Writer's Toolbox: Lesson I

1. Write a paragraph on your experiences with writing. Basically, talk about how long you've been writing, your reasons for wanting to take writing classes, what you hope to learn in this class and other writing classes.(UN: academy at Writing.Com; A1 Writing Academy; Lesson I: Introduction and Structure, 2008)

         At the tender age of ten, I started writing my first chapter book, typing it on my mother's old typewriter. During this time and through my teen years, I wrote daily entries in a journal. In college, I took an elective course in poetry writing, and I have written many poems since then. In upper level classes at the University at Albany, I wrote numerous technical research papers. Then, three years after I entered motherhood, I co-founded a local chapter of the International MOMS Club® and wrote the chapter's monthly newsletters for a couple years. I enjoy journaling in a scrapbook format to record the childhood years of my three kids. Today, I am in my thirties, and a progressive disease that I was born with called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) has almost completely taken my sight. Due to this visual impairment, I can no longer see books to read to my children. Instead, I create my own tales and tell them to my kids at bedtime. I have a growing collection of these children's stories which I often work on, putting them into a written form. Recently, my writing focus returned to the novel as I began work on two separate books in the children's fantasy genre. I quickly realized that in order for me to complete these works, I need to sharpen my writing skills. Often, I find myself typing a rambling blur of sentences that lack structure. My sister encouraged me to join Writing.Com last year, and I have begun to write short stories in a variety of genres for different on-site contests. I've learned so much in the short time I've been writing on the site. I yearn to know more about manipulating words to produce effective images, characters, and plots in an appropriately paced structure that holds a reader's attention throughout the piece. I've decided to seek formal instruction on how to sharpen and, in some cases, develop new writing tools that will help me create a polished writing project.


2. What is your single main goal from taking this class? Are you looking to expand your toolkit, to work on a particular talent or skill, or to polish your work in a particular genre? I ask this because at the end of the course I'd like you to look back and compare your writing before the class, and after.(UN: academy at Writing.Com; A1 Writing Academy; Lesson I: Introduction and Structure, 2008)

         My ultimate accomplishment will be when I polish my work and complete the two novels I have started in the children's fantasy genre. However, in order to do this, I understand I must take small steps, initially working on the development of individual writing skills. Honestly, I never knew I had a "writer's toolbox". I like the analogy, and I hope to obtain a sense of organization by pinpointing my strengths and building on them; and identifying the weak areas and learn new tools to improve them. For this class, my main goal is to expand my writing tools and organize them with the development of my personal writer's tool kit.