I have so much work due. Somehow I let it pile up and as I look through my Weekly At-A-Glance (my planner and lifeline affectionately called my “WAG”) I realize the majority of what I have due is an assortment of papers. The topics range from Jackie O’s style compared to Michelle Obama’s, a look at the Questing Beast as motif in T.H. White’s “The Once and Future King,” and the completion of a lesson plan for ninth graders just to name a few. My mind is swirling with MLA and Chicago style citations, scholarly sources and wondering how I am going to get it all done with busy weekend ahead. And to add to the flurry of writing that needs to be done, located in my WAG under Thursday, is a question posed by Dr. Zdanys. Instead of our “usual” Thursday papers, my creative writing class was asked to examine what it means to be a writer: what role does a writer play? What do we do as writers?
Writers do many things for many reasons. One thing writers do is what I have done in the first paragraph of this short reflection. We use our words to channel and release our thoughts and emotions. Even though I am a mere couple hundred words into this piece I feel somewhat calmed. I allow my mind to empty through my fingers, onto the keyboard of laptop and there they appear in this word document. They do not solely remain in my mind and my anxiety subsides slightly. When you write for a mental release, it doesn’t matter if someone reads your work or not. It only matters that you take something out of what you have created.
Whether I am writing for an audience or not, I write in a way that I find pleasing. Writers have the ability to take words and blend them together to make something beautiful. Although, writing is often taught I believe that writers are born. Something within allows them to write in an enjoyable manner for their own pleasure and any audience. This isn’t to say that there is a “right” or a “wrong” way to write. In fact, so many different styles are entrancing. I imagine this “writer” element as an extra gear in the brain and as it turns fantastic stories and clever reflections appear. This must be allowed to flourish by parents, teachers and friends. Encouragement is helpful but the writer’s natural abilities will shine through even in the face of adversity. A good writer is usually well read and embraces a wide vocabulary. It is so difficult to relay the complexities of human life in general that without arming oneself with an extensive vocabulary it is nearly impossible. All writers know the frustration of having an idea so vivid in your mind but it refuses to be articulately translated to paper.
Writers who take a public role may be responsible for entertaining or informing. Fiction or non-fiction, the work they produce should be appealing to their audience. Writers give their audience a glimpse into their mind, another outlook.
Writers stand amongst painters, sculptors and architects as artists. Although their skills may not make them a living, they act out of passion for their art. In the past, artists may have been valued more but they are still a necessity in society. They demonstrate the amazing capabilities of mankind.
