Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Florianpolis, Brasil
CCE DLLE Letras/Ingls
Lcia Dal Corso 13102389
Compreenso e Produo Escrita em Lngua Inglesa IV Magali Beck 2014.1
The eternal struggle
Writing about the writing process and its difficulties is, by definition, not a
simple task. You do not get the full dimension of this process, until you sit down with a
blank page in front of you. If you do not have the habit of picking up a pen and trying to
fit your thoughts into visually represented symbols, also known as words, writing a
simple text can be a real tragedy.
To achieve the phase you feel satisfied with what you write because that is the
only relevant criteria that proves you are writing well you have to be used to
writing. And that only comes with practice. You cannot expect to write easily, if you
never do it.
There is no recipe for a successful text. In fact, if you look for it you may find
some manuals that will simply turn you into a good writer, but the truth is that the
sacred secret to be a good writer is: to write. It may sound absurd or contradictory but
that is the main conclusion that all experts achieve after years of researching. The point
is how often you exercise your writing abilities. It is like any other activity; it demands
practice. If you write every day, you will not have as much trouble when you actually
have to produce any text for school or work.
In the beginning of the daily training, quality is not what really matters, as long
as you give yourself the chance to write. Just do it, with no big expectations, no
responsibility. Not thinking about judgment or prestige. Just open the faucet and let it
flow.
You will see the flow gets thicker and after a while you will be capable of
overcoming the lack of rhythm that might exist between your mind and your hand. And
when you realize, you will be producing more and more and one thing will bring
another, and suddenly you cannot stop what you once thought would easily drain away.
And that is when you comprehend that writing can be actually very pleasant. On the
next day, maybe you will feel difficulties again, but you will notice that the ice will
break much more easily.
When it comes to writing in a second language some people get scared and stuck

before even starting. But it is all about trusting yourself as well, and that can be
liberating. Writing well is about being comfortable. When you are comfortable with
your inner self and your inner voice, you will be able to write down even the most
abstract ideas of yours and you will not think it sounds silly or stupid or nonsense. You
will feel fulfilled and even proud of what your inner you wrote. So be sure you have
all the elements to make yourself comfortable while writing, such as clean paper, a good
and soft pen because even a bad pen or a minimally friction caused by irregular
pointed pencil can make you irritated and lose your focus, and that certainly affects your
final result.
You have to let it flow, freely, with no impediments. Even when one can think in
a second language while writing, it might be necessary to switch the language in the
middle of the text so that stream of ideas does not break. That is entirely normal. It
happens because sometimes your ideas flow faster than your brain can translate it.
When you are inkshedding in a language that is not naturally yours, sometimes your
brain brings you back to your mother tongue so that you have more self-assurance and
malleability when dealing with words and its nuances in a more accurate way.
It seems like you already lose a lot when putting your multidimensional thoughts
into a paper and you feel like you lose even more when you have to do it in a language
which is not totally yours. That is not unchangeable truth.
Nobody said it would be easy. But that is what makes writing such a singular and
extraordinary activity, and that is where the value of written comes from and what good
authors are acclaimed for. Knowing how to use all the tools that language provides you,
playing with words, arranging sentences, being aware that every single preposition
carries meaning will not win the battle for you, but can help you in this permanent
struggle.