Writing Class
In the past years I have learnt that if you want to become an exceptional writer, you need to develop excellent reading skills. Hence reading is the most important activity that will lead towards enhancing my writing power. Following this thought I improved my reading skills and read a variety of books which have helped me in developing my writing skills too. When you read any piece of work your mind works around the vocabulary used by the writer in order to understand what the writer is trying to convey through his writing. There is a difference between reading for pleasure and reading for information. When I read for pleasure I just sit back in a relaxed environment and mostly read fiction which enables me to create pictures in my mind about the scenes coming forth in the stories. I do not always stop to find the meaning of each and every challenging word I come across, I try to simply understand the context of the story and the situation to decipher the meaning myself. Picking up a dictionary for every challenging word makes me lose my interest in reading, so at times I let it go and just enjoy the story the way it is supposed to be. Whereas when I read for information and a similar situation arises I do try to first decode the meaning of challenging words but then I do try to check it through a dictionary to make sure I am accurate otherwise I will be collecting wrong information.
When I read my main objective is to understand what the writer is trying to convey through his writing. This skill is learnt when you spend time in reading a variety, which I try to do. Every day I allot some time to read, no matter what I pick up, fiction or non-fiction. I do read for a few minutes to an hour. Since I have been reading for a number of years, I can say that my reading skills, vocabulary and grammar have improved vastly. At times when I get stuck and am unable to understand the writer’s intentions I would go through the piece of work again. Additionally, taking notes on the side also helps me recollect my understanding of the writer’s point, made in the piece of work. Note taking while I read for information has helped me to a great extent, though I do it seldom because it is a skill I have learnt lately, I have now made it a point to take notes whenever I read for information or research purposes. Previously I used to highlight only but then later on my thoughts used to vanish when I tried to refer back to the same highlighted text. If a point is written next to it, facilitates in recalling better and also assists me when I need to write using the information I have read.
In order to develop an excellent writing piece, I first work on getting my ideas around the topic. This is done by reading pieces of writing by other people on the same topic or thought. It helps me gather my thoughts and then I plan my draft by writing down whatever I already know and whatever comes to my mind around the topic. Taking a break between planning and writing process helps me because it gives me time to think and find out more ideas and also allows my mind to start over with fresh and unbiased thoughts around the topic.
Moreover, planning is followed by writing the first draft in which I just follow the ideas and elaborate using them. Usually whatever I have read in the past on that topic helps me to give details, and is beneficial in deciding whether I agree with the writer or not, as well as, it helps me prove my point and clarify my thoughts for the readers. Once I am done with my first draft another break works for me which helps me start over again when I reread my piece of writing. My next step is towards improving my sentences and vocabulary, furthermore, organizing my thoughts in the piece of writing. I proofread my work several times before finalizing it for publishing, because I wish to make it a perfect piece of writing for the readers.
Although, I am an avid reader and a skillful writer, I still have to polish my talent in order to improve my reading and writing skills. My main aim is to develop the aptitude of note taking while I read because recently it has helped me a lot and I want to continue refining it so that I can completely understand what the reader is trying to convey and how I feel about it. It will also provide me with more ideas for my writing. Moreover, I mostly spend my time in reading fiction which I enjoy the most, I need to read more of non-fiction as well in order to gain awareness and develop my writing skills. Also I want to work on developing a particular writing style for myself in order to distinguish from other writers, for which I would want to practice writing in a variety of styles in order to choose one or more from them. To sum up, I would say practice makes perfect, hence to become a successful writer I need to practice as much as possible in order to refine my writing skills. Taking this writing class would be beneficial in providing me with the environment where I can use the time, knowledge and ideas provided, effectively in order to become a sophisticated and polished writer.
