Reid discusses how even as a professional and established writer, coming up she had to experience the struggles that developing writers had to endure. When it comes to writing, the rules she listed were familiar to me because I learned them myself at school. Some rules Reid shared include “Always have a thesis. I before E except after C. No one-sentence paragraphs” and more. These are proved to be global rules by my speaking to three college students who come from separate educational backgrounds. Seeing how expanded these rules then there are questions coming about such as “when did these rules come into place and by who? How did they spread throughout the world?”. It’s possible to even hear some of these rules from a relative, such as myself hearing “I before E except after C” from my mother as a child.
Reid stated “When we write to the rules, writing seems more like a chore than a living process that connects people and moves the world forward” which puts a different label on these writing rules. How I interpret this statement is that having restrictions and rules on an individual’s writing, keeps them from expressing themselves in a way that would add to and help expand the selection of writing in the world. Personally, my favorite form of writing is creative/free writing, but even though it’s me writing about what I want, I still follow the same rules as Reid and other writers abroad.
Reid lists broader rules that a writer could follow to “help unblock the live, negotiated process of writing for real people” which means the writer to work in a way that disputes the restrictions writing enforces. Broad principles Reid mentions for writers to follow include 1)Write about what you know about, are curious about, and are passionate about. 2)Show, don’t just tell, and 3)Adapt to the audience and purpose you’re writing for. I understand these principles because it tells me as a writer I am free to structure my writing how I want to. Reid has a very strong argument on the topic of restrictions on writing, which I agree with, and plan to incorporate her ideas into my writing,
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