Writing comes from the heart

There is a major difference in what many people learn in middle school and high school about writing papers, essays, etc. I remember hearing that a "proper" essay needs to have an introduction, three middle paragraphs and a conclusion rapping up everything we previously talked about. I remember writing papers with a thesis and having to change the order of the thesis so I could reiterate it in my conclusion. This type of writing defiantly could block our natural flow or any type of creativity that may seep through- if it could could even get past the blockade.

The very first time I wrote one of those writing samples that was mandatory to do was in the 6th grade. I didn't learn about structure and what "I should" be doing- I just wrote whatever came to me. And I happened to receive an 11; and the largest number that a student could receive was a 12. My only problem was grammar so my mark wasn't higher. But since then, there was a focus on preparing for these writing samples which always made my marks lower. My worry and doubt would kick in every time I thought about rules and regulations for writing. It wasn't natural and I didn't enjoy writing them.

Even though I came a long way since then, doubt sets in here and there and those teachers with the crazy rules echoes inside my head, but we just have to push it away. When it comes to writing fiction/non-fiction, poetry, and any other different types of genres, it is best to remember to write with feeling, not perfection. Try not to let the words be afraid to come out because then they won't want to come.


The words,
they shiver in fear
The pen, my dagger.
They scatter off
the page.
I Yell, demand them back
my dark voice shrills the distance
hovering over them.
Echos pierce their undeveloped
frame.


While I was talking to my English Seminar professor this week, I realized that I still sometimes think my writing has to look a certain way and be a certain way- when really, I'm trying to write poems that express what I am thinking and feeling. I'm not looking for accuracy here. I am looking for feeling. Sometimes my poems ramble and it seems like I am subconsciously trying to find an ending to bring a poem to a conclusion. But I don't need to do that. When I can't finish a thought then maybe I'm not supposed to keep writing into the poem. And when I look at the poem again and re-read what I had written, sometimes I can tell where the real feeling is and where I'm trying to find a closing.

Real writing comes from the heart.