(no subject)
so i haven't written in here in a while. i mean sure i've updated, but i haven't written something in a long time. i remember before, when i first got this thing, i would write only with the goal of having people comment, which seems somewhat stupid to me now. but really, what other purpose is there in writing in a journal that's open to the public? we all obviously want people to read and respond to what we write, or else we would put all of our entries as private, or we'd just write in a normal notebook.
i'm not saying that we're all egotistical and narcissistic. i just think it's interesting, that's all.
so anyway. i've been writing a lot lately. i had a freshman english class last semester, and we wrote probably 5 or 6 essays in that class, not to mention a few small writing assignments in between. and this semester i have the same teacher for two classes, both english related: modern literature and writing from library sources. i really like modern literature so far... we've read stories by kafka and james joyce, and written probably 4 essays already.
it's funny, because when i sit down and write these essays, i don't ever use an outline, and i don't ever type a rough draft. i just type, cite my pages, and proofread as i go along. when i'm finished, i print it out and don't look at it. if i look at it i start to get worried that it's not very good, even though i'm often too lazy (or just lacking the time) to revise it at all. then the funny thing is... the teacher always loves it. in one case, she read my paper on james joyce's "an encounter" aloud to the class. it was a little weird.
i think that writing because i have to is actually good for me. it uses those parts of my brain associated with writing even when i may not be especially inspired.
speaking of which, james joyce is pretty good. i highly recommend dubliners. his style of writing takes a bit to get used to, as does dissecting virtually every sentence. it's rewarding, though. i've been considering reading ulysses, but i think i'd like to keep my head from exploding. for the time being, at least.