Haley Dwyer 1 Writing At Its Finest

Writing At Its Finest

As a writer, throughout the years I have come to realize that I have a specific technique when writing certain passages, essays or short responses. I always have certain questions in the back of my head when putting my thoughts down. What does the teacher want, is it close to the topic questions and is this considered a bad draft? As a freshman in college I have finally found the answer to what is believed as good writing. The preconceptions of good writing have come from past educational experiences, and if I were a writer I would conceive the idea of good writing to be between you and the reader using proper grammar and being able to have a connection with the person who is reading your writing. Due to the fact that my previous educators all throughout my life have basically engrained into my head what is expected of me in college, they all tried to give my peers and me tips and facts of what college professors expect as a strategic way of writing and what they believe is the right way to write an essay. Now that I have almost completed my first semester at UNC Charlotte I have realized that I should not have to remember so many examples of writing essays to help me along my way. In this writing class, it is obvious due to Stephen Kings, On Writing, many of my classmates and I were relieved that there is no such thing as good writing.

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Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy. Stephen King, On Writing.

Due to King in this excerpt it is clearly stated that in someones writing they should write however they want and to make it real for others to relate to. You dont write for anyone but yourself and the person who is reading it. I believe in this as a young writer. I have been mislead that I had so much expected of me to impress the reader of my work when it was either a professor or teacher, to keep him/ her entertained with a fluffed story using metaphors and similes. In reality your writing is meant to get your opinions down and to also give the impression you have a purpose to write your emotions or feelings. The two rules I abide by while writing papers in college will always be to use correct grammar and to also write everything down that I believe in or disagree with, the real me. This being said, in any form of writing you should use experiences, opinions and certain wording to get the readers attention that maybe they agree or disagree but read anyways because they are interested in how you may think. As I stated before, most of my thoughts and techniques came from my teachers in middle school and high school. I cant really complain about my elementary teachers because they only taught me how to spell correctly and what grammar actually is. But from the age of 11 and up I was honestly lied to and pressured to write in certain ways when really I should have rebelled and wrote the way that I wanted to. These

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teachers filled our heads with pressured comments explaining how professors expect your papers to be written like youre Albert Einstein. In college Ive noticed that professors are more about you finding what works best for you and then going from there with your ability to make writing your own. They may give you a summary on what they are looking for but the rest is up to you when finding how to write and what you like to talk about. Rules such as using two spaces after a period, always make your thesis known at the beginning of your essay and to also always use rhetoric are some of the unnecessary rules I have learned from my past as a student. In my essays I always make my thesis known somewhere in my writing, it may not be right at the beginning but the reader should be able to determine what my argument or opinion is that Im about to express to them. Also, I learned rhetoric my junior year of high school in AP English 3 by Mrs. Roxby. She expected us to use ethos, pathos and logos in every one of our essays. Before college I didnt know that it was used in everything that I have written but since Ive been in this class I now understand that rhetoric is in every college essay I have written. If I was a well known writer for being able to produce great work and thinking that my writing was good writing, I would never brag or gloat saying that the way I write is best but I would behave in a good manner, giving other writers different options on what fits with their writing styles. An author that I seem to enjoy is the typical romance novel man, Nicholas Sparks. Now, Stop. I know what youre thinking already. This girl is a hopeless romantic who doesnt know anything from Shakespeare or Leo Tolstoy. Well, you would be wrong but I am a sucker from a great love story. Nicholas Sparks in my opinion is a genius. He is capable of writing such an amazing story pulling at millions of girls heartstrings and drawing them into the characters lives making them

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want to be just like them. Sparks released his 18th novel in 2013 which goes to show that his readers like myself have found a connection with his stories and his writing style.

I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul and to me, this has always been enough. Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook.

This Passage has always stuck out to me the most in any of Nicholas Sparks Novels. Granted these all are fiction and may be written to the standards of what women want in a man but that is the point. This passage is proof that Nicholas Sparks is a good writer. He writes stories for himself but he also writes stories for women to relate to that may have gone through the same experience as the characters of the book. I believe that is the reason behind reading. Some novels are forced upon you to read as a student but the reading you do other than school is based on what your interests are and what helps you escape for a while. In this quote from the novel The Notebook, sparks character Noah explains that although he is a common man who is not known for anything, the most important thing to him is that he has loved another. That is the most powerful excerpt from any book in my opinion. Something that I can relate to and that is real also is my opinion of good writing. Writing can never be judged as just good and bad. Everyone has their own opinions and thoughts when it comes to this topic. Learning from my college professors

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that they want more of my work to be flattering based on grammar and how I feel is definitely less stressful than having educators telling you what to write and how to write it. Everyone can be a good writer in my opinion. They just may have different styles than you. I know that my writing is not perfect but it is a way of expressing myself and letting me get away from the world to just let my thoughts be written down. It is different to understand what good writing is when it comes to essays or nonfiction. Some readers may have an opinion on your writing style but they cant have an opinion on what is real in your life and what you like to write about. If writing about your past experiences and how you felt at that time is what helps you move on as a person, then write your little heart out. It may help the reader also if they can relate, but it will never hurt them when you are writing for the sake of yourself.

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Works Cited: On Writing by Stephen King The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks