Styles and Writing: Looking back into, Looking around for, and Looking forward to
We are tagged along by writing ever since we enter school as youngsters around the age of six or seven. We begin with the basic alphabets and gradually develop to words and sentences. As we gain experience in the field of writing, we develop our voices in our writings--they are called our styles. Until this moment I never thought about what my style was in writing. I vaguely thought that it would differ every other day according to my feelings and experiences. Although the motif for looking back into my writings was this first assignment of the second semester, it really came to me as a surprise that I had a developed a style that was rather consistent for a year or two.
When I was in middle school, I usually wrote essays with a similar length to this one. They were usually about current issues or other controversial topics and contained by opinion on the topic. Though these types of writing tend to be more formal than others, I think my style was very informal and felt more like talking to a friend rather than communicating with an audience. The organization itself was less restricted and the sentences itself felt much simpler compared to now. I think the reason was because of the books that I read during that period in my life. During my elementary school years most of the books were novels, not classic novels, but fantasy novels. This continued until I began reading classic novels like "Dancing with the Wolves," as a second grader in middle school. I also read a book written by a author that later became one of my favorites, that is, Bill Bryson. The tittle of the book was "I'm a stranger here myself", and I really injured the way that he integrated humor within his sentences. That was around the time when my writing style changed drastically.
From the simple sentences of the past, I found that my sentences had become much longer and much more descriptive than before. Another change that happened through my enthusiastic efforts--rather in the wrong direction--is that I was able to integrate humors that only I could laugh about(I have a strong feeling that this will become the newest edition to the list of failed jokes). Furthermore, through my newly acquired vocabulary my essays got somewhat stylish, though I still have much more to develop. Recently, I wrote a set of analysis papers on famous poems for my English literature class during the first semester(Sea Grapes, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening). While comparing them to the papers I wrote as a seventh grader, I noticed that the sentences and paragraphs got much longer. Though writing longer sentences is not better in anyways compared to shorter ones, it showed me that my skills have developed to a state in which I could write longer sentences that actually made some sense.
My writings are far from perfect as you can notice from this essay as well. I felt that I really need to work on developing the coherence and logical links between the sentences and paragraphs. Furthermore, grammar and diction has always presented some problems since English isn't my mother tongue. Through the class this semester I hope that I would be able to develop more and gradually become a writer like Bill Bryson.
Funny you mention Bill Bryson. I was writing on another student's blog how a guy like Bryson can bridge the gap between academic and creative without the reader even noticing. He keeps the reader entertained no matter what he's writing about. I liked his "A Short History of Nearly Everything," and he's definitely a good writer to emulate. I can already hear a bit of that "matter of fact fun" tone in your writing, and I was easily led from your intro to conclusion.
ReplyDeleteSo do keep reading and do keep writing. It's impossible to remain uninfluenced by a great writer once you've become engrossed in their work, and I hope Stephen King can impress you as well.
The poems are great, and I like your interpretation of them. The Robert Frost one really paints a simple image, and you can almost hear the crunching snow become silent as they stop to soak in the night. It's also kind of chilling. What if a wolf were to.... Anyways. Good writing.