Journal 5: Magen Mack

I have always defined writing as a system of preservation. Writing/composing is often considered a means of communication, but that does not really encapsulate all that it is. There is something in people that makes us want to be remembered. This is where the preservation comes into play. Writing is about communicating, but more about communicating across boundaries like time and space. Writing enables you to take up a larger expanse in the realm of interaction. It opens up opportunities that might not otherwise exist.

I have always been a reader. I have always understood writing from that perspective. That has also shaped how I define writing/composing. I define it as preservation of a moment or of a person or a period. Reading always allows for a glimpse at something beyond what is being read. Writing means to communicate certain ideas generally, but often there are things about writing that are not necessarily meant to be understood. Everything people do is generally influenced by a situation. People and communities exist with certain ideas and limitations. Often that is what makes writing about preservation. Just like a fossil or a photograph, writing is a snapshot of a moment gone by. What is interesting that I have learned working on the first project is about how people categorize writing. The importance of genre in how writing is distributed and created is really fascinating.

Some of the key terms I consider when writing are audience, purpose, language, tone, and now genre. Audience in terms of who is meant to read the writing. That influences a lot of the other terms. Purpose is more about why I am writing in general. The purpose changes from academic work to fiction and otherwise. Language is about diction and format. Again, I will not write an essay like a poem.  Genre in this way has a large impact on the other factors. The genre of an essay versus that of a poem changes how the writing should be structured. Tone is also very important depending on things like audience and genre. A letter of condolence should not be written with the same mindset as a birthday card. All of these terms are interrelated.