Ostler 1

Ellie Ostler
Fall 2014
Ms. Ingram
October 29, 2014
Fingerprints
The style of writing changes from person to person and develops through peoples life
experiences. Life is about taking chances and being a part of every opportunity that arises. I have
seen what life can be without opportunities which made me appreciate the beauty and details in
life. Over the years I have spent writing essays, letters, and journals, I have learned that
composing reflects each persons unique individuality. I realized that my outlook on life is
usually reflected in my writing as my literary fingerprint. My life has shaped my beliefs and
opinions that I can express through writing; however, I am still figuring out ways to improve my
writing. Writing requires the ability to become well enough in tune with ourselves to display our
personality in a way for the world to see; it is a form of self-expression unique to each
individual. It is a learning process and a form of art that takes time to master.
In my earlier years of schooling, I remember how negatively I viewed writing and
English class as a whole.
The dread of English class was consuming. Everyone in the class was silent other than
the teacher whose rambling about the same subject began to sound more like nonsensical noises
than actual sentences with words. The room was cold in attempt to keep everyone awake. Which
was unsuccessful. The room seemed so still; partially because half of the students were asleep
and the other half had not moved in the past hour and were just staring off into space. The entire
scene was so dull. From the posters with quotes to READ ON or EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN

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to the dirty floors and drowsy tone of the room. With every breath there was a pungent gust of
sweat and filth that started to dwindle as time passed and I got used to the smell of the dingy old
classroom. English was always the same. Listen. Read. Regurgitate. Writing was just another
task to complete with a list of stipulations that revoked the freedom of our own voices and
opinions. How many more persuasive essays, summaries, and research papers could we write
until our creativity completely died? Along with my attention. I realized that I had not been
paying attention for some time and decided to listen again as the teacher said, I have assigned
an essay on moodle which will be due next week...
Those words were enough to wake the entire class up just enough so that a collective
moan of aggravation could be uttered before the teacher began to explain the assignment. The
assignment contained a rubric stating that writing should be kept in the most proper tone to
coincide with the criteria of academic prose. I thought,
Whats the point of writing papers to inform? The teacher knows we read the
information because we read in class.
As far as we knew, essays were just busy work in order to get the next A. Throw in a few
big words in between opinions and slap a few quotes in the middle and bam! Theres your essay.
At that point in my life, I had not given writing a second thought about what it could be. I
am still young and feel a little ridiculous saying this, but when I was younger, I did not fully
understand what it meant to write with meaning. I never thought critically about writing or
analyzed its beauty in how I could make it my own. I was more focused on being hindered by
writing requirements that I was unable to notice the opportunities that come with writing. As I
got older, and learned more about myself, I became more involved with reading. With these
discoveries, I became strong in my faith as a Christian and wondered in awe of the

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overwhelming concept of a perfect God loving us when we are so undeserving. Even with trials,
life is beautiful and can be so wonderfully depicted through writing. I thought of this when
reading the Bible and various devotionals.
Rejoice, through each desire, each dream
Each hope of thine,
Will fall and fade; it is the hand
Of Love Devine
That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks
With tenderest touch
That you, whose life has borne some fruit,
Might now bear much.
-Annie Johnson Flint
This excerpt of a poem by Annie Johnson Flint shows how I began changing the way I
viewed the world, that even though horrible events may take place we can grow from it so that
we might now bear much. I talk about writing as art. I see the beauty hidden in the details of
stories and appreciate the time and talent authors spend on the overlooked aspects of life. I was
able to enjoy reading and wanted to explore the techniques my favorite authors used to
incorporate in my own writing.
Composing is an art form that I have yet to fully understand. It is an outlet into the
writers mind to travel and get lost in. I love getting lost in a story or memory and having the
freedom to let my mind venture off into different directions. My writing styles change as my life
progresses along with my strengths and weaknesses of writing. My strength in writing is when I
depict my thoughts by using details to allow the reader to feel and see what is in my head. As the

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writer, I can entice the reader into thinking what I think and feeling what I feel just through the
words I write. Although my strength in writing is getting lost in my imagination, it can also make
writing difficult. My challenges as a writer are that I digress and I often get so lost in the
multitude of ideas that I find it difficult to write about a single topic. This becomes a problem
when I have to reevaluate my entire essay or change the thesis because I have too many
conflicting thoughts by the end of my essay.
By accepting that my creative streak is hidden in between my sporadic thoughts, my
writing process has changed from organized structured cut and dry paragraphs to just going crazy
with my writing.

Add bullet points

Add thoughts I wonder if I should add picturesYES

Try new tips and tricks for writing

Include stories, weird descriptions, anything and everything!

In other words, I have learned to work with my chaos and randomness; I just get down the basic
information with a few goals to meet then add personality and thought to make it entertaining.
After that, I go back through and organize everything. This is my own unique writing process; it
might not work for everyone, but I found that this works best for me.
In order to start my writing process, I have a few rituals to calm myself down before I
start working. I usually throw on a pair of sweatpants, tie my hair up in a ball on top of my head,
and focus all of my energy on completing what needs to be done. I basically look like a ball of
fleece and messy hair typing furiously away at my laptop. All of my roommates know if they see
me like this, not to interrupt the mission I am on to get my work done. In this time, I give myself

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goals to brain storm by tying my thoughts to context and trying new techniques to find what
writing styles work best for me.
We all have our own unique styles of writing derived from our life experiences. My style
has transformed throughout the years based on what has influenced me. My newly formed
opinions and thoughts have created an ever changing learning experience that continues to
develop even to this day. I never truly realized the beauty in reading and writing until I was old
enough to form my own opinions and relate my life experiences to what was presented in novels
and essays. Composing is an outlet for me, unique to my personality, and hopefully with the
ability to relate with anyone who reads it.