Writing Reflection

I have been known to get too wrapped up in my head when I write - in an effort to express my overwhelming enthusiasm in regard to what I am thinking and feeling, my writing can become cyclical and excessive. That's always been my greatest problem: writing too much and forgetting how to be economical, thus forfeiting most of the precision my writing could have had. I think Wallace has probably taught a lot of kids like me. Kids who care about what they are reading and writing, and love to write, and get so caught up that they forget that the reader "cannot read their mind."

But I loved what Wallace said about how writing is more a matter of "spirit" than "intellect", and how the greatest talent one can have in writing is not the gift of God-given perfection, but the personal grit and endurance to move forward. You can work hard at it, for it is not an exact art (and that can be what troubles people the most). You just need the passion to keep going, and the openness of mind to understand that sometimes all it takes is slowing down a bit and clarifying your thoughts for both yourself and for your reader.