My Theory of Writing

     Writing is very important, influential and useful. Though it is very difficult to make the writing any good, it can be used in many different ways and formats. I  usually write more when I have an assignment for school, rather than in my own time because my writing is depended on my mood and how I’m feeling. I write research papers, short essays, reflections and many different assignments in school that require me to know various aspects of different writings. Besides school, I enjoy writing in my free time as well. I usually write when I want to express my emotions. I have trouble showing my emotions in a person, writing helps me with that but in a different way. Although I write differently in different scenarios, I still have my form and standard of writing. I cannot say I am a  good writer because I don’t write enough. At times I feel like no matter how hard I try, I still won’t be able to write anything down, there are also times when I just can’t stop writing. After all, everybody is a writer but not many are considered good or valuable. “Practice makes perfect,” they say, well there is no such thing as perfect, especially in a world of literature and writing. What is good for me might not be good enough for you, and the other way around. In spite of that, I always try to make the best out of my writing. Despite the fact that I write for myself and I believe everyone should write for themselves, it is very important to understand how to send a message in a way that the reader would understand. Especially if I want to write something that I want to share with other people, I have to try to figure out the best way to easily communicate to them through my writing. 

      My first theory is that in order to write anything valuable, you have to start by writing nonsense. You have to write a lot to become a good writer. Just because there is no perfection doesn’t mean that we cannot try to be great and exceptional. Writing is unique because you can start by nothing in your mind and then ideas open up and then those ideas evolve into better and more thoughtful ones. In my experience, if I sit down to write something, I usually don’t know what to write about. It is only then when I start typing the ideas come. The thoughts that did not exist before apparently develop into the feelings and ideas I want to share. I am a huge believer in practice. I practice a lot to improve every day, only in my writing but also improve as an individual. I am much happier when I’m satisfied with myself, and the same goes for writing as well. I feel a sense of enjoyment when I write something that I consider to be good. I practice not to make something perfect but to make something worthwhile to read.

     I have a long way to go to become a good writer. I am nowhere I want to be and have many things I need to improve in order to get there. However, I have done many different research papers and essays that have helped me develop more as a writer. The school assignments I had done helped me to understand more about different writing systems and improved my ability to analyze. I’ve done a source-based essay as well as an inquiry-based essay in this class which was about “club drugs and its relation to music.” Both of the papers have helped me to learn more about rhetorical terms such as rhetorical situation, audience, author, tone, purpose, genre, medium, stance, and language. I have learned a lot about how proper research should be done and how I have to be careful with what sources I use in terms of their credibility. This was the first time I have done this much research about a paper that I had to write. It really helped me to be more confident and I have learned many things from the challenges I faced throughout. I have gone to learn about how crucial it is to use the language accurately when sending a message. From the papers, I have also realized that knowing your audience and how you want to approach them is the key to make your essay much more influential.

     Many people are great communicators and could be very confident in themselves when in public. They can come off as professional and very charming, although it does not necessarily mean that they are great writers. It could also be that a person is shy, anti-social, awkward and despite all of those things, they might turn out to be great writers. I am neither of those things but I am at a period in my life where I’m starting to enjoy my writings more. I believe how we think has a lot to do with who we are. Unfortunately, quite often we don’t say what we feel but we write. Although, thinking and writing are two very different things. Just because it makes perfect sense for us in our heads, does not mean that it will make sense on paper. This is why writing is very challenging and as I said before very unique. 

     “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”

-Stephen King

     My desire to write has started from my passion for reading. I have a tendency to write when I feel emotional, when something happens that I cannot explain in words.  I love to write at night when everybody’s asleep. When there is no chaos nor distractions. I love being alone with myself late at night thinking about all the things I don’t usually think about during the day. My theory of writing is influenced by the books I have read and the authors I love. They are the reason why I feel connected to writing and the reason why I fell in love with literature.

     Many people write for the wrong reasons. I believe that writing has to be true to yourself and should mean something to you. If you write for fame or money, for prestige or recognition then you will lose the purpose of writing itself. I only write about what concerns me and what is important to me. I believe a great motivation to write is when you’re not feeling good, then you can truly express yourself. Growing up, my favorite writers were Charles Bukowski and Erich Maria Remarque. I loved how cold and brutally honest Bukowski was about life and I loved how romantic and fascinating Remarque was. Their books are definitely not made for kids but I loved them since I was a kid.

      I enjoyed a more realistic approach from writers, an approach from which it was obvious that they were not hiding anything, the fact that they were real in the writings. Some books have changed my perspective on many things and the book which I think everyone should read is Three Comrades by Remarque.  

“Writing is something that you don’t know how to do. You sit down and it’s something that happens, or it may not happen. So, how can you teach anybody how to write? It’s beyond me, because you yourself don’t even know if you’re going to be able to. I’m always worried, well, you know, every time I go upstairs with my wine bottle. Sometimes I’ll sit at that typewriter for fifteen minutes, you know. I don’t go up there to write. The typewriter’s up there. If it doesn’t start moving, I say, well this could be the night that I hit the dust.”

-Charles Bukowski 

     My last theory is that there is no theory. There is no principle or a theory that can make a person write, no theory that can give anyone a motivation to be a writer. I want to use Bukowski one more time and say “don’t try”. Do not try to be someone you are not and most importantly, do not write something you don’t believe in. Write because you cannot live without it, write because it makes you happy. And if you write for those reasons then you can truly become a writer. It is not necessary to be in love with writing, if you’re not, then you can then learn the fundamentals in order to pass the exams or to simply get by. My main point is that I love writing but not as much as I love reading. Reading reminds me that writing is important. It reminds me that our writings are not going to disappear, they can always be in history, whereas we cannot.