On Writing and Mechanics

Hello again! This is the second part of my writing post from a while back. I'm not really a fan of either of these posts, since they are more like boring rants and not very interesting to read, but I figured I would just get this up and get it out of the way. Here goes:

One major problem I have when writing for school is using "academic mechanics." For example, one thing that I do a lot, and mentioned in my last post, is use parentheses. Obviously, I have some sort of unhealthy obsession with them, because I will overuse them forever and always, but I find that they're a lot like how my brain actually works, and that helps me share what's going on in there. Besides, if they're so wrong then why were they invented? However, if I tried to turn in an essay, even a narrative essay, with parentheses in it, I'd get points taken off before it was even read.

That's just one example of my own mind constantly battling with my English teachers. Don't get me wrong, I have always been the girl that gets excited when the teacher announces yet another writing assignment or essay, but I've also always been the one who has to switch modes in order to write them. For a while, I thought this was some weird thing, since none of my friends had this problem. They just hated writing essays! But finally, this year, my English teacher taught us what diction is in writing, which kind of cleared it up for me. Basically, whenever I write for my teachers, I'm struggling to take the informal diction in my head and make it formal diction that I can turn in. As far as I can tell, this isn't an unusual thing, but it is a little bit annoying. My inner voice is naturally sarcastic, so when I'm told to get my act together and use an "appropriate" tone, that inner voice sighs and rolls its eyes (yeah, that went in a weird direction).

I think next time I'll be talking about some projects I've been working on the past few weeks: mostly sewing, but also some crochet. I have no idea when that'll be up, but keep an eye out for it! And now, my question for you:

Have you struggled with translating your thoughts into something you can put onto paper? Let me know below!