On Writing

I'm not a writer.

That's what all of my students say, and I tend to feel the same way about myself.  What we really mean, of course, is that we are not good writers, not professional writers or that we don't want to take the time and energy to write.

What most of my students think is that for a "writer" writing comes easily.  The ideas, words, forms come spilling out with grace and ease.  This, of course, is totally untrue.  Any writer will tell you that the craft of writing requires a lot of study, thought, reflection and sometimes frustration.

Here's the thing - I am not really interested in putting all that much thought, study and reflection into my writing.  I accept that this means I will never be very good at it.  I can express my thoughts generally, but without really crafting my words.

My students also don't think carefully about the purpose of writing and the perspective of the reader. They just want to complete the assignment and get it over with. We don't focus enough in school on writing for different audiences.

In my case, I have thought about my purpose and my audience with this blog.  I assume there won't be one (an audience, that is). My purpose is not to inform, instruct or entertain anyone else. If someone happens along, well... great!  I would not do very well if I tried to create something for a specific audience, so I am doing this just for me, as a kind of challenge.