March 6, 2024
A Modern Urban Legend – “The Perfect Writer”
By John Myers
by Natalia Oseida-Banguero
“You learn something new every day.” Today I learned that I have no talent when it comes to writing. A fellow journalist gifted me this knowledge. And yet, I still do consider myself a journalist.
It was a test taking day when I read her piece. The test booklet was handed to me, my fluorescent yellow highlighter was already open and marking up the page. Two paragraphs into the article, I realized, “This is interesting.” It sounded as if she was speaking to me. All these little-known concepts about writing were just being thrown at me and I was trying to take as much of it in as possible.
Forget “talent” Forget “inspiration”. Talent is not something we were all blessed with and not something we all need. Her piece consisted of tips and tricks on becoming a successful writer. The way she explained everything was logical and concrete. For example, she suggested that writers should go to writers’ workshops because there are “rented readers” there who do not know you and will give you the constructive criticism you need. Friends and family are not as educated in the craft. They might sugar coat their feedback and tell you that your writing is amazing or point out virtually anything and tell you it sounds stupid. So many writers have thrown away their careers because they gave up too fast.
This can happen a lot to young writers. Youth writers have so much to share (as all writers do), but they have been taught to be the “perfect writer.” What is this kind of writer? Well the funny thing is, everyone has their own interpretation of what a perfect writer is. Every single teacher you come across will pick at your writing in different ways. High school has taught me that a perfect writer is not an actual thing. My writing was critiqued because it was not what the teacher envisioned as “good writing.”
I have always been the slowest writer among my peers. My writing has always sounded childish and basic and it made me feel less than mediocre. I hate how unattractive it is. I never got the sophistication points on my rubrics. Something I have also learned about myself recently is that I give up very easily when a task seems difficult or I feel that I’m not capable of doing it. My grades have suffered this way and I become unproductive. Even while writing this piece I feel stuck. I have spent so much time worrying about how I think I am not capable of writing it, but this gets me nowhere. How am I supposed to learn if I don’t ever make mistakes? I am afraid of them and just avoid the task all together. This is a universal feeling but not something anyone wants to talk about.
I applied for a journalism internship during my sophomore year. My writing teacher at the time urged me to apply because she knew how I felt about my writing. “Imposter Syndrome” and “Fake Intellect” were the names for these feelings. They were given to me by one of my mentors in the journalism internship. Rick Ayers is a retired professor from the University of San Francisco. Even at the age of 76, he does not feel like he is the perfect writer. Rick has taught thousands of students in various universities and programs and written/co-written nine books. He must know the ropes of writing and never doubt himself, right? “While I have my doubts about my skills, I stick to the ‘discipline of the desk,’ that is, I force myself to sit down and write, write, write in order to get ideas down. They can be reworked when I share with others and go into the next draft.”
You can edit as much as your heart desires and there is no limit to how many drafts you can write on a piece. This is a tip I will be using since I am not great when it comes to writing long pieces. Going over the word limit has never been something I have had to worry about.
“Your idea should drive your writing project, not just the abstract question of “writing,” Ayers says. “The public school system teaches us how to write long, bland essays. I have spent years writing about racism, otherness, and wars. Ask any high school student out there and they will be able to write you a long essay about the biggest broadest ideas in our society. Passion is not something that we are taught but it is the one and only thing that motivates a writer to even start on a project. It is also what keeps me going throughout the whole process. You have to care about it to write.”
Nonetheless, it is our job to write. Not everything will be written from inspiration. Regardless of whether you think it is “bland”, the fact that you keep writing and not quitting is one quality of a good writer. There are many different types of writers out there, and they cannot be experts in every genre. I’m one of those many writers who is still lost, trying to find her voice and purpose through writing.
