Kane 1

Word Count: 1000

Nic Kane
Miller and Crichton
AP English Language and Composition
2 July 2013
Why I (Dont) Write
By third grade, I had come to understand that I would not make my living as a writer.
Nevertheless, I have always been intrigued with language and its properties.
When I was as young as five, I began to establish myself as a musician. Because I
enjoyed writing songs, putting my own thoughts down on paper was simple during elementary
school. I would spend my days playing guitar, as well as writing songs. I constructed such
distinguished anthems as The Cat Patrol and Butter on my Bagel." Thus began my short-lived
career as a writer. Then came the third grade, with a research paper, the Totem Report. During
this time, I was to author my first research paper, on the Hammerhead shark. Creative writing
had been straightforward and individual; now I had to conform and do research. This came as a
shock to me, and I struggled through the laborious process. Writing about other peoples ideas
and putting them in my own words threw me off considerably. After third grade, I discovered my
hatred of research reports. Moreover, at the end of every school year, there was a writing test that
would involve responding to a prompt. For the years prior to the third grade, we were given a
creative writing prompt, but never response to literature. However, in the third grade, I was given
my first response to literature prompt. As if I did not hate research papers enough, the response
to literature prompt proved to be a hindrance for the rest of my days at school.
My dislike for writing was impelled by non-creative writing assignments. Starting in
middle school, I had to write about a.) topics I hated and b.) integrate with the new formatting.
The rules one must conform to - MLA, double-space, paragraph structure - were a driving force
in my ever growing apathy for writing. Besides the new stipulations that were added, I was never
Kane 2
Word Count: 1000
prodigious with words; I am still not that adroit. I have always tended to use the same boring
verbs and adjectives.
I have included all of this information because I do not think one can assess a writer's
motives without knowing something of his early development (Orwell 3). Knowing these facts
and personal stories can change the impact of ones writing. For example, if one knows that an
author grew up in New York City, a book written by that author, if about the city, will seem
more reliable and hold more truth. Even if it is a side job, I believe there to be three major
motives for writing, and they exist in most, if not all.
(i) Making a point. This is, for the most part, used to emphasize something one believes
in or the desire to change the minds of others by ones own will. Every novel, article, or
advertisement has been written to make a point. Ones point may be clear and concise or intricate
and subtle, but it is still omnipresent. This is a trait shared by writers and, businessmen, lawyers,
doctors, artists - essentially every career imaginable.
(ii) Historical Response. With every historical event comes a reaction. Some historical
events inspire films or plays, while others inspire books or poems. Almost every text that I have
read was written as a response to a certain event that has occurred in the past. This event may not
be something that you have heard about in history class, like the Civil War, but could be
something that an author has experienced. Some texts are obvious, such as The Crucible and The
Jungle, but most novels, like The Great Gatsby, are simply written as a response to a time period
that the author experienced or has a connection to.
(iii) Exposing Beauty. The world is filled with many drab things, but an author who has
sheer motivation can see the beauty in any person, place, or thing. Writers use literary devices
such as similes, metaphors and personification to expose the beauty in many situations. For
Kane 3
Word Count: 1000
example, one writer may write, The rose was red, but a motivated writer will write, The
shimmering rose was red like a freshly picked cherry. Figurative language is a large part of
writing, and it helps to develop a writers style.
I understand how the degree of each of these motives can vary from person to person, but
I believe that all three motives exist in every writer, young or old, amateur or professional.
Personally, I would identify myself with the first two motives. I have never cared much for
exposing beauty, though figurative language is often a proponent of my songs.
Over the last few years, what I have attempted to do is to either get a certain point across
or elaborate on something I have experienced in the past. When I sit down and begin to write a
song, I dont think, I would love to produce a fine work of art. Instead I think, What
important events and influences would draw in an audience? Certain events, and relationships
have all instigated these in part, but usually some more than others. It was in the fifth grade that I
found myself to be writing songs mostly about girls, none in particular, but certainly based on
ones I knew, while in my freshman year, I began to focus more on other experiences. I cannot,
however, leave my songs drab and dry; the use of figurative language is necessary to create an
aesthetic experience for listeners. My job is to explain and capture attention.
By this point, I realize that I made it seem that my purpose in writing was to harness my
audience and create a song they might enjoy. In the end, however, my motives are difficult to
define and more often than not, my songs will be pushed by my own desires. Focusing back on
my writing, I have, despite my objection to academic writing, improved immensely through my
use of complex sentence structures and higher level vocabulary.



Kane 4
Word Count: 1000