In the passage, “You can learn to write in general,” by Elizabeth Wardle, she states that there is no writing in general. I agree 100%; as writers, we write to a particular audience; as biologists, we write to other researchers. When people set up classes or workshops “to teach how to write,” it can come off as hostile or even question the person reading. Am I considered a writer? When everyone has an inner writer, a story to tell within, there’s no way to explain inner magic. When we write, we get to express ourselves; the whole b.s, excuse my French of “good” writing. We may need “improvement” in our writing, using better vocabulary or words, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t a writer. As we groove through looking for trouble, finding our way into a writing assignment that goes hand in hand. As problems will always arise as writers, we get writer’s block; as artists, we will get moments where we don’t feel like drawing or painting. It’s in our ability and determination to get out of that problem and our journey to solving it. Embracing complexity and leading with knowing that fear of failure or shame will always be there, but push past that. When it comes to education, a lot of students have a fear of speaking their minds. In fear of judgment, in fear of “points off” which I get 100% we live in a world where there’s teachers with rigid minds, and if it’s not the rubric way there’s no way to be. No human being knows what they are doing; it’s knowing the subject, and the number one is practice. Practice is what allows us to see our “mistakes” and improve our skills. No one wakes up and knows how to build a plane, it’s all through trying, and showing up for yourself.
a side note: this is a class that I generally look forward to 🙂
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