My first experience with writing is a blur. At most I first learned to write decently in pre-school. But using a pencil to write anything on paper is somewhat clearer in my memory.
When I was no older than four or five I did not know how to draw a proper circle. It always came out with a flat edge on the side as if it was a ‘D’ or a number. That was back before I was even in kindergarten. I wasn’t even introduced to multiplication or division yet, especially not PEMDAS. The same thing applies for writing 5-paragraph essays or short stories. I definitely didn’t know how to do either at the age of four or five.
We first learn to write by gaining an idea of our own selves. The sense of self in our written perceptions first blossoms during our first writing experience. Andrea A. Lunsford said in her passage that writing is shaped by the writer’s earlier interaction with writing and other people. Back when I first began to write I definitely took inspiration from my pre-existing knowledge of other people. I put the words I had experience using and hearing into my writing.
My idea with this blog post is to discuss the usage of experiences in writing for first-time writers. How do other people learn how to write? What do they first experience writing? Many are taught to write by their parents or their school teachers. When it comes to our identities, we write within that context. Just like with defining and assigning genres, our experiences as specific people shapes our text. As a black man, queer man, and autistic man, those three aspects of my personhood affects my experience with learning to write better. It has affected my writing literacy since I learned to write back in pre-school. The sense of self within our written perceptions always comes from our lived experiences and our pre-obtained knowledge and resources.
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