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A photo of writing center staff posing together in a group photo. There are about 30 people clustered together over two couches, with some people standing behind the couches and a few people sitting on the floor. Many people are wearing silly hats or holding stuffed animal toys. UNC Writing Center staff and coaches.

Full-time Staff

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Kimberly Abels, Director

writing_center@unc.edu, (919) 962-4426
Dr. Abels has led the student-centered, tech-savvy professional and student communities that compose Carolina’s Writing and Learning Center for over twenty years. She collaborates with colleagues and campus partners to build Writing and Learning Center services and fosters environments where students imagine, discover, reflect, and stretch into new ideas and academic habits.

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Alex Funt, Assistant Director

tafunt@email.unc.edu, (919) 966-8924
Dr. Funt hires, trains, supervises, and mentors the Writing Center’s team of undergraduate and graduate student writing coaches. He also collaborates with Writing and Learning Center staff to manage our digital media presence as well as our marketing and communications efforts on campus. Alex has a PhD in English Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy from UNC Chapel Hill and is an alum of the Mississippi Teacher Corps.

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Franny Brock, Writing Coach Specialist

mfbrock@live.unc.edu, (919) 962-4799
Franny helps train and support the Writing Center’s undergraduate and graduate coaches. She provides feedback, mentorship, and leadership for a large coaching staff and supports them in their professional development. Franny has a master’s degree in Art History and a background in museum education, curatorial work, and teaching.

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Gigi Taylor, Senior English Language Specialist

vgtaylor@unc.edu, (919) 962-0725
Dr. Taylor helps writing coaches, faculty, and staff provide effective writing support for students whose first language is not English. She also provides instruction about academic communication, English language, and American culture for UNC’s international students and scholars.

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Warren Christian, English Language Specialist

warren@unc.edu, (919) 843-9604
Dr. Christian helps writing coaches, faculty, and staff provide effective writing support for students whose first language is not English. He also provides instruction about academic communication, English language, and American culture for UNC’s international students and scholars.

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Donovan Wright, Administrative Support Specialist

donwrigh@email.unc.edu, (919) 962-7710
Donovan provides logistical support to Writing and Learning Center coaches and staff on a daily basis. As the Administrative Support Specialist, Donovan will likely be the first face you see when you visit our location in SASB North. He is passionate about creating a welcoming and collaborative atmosphere for student success. Donovan comes to us from NC State but is excited to be a Tar Heel.

 


Get To Know Our Writing Coaches

The Writing Center’s writing coaches are undergraduate and graduate students from a wide variety of academic disciplines. They receive extensive training in teaching writing one on one. New graduate coaches undergo more than 40 hours of preparation at the start of the fall semester, and undergraduates take a 3-credit-hour course (English 402) to prepare. All coaches receive ongoing training and supervision.

Since each writing coach has an individual approach, we suggest trying out several coaches in order to find the style that works best for you. You can learn a little more about some of our writing coaches by reading their responses to the question “What is writing like for you?”


Adia

Writing is like a phoenix’s renewal. Like the mythical bird, your drafts are constantly being reborn. Constantly rising from ashes. However, in order to rise, there is a certain level of intentionality and courage required. The magic of the phoenix is in the effort it makes to self-destruct, only to regenerate. In this same way, a writer must lean into their work. Strike their pen against paper. Spark flames full of new ideas. Then, set themselves and their words on fire. It is true then, that writers are the real phoenixes today. Because no matter the setbacks, to write is to willingly be reborn, healed, and most importantly…made new.


Ana

Writing is like starting a new job. It’s possible you might not understand what exactly is expected of you once you’re hired. You’ll have to go through training, shadowing, and some practice before you start on your own. You’ll have to find what strategies work best for you and even consult some outside resources.You’ll be acquainted with colleagues that help your performance and others that you’ll choose to steer clear of. Once you begin to work independently, it still may be a while before you truly get the hang of it, you may still have questions and even be frustrated at the tasks at hand. Things may be unclear or there may be some things that you simply don’t want to do, but over time you learn to enjoy certain parts of your work life and even look forward to it. There will be times, even with years of experience under your belt, where you don’t know the answer to everything. Challenges will present themselves and new roadblocks will come abruptly, making new ventures opportunities for growth and improvement. You may realize that this job isn’t the one for you, and start the process all over again, which is okay. Regardless of whether or not you find the perfect job, you’ll always be learning and bettering yourself through it, just like writing!


