Devin Autry

11/11/14
UWRT

PORTRAIT OF A WRITER

I am the writer. In my writing I express myself through my words. I am responsible for

the communication of my ideas and thoughts to whoever my reading audience may be. As the
writer I am to develop a relationship with my readers. The relationship I choose may be from the
first person or third person perspective. The most important things to include in my writing that I
consider would have to be substance. Over the course of a writers progression process, the
portrait of the writer grows. Many writers with writers block will stumble across the question,
Who am I? while writing. To me, as the writer, I feel that I am obligated to convey my
message clearly and passionately to others. In high school, I was the typical, boring, clich
writer. I would start off many of essays with a definition, followed by a quote, followed by a
question. The writing process became second nature to me because I was so used to doing the
same things, all the time, for every essay. I later realized that, although I would receive decent
grades on these papers, I had the writing process completely wrong. I had the writing part down
but I was missing the process part of it. To me there was no true process. I usually would write
one draft and then check for any grammatical errors and then turn the same essay in for my final
draft.

During my writing in this English class over the course of the semester I did notice some
things about myself as a writer. I noticed that when I complete assignments they are thorough. I
could meet most of the deadlines on time and meet the correct requirements for each assignment.
I believe that the essays in this class has built my confidence and has allowed me to blossom into
a better writer. It was fairly easy for me to complete my assignments and see my progression as a
writer improve. Not only did my ability as a writer improved but I saw my capabilities as an
overall student improve. I saw that I had the ability to express how I feel in my papers and
opened up as a writer.

I have found that I have writing rituals that I practice every time I write a paper. I always
have to be in a quiet environment in order to stay focus on what I am talking about. Also I like to
plan out all my ideas for my essay on the computer. Even if it doesnt seem like the greatest idea
at the moment, I still type it just to have all my ideas on a paper. After brainstorming, I then
write my first draft. Usually I only write one draft and fix my errors but for the first time, for this
class, I wrote a totally different second draft. Also from this class, Ive learned about the value of
sponsors and peer editing. For all of my papers this semester I used my peer workshop group in
order to edit all of my papers. I found this very helpful because I received great ideas from my
classmates.
As a writer, there are strengths and weaknesses that they must deal with. I understand
that there are some things I am great at and there are also things that I am not so great at. I would

consider my ability to leave everything on the paper, as a strength. If I have a topic I can write
and write until everything I need to say is said. I believe that if one can get all their ideas out on
the paper they can find the true idea of what they are searching for. I believe that all of my ideas
and thoughts were seen throughout my writing assignments over the course of this semester.
In writing, I feel that there are always room for improvement. Even the best writers can
improve on their work. Coming from a school where writing was not strictly monitored I wasnt
the best writer coming out of high school. I feel that writing is a tedious process that requires a
lot of thought. One of the challenges that I faced as a writer was the pacing. I have improved in a
lot of things but pacing is difficult. Sometimes my motivation, or lack thereof, to finish the paper
becomes a problem. I also feel that I am very nit-picky when it comes to my essays. I always feel
that there is more that I can do to make my paper better. I feel that sometimes my ideas are
terrible and my story will not make sense to my audience. However, over the course of the
semester I have built my confidence about writing up. Another weakness of mine was not being
descriptive enough in my essays. I find myself writing a lot of words but not saying much at all.
Another weakness of mine is my vocabulary. I rarely use large or sophisticated words when
talking about a topic. In due time, however, I feel like this will improve.
One last challenge that I have is being creative. Creativity is also a quality that I
appreciate greatly in another writers. The best writing is that which carries some of the
personality, the individuality of its author. Follow the above guidelines, but always strive above.
To me, seeing other peoples creativity is interesting and keeps the authors audience engaged. In
writing, I feel that creativity is a rarity and that when it is displayed it can make a huge difference

in a paper. I feel that a papers uniqueness is key in its success. Another aspect of writing that I
value in others writing is development. I think that each paragraph should support the central
ideas of the paper. Also I feel that each paragraph should be supported by the sentences in that
paragraph. Another quality of others writing that I value greatly is the overall flow of the paper.
If a writers paper transitions smoothly, is organized, and makes sense, then the writer has a great
foundation for their paper. I feel that these are some of the best qualities to have.
Before this class I wouldve said that my favorite type of writing genre is fiction. Fiction and
fantasy I also think could be a great genre for escaping. When you write a fantasy novel you can
escape your own reality. If you think about the great novels that youth have raved over such as
Twilight and Harry Potter are great examples. Fiction is widely accepted. However, I have
learned that I have thoroughly enjoyed writing non-fiction pieces of work. I love the fact that I
can pose my audience with real life situations and experiences that are more relatable to them.
This can improve the clarity of your paper to others because it brings both of us to the same
level.

My writing goals would be to become a better communicator. The relationship between the
writer and reader is first established through communication. If the writer is not able to
communicate to a wide variety of people then the work is ineffective. When writing about any
given topic I want to be able to use eloquence with words without using choppy sentences or
several grammar mistakes. The point where you can see if a writer is established or not would
have to lie within his or her grammar choices. The last writing goal that I want to pursue would
be rigor. I hope all my efforts in writing would have to be honest in the use of initial drafts and
editing. I think this important so that I can achieve the best work in which I am able to produce.

I think that literacy period has molded the world we live in today. Everything that we do and
that lies around us is based on literacy. Literacy meaning how well we read or how well we can
comprehend what we have read. Comprehension is what makes people get into college in order
to get degrees so that they can get good jobs and exist in society. I think that when someone
learns how to write well it then gives them the upper hand. It is one thing to know how to
comprehend well but writing is a talent. Its something that not everyone has mastered. Its
difficult to master because it encompasses so many different aspects that ranges from syntax, to
diction, to parallelism in forming sentences.
At first I didnt think that I talked about writing on a daily basis. Then I realized as I was
typing the answers for these questions I was listening to music. The type of music that I
generally prefer is rap music. Every song starts with an artist writing out lyrics that will in turn
be placed on a beat. The songs usually included a rhyme scheme and word play in order for the
song to flow there has to be parallel sentences. Every artist uses tone which can be familiarized.
These songs are then memorized and recited which would be how I talk about writing. People
talk about writing in reciprocating the lyrics that they have acquired.

I believe that who one is as a writer is a reflection of oneself and your views on a given
topic. This could be a great thing or a difficult thing, depending on the person. In the entirety of
it all, when asked who one is as a writer, one should also ask who that one is as a person.