Neelam Damani

On Becoming a Writer

            Even though I have written countless papers in my long academic career, I have never thought of myself as a writer. Writers are creative individuals, bursting with energy who nonchalantly write ideas for whole novels in just a few minutes. To my amazement, I learned in this class that my previously held beliefs about writers were untrue. Writing is a slow, recursive process which takes time and patience, even for the most experienced writers. On the first day of class, I was intimidated after hearing that some classmates had written novels were very experienced writers. However, my anxieties alleviated after hearing accounts of many novice writers, who like myself, had never written a single piece of fiction and were just as nervous as I was. Through help and support from one another, we soon came to view this course as an unforgettable challenge and opportunity to become writers.

              Though most of the class was new to the writing workshop atmosphere, I think we picked up the procedures fairly quickly. I think the class helped by providing constructive criticism in a tactful and courteous manner.  I think providing feedback in the poetry workshops was a bit difficult at first – perhaps because most of us were new to poetry and found the process slow and “occasionally frustrating” (46). However, the instructor and many students kept the class focused by discussing specific poetic devices discussed in the textbook such as alliteration, assonance, consonance and rhymes (72-76). We learned to pay attention to these devices even in the free-verse poems. We realized the necessity for these devices and understood that without their use, poetry would just become “prose in short lines” (105). Though we had wonderful discussions on the readings, I think synthesizing and applying information from the textbook to the workshop atmosphere really helped nail the writing concepts and theories.

            Since reading in front of the class can be a nerve-wracking experience, I liked that each author was introduced by a discussion leader. It really eased the pressure and helped guide the class discussions. Especially in cases where the poetry and fiction works were dense, the discussion leader’s questions really focused the workshop. Along with my discussion leader, I think the textbook also assuaged my fears by providing useful, practical advice. I was afraid that peers might severely criticize my work and I was not sure how I would handle the reviews. Minot cautioned me: “Don’t make the mistake of defending every line you write. Listen carefully. Some comments will be of no benefit; just ignore them. If you become defensive you, will discourage others from saying anything, cutting you off from suggestions that may be very helpful” (143). I repeated this advice like a mantra during the length of my poetry presentation.

            I must admit that I am not the risk-taker-type. For this reason, poetry writing was like rock climbing, but writing fiction was like jumping off a plane 3000 feet in the air, with nothing but a large stuffed umbrella on my back. I felt helpless, weak and incompetent. I kept waiting for brilliant, spontaneous ideas, but none came. Then I recognized that “waiting for inspiration is just a romantic way of describing procrastination” (160). So I got to work. Trying to find an idea, I perused my bookshelf and found that book after book was about adolescent and young adult literature. I realized, then, that if I enjoy reading this genre, perhaps I should try writing it. With help from my writer’s notebook, I found the seed for a possible story on dealing with teenage pregnancy. However, I soon realized that I was committing one of the seven deadly sins of fiction – writing about an adolescent tragedy (156). By reading the textbook though, I realized that writing about teenage pregnancy would be okay as long as I “develop characters with depth and fin ambivalences that will break the mold and convince the reader that this is a genuine experience” (157).

            Throughout this writing process, I realized that being a writer is not easy. It takes much dedication, patience and perseverance. Like Karen Daniel, I too, am an avid reader and “the knowledge that what I read in a day can take months or years to write” was humbling. Throughout my writing process, I kept opening up books by my favorite authors and observed their handling of writing techniques such as dialogue, style, tone and characterization. Adding action in the story was difficult especially because I knew that “in order to get to know someone really well, we need to see him or her in action” (257). Here, I again observed award-winning authors such as Louis Sachar, Linda Sue Park, Wilson Rawls and Jerry Spinelli and observed their handling of character action. Overall, the writing process “heightened my observational skills.” (Jennifer Jones).

            People say that good readers make good writers; I think the reverse is true as well. I think good writers make good readers. As a middle school Language Arts teacher, I would like to employ the writing workshop in my classroom one day, and use the opportunity to help students become good readers and writers. Though I have been an avid reader my entire life, I had never paid close attention to the authors’ craft until I started writing myself. I think writing opened my eyes to a new dimension of reading. Now, every time I read, I read with a dual purpose: to enjoy the story and to observe the author’s craft. Instead of telling students how to write, I would like them explore and discover writing techniques as I did with my writing. Additionally, the writing workshop “builds schema for students because they are learning from each others’ discussion and models of writing” (Sherry Mann). The students not only learn through observation, but they learn from each other in this interactive, yet respectful atmosphere. Through the help of class critiques and private peer critiques, I think student writing will greatly improve.

            I feel like I am walking away with a treasure box full of writing tips, not only for myself for my future students as well. The next big hurdle now is publishing my works and allowing complete strangers to read my thoughts on paper. But somehow, I think I am ready for the challenge. Maybe I am the risk-taker-type after all.