Before 7th grade Writers’ Workshop, I used to love writing in my diary. I would never write about actual events going on in my life. I would pretend that I was a princess who just got back from the royal court after a long day of decision making, or a fairy who was trying to find her way back home. My diary resembled more of a fiction book then a document of real events and feelings. Writing was a way for me to escape my parents fights and all the pandemonium that came with being a 12 year old girl. I never had to worry about how many paragraphs my stories had or what word choice would best fit the protagonist’s feelings. It was just me, my pen and my “diary”.
So when I saw Writers’ Workshop on my schedule, I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait. I imagined that we were going to write memoirs, biographies,
…show more content…
I was hoping I would walk out more enlightened about writing then when I came in. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a hatred for something I once loved.
I learned that I was not allowed to write using rhetorical questions. I learned that a paragraph had 5 sentences. No more. No less. I learned that I could be funny when writing, but not too funny. I learned that if my writing didn’t match the structure of the example given, it was automatically awful. Don’t get me wrong, I think a good structure and outline is necessary for keeping organized and addressing all necessary points to your audience, but too much micromanagement is unhealthy, and will put out the flame of passion that young kids feel when they write.
So from there on out, the only power I thought my words had was to get me an A. I knew that if I just followed the structure, it would lead me to success. I never thought about the fact that my words could mean something. I completely forgot about the power of words and how they play into human emotion. I went into a really toxic cycle of assignment, structure, good grade,