Reading Response: "The Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer"

Readings on Writing (P. 29-34)

Reading Response

“The Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer” by Sarah Allen

Summary:

In “The Inspire Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen attempts to differentiate the two main types of writers to college readers. Allen argues that writers are not really who everyone thinks they are. She claims that writer’s block is real, writing is a confusing discourse, and that all good writing takes time and actually doesn’t just come to the writer. Allen gives several examples, personal and not, to demonstrate that “the inspired writer” is simply just a mythical thing and that good work comes from “the real writers” that learn to overcome the challenges of writing. Allen also gives advice to new writers about who should revise your paper and certain writing techniques. I feel that this article is very relevant and reader friendly.

Synthesis Work:

This article once again deals with the misconceptions about writing, just as all the other articles I’ve read for this class have. Allen relates more to Kleine because her whole approach to what “the real writer” is, is based on engaging in the text and actually having a purpose behind the material.  It is also related to the Kantz article because Allen touches on how to use different texts in one’s work as well as putting forth original ideas. I’d have to say that nearly every article read from here on out is going to relate to Greene’s because every writer is making an argument. This particular article does not really relate to the McCloud and Berger texts because those articles were more centered toward visual constructs and representation.

Homework Question:

Time and time again, I have been negatively affected by the concept of “the inspired writer.” I have always been told that good writing will flow to me if I have it in me, but sometimes, that just was not the case. I would eventually produce a good piece of work, but it most certainly did not flow. The most memorable experience I’ve had with this would be my graduation speech. I had thousands of ideas, but no grammatically correct way to write them. Consequently, I would cut things out of my speech and I would stare at a blank page waiting to become the inspired writer and for words to fill my page quickly. After a while, I realized that wasn’t going to happen.  But, it hit me, that this was my speech- my ideas- my chance to reach out to everyone about my past four years. This was my chance to inspire my classmates, to relive funny moments from the past four years, to reach out to the surrounding family members at the ceremony. Once I realized all of that, I became “the real writer.” I now had the “so-what” behind my words (as Allen put it). It took some time and some revision, but in my eyes, I had created the best work I ever had.  After that experience, and after reading Allen’s incredibly reassuring article, I no longer think about the inspired writer, I just think about my audience, my words, and the meaning behind it all. Now, writing will not be so scary or difficult and I know it is natural to go blank sometimes. I know who should review my work, and I know that my final product will be great if I just believe in it. 

My Personal Thoughts:

I loved this article the most. It was not jumpy, jumbled, or hard to follow in any way. It was modern and I can see how Allen knew that her audience would primarily consist of college and first time writers. It was very reassuring, insightful, I related to it, and I learned a lot from it. Great!