Today I read a story called “Intro to Creative Writing” by Dani Johannesen for my creative writing class that caused me to wonder, what is the point of writing if you don’t like what you are writing about? If you have not yet read this piece of creative nonfiction, you really should, in one page, the clear and concise story depicts a moment that so many of us can relate to as writers, constantly seeing our classmates write to “get it done” or to write what they think sounds smart or overly intelligent. Although this story is creative non-fiction and thus, a different style of writing than we will most likely see as writing consultants or many of us are used to writing, the story’s narrator emphasizes how important it is to “write what you know,” which I believe directly correlates with what I see as a growing problem with College writing: students are still writing about topics that are of no interest to them.
In high school, I was given precise and specific topics that were supposed to guide us as writers to certain subject matters or schools of thought. Like a film editor controls how an audience views the world, so did my teachers in regards to how I was supposed to view what my thesis or topic or overall paper should concern. In so many ways, we were writing what they wanted us to write because their essay topics dictated it to be that way. With Johannesen in mind, I look back on my high school work and have come to the conclusion that there is no point of writing something yourself, if you aren’t going to put you in it. Although you can insert your personality depending on your style and tone and the way you acknowledge your reader, really, the best way of all is to do so by liking what you write about.
When I got to college, I remember being both liberated and frightened by the idea of having the freedom to not only chose my topic, but also, chose the texts I wished to work with. I have had moments where figuring out my topic is 100 times more work because there is so much to chose from. My own personal problem is that I often spend more time swaying back and forth between ideas and texts and outlines than I do writing and I am always looking over my shoulder thinking maybe I should have written about something else. Even though it can be harder at first, I believe there is no point about writing what you don’t care about, especially when you encouraged to do so.
I remember one of the first times I really experienced the joy and rewards of deciding for myself what I was going to write about was during my second semester of Core when I decided to write my essay using the texts, House of Mirth and The Love Suicides of Chikamatsu. For some reason, when I read House of Mirth, I have this weird moment that I have had only a few times in my life, when I feel that I completely and utterly understand a characters and seem so much of me in them. Although comparing myself to Lily Bart could in many ways be doing myself a disservice, I acknowledge this in order to make the greater point that I felt a true connection to the work because I identified it and felt passionate about it. I felt like I understood Lily, and therefore, that I understood Wharton’s meaning and words more deeply than many of my other classmates. When we read The Love Suicides of Chikamatsu, I felt connected to the work for another reason: I am a huge romantic. Although one could argue that the work was incredibly depressing, I would still argue that put into context, the text was littered with rich examples of human love and emotion that was very different from any of the other texts we were reading. Therefore, when it came time to write a paper, and I was allowed to write about whatever I wanted, I jumped on the chance to not only write about the two texts I loved, but to write about what I knew. As a result, my paper had greater depth and insight and won me my first A in Core.
However, Core was not the only time I have been given the opportunity to write about what I know or love, seeing as in almost all of my other classes during which I have written analytical papers, I was given at least one assignment where I was forced to chose my own text and topic. Knowing that this is often the case, I am left to wonder why so many students still chose topics that are incredibly dull to them because that’s what they think the teachers want and just want to get their paper finished. The wonder of being in college is that, for the first time, we get to take the classes we want, chose the professors we want, and even think the way we want. Therefore, it amazes me that so few students take this opportunity to actually do so.
In one of my upper level English classes last semester, I had to peer edit two of my classmates work as a part of our revision process. Although the text I chose to use was one I found challenging and I would be no means ever pick up on my own to read casually, I still selected a topic that focused on the diverse female characters in the work, which were far and few in between. However, I was amazed to see that the students whose work I was editing had not only chosen the texts that, despite being one of my teachers favorites, were universally thought to be the most confusing and unexciting. One writer overly simplified a complex subject and the other’s paper was so verbose and puzzling that poking my eyes out seemed a better alternative to finishing the paper. I think the reason the drafts resulted the way they did was the direct result of the students choosing a topic they didn’t really like and therefore, did not really work to fully understand. Instead, they were writing to write. What amazed me though was that our teacher had explicitly encouraged students to choose a topic that excited them and that made them passionate. Therefore, it seems to me that not only are the writing patterns established in high school hurting the freshman writers of Core of FYS, but, to some extent, still plague the minds of even more advanced writers.
Link to the story, “Intro to Creative Writing” by Dani Johannesen
"Your first assignment is to write a poem about corn." Well, that had me howling. I forgot where I was for a second. I saw the writing class, vividly.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that what we want writing to do for us? So how can we make that experience possible for students who are forced to write?