Writing myths and rituals

One myth about writing I have believed my whole life is that "good writers are born, not made." My attitude when beginning this writing course was one of apprehension and dread. I wondered if I could improve my writing, or if I was destined to receive B's and C's on every essay for the rest of my life. This writing class has given me concrete examples and suggestions for improvement — not just grammar or essay maps. The free writing is such a great help that whenever I'm stuck I immediately turn to my ten-minute free writing to open up blocked passages. Once I get past my writer's block, I see that I can be a good writer.

For me, the most effective writing ritual is to gather up all of my stuff — legal pad and pencil, notes, dictionary, and thesaurus — and get on my bike, ride to campus, and set myself up in the art lounge in the student center. During the week, I'll do this in the evening after dinner. On a weekend I go anytime from 10 A.M. to midnight. I don't write effectively at home because there are always distractions. Some people will be moving around and I'll go see who they are and what they're doing, or I'll go get a cup of coffee or a piece of toast, or I'll snap on the TV, ignoring that tiny voice inside saying, "Get busy — you have to get this done!" So what makes the art lounge better? Simple — no distractions. I can lay out all of my stuff, get a cup of coffee, and go to work. All around me people are doing the same thing, and somehow all of those hardworking people are an encouragement. The art lounge is always quiet, too—quieter than the library—and it doesn't smell like the library.

As you begin a college writing course, you need to get rid of some myths about writing that you may have been packing around for some time. Don't allow misconceptions to ruin a good experience.

MYTH: "Good writers are born, not made. A writing course really won't help my writing."

FACT: Writers acquire their skills the same way athletes do — through practice and hard work. There are very few "born" writers. Most writers — even professional writers and journalists — are not continually inspired to write. In fact, they often experience "writer's block," the stressful experience of staring helplessly at a piece of paper, unable to think or to put words down on paper. A writing course will teach you how to cope with your procrastination, anxiety, lack of "inspiration," and false starts by focusing directly on solving the problems that occur during the writing process.

MYTH: "Writing courses are just a review of boring grammar and punctuation. When teachers read your writing, the only thing they mark is that stuff, anyway."

FACT: Learning and communicating — not grammar and punctuation — come first in college writing courses. Knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage is essential to editing, but it is secondary to discovering ideas, thinking, learning, and communicating. In a writing course, students learn to revise and improve the content and organization of each other's writing, and then they help each other edit for grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.

MYTH: "College writing courses are really 'creative writing,' which is not what my major requires. If I wanted to be another Shakespeare and write poetry, I'd change my major."

FACT: Writing courses emphasize rhetoric, not poetry. Rhetoric involves practicing the most effective means or strategies for informing or per¬suading an audience. All writing — even technical or business writing — is "creative." Deciding what to write, how to write it, how best to get your reader's attention, and how to inform or persuade your reader requires creativity and imagination. Every major requires the skills that writing courses teach: exploring new ideas, learning concepts and processes, communicating with others, and finding fresh or creative solutions to problems.

MYTH: "Writing courses are not important in college or the real world. I'll never have to write, anyway."

FACT: Writing courses do have a significant effect on your success in college, on the job, and in life. Even if you don't have frequent, formal writing assignments in other courses, writing improves your note taking, reading comprehension, and thinking skills. When you do have other written tasks or assignments, a writing course teaches you to adapt your writing to a variety of different purposes and audiences — whether you are writing a lab report in biology, a letter to an editor, a complaint to the Better Business Bureau, a proposal for an urban project, or a memorandum to your boss. Taking a writing course helps you express yourself more clearly, confidently, and persuasively — a skill that comes in handy whether you're writing a philosophy essay, a job application, or a love letter.

The most important fact about writing is that you are already a writer. You have been writing for years. A writer is someone who writes, not just someone who writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column, publishes a bestseller, or wins a Pulitzer Prize. To be an effective writer, you don't have to earn a million dollars; you just have to practice writing enough to know its personal benefits for you and its value for others.