Post #1

Taking this Pro-Seminar class and reading the assigned chapters has really caused me to question what kind of writer I am and what the process is that I employ when trying to create an essay of quality. I’ve heard many complaints from classmates in both undergrad and grad school that they know what to write, but they are simply unable to get their thoughts down on the page or are unable to feel the push to get something done. However, for me, getting words down on the page is not the aspect of writing that perplexes me. The most difficult facet of writing for me is my inability to decide exactly what I want to write about. I experience this difficulty in concretely expressing myself or making decisions in many different aspects of my life...simply composing an e-mail or deciding to where to eat can take longer than is socially acceptable. (Deciding the topic for this blog post took a slightly ridiculous amount of time as well.) However, of most relevance for this blog and for where I hope to go in my life and in my career is the nervous feeling in my gut that I encounter every time I see the assignment of an “original research essay.”

I don’t think that my difficulty in getting started on my writing comes from a lack of interest in my topic. Certainly, this can be the case when dealing with writing assignments for classes that I am taking to fulfill requirements, but I experience this even when I am in a class in my area, writing on my favorite book in the world. Eventually, I have a “Eureka!” moment and a topic comes to me, usually a little later in the semester than I would prefer, but something I would really like to improve upon would be arriving at these moments in a less excruciating and procrastinatory manner. I know that I want to write my thesis on J.D. Salinger’s collection of short stories, Nine Stories, and judging by my track record with coming up with topics so far, I should begin this process sooner rather than later.