Anna

Writing is like practicing yoga. At first, you concentrate on where to put this arm and that leg, clunky clauses that seem to have a mind of their own. With discipline and effort, your muscles grow and so, too, your capacity to focus. Slowly, over time, you shift your attention from the external shape or posture, the specific essay or poem, to the experience of practicing itself. You realize that this life force comes from within–that it is channeled more through attention and breath than muscle or deadline. You start to notice more, too. Parts of your body that had never felt before become alive, as if for the first time. The more you practice, the more you feel. The more you write, the more you see.


B

Writing is like flying for the first time. There are 3 stages with any flight – boarding the plane, hurtling through the air, and finally, the sweet landing. As you’re walking through the jet bridge, there’s nervousness mixed with excitement, much like a writer opening a blank page. What if your luggage gets lost? Or there’s a baby kicking and screaming behind you? You brush these thoughts aside and board the plane, still excited for a new destination – maybe a tropical paradise or a brooding mountain getaway. Like getting those first words on the page, the flight takes off and you’re in the air. You soar above buildings, looking out the window and it hits you that you’re flying! Perhaps your flight is long enough for the refreshment cart to come rolling out. You slowly crunch on pretzels and sip apple juice while pulling up the flight map. You look at how many words you’ve written down, how many thoughts on the page, but also how many more miles left of your trip. The captain soon announces landing, and you fasten your seatbelt, bracing yourself for a (hopefully) smooth landing. Before leaving the plane, you gather your belongings, grab your carry-on baggage from the overhead bin and exit the plane to be greeted with your destination.


Cate

Writing is like playing a difficult RPG. Now matter how many times you die, you keep returning to the menu and starting anew. Some enemies might be harder for you to face than others, and you may find yourself adapting your play style, co-oping with other players, grinding, or seeking tutorials. Maybe you’re a hyper-aggressive player constantly applying offensive pressure, or maybe you’re a more patient, tanky build waging that war of attrition. Once you’ve arrived at that perfect build, few things are more satisfying than finally mowing down that boss. And who knows–on subsequent playthroughs, the boss who halted your progression the first time around may turn out to be a cakewalk.


Catherine

Writing is like stargazing. When you look into the night sky, there are thousands of stars visible to the naked eye, and there are thousands of possible constellations or interpretations from your vantage point. The sheer vastness of the sky may be overwhelming at first, but your eyes grow accustomed after a moment. Once you are comfortably seated on your picnic blanket, you can lean your head back and string the stars together in your mind, starting with the brightest and most captivating. There isn’t a right or wrong to the constellations you construct — just as there isn’t a right or wrong to someone else’s constellations, which may appear different from yours. In writing and academic research, every scholar’s interpretation, pathway, and methods are completely unique. Someone may form a connection that you didn’t see, and you have to be content with the fact that you cannot fathom every possible constellation. Instead, you choose an interpretation that resonates with you, and you put all of your effort into describing the pattern that you see. The lines that draw your thoughts together in writing are just like the lines that tether the stars— the beauty is in the unique construction.


Christina

Writing is like going mushroom foraging in an enchanted forest where mushrooms can be magical, normal yet delicious or poisonous. When you’re foraging, you have to carefully look at each mushroom to determine what type it is. Similarly, writing can be magical or good or awful. However, you have to sit down and comb through your thoughts and rough drafts and messy attempts by actually writing to find that magic.


Cole

Writing is like getting ice cream on a hot day. It can seem simple, then it gets tricky, but the end result is rewarding. Make your way to your favorite ice cream shop and prepare to get to work. You start out by choosing what you want to be the foundation of your creation, then select the things you want to add on top. You get all your research together and plan your ideas. You may want to ensure your chosen toppings or evidence complement each other. At this point, you’ve got all the information you want to include, you just need to start writing. You may think that now it’s time to dive right in, but, remember, it’s a HOT day. A busy or stressful week might make your actual writing process trickier than you would think. If you take the time to prepare and plan, maybe choose a cup instead of a cone, make a detailed outline instead of charging in, you can make the process a bit smoother. Rather than feeling like you must rush as fast as you can to get through, it can be nice to carefully choose the places to devote your attention. Don’t give yourself brain freeze; just eat the parts that are melting. The best part is the feeling after you’ve finished when you get to enjoy your success.


