My Writing With Constraints Experience

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         What you talkin' about?! That was my reaction when asked to write in a certain writing constraints exercise. What if I told you, you can write anything you want, but you have certain constraints you had to follow? You can only use one syllable words and there can be no more than ten words in each sentence. Oh, you also have to write at least half a page using these constraints. Sounds crazy, right? Maybe even impossible? Well, I completed this assignment and it wasn’t impossible, but it was definitely difficult. We were asked to complete an assignment with these constraints for one of my English classes. I actually really enjoyed it because of its challenging constraints.

            The plot of the story I wrote was about a guy named Josh who lives with his wife and four children. He is a farmer, but he also is a race car driver as a hobby and to make an extra income for his family. His wife secretly hates him traveling to race because he is inconsistent with being home for her and their children. He overhears her talking on the phone and then there is a discussion on whether he should give up his hobby of racing forever.

            This is a hard task because I would normally use a thesaurus to find words to use that mean something similar to what I am trying to convey. With this task, the thesaurus was not very useful. Most words are more than one syllable creating a greatly frustrating experience. I decided I had to stick with words that were easy and familiar. I would also normally create my sentence structure and length to be something more fluid and “flowy” if you will. I would not pick a word limit. I would just start writing until the sentence was complete. NOT IN THIS TASK! It was very strict in only using ten words. This was nice in some areas, but not very ideal in others. I couldn’t convey half of the details I wanted to because it would include using words that contain more than one syllable.

            Relating to sentence structure and conveying a story, sound is also very important. I felt that in this task it was very hard to give off the sound I was trying to accomplish. With that said, I also found that the constraints conveyed some sound better than if I were able to make a sentence however long I wanted. Sometimes the short seemingly “here’s the point” sound gave my story more of a suspenseful sound that I did not expect to gain from the constraints. It's amazing what abrupt periods and commas can do for a writing piece or story. I found this by reading the comments under my completed task. I found that some thought that my story went well with the constraints. I guess I'm my own worst critic! 

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        I usually go back through my writing after I am finished and think, “Okay, if I am the reader of this work, am I going to enjoy it or get out of it what I need to.” I may also ask myself, “If I know nothing about this topic and I am reading it for the first time right now, is there enough information here for me to gain an understanding?” I did that, but I still wasn't sure about it. I had to turn something in, though. When I turned it in, I had some wonderful feedback and everyone was impressed with my work! I didn't like it, but my readers loved it! They were impressed by the length of my story and detail with the constraints I was held against. It was a very unexpected outcome for sure.

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            I will say after writing within these constraints I do not hold an appreciation for short sentences. They bother me because I cannot convey everything I need to. Do I think they can help me get rid on run on sentences and seemingly paragraph long sentences? Of course they do. I can use this newfound strategy in my future writing to eliminate these things, but I will not be using them regularly as a style of writing. I will be implementing more abrupt periods and commas in my writing. This can give the story more of what it needs to give strict points or it can create a feeling of suspense, too! While it was fun, interesting, and educational, I do not wish to do this regularly in the future in my kind of writing.

Professional Writing 101

By: Dani Henshilwood

As a future educator who is in the journey of student teaching, I think about writing, read other peoples’ writings, and read writing in all different voices and styles. I read anything from test scores and professional letters, to picture books and students’ writings. I am constantly seeing the differences that occur in so many types of writing. Along with reading different writings, I have a large passion to write and care about writing and communication quite a bit.

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My mom has always been an entrepreneur, so she taught me at a young age to know what voice and style to use when communicating different ideas and communicating to different people. I was asked to read through my classmate’s professional emails in high school all the time because I was considered a “gift” in writing to people in professional roles. People I hardly knew would ask me to proofread their emails and teach them how to word ideas in a professional manner. I’ll be honest, when my mom “forced” me to learn how to do this, I hated it and thought it was dumb. I know what you’re thinking, what an entitled preteen thing to think. You’re right. It was an awful entitled thought that soon changed when I found that I gained much respect from each and every adult I communicated with through writing.

