A Writer's Frustration Part 2

Another issue that has bothered me for a while is my lack of style when it comes to writing. Some of my fellow journalism students can write with wonderful diction and prose. I don't consider myself a novice to writing. My parents drilled penmanship and thoroughness in writing since I started first grade. While most students were struggling to remember how to spell "cat" and "hat," I was trying to compose short stories and personal essays. Nevertheless, I never felt the need to pepper my writing with big words or dry wit. I believe in writing what you mean without inflating your sentences. I know others use fancy words to boost their writing cred (and ego) while others are just reflecting their true thoughts and personality. It's not a bad thing necessarily, but it's not my style.

As I progress into the writing world, through print and digital media, I suspect, however, that I am behind in writing skill. I do envy the columnist who can weave irony, depth and words like "loquacious" into a 300 word statement on knitting or globalization. Part of my problem is that writing is a terrible chore for me. Many people just write and edit later. I edit each sentence as I go along, twisting and turning each word and phrase until I feel it is coherent. As I write this now, my eyes keep scanning to the sentences above, picking out what needs to be changed. Maybe I should consider using a big word like "loquacious" in the third sentence of this paragraph. My obsessive compulsiveness is aggravated when I feel my words are childish, redundant or devoid of meaning. I usually end up trying too hard, using lame jokes and misplaced words to demonstrate my prowess in writing.

As a journalism student, I haven't had the opportunity to write with stylish prose. At The Eagle and in class, it was drilled in our heads that direct and clean sentences were the way to go. It's "A fireman died yesterday in Southeast Washington," not "A fireman exhibited altruism when he sacrificed his life in the fight against a raging blaze." No room for egos in SOC, at least not on paper. But maturity in writing is a strong tool to have and I do have a need every now and then to express my thoughts in a guest column at the Eagle, a blog post or even a cover letter. People, especially employers, often measure another person's intelligence and experience through their writing.

My solution right now will be to read voraciously. How do the pros at the NY Times or Wash. Post do it? I need to expand my world more by traveling, studying history, reading novels, watching movies, anything to stay informed of the world past and present. The more experience I have, the meatier my writing will be. But my ultimate wish is to leave behind my desire to mimic the experts and to finally find my own voice. Only then will I be a true writer.