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Craig Goldschmidt

Comm 375

February 7, 2006

Stephanie Kent

Writing

Writing is an act of fornication. Writing conceives something from where nothing existed. An empty page, the same as an empty womb, remains vacant until an act of procreation generates new substance. Writing can create life. Writing can bear a child or raise the dead. Writing can create new worlds. Blank sheets can turn into innovative places, filled with immaculate ideals of a better future or it can recreate a past, crowded with mistakes and reminders of where things went wrong. The ability to create a new being or a new world is a limitless power that can only be contained by self-restriction. The power to conceive can only be prevented by making the conscious choice to not place letters next to letters, thereby shaping words, forming sentences, and creating substance. With such an extreme capability, writing should only be practiced safely with emphasis on quality and purpose.

Anyone can write anything. The same words used to create a masterpiece can also create waste. A writer should always use correct grammar, spelling, and diction, unless specific style is enhanced by improper technique. A writer must be able to easily communicate with the reader. Time spent reading should be focused on examining the content, not the form. Once correct skill is learned, creativity should distinguish quality. Only new ideas should be put to paper. To recreate the same perspective repeatedly only creates clutter.

Writing should be reserved only for worthy causes. Writing for the sake of writing has little benefit to the greater world. Good writing is used to educate or to entertain. At the university level, mandatory class assignments that force writing result in repetitive ideas for a limited audience. One professor will read mass editions of the same ideas that often lack quality due to the limited audience. Time spent creating quality work is in vain, when only one person will ever read it. Instead the opposite should occur where a mass audience evaluates one’s work. Also, a professor generally does not grade a paper to learn or to be entertained. Therefore, the paper serves no real function. The writing, no matter the grade earned, is not written for any sort of a worthy cause.

Writing should have no deadline. Except when reporting time sensitive information, writers should not be bound by time constraints. Social responsibility should dictate that certain information is reported quickly. Otherwise, quality and inspiration should not be rushed. School assignments have deadlines that cater to the needs of the professor or the institution. These deadlines ignore the needs of the writer.

Writing, like fornication, should use proper technique, should serve a functional purpose, and should last as long as necessary for satisfaction to occur. Without these elements, writing becomes wasted. New ideas are always welcome, but the repetition of old concepts, writing without cause, and rushing creative expression should no longer contribute to the clutter in the world. Instead, the power of writing should be respected and should only be used with extreme care.

--Craig 16:20, 2 May 2006 (EDT)