Dash

Writing is like building a dam (as a beaver). You have a vision of a finished state: a deep, still pond perfect for napping and chewing on wet leaves. But, right now, you are in the middle of a river with work to do. Perhaps you have just dragged the first logs into place, and the river seems unchanged. Or your dam might be almost done, with just a few leaks left to patch. Wherever you are in the process, working on your dam will slow the water around you, giving you time to think and to marvel. You might even briefly wonder at the fact that you are the only animal that does this. Or you might just want to finish your dam and rest! However you envision your dam, part of beaver culture is working together, so come on down to the Writing Center and we can build it together.


Delphine

Writing is like scuba diving. The deeper you go, the more you find. While a diver plans which reef she might explore, you must prepare your space to write in. Divers and writers know that finding the right conditions – although sometimes impossible – creates predictability as they undergo their new or daunting pursuit.

Like a diver preparing her mask, wetsuit, and tank, you as a writer must grab your pen, breathe, prime your mind, and set into action. Below the surface of the water, you discover the brilliant unexpected. Your boat, outline, or familiar breathing seem far away. Swimming past you, there are creatures, characters, words and feelings you couldn’t have envisioned before: an agile turtle, a quick stonefish, a gaping tarpon.

You notice you are low on air. Time to head back up. As you make the slow, careful ascension away from this immersive world, you re-enter solid ground. As you reach the surface in your dreamy haze, it strikes you soundly that little will prevent you from returning to this creative world again.


Diana

Writing is like learning to drive. When I first started, I was so terrified that my hands would shake whenever I had to turn the key of the ignition. Having my dad as my teacher did not make the experience any better, and having a bad teacher or failing your driving test may make you apprehensive to get behind another wheel again. All the buttons. The highway that you’ve never driven on before. Constantly checking to make sure you’re at the right speed limit, didn’t miss a turn, or reach an empty tank. We start learning to drive with incredible attention to every maneuver we make, but, once we get the hang of it, driving can be freeing. Sure, not everyone will become a NASCAR driver in their lifetime, but we all have to use driving everyday as an essential tool to get to destinations. We write to get to destinations too; application essays for colleges, resumes for job searches, e-mails to peers and co-workers, text messages to friends about how great or awful our days were. Sure, everyone drives a little bit differently (like my grandma, who for some reason presses the gas pedal with her right foot and brakes with her left, which is probably not the best way to go about it actually…), but we all get to our endpoint eventually, even if at different speeds or on different roads. At the end of the day, we can all ultimately find comfort in the fact that even the most experienced drivers have to think over the general rules of the road and sometimes fail at parallel parking the first time, too.


Ella D.

Writing is like picking out an outfit. Starting from scratch might feel overwhelming at first—you want to choose something that you like, and something that other people will appreciate (and maybe something that makes you look cool). There are a lot of clothes to choose from, and almost infinite ways you could put them together. Eventually, though, an idea starts to take shape in your head as you think about all the pieces you have to work with. It looks good in theory, but you have to try it on to make sure. Once you’ve put your outfit on, you might love it, be ready to add accessories and head out the door. Or it might look nothing like you thought it would. You might hate it. You might have to swap out a million different shirts until you find the one that works. You might even have to scrap the outfit altogether and start over. You might feel frustrated because things aren’t coming together the way you want them to, like you want to give up and never leave the house again. But you keep digging, and eventually you’re able to create something you like. You put the finishing touches on, and you have something cohesive, something you can really be proud of. The good news is that when you’re writing, you don’t have to clean up the mess you made. You can just delete everything you didn’t use.


Ella S.

Writing is like creating pottery. The mound of clay, much like the jumble of ideas, starts out looking rough and intimidating, but with time it begins to take shape. During the process, there will be moments where parts of the piece look perfect, but others are messy and undeveloped. It can be easy to get frustrated and want to give up, but it often yields a result that you are proud of, despite its imperfections. At some point, you achieve a result that you are satisfied with and fire it so that you can enjoy the final product, although you may always have elements that you want to change. This stage of the pottery process is much like submitting a piece of writing which can be scary but is often rewarded with a sense of pride and accomplishment thereafter.


Grace

Writing is like doing your laundry. The task can seem daunting, especially if you’ve let it build up, but actually accomplishing it can be meditative. First, you must secure your supplies – your favorite detergent and dryer sheets acting like the quotes and notes you’ve compiled to incorporate into your work. The process and attention to detail in sorting your clothes is like breaking down ideas into bitesize outlines. Switching the loads and hanging some stuff out to dry is like working through the first paragraphs and first drafts. By the time you get to the folding stage, the finish line is in sight and the rhythmic process is like the reviewing of your work, smoothing out corners and crisping edges before looking back at what you’ve accomplished. Then, finally, you can shut the drawer or press submit with a feeling of relief and satisfaction.


