Just because a newspaper article tells me anyone can be a good writer does not mean it is true. What if when I write the words come out jumbled no matter what I do, what that’s if just me? Anyway, writing well seems to either come naturally or not at all to some people. I bet Mark Twain and Shakespeare and all those famous writer types were just born with a pencil in their hand? I’m not saying that I’M not a good writer, sometimes, I’m just saying it’s a little ambitious to think your article could help anyone become a good writer. Maybe a better writer than what they were, but still. What constitutes as a “good” writer anyways? Someone whose vocabulary is humongous and their sentence structure is just magnificently painted on each page with the benevolent brush stroke of each case sensitive key on their MacBook….I don’t think so. Writing is an art form and it is fueled by creativity. I don’t think it is possible to give someone creativity if they are completely lacking in that department. “Cleanup on aisle 3, someone spilled the creative juice.” I know you can give inspiration but the story that is to spew from the brain of another man or woman is solely reliant on their version of creativity, which could very well be no creativity whatsoever. Does that make them a good writer? Well personally I can’t answer that question because someone may think the sentence –my dog is a great dog- is the coolest thing they have ever read while others find comfort in –Marvin peered out over the desolate land of the Belatori, only to find a rather small putrid girl standing in her bare feet grimacing at the sight of an outsider- Which one do you prefer? Do they both make me a good writer because they are both written on a sheet of paper?




The articles were not at all unenjoyable, in fact they were slightly sarcastic, which kept my attention. I enjoy when people poke fun at different versions of writing. Now I must admit I did mostly skim parts of the articles but I do get the gist of everything. To write well you must tell stories, keep things to a minimum to allow for imagination room, use less words, keep diaries, and let the story find you, and so on. This Article works for me because I already try to do all these things, but who says it’s going to for the Joe Schmo sitting next to me who would rather be in a car smoking some illegal substance. I like learning, I like information, I like sounding classy. I just don’t see why others take everything so seriously.

The stories of Jay Gatsby and Odysseus are pretty intense. But I don’t think I could have written that even if god himself came down and bestowed upon me a magical pencil with golden lead. And I certainly do not believe reading an article that is slightly confusing and almost condescending is going to make me into a great writer. I did like some of the ideas it’s just hard for me to accept the fact that the author believes they can create good writers by sharing their artistical knowledge of whimsical writing and hoping everyone will understand because it is a “How-To” type of book/excerpt.

You know I think I have writers block I’m not sure I can continue, maybe I’ll get back to you on another day.