Writing Life Essay, Research Paper

Writing Life

The book we had to read by Annie Dillard, The Writing Life, talks about a woman who has gone though various times in her life when she would be inspired by something, and she would write it down. This book wasn?t really appealing to me. I thought that Annie was going to explain how she went about writing, and what were her struggles. Instead, she starts out telling the read how to write a story and how the words should flow. Dillard uses a lot of metaphors in her writing, which also got me confused. Some of the things she was saying didn?t really click. For example, the author was explaining how an inchworm travels from one grass blade to another without knowing what the next step will be. She went on to relate this process to writing. I had difficulty understanding what she was saying.

I was talking to my mother about this book and she said she had read it and wondered how I liked it. I said ?It?s too confusing, because the way Dillard used metaphors making it hard to fallow. I think she?s talking about one thing and the next thing I know, she is talking about another. My mother was an English major so she said, ?Picture what the writer is trying to say after you read it, and if you have to go back and read what you don?t understand do so. You will have a better understanding of the book?. After she told me that, I could understand the book better even though it was really dry.

My personal experience as a writer wasn?t at all easy. When I was in elementary school, I could not read very well, Consequently, I could not write well either. From grades 3-6 my teachers used a number of reading programs to help me learn how to read. For example, I was taught ? Hooked on Phonics? which wasn?t help at all. Then I went to a place called ?Sylvain Learning Center?. This experience did more harm than good. My parents were getting fed up with the school and their programs, so my mother had a meeting with the school and things started to change. The next year, I was introduced to the Wilson program. I took this program for the next two years for three hours after school. I think this was the biggest help I have ever received in my whole life. Within months of starting the program I was reading and writing better than ever. My tutor had me writing to the point where it was beginning to be fun.

When I got to high school, reading and writing was a bit easier for me. My school had a program similar to PAL, so I could get help with a paper or get a book on tape. Although middle school and high school were difficult, my writing did improve because of the help my parents got for me. I continue to have difficulty writing. Thoughts come too fast and I get disorganized. However, I am aware of my weakness and hope to continues to improve.