Critique (61 of 90)

Hello. Here there be posts.

I have no idea what I"m about to write about:

Looks like my brain has decided on writing again. And by writing, I mean writing about writing. Sorry if you're getting sick of it. But thems the breaks. This is the life I've chosen, so you're just going to have to deal.

I was reading through my critiques from English today. It's still a weird feeling.
I can tell I'm getting better about not feeling too defensive. I know freshman year at least I was really bad about that. But I feel I've grown somewhat, and I'm able to handle the full critiques and the workshops much better than even last year. But at the same time. I can't help but get annoyed at some of the comments some times. I think that's a part of it. When you write something that you think is the shit. And everyone else just thinks its you know... shit. There's a few lines like that in my draft. One in particular that I liked, hardly anyone else did. How frustrating.

But still. I'm getting much better. I can take the advice to heart. And I know I'll be implementing most of the changes. Because I know it will make my draft better. Make my prose stronger. And that's what I'm after right? The ability to hone my craft. To know what areas I make mistakes in and fix them. So that maybe next time my draft will be even stronger. So that one day I'll be able to try to be published.

On that note. Brad said something in class today. Something that struck me. He said that many people are either writers are reporters. People are either information gatherers or writers. Rarely are they good at both. And I can accept that. I believe that. I can understand that. But the question is, which one am I? I'm not sure. I think I'm a writer. Maybe I'm not even that. I think I can gather information, but I'm not sure if I'm particularly good at it. I don't know if I'm good at either of these things. I only have Barb's word to go on really. And she says I'm better than I was. And that's all I can ask for I suppose. The knowledge that at least I haven't been wasting my time here.

I can tell I'm getting better. My prose is getting tighter. My drafts are getting better. My ability to analyze text has increased exponentially. I critique better. I'm more confident about both my writing and my critiques. But that's mainly English. I have no idea where I stand journalistically. Hell, I'm not even sure I can stand yet. I feel like a toddler. Just learning to lift my head. I can't walk, can barely talk, and I damn well sure can't keep my head above water on my own.

Maybe one day I'll learn to walk, hell at least crawl, on my own. But for now, I'll just have to be led through the process. Until they kick me out of the next and expect me to fly.

Quote of the Day:

"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."
- Reggie Leach