It Takes Practice

September 13, 2014

It Takes Practice

 Over the past few weeks, I ‘am becoming more and more discouraged with my writing abilities. It takes me two, or more hours just to write 300 words. This is ridiculous, I ‘am spending too much time on writing assignments. That I am neglecting my house work, yard work, and most of all time with family and friends.

As I was reading through this week’s reading assignments, I was intrigued with the article “It Takes Practice”.  In the article, the author stated how she too struggled in the beginning with writing, but that after time, discipline and practice she was able to write with fluency.   

In the article, the author challenged the readers to think of some things they are good at, and how they were able to accomplishments these things.  I started thinking about my job, and how we are required to put on your turn out gear and SCBA in less than 2 minutes. I remember how difficult this task was for me when I first started in the fire service. After some time and lots of practice I was able to complete my task in the allotted time.

 I thought about the time I played basketball team, we would spend hours every day practicing until we were able to run plays with ease. This has got me to thinking, I am going use the same mind set on writing. As I did with putting on my gear and basketball. I am going to keep practicing spending time everyday writing, and if the author of this article is right I should be able to write quicker and with more fluency.

Know Your Audience

September 13, 2014

 

Getting to know your audience, was an assignment I enjoyed. There was a wide range of questions and responses, which provided me insight into my audience that I will be working with throughout the semester.  I found it interesting how diverse some of the questions were. For instance, some questions required deep thought and personal reflection, such as “What drives you as an individual? Are you driven from past experiences or future expectations?” While other questions were more playful and carefree, such as “In an apocalyptic scenario, what Disney character would you most want to be paired with?” This shows me the audience is not only serious about writing, they are also open-minded and easy going.

I thought the responses to the question “What are your goals in life after college” were interesting. Everyone seem to have a plan in mind about what he or she wants to do after college, and are working hard to achieve those goals. I realized that despite our different back grounds, ages, and life experiences we have a lot in common.  We are all attending college classes either on- line or seated to building a better future for their families, land the job of our dreams, or for personal self- improvement.

While, we may never meet in person, this exercise has allowed us all to get to know each another through written word.  I believe because of this exercise, I will be more comfortable sharing my writing assignments with the class. I feel the knowledge I have gained from reading the responses to the question, I won’t be judged or criticized for my inadequate writing skills. I am confident, I will receive constructive positive criticism from my audience, which will help me succeed in becoming a better write.