Over the course of this trimester I as a writer have improved in my writing. I’ve created a writing process that works for me. First, I will brainstorm the topic of the paper. If the paper topic is personal, I will usually reflect on experiences that left a mark in my life. Like our memoir essay for example, I chose the time when I caught my first muskie. That didn’t take long for me to pick out a story for that essay. Other essay topics that we’ve done like the definition essay, I will brainstorm from the guidelines we’re giving. That can be the hardest/easiest part of the brainstorming process. Depending on what the guidelines say, it will either be easy or hard for me to write about it. Personal definitions are easy for me to brainstorm, and that’s what that essay was about. To me, brainstorming is the easiest and best way to start out the writing process.
After the brainstorming process is when I will sit down and start putting words onto paper. During this stage, I try to just get down words and don’t worry too much about grammar. This is when I get all my ideas flowing with words. Getting them onto paper is key, so I won’t forget and have to keep brainstorming. I never have a set number of pages I will write, I keep writing until all my ideas are gone. To me, having a set number of pages limits my idea thinking. After I get done with the writing process, I like to let my paper sit for a couple days before I come back to it. This gives me time to not worry about my paper, and possibly come up with better ideas than what I had originally. For some reason, when I don’t think about writing is when I come up with my best ideas.
After letting the paper sit awhile, I come back to it ready to revise. During the revision stage I like to go back over my paper and cut out any words/sentences that are not necessary. This will make the paper stronger, and less vague. I also like to clear up some points that may not make sense. Adding more detail is how I add meaning to my papers. The more detail I add in, the more my paper comes together. Writing groups also help my revision stage. Another pair of eyes is always helpful to me. If they point something out that doesn’t make sense or a phrase that could be cut, it shows me what I need to do to make my paper stronger. After revising and reading over my paper a few more times, I feel accomplished. There’s nothing better than a paper that’s finally finished.
My purpose for writing is expressing my ideas and opinions. I enjoy writing about experiences I’ve had, those are the most fun to write. I find joy in doing this, expressing my thoughts through words brings out true meaning in my ideas. My personal goals in writing include creating a solid paper and fully getting my point across. One thing I’ve discovered in my writing is my ability to put my ideas in words. I never knew I could do this so easily, I don’t struggle as much as I thought I would. In middle school I always battled getting my ideas into words. That’s what I feared most about this class. I got nervous about sitting around forever until I finally got an idea to write about.  Surprisingly, ideas come to me so easy it’s almost not right. Maybe it’s the topics we’ve done, each one connects with me so well. A big reason I like this class is we don’t have to write five page essays. Instead, we are giving a topic and can write as much as we wish. This is how it should be done, write until your point is proven.
Over the course of this trimester my writing ability changed. I’ve gotten tips from the books we’ve read and the timed writings. These brought out a writing side I didn’t know I had. The one big way I’ve changed is bringing out my words and putting more meaning to them. Never before have I done this in any other class. This class changed me into a better writer by showing me my mistakes and what I need to do to actually improve my paper. The one big thing I learned in writing is description is what gets you a good grade. The only way you learn is by seeing your mistakes. In some papers I definitely saw my mistakes, and most involved not describing enough. In order for me to get points across I need to involve more description. That’s also how I would like to improve my writing, by adding more description. I realized that just because I describe something and makes sense to me,  it doesn’t necessarily mean others will see the same image I do. Adding description creates a powerful image. In writing there is always room for improvement, there is no such thing as a perfect paper or writer. I hope to keep improving and be the best writer I can be.