on 'me as a writer'?

This semester I am taking a (required) class called Strategic Text Production. The class meets once a week for 3 hours and will take a workshop format. I know this kind of class isn't for everyone, but I'm very excited about it. Each week we'll have a different topic and reading materials for that topic (I believe next week is pretty simply just called 'persuasive writing', but we also have one call 'the sales pitch'). In class we will then be given 1-3 assignments to write based on the readings and the topics. We will have to write actual Press Releases, employee newsletters, brochures, advertisements, etc. Personally, I'm just excited to actually get to produce things and put some of ALL that theory and schooling to some good use.

Since the first day of class is usually always full of 'fluff,' we were given a more creative writing assigment for this week, mostly, I think, as a way for us to get our creative juices flowing. We had to write an Autobiography of ourselves as a writer. Since I can't think of anything else to update my blog with, I'll just post it here. Enjoy =)


"Despite growing up as a reader and a writer, I have found that lately, I don’t always have the time to write and think up stories as I would like. Lately, the only writing I have been doing has been academic, sprinkled with e-mails, text messages, and a little bit of blogging. This is probably something that happens to many people as they grow up and become involved with academic or professional careers. Despite that, I still consider myself a writer. I have always loved to write, and I could not imagine a life or a job for me that would not involve some sort of writing or ‘text production.’ And, like most people who consider themselves writers, I still have the dream of writing that ‘next great novel.’



How did my life as a writer begin? I think people become story-tellers and writers if they grew up reading stories and learning to appreciate reading and literature. I learned to read pretty early in life, and some would say I haven’t stopped since. I would always read whatever I could get my hands on, including books that were not quite appropriate for my age that I really only understand about half of. I’ve never discriminated on books; I appreciate ‘literature,’ fairy tales, mysteries, chick-lit, you name it. It doesn’t have to be a literary masterpiece to have a story worth telling.


It is natural then that I also started to write my own stories early on. I mostly wrote fairy tales, but I also wrote other fictional short stories. I always had a diary. Several times I started writing novels, but never had the time or creativity to finish them. That; or I would outgrow the story I was trying to tell.


In High School was when I learned to actually write. We learned about genres, grammar, punctuation, and research. We learned to write research papers but were often encouraged to do creative writing as well. We also started reading real literature, learning about other writers, experiencing many different stories and many different ways of telling those stories.


After graduation and as my academic career truly started, it became harder to find the time for my own creative writing, because my brain was filled with academic readings, calculus problems, and research papers. Any time not spent on schoolwork was spent with friends or other brainless activities instead of writing or reading for pleasure. Sometimes I would be fortunate enough to be able to take a class that involved some sort of creative writing, but those classes have always been few and far-between.


Since my academic career is still going full speed ahead, it is still difficult to find time to write, despite all of my good intentions. I find that I don’t have the inspiration and the good ideas that I used to, perhaps because my brain is still focused on the readings and writings I should be doing for schoolwork instead of on my own creative thoughts.


Also, I am sure my own insecurities are stopping me. It is difficult to keep writing when you are unsure of your abilities and unsure if you even have something worthwhile to tell the world. Even so, I am sure my life as a writer is only just beginning, even if I am never published or I can’t find a career that includes writing. Writing and being able to express myself through the written word is a necessity of life, just like I could never give up reading, eating chocolate, or breathing."