English Journal #1

When I was younger, a lot of my teachers told me that I had some skill as a writer, particularly a creative writer. My tenth grade English teacher always enjoyed my writing and I did very well in her class. However, once I got to the senior high school, things changed. I struggled with essay writing for a bit for both my junior and senior year English teachers, although more so in my junior year. After talking a bit with my teachers about why I wasn't doing so well in their classes, they both told me the same thing: I have a very wordy writing style. So, my biggest hesitation, or problem, with writing comes down to how to express my point as concisely as possible. This problem also poses somewhat of a conundrum with me, because, in creative writing, wordy writing can be a good thing. I particularly like to write stories and novels, so the more explanation for things, the better. Unfortunately with most essay writing, people frown upon that style.

Despite that flaw, as far as writing in general goes, I really enjoy it! I write in a journal frequently, jotting down my thoughts of a situation, or a poem that will help me to relieve some anxiety I might be feeling. I also wrote my own novella in eighth grade that I am currently trying to edit and send out for (hopefully) publishing. I hope that in this class I can focus more on my essay writing style and improve my writing quality, so that in the future I won't struggle with my writing and get frustrated. My preferred style leans towards the creative side, and thus I took two creative writing classes in high school that I really enjoyed. When I was very little, I enjoyed telling stories, and perhaps that's why I enjoy creative writing so much, and writing stories. I read a good bit, so I feel that my writing does have a good variety in vocabulary and all of the writing and reading in my past has lead me to this point in my writing.