Hemingway Knows.

Am I unique? Or am I simply inexperienced?

That is the question.

I look back at my blog posts, my diary entries, my essays, my letters. Over the past 10 years that I’ve listed writing as one of my “special skills,” I have developed a style. One that many have described as “exactly the way you speak, Alessandra.” When I signed on to a marketing internship this summer, I made it my goal in my downtime to discover and analyze other bloggers out there. “A good writer is an even better reader,” they say, so I attempted to do exactly that. I fell in love with a few, tossed out others, and then took a harder look at my own work. What my friends had mentioned was relatively true. I write what I feel. And I usually say what I feel. So, as far as my logic skills take me, it would be only natural that I write what I say… or would say, given the opportunity to discuss with strangers on the internet looking for a little inspiration or a theatre-loving, journalism major’s point of view. It has worked for me in the past, and I am usually content with what I put down on paper. But how can I get better if I don’t criticize myself from time to time?

So, here is my attempt:

Things that either make me a lazy writer or a unique one:

• I despise rereading my work. I find it tedious.
• Taking a look at the “big picture” of my piece is often disappointing to me—because I usually just write as I flow, not write for flow. Therefore, what I conclude at the end of my story might have nothing to do with what I began writing about.
• I believe writing is an art form. Like theatre, painting, or paper maché. Therefore, just as many consider a splotch of black ink on a white canvas “art” worth thousands of dollars, I consider splotchy sentences acceptable in writing. This will explain my one-word sentences, my fragments, and my run-ons. Grammar be damned. (Don’t tell my English teacher).
• I like to think I use my writing as a way to relate to people. Therefore, I try not to shy away from clichés or funny metaphors. They have been used before, yes, but that doesn’t make them any less true. Maybe just a little annoying. Maybe I’m just a little annoying.
• I have been told (by my closest friends so it is done so with endless love) that I suffer a bit from malapropism. It is true. I sometimes like to use long words thinking they mean one thing when they mean something else. I come off a bit foolish, but at least it sounds pretty… right? Maybe not.

Sooo, perhaps we haven't really reached any specific conclusion. But, I have come to realize that more important than how I write is why. Hmm.

I do what I do because it makes me very, very happy. Communicating, creating, expressing, sharing, opening up—those are some of my favorite things. Drinking was one of Hemingway's favorite things. He would "write drunk, edit sober." He seemed to do pretty well for himself, dontcha think?