Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
September 4 question – Since it’s back to school time, let’s talk English class. What’s a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?
I’m really lucky. Through grade school and high school, I had excellent teachers who taught a broad curriculum. We were exposed to a wide variety of literature, not only from English and American culture, but from other backgrounds as well. They started from the basics—spelling, grammar, and sentence structure,— and moved into full essays with footnotes and bibliographies. (We used the MLA format.)
The difference was apparent when I got to college.
The essays I needed to write for the first-year courses were a breeze, compared to the requirements of my high school senior assignments. Not all my classmates felt that way, and I was thankful for my previous classes.
Granted, the classes were aimed mostly towards non-fiction and literature. Still, the basics apply to fiction as well. I haven’t had to unlearn anything, but there was still plenty to learn when I started writing my stories.
So, there’s nothing I learned that messed me up. I got a great foundation for future writing. I may be a rarity, but we can find out by checking out some of the other posts on this hop.
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
That’s great that you had excellent teachers that didn’t mess up your writing. I can’t remember any rules from back then that messed me up as a writer either.
I was lucky. My older brother who went to the same school didn’t have the same experience.
Yes, you were lucky to have an excellent background training for future writing projects. Of course, future success is in your own hands. Wishing you success always.
https://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com/
I didn’t know how lucky I was until many years later.
You were one of the lucky ones!
I’m glad you had such a great school experience, PJ! I had a similar experience moving from undergrad to grad school. I struggled to learn how to write better in undergrad, but the struggle was worth it when my grad school advisor complimented my writing.
How nice to read your early positive introduction to writing. One thing this blog hop taught me is: regardless of our early training, those with a drive to express through words manage to make it happen.