Writing majors and minors are an entirely different brand of students. We hate that we love writing so much, and frankly, believe that our lives would be better had we never discovered how amazing writing is.
We are a unique species; I've come to recognize and embrace this. And I know that we're difficult to deal with sometimes. So here is a comprehensive and specific list of how to love that writing student in your life.
1. We're "word nerds."
This is an affectionate name my mother gave to me when I really started getting into my writing.
Oftentimes writing students know the ins-and-outs of words (origins, connotations, denotations, etc.). Sometimes we even have a favorite word (escapades). So when we go on our tangents about words and phrases, just nod your head and listen. I promise it'll be over soon.
2. We literally never write anything for ourselves.
The thing is we never escape from writing. There's writing classes, then there's history papers, then Spanish compositions, then analyses, then essays, then a hole in the keyboard where the keys used to be.
And don't forget about writing clubs. There's newspapers and magazines and online sites that require interesting articles every week, even when you start to think to yourself "I'm not this interesting, how am I going to come up with another article that people will want to read?"
So please don't ask what we like to write or how often we write things we enjoy. Because we don't. We're always writing, just never for ourselves.
3. So don't ask us to write something for you.
If you ever start to think to yourself, "Self, I know that my friend, the writing student, writes really well. I should ask that friend to write a story/poem for my entertainment," please, think again.
Because you think that, but writing students hear this: "Hey, could you take a break from all of the writing you have to do and come up with a creative idea and then develop it into a story with interesting characters or a heart-felt poem, stress out about it for days (since you still have to do all of the writing assignments for class), have anxiety at the thought of my harsh judgement on your writing skills that I already have too high of an opinion of, and crash from exhaustion after you give it to me and I mumble a 'thanks'?"
If a writing student chooses to write something for you, please know that it probably took them a very long time, and that they poured their heart and soul into it.
4. If we're out of contact for a while, we're probably trying to figure something out.
The best way to describe this is the five minutes of staring into space that I did while trying to figure out how to describe this.
There are just so many ideas floating around writing students' heads, and we know they need to go in an orderly, concise, fashion that sounds nice. The problem is figuring out how to do that. Sometimes I go on writing sprees where I write complete crap in order to figure something out.
So please, be patient. We'll be back.
5. Don't assume that if we're good at one type of writing, we're good at all types.
You would never assume that a doctor of psychology can tell you what the weird bump on your back is, so don't assume that the writing student that can describe scenes from her imagination flawlessly can also write perfect history papers in the first draft.
Writing is a skill and an art and incredibly diverse. Each type is completely different. And if you do know a writing student that can write multiple types of writing well, then they worked really hard to develop their skills and are truly gifted.
6. Support us.
Writing takes a lot out of us. It's mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting. So please, look out for the writing students in your life. Recognize when they need a break, need to talk through a piece, or just need a distraction.
7. Know that we love you, too.
Writing students say they love you in a lot of different ways - by writing pieces for you, by writing about you, by letting you read their writing. It's not always as straight forward as you might hope, but it's real.
