What is good writing?

Reading 1: Good Writers Always Follow My Rules – Dafour & Ahern-Dodson

Reading 2: Good Writers Must Know Grammatical Terminology – Rule

I chose these readings because throughout my education, I have been taught that good writers are the ones with the best ways of telling their stories with the fewest mistakes. I was a member of the Daily News Press Club at my high school, where students submitted articles to the local paper which were then published. Each week there would be a “best story” winner, and despite being told I was an excellent writer, I only won a handful of times due to others being more “perfect”. I wanted to read these options because I am interested in seeing what the authors have to say about rules and grammar when talking about good writing.

Both readings overall say that there is too much emphasis on the “rules” of writing. In Good Writers Always Follow My Rules, the authors describe how a writer that does not deviate from the “rules” actually makes it harder on themselves. They described that good writers actually understand the difference between techniques and rules, and suggested that people think of rules as suggestions. Good Writers Must Know Grammatical Terminology stated, “An effective writer cannot be measured by her ability to identify and define grammatical parts” (Rule, 2017, p. 151). She discusses how knowledge of grammar is overvalued, but emphasizes that it shouldn’t be completely forgotten about.

Our discussion leaders for this BQ have asked us to answer some questions, which I have done below:

• Who are you as a writer? Do you only write in class? Do you dread writing? When do you write most? What do you typically write about (past papers, for fun, etc.)?

If I get to write about something that means something to me, I could research and write for hours, even days. But when my creative freedom gets constricted, I do not tend to enjoy it. However, if I have the freedom to write whatever I want about any topic (i.e. no creative restrictions at all), I become indecisive. I go back and forth on topics, have a difficult time finding research to back up my ideas, and overall struggle a lot. I believe I am a writer that writes for someone else. I can follow directions, find facts, sprinkle in humor or sarcasm, whatever is wanted really. However, if I am writing for just myself, and I know for a fact that no one else will lay their eyes on it, I can write so much about anything. I like to journal how my days go sometimes, just recap what all happened and get my emotions out in the world, without actually having to deal with the repercussions that sometimes go along with telling people. It helps relieve so much stress, but I don’t do it as often as I should really. Maybe I am a situational writer? I get more enjoyment out of it when I know what the audience wants to read and can tailor it to them, but get the most benefit from writing for myself.

• In your experience as a writer, have you ever felt like your creativity was infringed upon for the sake of so-called writing rules like the ones mentioned in “Good Writers Always Follow My Rules”? Explain.

There have been times where I would be so proud of a piece of writing, and then the teacher I turned it in to makes comments about changing how things are phrased, moving the order of paragraphs, or completely scratching ideas, simply because they did not fit into the “rules” of “good writing”. It upset me that I had worked so hard on something, and then be told that it wasn’t as good as I thought. The ideas that were changed to fit the norm were important enough for me to want to include them, so why weren’t they good enough to get graded on? My vision of the assignment was forced to change because of the technical issues, and that in turn made the creativity and feeling of the writing less valuable.

• Do you think that trying to abide by writing and grammar ‘rules’ has kept you from taking risks and trying new things in your writing? Explain.

I have had the idea of starting a blog for a few years but was never able to decide on a topic that I would like as the theme of the blog. I think the thing that was holding me back was that I was so worried about abiding by the grammar rules that have been engraved into my brain, that I was too scared to even try to do something a little bit out of my comfort zone. I want to talk about owning reptiles, the benefits of pets for mental health, tips for college students, how to start your own business, the positives and negatives of moving away for college, why people should start going eco-friendly before it’s too late, why cow’s milk is disgusting and bad for your health, why you shouldn’t get babies’ ears pierced, how hypocritical Christianity is (as a Christian)… I have so many strong opinions that I am so passionate about, but can never verbally say because of anxiety of confrontation, but I never end up writing them because I am scared that I will make mistakes and my entire opinion will be invalidated. If I could get past worrying about what other people think of my writing and focus on what people need to understand from my writing, I would be pretty damn powerful.

• Where do you find your inspiration for writing?

I struggle with anxiety, and have (unknowingly) for most of my life. I have always had trouble being heard, either not having a chance where I felt confident enough to speak or not being heard from talking too quiet. When we started doing more creative writing assignments in elementary school, I finally found a way to say what I had been trying to get others to hear. My teachers told me for years that I was a very good writer, but I didn’t think much of it until later in high school. I was part of a few clubs that involved writing, and even won a few awards because of it. I would write informative pieces for the newspaper, emotional segments for the yearbook, funny comments for captions, etc. People could finally hear (sort of) what I was trying to say, and it felt so good to get it out.

Most of the time, I pick topics that have some sort of meaning to me, so I am as passionate about what I am writing as possible. I get inspired by the world around me. If someone is uneducated on a topic, I can research and write for hours about it to show them what they don’t know. If someone is curious about something, I will write my honest opinion on it, so they know what they are truly getting into. To me, writing is a way for people to hear what I am saying, even when my anxiety makes it impossible to hear me.

• Can good writing not follow grammatical conventions? If so, what would that look like?

I feel as though there is too much emphasis put on students to learn and be perfect at grammar. It is good to know the difference between to, too, and two, but if the idea behind the grammar isn’t good, even the absolute best grammar isn’t going to make it good. I do not believe that good writers must follow grammatical conventions. However, if they are making mistakes that take away the meaning of what they are talking about, it can cause issues. Basically, grammar is important for good writing, but it does not make writing good.

Overall, I agreed with the authors of these writings. Thinking back to high school and early college, I remember that my instructors usually had days or weeks of grammar lessons that did not improve my abilities to write. What students should do is learn the techniques, find which ones they enjoy, and learn to create ideas and practice those, while also improving their grammar skills. One of my favorite quotes from the readings was, “An individual’s ability to define grammatical parts is perhaps at best a kind of neat party trick, but ultimately not that important and absolutely not related to one’s abilities or potentials as a writer” (Rule, 2017, p. 152). When you think of someone who is majoring in English, you shouldn’t assume that they know and follow every rule of grammar, just like you wouldn’t expect a pre-med major to know every surgical technique. If 15 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy has taught me anything, it’s that most surgeons have to research and dedicate hours to practicing before doing one surgery, and yet they still make mistakes. Similarly, writers have to research and spend hours practicing before finishing one piece of writing. And guess what? They still make mistakes. But in the end, writers making a grammar error is a lot less dangerous than a surgeon cutting the wrong parts. So why should writers be held to higher standards than surgeons? Writers shouldn’t be judged or seen as bad writers simply because of unrealistic rules.

--M