Metaphoric Musings for College Writing: E. Shelly Reid
Writing can sort of seem like cooking at times. You know what you want to eat, but not quite sure on how to make it. Like writers, we know what we would like to write about, but formulating the thoughts can be difficult. Thinking is one thing, but actually putting the pen to paper or finger to keyboard can seem like a sport.
Reid’s article informs us that despite the “rules” given sometimes; we can utilize other ways to kickstart our writing process. I always love and appreciate a few good ways to enhance or improve my writing skills. I enjoyed this read because I was able to apply my writing challenges and goals to Reid’s suggestions. Often times, there are so many rules given by teachers and professors that it hinders our thought process. How can one write freely and realistically with one hundred and five rules to adhere to. As Reid tells us, writing appears more of a chore with all of those rules as opposed to a ‘living’ process.
When writing, it’s so much more than just words to flow, but we also need to ensure we’re writing for the reader. “Being a writer when you’re a reader helps you become a better reader and writer.” My interpretation of Reid’s statement is that if we really take time to formulate our thoughts and process our writing thoroughly; we can not only become great readers, but writers, as well. Being a good reader will allow us to write from the POV of the reader and author.
A few of the metaphors utilized were truly eye-opening and assists in writing. For example, the ‘Show and telepaths’ section. We (as writers) especially in college will assume that the professors or our peers know exactly what we’re writing about. However, we can not assume that the reader knows what we mean or what we’re thinking. Instead, we have to ‘show them’ what we want them to understand just like the Green Ball.
The Fruit Jell-O section was one of my favs. In this section, Reid compares our writing to that of fruit Jell-o without the additional fruits and orange slices to jazz it up a bit. Who wants to simply read a slue of opinions and arguments with no substance or balance. Therefore, including the evidence and balancing it with our initial thoughts to our writing process; we can present a well-balanced, detailed, and interesting piece of writing.
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