Jackson

Writing is like eating a big sandwich. You stare down your towering creation, fearing it might collapse at any moment.

“Am I a fool?” you wonder. “How can I take on this behemoth?”

Despite your doubts, you bravely dive mouth-first into the fray. The first bite is messy but gives you the hope to continue. Though some ingredients escape, your shirt stays mostly sauce-free. As you journey deeper, you might face more than you expected—an unexpected crunch from a metaphor or a surprise kick from a sneaky jalapeño. You might need to pause, clean up some spilled ideas, or rethink your strategy to avoid a culinary calamity. But you are no fool. You’ve done this before and have plenty of napkins on hand.

With nothing left but crumbs, you feel a triumphant sense of accomplishment and a contented, if slightly overstuffed, satisfaction. Your work is done. It’s time to give in to the food coma that awaits.


Jessica

Writing is like trying to find something cool in an impressively stuffed-to-the-max antique store. Swimming through your swirling thoughts and picking out the ones you want to develop is like trying to navigate the rows and rows of shelves and piles in the store. Sometimes an item you thought you liked turns out not to be quite right, so you put it back and pick a new one. Sometimes you go in looking for a specific item and end up leaving with something else entirely. Sometimes your vision for a $2.99 item you picked up morphs into a DIY restoration project. Sometimes you just pick something and roll with it (it’s been a few hours and you’re ready to go home). It can certainly be overwhelming – those swirling thoughts can be loud and distracting, just like the items in the store. Depending on what you’re looking for, you may have to spend some extra time digging through a pile or doing some touch-ups when you bring it home. Rarely do you stumble upon something in perfect condition so easily. The process of finding the coolest set of vintage glassware can be exciting and rewarding, just like turning in a piece of writing you’ve worked hard on and that you’re proud of.


Katelyn

Writing is like moving to a new place. During your first couple of days in that uncharted location, you’re probably feeling a little lost. Everything is unrecognizable. You don’t know any of the roads, people, or norms, yet there you stand, thrust into a world of unfamiliarity. Staring at that blank document can feel the same way – sometimes, you just don’t know where to start. But as you get some ideas down, that fear mitigates, and you begin to acclimate. You meet your neighbors and learn their kids’ names. You find a good local restaurant that becomes your favorite Wednesday lunch spot. You finally get around to hanging those pictures up in your room. Likewise, as you dive further into the writing process, the unfamiliarity fades. You become increasingly confident in your work, and words flood that previously blank page. Before you know it, you’re typing your final words, proofreading, and adding your finishing touches. The days of packed boxes and blank documents seem far behind you. Now, when you look at that formerly new place, you see your home and feel a sense of ownership and belonging. And when you look back at that piece of writing, you’re proud to put your name on it.


Katie

Writing is like being the seeker in a game of hide and seek. When you finish counting and open your eyes, you never immediately know which way you should go. You know that what you seek is out there somewhere, but there are many different places that it could be. As you choose a direction and begin to search, you check every nook, cranny, and dark corner, afraid that you might miss something. Sometimes you become discouraged; you feel like what you’re looking for should be easy to find, yet it also feels out of reach. But you feel relieved every time you find someone, and slowly your confidence grows. Occasionally you have to double back and explore the places you’ve been before, but you know that this revision is just part of the process. You put in time and diligence, and, before you know it, you’ve found everyone. The game is over, and as you close your laptop, you can pat yourself on the back for the win.


Khalil

Writing is like playing in a tabletop game. No matter the setting, you’re telling a story. Your class, the stats you roll, and your background might inform your narrative, but they do not determine your choices. You won’t always receive inspiration when it would help most… but encountering misfortunes builds your story as much as success. With persistence, help from allies, and support from a great spell list (or bibliography), you’ll eventually score a critical hit. Which path do you choose, traveler?


Lindsay

Writing is like mapping out uncharted territory, with the paths revealing themselves as we walk them. While we will eventually finish the map, the journey itself reveals the paths, challenges, and discoveries along the way. We start the journey with a blank page and our intentions, making plans to fill in the map. As we explore our topic, we find ideas and inspiration that help us create our map. Along the way, we overcome all kinds of obstacles and gain insights. Even after we finish our map, we must refine and clarify it, seeking guidance in new perspectives. On this expedition, we realize that the true value lies in the exploration and evolution of our thoughts and ideas.


