How I Learned to Write

Lately I have had several people compliment my writing style, and I am thankful for the kind words. Someone asked me, "how did you learn to write like that?"

Let me begin with a little history, to which I'm sure many can relate. In 7th through 9th grade, I disliked English composition classes. I struggled and struggled with writing the required compositions. My mother would patiently help me think about what I was trying to say, but it was difficult. I had trouble with noun-verb agreement, using adjectives, and understanding constructions like "there, their, and they're" and "who and whom" and "its and it's."

I have to admit, I also detested writing because, at the time, we had to write on paper with a pen. I did not have a typewriter at home. Typewritten compositions weren't accepted in junior high -- the teachers thought that if you turned in a typewritten paper, your Mom wrote it for you. Home PCs were not available (though Eniac and Edvac were invented at the time, they were more for marveling at science, not for the masses. Man, I'm old!) I detested writing in cursive. My resistance to the physical act of applying pen to paper contributed to my overall dislike of writing, as well.

In 9th grade, we were required to take a foreign language (back in the day when studying a language other than English was a graduation requirement). I did not want to take Spanish or French because I already spoke Italian fluently since childhood, and thought I would have trouble with those languages because I would get them confused. The only other option was Latin. Latin? Why that? Well, it's different, and it was taught by a very well-regarded teacher. I enrolled. Sic volvere parcas et alea jacta est.

Thus (or should I say, ergo?), I learned to write well for four reasons:

1) Latin taught me how to structure my English. I finally learned about subject-verb agreement. Latin taught me all the parts of speech and how they worked together. I finally learned all of the tenses of verbs, and when to use them. I learned not to infinitives split (after Latin taught me what an infinitive was!) I continued to take Latin throughout high school and continued studying it through four semesters in college. I learned that the language is not dead, as it lives in many modern languages, including English.

2) I had inspiring teachers. In addition to my Latin teachers who were great, I also had an English teacher in 10th and 12th grades (same person) who was absolutely incredible. She taught with great energy and passion. She asked us to write about what was in our hearts and on our minds. Not just for function, but to express oneself. I learned to take risks in writing that made me write better, stronger, and more clearly.

3) I received a typewriter for a birthday present in the summer before 10th grade, and my Mom "suggested" (forced?) me to take a typing class. It turned out that doing so was the best thing that I could ever have done. While my mother could not foresee how important learning how to type would be due to the widespread use of computers at home and in the workplace nowadays, she knew that if I learned how to type, that I wouldn't find writing to be such a chore (and she wouldn't have to type my papers!) In high school, teachers would accept typed compositions. They didn't care how they got them -- just that they got them. So I typed away! I even won the school speed typing contest that year (first male student ever to do that!)

4) My very patient mother had a special way of helping me with my English compositions. She did not to review and edit, but rather, she had me read what I wrote aloud to her. Then she would ask questions such as, "what do you mean by that?" or "how could you say that differently?" or "what is the main point and where's the summary?" She could always spot where I had gone astray, but through her questioning technique, I learned to spot the errors myself. By reading aloud, I could hear what was not right and self-correct. My Mom had a gift for bringing out the best in all of us, and I do not think she even knew it, or how thankful we all are.

There are two writing skills with which I continue to have trouble. The first is writing succinctly. Ha! Look at how long some of these blog posts are! The second is placing an adjective before the noun it describes, instead of after it (as is done in Italian). I enjoy the boots black (and brown, and other colours).

By learning that writing can be fun and a joyful way of expressing oneself, and also by learning how to type, I have found that blogging is a way to continue honing my writing skills.

Life is short: write what you think! (So sez Mrs. D from 10th and 12th grades)