Rita McCann

What’s Happening to Writing?

Essay #3

Well, This is Writing

            Taking a subject as broad as writing involves many avenues of explanation.  There is the meaning and reason behind it, it’s origin and history, different styles, evolutionary details, it’s presentation, and many other elements that encompass what writing is to the world.  Growing from etchings in caves, the written form of communication has advanced rapidly over its many years of existence.  The manifestations of the written word should be regarded as exciting and constantly moving forward.  Surely, new forms can seem unfocused or overwhelming, but each generation of text must have seemed like that at one point, and it is important for the process of recorded language to be celebrated in it’s forward advancement apposite to the fast paced world. 

            I’ve found our semester’s curriculum to mirror the evolution of writing in a way.  Our first assignment was to be done in crayon.  The task took the class back to days remembered when crayons were the only implements we cared to create with.  Next we wrote in a more usual, yet seemingly primitive, fashion using paper and pen.  This was followed by typed pages, blogs, media presentations, and prezis.  We can see how writing can be changing even over the course of a few weeks, but still hold weight in each form.  When putting thousands of years of changes into one writing course, it is easier to see how no particular form is negative to the craft of writing.  Some pieces displayed by the class have been enhanced by auxiliaries, but the more resources a writer has, the greater the overall piece.  We have the great privilege of having many avenues to express thoughts.

            Expressing thoughts was wonderfully displayed in “Flashy Words,” the YouTube video shown a few weeks ago.  Sihan expresses thoughts about language in the style of performance.  His appeal is visual, logistical, and audible.  He physically displayed the passion he feels behind his words, and the audience understands just as they would reading a newspaper or novel.  Images and videos in our four letter word projects and prezis have also assisted in our attempt to share information.  Images can express much of what written words can.  For example, Jenna Tanzolas presentation entitled “Save” said a thousand words.  The raw images of fellow human beings in such harsh conditions shook up the class in the way she intended.  Students also used images in their prezis to liven their overall presentation and help the class understand their point.  Although some are concerned about the materialistic drive involved in writing today, it is obvious that the use of visual ancillaries proves to be beneficial in final products. 

            As previously explained, classic forms of writing are still used in their unaltered arrangements, but they can be heightened or aided by other forms of communication arts.  Visuals aside, text alone has changed greatly even in the past ten years.  No longer are people hindered by the hassle of making paper before being able to write something.  Today, with the touch of a few buttons, anyone can be a published writer.  Personally, I find works from the past to be more riveting than many modern works I have read.  There is something about the permanent monumentality of works considered unorthodox or edgy from the 1700’s and such that just trumps scandalous writing found on websites and blogs today.  The fixity of Shakespeare’s works echo an eloquence that cannot be deleted or reposted.  The fact that certain documents can only be found on papers too fragile for a human to handle is beautifully historical and gives such works a sacredness that isn’t possible in blogs or online magazines.  Granted, these online pieces will someday seem ancient, the tangibility of a book really completes a reading experience for me.  Jay David Bolter introduces his book, Writing Space Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print, with an excerpt from Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris.  On page one of his informational book, the years 1482, 1967, 2001, and the present year are all involved.  The excerpt is that of Frollo’s recognition of the power behind writing.  His fear that text will overpower or “destroy” sacred churches and further beliefs among people was partially correct.  Although Notre Dame still stands today, it has morphed into a major tourist attraction and has been written about for more than a highly religious and proper reason.  Destroyed may not be the word, but altered is spot on.

            Computers are covered in Bolter’s book as a success and also an overly relaxed outlet for anyone with an opinion.  In chapter one, on page 4, Bolter writes, “The shift to the computer may make writing more flexible, but it also threatens the definition of good writing and careful reading that have developed in association with the technique of printing.  In the heyday of print, we came to regard the written text as an unchanging artifact, a monument to its author and its age.”  On page 44 of chapter three, Bolter informs us “hypertext enthusiasts are also like modernist writers and visual artists in their dedication to the principle of the new.  They characterize hypertext as a break with the past, a revolutionary form of writing, just as modernists often characterized their forms of prose, poetry, and painting as revolutions in the early 20^th century.”  In that quotation two different kinds of writing and one expression through imagery are mentioned as progress in the 20^th century alone.  There are so many possible designs for writing, that any three off the top of someone’s head are probably accurate and well known.   Although I have previously stated that I do prefer the unchanging works, I try to approach writing advancements as just a way to spread the craft.  I posed the question to fellow WSC 2 students; Do you think that forms of changeable text have become available partly because writers these days are quick to publish, afraid to make their thoughts permanent, feel like the Internet is so cluttered their writing may not be found so easily, etc?  As most classmates would agree, people are more likely to post a composition when they are able to change it, if necessary, and feel protected by the vastness of the Internet.  However, the confidence of writers should not be completely downplayed.  There are many serious articles and online postings that have been unleashed for a very strong and specific purpose.  For those writers with a little less urgency backing their works, there is the comfort of the nonchalant nature of much of the Internet. A students answer that I find to be applicable to this prompt is, “I think that forms of changeable text have become available for a few reasons; one, today's society is ever-changing, and the changeable texts go along with it, two, there is a newer satisfied desire for instant gratification, so authors may be hard pressed to simply get something out to the public, and there, I think as ideas change, writers may want to go back.” Take all of the sections of a bookstore and multiply that by 100, and that is probably close to the categories the “Internet Bookstore” can offer.

