WP4: Writing through a semester of Writ 150

This semester has been a little bit of a wild ride in more ways than one, but my writing has also been on a roller coaster through the last few months. Throughout my writing journey this semester in each of the writing projects and the reading we’ve done in class, I’ve learned that my authenticity and others’ ideas can not only coincide but improve my perspective and work.

I’ll start with WP1, which was frankly comparable to a flaming dumpster. I say that because it wasn’t me. It was a collection of scrambled ideas, none of which I was particularly excited to talk about, but it was the first thing that occurred to me and I didn’t think to change it. I got through it, sure, but the writing was uninspired and challenging. Clearly something had to change in the coming writing projects.

After learning my lesson with WP1, I tried my best to change course for WP2. The U-turn in my work came more easily than I expected when I spent fall break with one of my best friends and realized there was really nothing better to write about than the friendships that I cherish. (Don’t look into the timing of completing my WP2 too closely if you don’t want to witness the art form of procrastination that I seem to have mastered.)

I felt like a trackstar writing WP2, breezing through each section and enjoying the time I spent working on it. It was a drastic shift from the sluggish, painful drag of WP1. The change in this mood was almost as obvious as the reason behind it. My best work is done when I’m focused on myself — narcissistic, I know — but that’s the reality. WP2 was written in my genuine voice, maybe slightly unhinged, and there is nothing I would change about it.

As we moved into WP3, I tried to channel the same energy I felt with WP2, but I wasn’t entirely sure where my ideas were headed. I was distracted, scattered, and confused about the writing project. It seemed I was managing to fall into the dark abyss that my WP1 fell into, but when I was forced to go home because of an accident with one of my old friends from gymnastics, I was inspired again.

It may have been an unfortunate turn of events, but there was certainly a silver lining for me. Gymnastics felt so natural to write about because I hadn’t known life without it until this fall. That being said, finding a topic that felt natural was not the only idea that allowed me to improve my writing project.

As we worked on WP3, we also finished up the reading from this semester: Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Super Sad True Love Story. As I worked through my WP3, we explored the connections between the two pieces of writing and our own writing and lives. I’ll be honest, because there is really no point in lying at this point. I did not particularly enjoy either of the books. They were not at all what I would read during my free time. My first instinct was to just get through it.

It felt like an easy move to ignore the reading we did this semester because it wasn’t me, and the narcissistic voice that led me to success in WP2 was all too happy to agree with that plan. In reality though, it was the combination of accepting feedback from others, the opinions of other writers, and my own selfish but authentic voice that brought me to successful revision and projects.

In the future, I plan to use this semester of writing to write in a style I’ve truly enjoyed but never been able to use before. I will do my best to allow the thoughts of others to influence my work without letting them take over my voice completely.

At the end of the day, I’ve learned a few important lessons about writing. One, nobody wants to read the entirely selfish ramblings of someone who is writing just to write. Two, nobody wants to read writing that has been so influenced by others and a mess of ideas that it is nothing more than a scrambled jumble of ideas. What’s good writing in my opinion? A culmination of someone’s own writing in their style after they’ve considered a well-rounded perspective. This is how I’ve done my best work this semester and how I’ll do my best to work in future classes and in life.