All my life, I believed ones talent as a writer was part genetic and part dependent on their upbringing, much like athletic performance. The higher the higher the level of sport your reach, the more those with the qualities not beneficial to that sport drop out, and only those with the perfect genetic material remain. I believed writing was the same. You either had some genetic advantage, and grew up with a book in your hand, or had to work incredibly hard to simply produce a piece that was subpar. I believed that the work of good writers came naturally, almost an accident.

In the Spring of 2021 I learned just how wrong I was. Writing is not an “accident”. Authors such as Hemingway, or Tom Clancy don’t produce great works by accident. They carefully and methodically planned, each and every word of their works. Just like a good general who deliberates long before the heavy stone that is a military offensive begins rolling, everything possible is taken into consideration before pen meets paper. I learned this the hard but permanent way in the assignments prescribed by my professor; Danielle Carr.

On Planning:

In my assignments, I learned to plan. A good piece of work, be it a novel, or a technical description, begins from a good plan. How can one start walking before one knows where they are going?

I learned to balance and consider the six rhetorical elements in my deliberations. This is elaborated in great detail in my section on the rhetorical situation.

Before this Spring semester, my biggest problem when assigned a writing assignment was “paralysis by analysis”. I would get bogged down in details which would prevent me from even beginning to write. This would out me behind schedule greatly. To overcome this obstacle, I turned to what turned out to be a short-term fix. This quick fix was to simply begin writing, skipping the planning stage. While this helped me get my assignments in on time, it was not a conducive strategy for succeeding in the aims of my writing.

This semester was a rude awakening. Forced to simultaneously work with hard and fast-coming deadlines, while required to plan deeply before writing, I had to tackle this problem immediately. This was akin to throwing a kid in the pool to teach him to swim. Looking back, I can proudly say I did not drown, and came out of the pool with a new, critical skill.

Before each and every assignment, I had to deeply contemplate and strategize before setting the pen to the paper. To prevent getting bogged down in details, I simply focused on the key points assigned by Professor Carr. These points lie within the rhetorical elements (genre, purpose, audience, stance, media, and exigence). If you contemplate these points before beginning your work, then you are halfway to victory.

This is the key takeaway. the ability to produce good works of writing are heavily influenced by your effort in the planning stage. This is good news. This means anyone, with effort, can produce good works of writing. Even you.

Sincerely,

Domenico Gioffre