Madison

Writing is like going on an adventure across the country. First, it often involves a great deal of planning. You might map out your route, which may involve brainstorming locations to stop at. Often, it can be difficult to decide on locations. When selecting snacks to bring, one may consider who is coming on the trip and their food preferences. You will have to pack a suitcase by deciding what clothes to bring and essentials needed. However, your plan may not always go the way you expect. You may experience unexpected bumps, such as traffic, which could delay your estimated arrival time. On the other hand, you could take a detour and decide to stop at a local attraction. You will have to stop for gas, snacks, and rest. If you use a GPS, there is still a chance of getting lost. It is best not to panic as new opportunities can arise as a result. You can gain advice from locals who can guide you in the direction you are looking for. Even if your road trip does not go according to plan, you will reach your intended destination with memories of the journey to reflect upon.


Miquell

Writing is like therapy. The only difference is that with the former you are putting forth and diagnosing your own deepest thoughts and theories as they relate to whatever you may be writing about and in conversation with, as opposed to a person on the exterior doing the evaluation. It is an unquestionably painful process for me; however, the act of writing never fails to unveil the beauty that is displayed as one comes to terms with their existence through struggle. With this in mind, writing works as a symbiotic process where, on the one hand, you provide insight and theories into comprehending the problems that plague humanity and, on the other, you pave ways for alternative modes of existence that provide a safe haven for all previously marginalized communities.


Miyha

Writing is like washing dishes. We all dread doing it, right? You ignore them for so long that after a few days those 4 dishes have accumulated to 12-16. There may be a slight stench from the dishes and nagging in the back of your mind or from your mom/roommate to get them done but something is always stopping you. After a few days of procrastination, you suddenly feel empowered to take on the task. You remove the dishes from the sink and clean out the debris. Here we can correlate this to brainstorming in the writing process? What do we want to write about? What ideas immediately come to mind. Next, we run the water –adding in dishwashing liquid and setting up space for them to dry. We can relate this to our outline. We have a clear plan where we are headed in our essay. Now here is the big boom—we begin to wash the dishes. We put the dishes in the water and begin to clean them. Although are hands are moving steadily—making sure to clean off all dirt, left over food, grease and everything else yucky—our mind is wondering. We are planning out the rest of our day, adding to the to-do list, and overthinking everything else under the sun. This part we can tribute our rough draft. We let our ideas flow out of our heads and on to the paper. Without boundaries nor limitations. Now that we are done, we can rinse the dishes off and place them on the drying rack. This is our revisioning stage of the rough draft. This is when we read our draft aloud. Adding or deleting words that doesn’t make sense. Maybe reorganizing paragraphs and working on the structure. Our ultimate goal is to make sure our essay is clear, concise, and free of errors. We let the dirty dish water out and clean out the sink. Now, the last step depends on your own judgement. You can put the dishes away or simply leave them drying on the rack. Here is your choice to do another round of revisions or simply submit your final draft. The biggest thing to remember is that you just have to get started. Once you begin, the ideas will flow and the dishes will be done before you know it.


Na’dayah

Writing is like dancing. There is, really, no “wrong” way to do it — fly through the air, roll on the floor, or whatever else makes your heart soar. But what if you want to get a point across? What if you want to share a message or tell a story in a way that other people are able to resonate with and understand? There are more effective ways to do it than others. If you have the proper form, whether you’re dancing across a stage or dancing your fingers across a keyboard, then your audience will have an easier time understanding. Once you know you can make them understand, then you can start breaking the rules. Inventing new forms. Dancing — writing — like no one is watching.


Nic

Writing is like creating a painting. Just like painting, writing is a dynamic and ongoing process. There are plenty of mediums and styles to choose from, and each one takes practice to master. But what to paint? Different subjects will speak to different people in various ways. Understanding your specific point of view and that of your audience will help you to decide. Who or what are you creating it for? What is the context of the moment? And then there is the work itself. After taking the time to explore techniques, build a strong foundation, and find your own perspective, you can begin to experiment–and maybe even create a new style of your own. Mess with composition, proportion, and color! Layer, reshape, and reconfigure!