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With all this being said, I would like to teach YOU the difference between different types of writings and how to communicate effectively and professionally with anyone of your choosing. Follow these steps and you are sure to gain respect to anyone you write to. Another thing to note is that in a business or professional situation, it could be the professional communications that push you to the top of the contact list in a job. It’s all about your tone and your voice. Without further ado, I present to you… Professional Writing 101. \

When I think about what voice and style I will use when writing to someone, I first identify the person I am writing to and what kind of relationship I have with them. If I am sending a text to my best friend; it is sometimes going to look entirely different than a text I would send to my mom. If I am sending an email to someone, I have a professional relationship with, it will be worded and written very differently than what I would write to my mom. Below is just that situation. One paragraph is written to my mom, while the other one is written to a seminar leader that I have to communicate with on regular basis (she schedules them all and they are a requirement for our program to get helpful information for our future careers).

Paragraph 1: Mom

Okay, so apparently there are required seminars we have to attend this last year of my program. I did not know about this because there has been no communication on that at all. There’s one on August 12^th, but I have my licensure test scheduled for that day. I can’t be there for it. I scheduled that test back on July 10^th and they just told me about this seminar on August 2^nd. That is only a ten-day notice, so even if I weren’t taking my test that day, I would still be working. For work, I have to give a fourteen-day notice when I need a day off. I can’t just pop up and say I need a day off after the schedule has already been released and be like, “Yo, I’m gonna need to take Monday off. Yeah, thanks.” This lady is not taking anyone into consideration. Just thinking about what works best for her. She always does it this way.

Paragraph 2: Seminar Leader

Hello,

I will not be able to attend the seminar on the 12^th as I have my teacher licensure test that day. Will there be a make up session at some point or something I will need to do in place of the seminar? Also, this was only a ten-day notice for the seminar. My employer requires a two week notice for any requests for days off. How many seminars will there be? Also, is there a way you could provide me with the dates and times for the other seminars this semester so I can ensure I inform my employer of them? I do not want to miss anymore this semester. I appreciate any information you can provide!

Thank you in advance for your response,

Dani Henshilwood

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After seeing both examples it is very obvious that writing to my mom is very casual compared to writing to someone in a professional role. The easiest way for me to write professionally is to think about the following:

1.      I think of all the things I want to say.

I will actually brainstorm first. This sounds very silly, but just like writing a fictional story or a research paper, getting your thoughts together is very important in considering everything you need to include in your communication.

2.      I write them all down. 

Yes, you read that right. I just simply write everything down I brainstormed. I don’t worry about grammar or word usage. Sometimes it isn’t even in complete sentences. This step is just to simply get the idea down on paper (I mean, the computer screen). 

3.      I change the style and voice to make it sound professional. 

Finally, I will start writing the actual thing. I will start making everything into complete sentences. Then, I will take one sentence at a time and choose different words. After that, I will finally make changes to style and voice.

Now, you may be wondering, “How do I know if it is really professional?”

When writing a professional text, I ask myself a few things:

1.       If I received this from someone, would I feel that it was professional. 

Helpful tip: I’ve noticed that when writing something conversational like this article, contractions flow nicely. I cannot say the same about using them in professional pieces or messages. I think it is because it sounds more articulate when we use full words, thus making it sound more professional.

2.      Would I recommend this person for a job if asked to? 

Helpful tip: When writing a professional message to someone, always remember to sound genuinely interested in what is being said and asked. This will let the person on the receiving end to look at you as a potential employee or coworker, or just be willing to answer your email back quickly.

3.      If I read this from someone, would I think it was rude and write them off? (NO PUN INTENDED!)

Helpful tip: Refrain from complaining or using accusatory statements, even if you are irritated. These things would not be very professional, and it would cause the person on the receiving end to write you off and pretend the conversation didn’t even happen.

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            In a professional text I will also ask a lot of questions to the individual I am writing to. This ensure that I am understanding everything correctly and to let them know I care about understanding everything correctly. This makes a world of difference when they read the email and reply! It makes me more of a priority because I am asking them meaningful questions that show I am genuinely interested in what the information is.

For instance, I would never give a venting sound of voice to someone in a professional role. This comes off as complaining, whining, entitlement, etc. No one wants any of those voices sitting in their inbox, so the best way to handle a situation is to be professional, especially if there may be a job opportunity tied to that person down the road!

Remember, perspective is key. If you are unsure of your communication being professional or not, think, “If I were receiving this email, would I think this was professional?” Using that question with the above steps and tips will put anyone on their way to a successful professional writing skillset!