“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.”

-David McCullough

 Writing is a process. It requires first drafts, editing, analyzing, red pen, fiftieth drafts, blood, sweat, and tears. So often people make writing out to be a beautiful golden egg that lays itself. In reality, it feels like something on the tip of your tongue that never fully comes to fruition. There is no greater agony than to publish a piece when you feel that it is not truly “finished”. Then again, are we ever really done? If there is one thing I have learned in the past few weeks, it is that no piece of writing is ever truly “finished”. There is always something or someway to improve the thoughts one has laid down on paper. We may not always get the chance to edit just one more time, however we do always get the chance to reflect.

Reflection is defined as the thought occurring in consideration. Before coming to college, I considered myself an average writer. I had always done well at transferring the thoughts housed in my mind to the transiently blank paper before me. I knew there were ways I could improve, but no one ever seemed to point out the specifics. On the first day of class, my professor stood in front of the nineteen students he was charged with and proclaimed a bold statement of “there are no bad writers, only different writers.” In the almost two months I have been in college, I no longer consider myself an average writer. I consider myself a different writer.

Different. I had never connected with something so much. Writers come in all shapes, colors, sizes, etcetera. The variations and interpretations are what make writing so very interesting and great. Each writer has a characteristic flare, or personality, that is their signature. Yet, it is never evident to the writer if that edgy difference is something that will be well received, by both peers and readers. The same thing that makes us so unique is the very thing that could be our downfall, a double edged sword of sorts.

Writers have an innumerable amount of fears. However, our greatest is having our work laid bare before us, flaws and all. The telltale sign of a writer is some form of insecurity. In part, because, each time we publish a piece, it feels as if we are exposing part of our soul to the world. Laying yourself bare like that never becomes easier, no matter how many times you've gone through it. Writing is a lesson in humility and, as writers, we are continually learning.

Yet, all the flaws and little errors are worth the humility of the red pen if we accomplish our goal of connecting with the reader. At least, that is what I aim for. Honestly, I believe it is what all writers aim for, because without the reader the writer is nothing...