Emily Niehoff Blog 1

Writing seems to be, especially in today’s society, a fundamental aspect of life. Whether is be through text, email, blog, tweet, tumblr or a Facebook post, society has been drawn to expressing ourselves through what and how we write. Personally, I use all of the above forms of writing in addition to the writing that takes place in school such as essays, notes, tests and so forth. Overall, I do not think that society understands how much we truly write. The exigency of schoolwork in comparison to a tweet is quite different, but writing is writing nonetheless. Though some might argue that writing is only useful when it is in a formal essay I, however, disagree because every time you weave words together and create sentences you learn something new about the way you write.

Now though writing in any format can be beneficial there are some obvious differences between writing in a very relaxed setting (social media) and writing formally for a grade (school). The differences between these two writing styles lie primarily with length and the audience it addresses. Most people who use social media do not write 4-5 page posts for tumblr or Facebook. Some social media outlets even prevent long posts (twitter), which though may seem discouraging actually inspires creativity when one must funnel ones thoughts into a brief statement.

Lastly, I believe that I have successfully communicated through writing when I have done a balancing act between getting straight to the point while simultaneously captivating an audience with the unique and creative aspects of writing. It is difficult to avoid dragging a story on, yet still keeping important details and sensory elements that tend to get lost when writing becomes a sort of mathematical equation. Writing is an art, and it should be approached in a similar way.