“Excerpt from a Life”

In one part of my “literacy narrative”, I talked about my experience with the writing, in particular the way I was taught script. Although I barely use it now, I find it to be a significant moment in time when trying to understand the role writing plays.

“ I think one of the problems that hindered me was my general lack of finesse when it comes to writing. Handwritten work seems to never come out particularly well so in some sense I was discouraged by it.”

I wanted to go more in detail when explaining my feelings about writing. In my case with handwritten work most of the time it doesn’t come out perfectly, so I continue to rewrite until I deem it is suitable for viewing. But I think this is a good tie into the self-confidence that writing helps to harness. We get that sense of pride when people understand the motivation in your writing., that the words born out of your own character can reach people’s mind in a concise manner. This is what helps me to re-work and re-word continuously, I actively try to reach as many people as possible, maybe my words can breed a new perspective. When I think about writing in this sense the goal becomes clear, and it enables me to take avenues that have yet to be traveled. Besides being a tool for creativity I do find writing to be a endless chase for perfection, especially in my case.

2 Comments

  1. Tina

    Hi Kenneth, your topic really brings back memories. Since so much of our writing work takes place digitally these days, especially with the implementation of online courses, it’s sometimes hard to remember how we first learned the schematics of writing. Though I’ve was personally never taught to write in script, like you, I’ve definitely had comments made about the way my handwriting looked, like “it’s too small,” or “it’s crooked.” As a young writer, that definitely played in role in influencing the way I felt about my writing. It took me a long time to realize that my handwriting is not what reflects the quality of my work, but rather, it’s the content. I love how you are using handwriting as a channel for creativity and expression since it’s something that we can’t really see nowadays with writing that is typed with same font. Handwriting definitely adds dimension and personality to a piece of writing and I look forward to reading about how it has played a role in your journey as a writer. Thanks for sharing!

    • Sarah Schmerler

      really thoughtful of you, Tina.
      My handwriting has always attracted comment — most of it negative. People think I ought to be a doctor, because they can’t read it. : )
      I think that it is an expression, artistic. I have displayed my notebooks as an artshow, actually. When you can’t get people to understand, sometimes you need to get out front and show them what they ought to appreciate!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *