11-2 Blog: Writer’s Perspective

I chose to read “Pupils Glimpse an Idea, Teacher Gets a Gold Star” by Anne Bernays (2000). Anne’s perspective on the writing process is a multi-faceted one and is grounded in both the facts that she is a writer, herself, and for many years she has taught creative writing. First, she believes that those that are not meant to be writers are able to learn that on their own, and in her experience when they did, they would end up dropping her writing courses. Secondly, she believes that to be a good writer, it is important to understand how to write in different ways. Finally, and possibly most importantly, she believes that part of the writing process is to write about things that hurt. She would tell her students to “stop writing the sunny hours and write from where it hurts” (Bernays, 2000).

            I agree with some things that Anne Bernays mentioned about writing, but I also disagree with others. I agree that those that find that they are not meant to be writers because it is not what they enjoy, will learn that and will not keep pursuing writing. I also agree that to be a good writer, one must understand how to write in different ways. One must find challenging ways to write to be able to advance one’s ability to write well. However, I do not necessary agree that all writers should not write about the good times and that people only want to read about the hurt (Bernays, 2000). I do think that often people do want to read about the hurt and pain, but not always. Some of my favorite books are happy books that make me happier when I am upset, which contradicts Anne Bernays’s idea that happy things and polite things “puts [people] to sleep” (Bernays, 2000).

            I am not sure that I would say that my thinking has really changed on a writer’s perspective in the social media environment. I have learned how to use social media correctly to accomplish specific goals with it such as using it in a professional way compared to using it for personal use. However, before this course, I did believe that social media was used for interpersonal connections, and as an extension of real life, which is what I explored more in depth in this course. Something new that I did learned about social media through this course was that it is so tailored to each user, and each user does have a unique social media experience even compared to someone that is next to them (Pariser, 2011). Social media is being tailored to each individual person that uses it, which is not something that I was aware of before this course, but is something that affects a writer’s perspective in the social media environment (Pariser, 2011).

Reference:

Bernays, A. (2000, February 28). Pupils glimpse an idea, teacher gets a gold star. New York Times. Retrieved http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/022800bernays-writing.htmlfrom

Pariser, E. (2011). Beware online “filter bubbles.” Ted Talks. Lectured conducted from Long Beach, California. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles