Reach

The Works of Melissa Danko

Reflection

I first heard about having to write this “Why I Write” essay way back at the Minor in Writing meeting for prospective students.  I went partly because there was free pizza involved, and also because I was curious to see what the minor was all about.  Learning that our first essay as writing minors would be an assignment I’d already written was disappointing to say the least.  As a peer tutor for the Sweetland Center for Writing, I had taken Writing 300 last year and had been asked to write about “Why I Write” as well.  That essay was difficult for me to get through, because my simple reason is “because I have to.”  Needless to say, I was not thrilled to have to write the same thing again, making it different enough to be its own piece while still communicating the same message.

As we began working with this assignment in class, I realized that it was much more open than the one I had written previously.  While Writing 300 had required that we discuss one or two specific memories of how we came to be writers, our assignment for this gateway course allowed us to express why we write in whatever way we chose.  This alleviated some of my fears, although I was still unsure of how to make it different enough.  I decided to embrace a more “stream of consciousness” style, which is something I’ve been trying out lately.  I think that helped to make the essay feel more personal and less academic, which I thought really suited the topic.

My first draft was definitely what you might call a shitty first draft, as the ideas were there but scattered about in such a way that it really made no sense reading it through.  My second draft was slightly more focused, although it needed something more.  I just wasn’t sure what.

Our peer workshops saved me.  Matilda didn’t hesitate to point out when something sounded awkward, and she made me feel so good when she underlined phrases and wrote “love this!” next to them.  After discussing my paper, we agreed that I needed more examples of the things I was saying so that it wasn’t just my mind emptying words all over the place without providing a clear vision.  When I met with Kelsey and Kalynn for more peer workshop time, they were incredibly helpful as well.  It was really reassuring to hear that the parts I liked best were also parts that they enjoyed, and it was helpful to receive suggestions on how to improve the parts that I didn’t like as much.  After our meeting, we agreed that my ending was too abrupt and that I needed to give my readers a stronger idea of what my writing process looks like, because that would help to explain why I write.

As I worked on my third draft, I finally started to feel confident about what I had written.  It seemed like everything was coming together: my transitions from section to section improved as I added more in-depth explanations, I included how my love for writing started to give it that extra personal feel, and my conclusion expanded into something I was truly proud of, complete with a little short sentence to finish.  I don’t mean to make this sound easy, though.  Working on my third draft was definitely tough—at times I felt like I was hopelessly scrambling up the ideas in my essay with fingers crossed that it would turn out better.  Kind of like solving a Rubik’s Cube.  Of course, it all worked out, and I now have a piece that I feel truly explains why I write.  Writing this assignment was a really great experience, and I am so thankful I had great peers to help me along the way.

 

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