In Lauren Passell’s article, Stephen King’s Top 20 Rules For Writers, she discusses what King views as the most important rules and tips for writing. Upon reading the article I found a lot of the rules to be helpful and I really appreciated how most of them were focused on the writer themselves, rather than the thoughts and concerns of others. I generally have a hard time writing sometimes because I think of who will be reading me piece and how I can tweak it so that it appeals to them. It’s definitely refreshing to see rules that center around the writer and beginning to write for oneself rather than others. I like how his rules are simple yet they can make a massive difference in a person’s writing. For example, just avoiding adverbs can strengthen a piece and make it more enticing. Writing, from his perspective, is all about little things that come together to make something great- it’s about taking time, critiquing oneself, avoiding distractions, and really focusing on the purpose of a piece. I will definitely take notes from King’s rules and implement them into my writing process so that I cater more to myself and strengthen my writing.
Tim Gillespie, in Becoming Your Own Expert—Teachers as Writers, discusses the importance of teachers writing with students and really understanding what they’re assigning. It’s important for teachers to be involved so that they can connect with students and conclude whether or not an assignment is effective or appealing to students. Without sharing with students that writing can be difficult for everyone and take time and dedication, students may feel left out or tossed to the side with a sense of not being good enough. As a future educator, this really resonated with me because I never thought about writing this way. I never thought about the importance of writing with students in order to depict how writing truly works and how it can be done in different ways. After reading this article, I will ensure that I write alongside my students, show them different styles of writing and how they vary, and how important it is for them to have trust in themselves and their individual processes.
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