I do enjoy analytical essays of almost any kind. I used to be strongly opposed to picking works apart and rearranging their elements to bring forth some magical hidden meaning, for I believed real authors did not have as many secret intentions as educators believed. However, one of my english professors changed my mind. She related writing to clothing by saying that like it or not, the clothes we choose to wear say something about who we are as people; writing is the same way. Although an author does not always intend to use a symbol or illustrate a deeper meaning, it does not mean that a reader cannot find one; interpretation is in the eyes of the interpreter. It is for this reason that I began to cherish analysis because it opens up new possibilities for works. I suppose my ambition for my writing is that each reader can relate to my work and draw from it the meaning he/she wishes it to hold. I try to make this a strength of my writing, making strong arguments or suggestions while allowing room for a reader to take his/her own point of view. In addition, I try to bring original interpretations of my topics to light, something that will make the reader ask questions. This strength, however, can often lead to my main weakness which is getting too involved in a particular topic. Often times I find myself diving into more research than necessary or writing papers well over the page limitations of the assignment. I like to think this weakness is caused by an admirable passion, but in reality it is most likely a case of wordiness. Nevertheless as I learn to evaluate myself as a writer, I find that much of my ability can be credited to a kind of selfishness as I indulge myself in my own love of expression and exploration.

1 comment:

Sarah B said...

I apologize for the length of this post... it looked a lot shorter in the box :) I do, however, think I demonstrated my weakness when it comes to being wordy quite well.