“What is ‘good writing’?” Well, this could have numerous answers. We all have our own individual preferences on what we believe is “good writing” and what is not so good. In class when we got into groups we saw that we had some similar thoughts on what aspects made something “good writing” and which one’s we believed to be some of the most important ones. Of course we all thought our own ideas were the best, but then we had to come to an agreement in our groups on the top two which was tough enough. Then as a whole class deciding which options were greatest wasn’t so easy either.
As Mrs. Ahmed showed us, there are authors out there that don’t fit some rules that make writing “good.” It is all up to us what we enjoy reading and what we do not. Maybe one person thinks this bad writing is excellent writing. Just because someone absolutely loves a book or a piece of literature, doesn’t necessarily mean we will love it just as much as they do, or at all.
All authors have their own styles of writing. I thought it was cool how we came up with a list of things we thought make up good writing and Ms. Ahmed was able to prove each one wrong. That shows 2 things. One, Ms. Ahmed is REALLY smart and reads a lot and two; good writing is easy to define. It could be almost anything. As long as an author is putting his or her heart and soul into their piece then it will be good. My English teacher introduced the book "Paradise Lost" and the story is amazing. The book is really difficult to read. I spent an hour reading 10 pages because I had to check the footnote for each word. It’s such a hard book to read because of the syntax but its still good writing to me because there is so much thought into it.
ReplyDeleteIt was really interesting how Ms. Ahmed showed us different authors that didn't fit what we thought should make up good writing. It just goes to show that there are very different styles of writing, i guess you cant really define "good writing" since everyone has their own definition based on what they like to read. we decide whats good for us
ReplyDeleteGood writing it based primarily on personal preference. Just like people prefer certain type of music, movies, etc. it's all just a matter of what interests that particular person. At the end of the day what makes good writing is passion, and effort. People who love their work and put their soul into normally are believed to be "good writers" no matter who the audience may be.
ReplyDeleteWhat was really interesting to me was that every group had different top two words. This shows that everyone look for different things in a piece of literature. The most important thing for me in a writing in something relatable. If I can't relate to a book I usually stop reading it. Having different ideas about what good writing is is just another thing that makes us all unique.
ReplyDeleteAMEN! Good writing can only be viewed in the form of opinion. Defining it to just one opinion is an injustice to any writing that does not conform to the constructs set forth. Writing does not have to follow a plan nor does it have to be written to appeal to anyone. Book of Leaves is a good example. There is no structure or formal technique, only a jumbled mess that is somehow beheld by critics as a fantastic piece of literature. It goes to show that nothing is ever as it seems.
ReplyDeleteThis truly is an interesting topic about what is truly "good writing." What Miss Ahmed showed us in our last class is proof that "good writing" is subjective and truly based on the reader's perspective. I believe that if one is part of the author's target audience it is more likely that we will think the writing is good. What may be considered great to one person may be terrible to another individual.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this, what someone thinks is "good writing" differs from person to person. I remember when I thought that the Great Gatsby was such a great book and everyone else I knew hated it. When I had to read The Things They Carried I didn't think the writing was so great while everyone else loved it. The activity that we did in class was a good example of showing that we all have different definitions of "good writing." If every author had the same style of writing then what is the point in reading. There would be no enjoyment in reading if we encountered the same style in every book that we picked up.
ReplyDeleteI was really confused what "good writing" is until now. I think writing is like art. It's in the eye of the beholder. People think what they want to think, but it doesn't necessarily be true. We have diversity of opinions. So there also must be a diversity of "good writing," which there is. I think of the quote from Ratatouille, "Any one can cook." This means no matter who the person is, anyone is capable of doing something—in this case "good writing."
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Lindsay. Good writing is 100% based on the reader's opinion, likes and dislikes. No one single rule can explain if a writer is great or not. And good point about the audience, because that TOTALLY has a huge effect on what is liked and disliked about a book. If college students had to dissect Dr. Seuss, they would go nuts. Just the same if a 1st grader had to write a two page paper on Frankenstein. The audience is not up to par with what the reading is. And sometimes someone can appeal to most audiences, and in that case, they are a wonderful writer.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about authors writing their books for specific audiences until Mrs. Ahmed's english class. Whenever I write I do not really write for anyone. I tend to just write for myself. I think most writers write about things that influence them or things that are important to them or things that reveal them. I guess from that point on, a certain audience is automatically carved up. We are all different and all enjoy different things, just like we all have different taste buds.and that is what makes the world beautiful!
ReplyDeleteEveryone does have a different opinion on what they believe to be good writing. I totally understand what you are saying about your teacher. I have had so many tell us how great the books will be only to find myself falling asleep in the class. It is like that saying, "One mans trash is another mans treasure." We all have our own opinions what one person thinks is great another might think it's complete garbage.
ReplyDeleteI think all books are written for a specific audience. There are some books that certain people will never be able to enjoy for a number of reasons. Other times it is just way above their reading level. All authors have their own style as well, which can also turn someone off of reading a book. The person may really like the topic but just can't deal with how the book is written.
ReplyDeleteI love how the "Peanuts" comic at the top illustrates your point so well with such few words. The word "good" automatically implies a normative statement. Nobody can define good writing. While I certainly believe that definite good and bad writings do exist, I also believe that there are many grey areas. I think that the writing in Michael Bay's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is complete garbage. However, I happen to have a few friends that love the movie. I also believe that writing can be so incredibly bad, that it's good. Anyone who has seen "Troll 2" would know what I'm talking about. "They're eating her! And then they're going to eat me! OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD!"
ReplyDelete"Good writing" cannot be easily defined as we well know. It is not based on one specific style, audience, perspective, etc etc, and our opinion of what is good defers for each person. Since "good writing" cannot be defined and is purely based on opinion, we should not go into a paper thinking"is this good writing?". Instead we should try to turn all of our writing into what we think is good writing since its our personal preference that matters. We cannot hope to satisfy everyones definition of "good writing", we just need to put ourselves in the forefront and hopefully others will think its good too.
ReplyDeleteWell said. Everything we write isn’t intended for everyone in the world to read. Often I write poems or journal entries for my eyes and my eyes only. Considering the audience a piece was written for is a widely overlooked stage in analyzing writing that really shouldn’t be overlooked. The only trouble is the writer rarely tells us who the audience is. It’s usually left up to the reader to decide, thus the controversy.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everything said in this blog. As we grow up we all seem to struggle with what books and stories we think are good and bad. One person can say that they love a specific book and as you read it you start to believe that the book is absolutely horrible. Everybody is a part of a different audience. We all enjoy different types of writing. Ergo there is no specific criteria that classifies a writing as good or bad. It is our own opinion.
ReplyDeleteI agree that good writing is dependent on the audience. I f the wrong audience reads something, they probably will think it is bad. Everyone like different things. With so many different perspectives, people tend to not like every book that is considered "good" or a "classic." Perspective and the audience therefore determine if a writing is good based on what their style and preference is.
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