Honing My Craft a.k.a. Final Blog Essay

At 5:15 P.M. on August 27, 2007, I sat in the Aims computer lab, running through the possible realities of the Com 330 class that was about to commence. I had never considered myself to be a great or creative writer and yet, there I was, waiting to dive into the realm of journalistic writing. Before classes even started this semester, a fellow student shared their frightening opinion of how I would fare in the class. “English majors can’t write journalism!” This fear gripped me that day in Aims. I have come to realize, however, that this fear was wholly unfounded and that I have the ability to write in any genre so long as I am willing to hone my craft.

It was William Zinnser who took the first swing at my fears. In his book On Writing Well, Zinnser talks about perfecting the art of writing; bringing clarity and interest and voice into whatever is written. Zinnser taught me that writing isn’t just about having natural talent but “using the English language in a way that will achieve the greatest clarity and strength” (5). The word in that sentence that stayed with me over the course of the semester was “using.” To me, that word implied I had a choice, a decision to make. Good writing, or journalistic writing in this case, would not just flow out of me. I would have to choose to think about the words I had learned in my 22 years of life and manipulate them into saying exactly what was on my mind. That took skill and skills can be learned. With this concept safely in hand, I felt free to attempt more creative acts of writing.

The fear had taken a stronger hold over me than I anticipated, however, and although I felt free to be more creative, I had little faith in myself. It seems to have been divine providence that this class happened to be offered this semester. Outside of class, I found myself questioning what I was doing in college, let alone, at Fresno Pacific. In each of my other Literature courses, I felt that I was not able to write to the best of my abilities. I felt like a failure. Zinnser, like a faithful friend, came to my rescue again. At the end of his chapter on style, he says: “Believe in your own identity and your own opinions” (23). Although it was guised in journalistic clothing, I was being challenged to represent who I was through my writing. Defining who that was seemed impossible yet his words ran on a loop in the back of my brain and it encouraged me to never give up on something I was writing. If anything, those words helped me refocus my thoughts and write authentically from my heart.

As I worked on gaining confidence in my ability to write and honing my craft, I drifted a little too far into the realm of cocky writing. As a perfectionist, I drove myself to take the best interview notes and write the wittiest articles. I fell flat on my face a few times. I thought that since I had logged in the time that I had transformed into a great writer in a matter of weeks. During the revising process of the sports article, I was faced with the problem of not having quotes that fit exactly into what I was trying to say. After having received so much help from Zinnser earlier, I dove into his book again. In the chapter on interviewing Zinnser’s words gave me a polite slap in the face: “Your job is to distill the essence” (108). This notion of distilling the essence made me rethink how I was approaching the article. Instead of having a preconceived idea of exactly where I wanted the article to go, it was more important to understand what the people I had talked to had to say. Their opinions shaped the reality of my writing and without it, my writing would be lifeless. This helped me in other aspects of writing, especially when writing about characters from novels. It would be their quotes that would strengthen and solidify my essay.

The confidence and guidance I received from Zinnser helped me to see how expansive the world of writing was and what it could accomplish. Before this class, I thought the only place writing would have in my life after Fresno Pacific would be to teach others how to do it properly. What I learned is that writing is needed for so many other things and can be effective for making positive changes to the world. Like, Bob Briner said, “We talk to and write for each other, sometimes brilliantly, but with little impact on the world around us” (61). I learned that I can have an impact. Now, when I go into teaching, wherever that may be, I will take with me the principles of this journalism class and the freedom in knowing that writing is an ever-evolving skill that I have the control to make better.