This piece was really interesting to write. At first, I thought it would be simple - why do I write? I love writing! That's why. But when we performed the in-class interview process of understanding a core memory that influenced our path as a writer, I realized that this would be more difficult than I had anticipated. My original draft of "Why I Write" was very disorganized and jumbled. It had a lot of interesting sentiments and concrete reasons behind why I write, but nothing that constituted a logical and conclusive argument. During our peer review, Allison and I realized we had a similar issue in that we had core evidence for why we write but could not figure out how to structure it effectively. Once Professor Silver identified that we should find our core arguments or ideas and draw on them, I realized how I would structure my piece.

 

Instead of organizing the essay chronologically I decided to organize it based off of the main lessons I have learned through writing. Each lesson - revision, creativity, story arcs, and knowing myself through my writing effectively conveyed why I write: to learn and challenge myself and to continue to know myself. This two-fold core thesis of writing to learn and challenge myself as well as writing to know and remember myself truly encapsulates why I write. I hope that comes across effectively and logically in this piece.