Journal 7 - Desiree DeMarco

Over the course of this semester, my views on “writing,” “editing,” and “composing” have altered. I used to think “writing” just meant when you sit down and hand-write or type words that form coherent sentences and form an overall bigger meaning. Now, I would say while writing does consist of that, it also can be defined as doodling, jotting down notes, making charts, lists, and maps. “Editing,” to me now consists of drafting, proofreading, sharing with others, giving and receiving feedback, and re-writing or starting over entirely. “Composing,” on the other hand deals with the process of creating a work of art. It’s outlining, environment selecting and structuring practices such as going on a run or listening to music, tossing ideas around with peers, and more.

Necessary key terms to use when defining these are audience, purpose, multimodal, inspired, remix, and creativity. Audience and purpose are directly related because, for many, the purpose is to make the audience feel a certain way or perform a specific action.

My experience with project two helped me realize that everything really is a remix. We all build off of other things- whether or not it is intentional. Other artist’s work influences our own in ways that can bring about something totally original and inspired, so although you should be careful about how you base your own projects off other’s, it is sometimes a necessary step when composing.

Outside of this course, I have had three internships related to “writing.” In high school, I wrote for a local newspaper, last summer, I was an editorial intern for an event company, and currently, I contribute articles to a satirical online news source for FSU. The first position I had (in high school) was definitely more traditional. I wrote columns about events at my school monthly and sent them to the editor for review. That taught me to write professionally. Working for the event company last summer taught me how to incorporate digital media with my writing since all my work was online on their blog. I became familiar with SEO and WordPress. My work with The Black Sheep has taught me how to relate with a specific but broad audience and get my work shared through social media. All three of these jobs helped shaped the definition I have now regarding the writing, editing, and composing processes.