Theory of Writing

When I tell my friends I’m taking a “Theories of Writing” class this quarter, most of them scoff in disgust. I find this a little surprising because I would much rather write than take an exam, and I would much rather think and process than regurgitate information. Although I think I have a strained relationship with writing in some respects, I find solace in its utility.

It seems like the current state of communication technologies has never been more complex or difficult to understand. The writer is tasked with the chore of producing something meaningful, to a universal audience, that stands the test of time, that is interesting and engaging to read, yet academic and serious, not too long, not too short… However, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. The development of the pencil, the act of writing by hand, typing on a typewriter, and later the emergence of word processing are all forms of technology. “From Pencils to Pixels” highlights the changes that have shaped our current understanding of writing. Even in college, some classes encourage strictly digital assignments, while others prohibit the use of any technology in their classes… Personally, I would rather write using an old-fashioned pencil and notebook and turn in every assignment in person. But, we don’t always have a choice. The modern writer is expected to have a thorough understanding of how to communicate through speech, handwriting, and typing. And at times, this can be very challenging.

No matter what medium, for me, writing is painful at times. Writing is erasing the same word four times because I can’t remember how to spell it and it doesn’t look right when I write it down. Writing is staring at a blank screen for thirty minutes before I get an idea that I like, and then deciding thirty minutes later that my great idea is actually terrible. Writing is re-reading the journal I wrote in fifth grade and wanting to rip out all the pages and burn them because I spent four paragraphs talking about the adventures of my stuffed animal. Writing is contemplative, tedious, and difficult to put into words. Perhaps the most difficult thing about writing is how personal it is, and the fact that writing forces me to learn about myself.

Through construction of an essay or even a response, I have learned how picky and indecisive I can be. I like things to be done a certain way, and nothing is more frustrating than realizing that I have the power to produce what I want, but I can’t seem to do it. Yet perhaps equally frustrating is the fact that I am not only writing for myself, but I must have my audience in mind. As mentioned in “From Pencils to Pixels,” writing lacks the tonal and physical cues of “face to face communication” (20-21). As a result, I find myself struggling to communicate my personality to an audience through the page.

Although writing is very personal, it is also very public. Here I go, spouting off my theory of writing and publishing my thoughts and opinions on my class blog, with the assumption that at least a few of my classmates will read it (hi there!). As King describes, “We’re not even in the same year together, let alone the same room… except we are together. We’re close” (106). But as close as the author and reader may be, they are still light-years apart. Written in 1997 and published in the early fall of 2000, even King could not predict the power of his line, “on the roof of the World Trade Center,” when an audience reads his book in 2016.

Writing is powerful because it takes a snapshot of a moment and freezes it in time. Although writing is always evolving, it is also always reflecting on the past. Though I may forget the exact words, the themes, symbols, or characters, I never forget the way I felt when reading or writing something. I still remember the enchanted feeling of reading about “Frobscottle” in The BFG and the nightmares I had after reading about Piggy’s death in Lord of the Flies (sorry if you haven’t read Lord of the Flies and if I just spoiled it for you. But it’s been published for more than 60 years so you’ve had plenty of time to read it). The muffled memories of test proctors saying, “standard wooden graphite number two pencil” still haunt me. But I will also never forget my mom promising to buy me a new book each time we went to the book store to encourage my love for reading and writing.

I am learning to appreciate writing as an advanced technology, a tool for communication, and personal expression. As King describes in “On Writing,” “It’s easy to become careless when making rough comparisons, but the alternative is a prissy attention to detail that takes all the fun out of writing” (105-106). I think writing should be fun, and through this class, I’m trying to learn how to make reading and writing enjoyable for myself.