Introduction

     The fear of writing seems to stem from three major areas: no inspiration (What do I write about?), no method (How do I write about it?), no clarity (How can I make sure I am understood?).

     But somehow, the answers to these questions can make matters even worse.

1)  Inspiration is everywhere.

2)   Methods range depending on writing style.

3)  Clarity is often the fine line between explaining what you mean and insinuating that your audience is stupid.

     Writing inside the box means gaining the knowledge and skills that can help you overcome these three fears and make sense of the seemingly overwhelming answers. This growth means trial and error. It means getting to know yourself and your voice. It means accepting critique—knowing when to defend your writing and when to edit. It means wrangling the everywhere inspiration, the ranging methods, and the clarity conundrum into your personal writing style.

     For some of us, thinking outside the box is a non-issue. In fact, we haven’t seen the box in so long we’ve completely forgotten what it even looks like, or where we left it. Find it. Think outside; then write inside. Be creative; then know how to apply and play with the rules of grammar. Brainstorm; then sketch out your ideas or outline.

     Most of us don’t want to be contained, yet few want to read a nonsensical ranting. Writers have to learn the balance of the creative with the critical, the imaginative with the essential.

     John Steinbeck described East of Eden as a box filled with “pain and excitement…feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts—the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation…and still the box is not full” (dedication). If we want to communicate those complete ranges of life, we have to learn to collect our big ideas into a box.

      The intent of this blog is to share the tools and tricks I’ve learned in my seven years tutoring and teaching writing, and from my twenty-something years writing. Each entry I will explore a topic, some broad and some quite specific, that I have found indispensable in my teaching and personal writing endeavors. I don’t have all the answers. My goal is to point you in a direction, make you consider the possibilities, and lead you on a path to discovering your voice by writing inside the box.  

Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.