For as long as I can remember, I have loathed writing. I find the task of writing to be draining and uninteresting. Writing requires skill, guidance, and a plethora of ideas. In school, the first thing taught about writing is the process: drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Teachers talk about writing in a manner that suggests it is an easy task, but for someone like me, that is not the case. I do not like writing because I feel it is tiring and also the technical words, which are required in some writings. Moreover, some subjects such as history have historical names and periods, which make the entire process of writing demanding. I sometimes blame myself because I did not read widely to improve my writing skills, previously; however, I have improved my reading skills. I like reading fiction and science fiction, but I tend to stay away from essays, journals, and things of that nature.
From reading, I have developed some creativity, but it is still very hard translating my thoughts into words. Whenever I was given a writing assignment in school, I did not know what to do. I could not come up with an idea to base my paper on, and because of this, I would not do it until the last minute. My biggest obstacle when it comes to writing is obsessing over the material. I easily get overwhelmed when I cannot think of what to write. After I manage to come up with something, I reluctantly write the paper without considering the importance of the paper including the entire writing process (Galgano and Hyser 19). Throughout my schooling, I’ve always been told that I am a fantastic writer. I am not sure how, when I do not think I ever got an A on a paper. I think it may be because there was not much to the idea of the essay, or I did not explain it very well. Being told you are a great writer, then not producing the quality of work you desire, is the ultimate punishment (Foster 6).
Writing is widely used as a form of expression. For an individual to express himself or herself better, they need to have a plan and ensure that even the briefest outline of his or her work can help in organizing a thought process. The process, therefore, must be well thought out and contain a lot of supporting details. This means that the writer will take their time to make a meaningful expression of themselves. This presents another problem of mine. I am not very good at taking my ideas in my head and translating them into words on paper.
Writing has never been easy for me. I have always found writing difficult because it involves a lot of thinking. Once an essay is identified, you have to look for the talking points as you go along. Also, you have to think about how you want your writing to flow, and the key points you want to make (Kerr 34). This requires the writer to think while working, to make the paper as logical as possible. This is not easy, and this is another reason I dislike writing. Developing materials to fill out your paper’s talking point is also difficult. This part requires prewriting and drafting of your work, one of the hardest parts for me. Based on these long processes of writing, my weakness as a writer has always been coming up with the idea, the very first part. After this, writing does get a little easier, but it is still a task.
To become a better writer, I need to learn how to make writing a pleasant experience for me. I need to figure out how to become creative, and to take my ideas from thoughts to words easier. I hope to improve my writing skills here at ****** University. I will also continue improving my writing skills through reading academic literature including journals and scientific papers.
- Foster, John. Effective Writing Skills for Public Relations. London: Kogan Page Publishers, 2005. Print.
- Galgano, Michael, and Hyser, Raymond. Doing History: Research and Writing in the Digital Age. New York: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
- Kerr, Bob. Grammar & Writing Skills, Grade 6. New York: Carson-Dellosa Publishing, 2008. Print.