Olivia

Writing is like taking out the trash. It seems simple enough—collect your ideas, tie them together in a coherent way, and send the final product off to wherever it needs to go. However, writing, like taking out the trash, is never quite as easy as it initially seems. Maybe your trash can is overflowing, but the thought of tying your shoes is daunting enough to make you want to avoid the chore altogether. Writing can be like that. Oftentimes, it’s difficult to sit down and start drafting your first outline or finding the hook for your introduction. Like a trash can, my brain overflows with potential ideas, but I struggle to take the initiative to put them where they belong. However, once I finally put on a pair of shoes and take my trash to the curb, I find myself thinking, why didn’t I do that sooner?


Owen

Writing is like a box of chocolates. Sometimes you get a prompt and, not really knowing where to go with it, you say the first thing that pops into your head and do the best you can to justify it. Maybe your argument is based on a class you’ve taken, a book you’ve read, or a line from a famous movie you saw a long time ago. It can be tricky sometimes, standing by this point you’ve chosen arbitrarily. Maybe you should have started over a long time ago and picked some other topic, but you’re in the thick of it now and refuse to back down. You work around your mistakes and keep writing until you’ve developed something mostly coherent. The point is, when you open a box of chocolates or a new writing assignment there are a plethora of options laid before you, so many potential topics, so many choices of sugary treats. Of course, there are considerations to be made, maybe you’re allergic to some of the candies or you have background knowledge on an applicable topic; but ultimately, your choice is a little bit random, and that’s part of the fun! You never really know what you’re going to get.


Percy

Writing is like scaling a rock wall. You set your eyes on a clear destination, but it’s high above your head, the distance almost insurmountable. There are plenty of footholds and supports at your disposal, but no set path nor single way to utilize them. Whether you stop to plan and strategize or forge boldly ahead, there will be times — perhaps many times — where you find yourself stuck halfway up the wall and need to climb back down to reassess your approach. In these moments, you might discover someone at the bottom willing to help you find your way up. While they’ll do their best to help you along, only you can do the climbing — and when you finally reach the top, you’ll have the satisfaction of having conquered a task that at first seemed far out of reach (and sweated a little while doing it).


Sarah

Writing is like crocheting. You start with an idea for a project. You might have a detailed pattern for a beautiful sweater with helpful diagrams and step-by-step instructions to guide you. Or perhaps you’re an experienced crafter, with just a vague vision of a blanket that evolves as you improvise and create your own pattern, yarn flowing through your fingers and muscle memory taking over to replicate hundreds of stitches across dozens of rows. Sometimes you underestimate the amount of yarn you will need, and to save yourself a trip to the craft store, you stretch out stitches, settling for a shortened sweater – a trendy, cropped kind of look. For other projects, you start with a mountain of yarn so gargantuan that it seems virtually unchanged despite using several skeins, so you put the leftovers into a scrap bin to be creatively woven into a future endeavor. There is not a single project that doesn’t require problem-solving. It may just be a dropped stitch that you can quickly backtrack and change or cleverly disguise, but sometimes you end up with a hideously deformed sleeve that simply must be fully unraveled. Luckily, there are very few missteps that can’t be changed, whether through delicate revisions or complete reimagining, to a polished final product.


Sid

Writing is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It’s a lot easier when you have a finished product in mind: a visualization of what you want it to accomplish. You may have distinct, coherent segments of your puzzle that you find difficult to integrate into the big picture. Sometimes, the patterns will seem laughably simple to you, and sometimes you’ll be stuck on a single piece for hours. Some people start their puzzles in the middle, and others start from the edges: there’s not a “right” way to go about it. It’s easy to become frustrated or feel defeated from the beginning, but you already have all the pieces you’ll need to see it through.


Zoe

Writing is like taking a road trip. When you decide to go, you are overwhelmed with ideas until you choose the destination. You map out your route and make packing lists, and likewise you brainstorm a mind map and write an outline for your essay. When you leave–early in the morning and fueled with coffee–there’s nothing between you and the open road. At least, that’s how the trip will start. The windows are down and your music is loud when you hit the stand-still traffic halfway between home and your destination. Writing is never an easy task and you’ll often run into roadblocks. This is annoying–obviously–but it only lasts for the next few miles and then you’re cruising once again. There is always the chance you may get lost–taking the wrong exit and driving for 30 minutes in the wrong direction. But trust that you will eventually realize your mistake and make a detour to find your way once again. So even if you realize that paragraph you spent two hours perfecting belongs nowhere in your essay, creating it helped you become a better writer. When you finally arrive, you feel relieved it’s over and proud of yourself for making it. And when it comes time to reflect on the adventure, all you remember is the things you learned.