Writing is an interesting thing. Or at least I think it is. It's different for every single person who does it. Not just because it comes easy for some, and extremely hard for others. It also has to do with how a person writes, what they write about, or even how they respond to others writing. For me writing has always been something I loved to do, ever since I knew how.
This creative writing class has certainly been an experience. It's made me see that a lot of the time when you're focusing on a piece of writing it's not even the writing that they are talking about. The most helpful comments I got on my writing were the ones written on the papers. When everyone was talking about my short story they weren't talking about what I had written. Over half the time I noticed they were discussing Utah's liquor laws, because I had mentioned it once or twice in my story. If it had only been a minute or two that would have been one thing, but over ten minutes? I'm not sure exactly how the conversation related to the story, especially since everyone had such insightful comments to make on the actual paper.
Then there was the second piece I turned in, the non-fiction. I'm not sure there was any talk what so ever about the writing itself. Mostly the entire time everyone bitched about the photos. I'm not just trying to complain because there were people who didn't like them, but this was more than that. First off one person said they didn't like it at all because they didn't like the band it was about. Shouldn't the judgment of whether it was good or not be on the writing? Also, they focused on the photos and didn't seem to have more to say about the writing then the first sentence was hard to read. That wasn't the only thing, though. The only thing they could come up with to make the photos work was that I should make it into a scrapbook. I hate scrapbooking with a passion. I don't know what it is about Utah and scrapbooking but I would rather just in front of a moving train then make one.
The reason I so vehemently protest even the idea of taking the advice of my classmates, for a scrapbook, is because i would never compromise my writing. Being a writer is who I am, and if I let others change how I do it because it would be better for them then it would be pointless to write. I write for me not for people. That's not entirely true. I do write so others can read it, and for them to enjoy what they're reading. If no one were to read my work at all ever then it would be completely pointless. Although, it's only because I enjoy writing it that I do it. If I were to stop writing for me, and only write for others, I would no longer like what I am doing.
If a person doesn't enjoy what they are doing they shouldn't do it. At least if they are a writer. For me being a writer is more than a job or a way to make money. It's who I am, and I can't stop being who I am. I have to be me and I have to write for me. I will always take constructive criticism when it comes to my work, but only the constructive kind. Of course that's as long as it's true to me.
TNT
Words by Ali
