As with so many things in life, writing and I have a love-hate relationship. I am the type of writer who hates almost every first draft I write; sometimes the second and third drafts too. Sometimes I've found myself staring at that blank white space with so much animosity towards its glaring emptiness that I'd have to just get up and walk away for an hour or so. But I don't think this sort of frustration is unique to my writing process; I imagine it's a feeling most writers deal with pretty often.
When I was in grade school I thought that writing was a strict, methodical process involving one person and one idea. Since coming to the UW Bothell last fall, I've realized that writing should be everything but a solitary practice. Every writer, regardless of experience or skill level, is improved by the thoughts and feedback of other writers. I may not get it right on the first try, but I always find comfort in the fact that I have countless resources—my peers—to help me develop whatever I'm working on.
My favorite part of the entire writing process usually occurs after I've opened myself up to all of these outside influences and ideas. I like to challenge myself to take seemingly separate ideas and make something cohesive, and to put my own personal stamp on it. I think that the best writing isn't always the product of some new discovery, but of finding a way to look at something familiar through a different lens I'm excited to work at the Writing Center because it's a way to keep that running dialogue about the writing process itself, and to help each other find better ways to communicate our ideas.
