I wrote extremely well in high-school, at least that’s what the letter grade told me.
I could spin sentences and sprinkle in perfectly proper punctuation. I followed the rules like, “Don’t forget alliteration”, to make a sprawling story. However, to read through one would have to be very…very patient.
These formalities and prose did not come to a close, “college-level writing looms in your future”. MLA format, pages of cited sources, points won or lost on specific grammar rules; these were the wrong tools. I did not wish to continue this trend, so when high school was through, my writing found the same end.
I remember writing some short stories that were needlessly long and poorly developed. I always had to stretch to meet a word count instead of just telling a great story. I had to jump through so many assigned hoops that just complicated the story, “Have the main character lose a loved one, work in alliteration, or personify three things”, all of these could be excellent additions to a story but when they were thrown in haphazardly it just made a mess. It was rarely about what the writer wanted in these papers, I made so many puff pieces just to please teachers that English class made me sick, I just became a con-man whenever I entered an English classroom.
Honestly, it feels great, I can make compelling statements without worrying about an annoying parameter being tacked onto the writing assignment. I have the freedom to write like I speak and produce something that I care about more than, “this will get me another A”. It feels like throwing my old school backpack away. I enjoyed conning my English teachers by giving them exactly what they wanted, but now I get to reach people by saying exactly what I want.
I get to cut paragraphs short to make a point.
I write with the motivation of self-improvement instead of the fear of getting a bad grade.
I don’t have to be long-winded either, I only have to write adequately to get my point across. I can create value propositions that cut the chase and make an impression. I can write not just about the topics I want to but also the WAY I want to write about them. I have the freedom to write relentlessly however I choose, this is the most inspiring factor to me, this is what motivates me to write a blog every day of the month of February.
Unless I’m telling a story, I can generally convey my objective in a few short paragraphs.
My English teachers were wrong when they told me I would have to conform to their same writing style for the rest of my career.
Daily blogging is starting to change not only the way I write but how I think and feel about what I write.