            With so many sections, Hypertext comes in handy.  Hypertext, as defined by Mac Dashboard, is “a software system that links topics on the screen to related information and graphics which are typically accessed by a point-and-click method.”  The group prezi I worked on was all about Hypertext.  At the end of our presentation we challenged the class to do the hypertext scavenger hunt.  These online hunts involve beginning at one word, such as writing, and reaching a word, such as cat, all through hypertext linking.  Hypertext has broadened the average persons knowledge of multiple topics.  Some may find hypertext to overload their brains with information, but the wonderful thing about hypertext is that the reader controls how much information they absorb.  With the mouse, stylus, or fingertip a reader can control his reading path.  If he is unsatisfied with what he finds, he is more than welcome to add to the potential paths by putting his two cents in by posting or uploading his own composition. 

            The relationship between different kinds of expression must always be noted.  Great works have come from an inspirational painting, movies from classic novels, poems about feelings evoked from other art forms, and all of these in vise versa.  The leaps made among literature, film, textual technology, and art in general must give some credit to each other’s existence.  This is just another example of how what is happening to writing is progress that we should be proud of.  Just like there have been unsuccessful works, there may be distracting or failing ways of writing.  A more practical form can record them, as weaker parts in the history of writing.  From there we can continue in a forward motion making the creation of text as accessible, enjoyable, and well formatted at possible. 

            Writing is a form of communication dealing with characters arranged in a fashion understood by specific cultures.  The combination of characters form thoughts that readers can understand, relate to, question, or learn about.  Personal thoughts, historical events, documents of legal statuses, recipes, news, lists, etc. are all comprised due to the understood craft of writing.  Writing serves as a form of entertainment.  It informs us of details and important events.  Writing explains how to accomplish other creative tasks.  There is even writing used to better the writing of the reader.  These days, the arranged characters are often accompanied by images, music, or auxiliaries that make the statement of the writing that much more important or memorable.  The way that writing has evolved is in step with the way humans have developed.  Although some may be opposed to specific styles or genres, there is some kind of creative event that anyone can take part in, in order to make a point or share an idea.  It is a privilege to be able to turn to many forms and main, ever-changing, styles of composing original writing works.

Works Cited

Bolter, J. David. Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Print.

Anonymous student from Dr. Lays WSC 2 class.

McCann, Rita M. "Rita's Question Answered!" Slainte! Anonymous. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://mccannblogger.blogspot.com/>.

YouTube Video

https://hofstra.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_168186_1%26url%3D

Rita's Question Answered!

By no means did I ask that question from a weighted opinionated point of view.  I just stated it that way to give you a clear argument. :) Thank you everyone for answering!!!! 

The following are answers I was given on note cards from my class:

I feel that everyone wants a little taste of being published.  People want their ideas out for everyone to know and the Internet is fast and easy.  Sometimes people say things just to say something not thinking at all.

I don't think most people who post on the Internet don't want their writing to be found - in fact I think the exact opposite.  Online blogs are a way to reach out to people anywhere and everywhere; if the "shy" writer didn't want anyone to find their work, they'd keep a diary or private journal.

I think that sometimes a writer's initial thoughts change, therefore their words change.  The Permanence is the final stage of putting down concrete thoughts.  The changeability can be viewed as editing.  Replacing some ideas with newer ones may provide better insight.  Once the writer is done, the thoughts are set for good. 

I think that more people would rather publish/post something that can be changed at their discretion rather than write on something permanent. It also has to do with their desire to want to switch to different mediums of writing, and some people would rather write something and be able to change it rather than it being permanent. 

Perhaps people like posting their thoughts online because there us a lack of ownership.  Online, it is easy to post whatever you like without taking responsibility. 

I think writers are afraid to make their thoughts permanent.  With different experiences peoples opinion changes something people write, people find offensive.  There is also a lot of peer editing around where people can give comment on what they should add or take out. 

I think that forms of changeable text have become available for a few reasons; one, today's society is ever-changing, and the changeable texts go along with it, two, there is a newer satisfied desire for instant gratification, so authors may be hard pressed to simply get something out to the public, and there, I think as ideas change, writers may want to go back. 

7 Minutes, No Eyebees

   The story-telling pro in my family is my Daddy.  I feel as though my sister and I tell stories pretty well, from growing up always listening to his and observing the way he entertains us.  There are stories about Lojo at his job in the planetarium, the ever classic how i met your mother story, the tomato soup Godzilla and King Kong story, and a library of other stories both fictitious and true.  One that I can relay pretty well, is one of my favorites.

I was sitting on my Uncle Honey's front porch, you know? A simply beautiful summer day.  My whole family was over for a swim in his pool, and I was taking a break to sit on the porch, dry off in the sun, and watch people walk by.  It was a quiet neighborhood, and I was just sitting and relaxing, when all of a sudden I heard this faint "Buzza Buzza Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz...Buzza Buzza Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz."  I looked all around and could not match the very faint song I was hearing.  I listened around to try and find where the song was coming from when I noticed a knothole in the wood of the front porch.  I put my eye up to the hole in one of the slim front pillars and, to my surprise, saw a little bee with a towel drying off his bee bum after his shower.  He was dancing and drying to the rhythm of his buzzing tune, until he saw my huge eye poking into his bathroom.  He looked right at me and let out a "hmph!" in surprise and embarrassment right before whapping me in the eye with his towel. "OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWEEEEE!" I began to howl as I covered my stinging eye.  My dad came out with a big old stake and made me hold it on my eye to help the pain subside.  That little singing bee really got me good!


    This story always made Carly and I smile, and retelling it in text was very enjoyable.  My dad has influenced me in so many ways.  Carly and I are strong reflections of our parents, and my dad is a musician and entertainer, so he can tell a pretty good story.  He has always encouraged me to entertain, do what I love, and work as hard as possible to reach all of my goals.  I love him and his stories.