Growing up in today’s education systems, students are aware of the specific expectations they are expected to meet when it comes to writing papers.  Whether it be a research paper, a persuasive essay, or even a book review, students are always given an outline or example of what their assignment should look like.  This idea, and the idea of rubrics, are bringing about a false representation of writing.  This type of writing is forced, uncreative, and goes against the whole purpose of writing, to express oneself.  When we look at “The Interior View: One Writer’s Philosophy of Composition” by Donald M. Murray, we can see that a good writer writes for himself, making discoveries throughout each piece of work.  This is important because most people believe being a good writer means creating flawless work just to appeal to an audience.  This is false because perfection is unachievable and not even the ending goal.  Reaching for such a goal will lead us to creative paralysis.  

Murray stresses that “writing is an individual search for meaning in life” (Murray, 25).  As a writer produces a piece of work, he should be discovering all of his new ideas.  This discovery entails mistakes, bad ideas, and concepts that some people may not agree with.  This is the concept of writing.  A good writer does not write to appeal to his audience or produce ideas they want to hear; a good writer writes for himself.  When an individual decides he would like to start writing, he does not go to the library or go online for ideas.  Murray explains that the good writer will sit down at his desk, and experience a sense of aloneness.  He says, “If the writer does not feel that through writing he will discover something which is uniquely his, he may soon concentrate on craft rather than content and speak with tricks rather than truth.” (Murray, 26).  He is saying that the writer must be true to his ideas.  When it comes to the opinions of others, the good writer should only accept criticism when he sees it is valuable to his work.  Murray gives examples of quotes by famous authors who explain that individuality is key to writing.  Jane Austen in particular says, “No, I must keep to my own style, and go in my own way; and though I may never succeed…I am convinced that I should totally fail in any other.”  (Murray, 26).  Austen’s statement is a perfect representation of Murray’s point.  They are both teaching that writing anything other than your own thoughts and ideas is almost a failure to writing, and it goes against the whole concept of personal writing.  

A misconception one may have to these objectives is that if an author is only writing for himself, what is the point if there is no appeal to an audience?  When an author writes his immediate ideas and focuses purely on himself, he will connect with an audience in a unique way.  Going out of his way and trying to interpret an audience to give them what they want to hear goes against the process of personal writing.  If an audience listens to new and different ideas of an author, it will expose a new reaction each time.  This will make pieces of work relatable to bigger crowds.  I feel this is the intended goal of writing, to emotionally affect both the writer and the reader.  If the writer does his part, the reader will hopefully gain something out of the work he is reading.  The writer should be making discoveries, and the reader should be relating to these and further, using them as a base on his own ideas.

Language pieces together the writer’s discoveries, which means students need time to explore and possibly fail during the process.  Murray refers to language as a ‘living tool,’ leading a writer to understanding (Murray, 27).  For example, students in high school do not take advantage of the exploration that writing offers.  Students use language to convey the ideas they believe teachers or mentors will agree with; this is due to the education process teachers use when ‘educating’ students on writing.  Instead of teaching students how to write, Murray exhibits an alternative to the typical education process—creating an encouraging environment students can use to truly explore writing (Murray, 27).  This concept is logical; it does not make sense for a teacher to hand students a rubric that contains strict guidelines.  If educators stress the importance of creativity and individuality, then they should provide students with the opportunities to do so.  Guidance is necessary in education, as individuality is necessary in writing, and a teacher’s instruction has the capability of ruining this for students.  Journaling during one’s free time may be the only opportunity for a student who is taking common core classes to truly express themselves using personal thoughts.  This is not something every individual does, but the process of journaling each morning, or each night, increases our writing skills and encourages the formation of new ideas.  

From one student to another, each will have their own ideas, opinions, and experiences.  These are ideas, opinions, and experiences that one may never have the opportunity to convey through their writing if they are not provided the freedom to do so.  Beyond the slim classification of student writers, no writer knows how to write ‘properly,’ because there is no such thing as a ‘proper’ way.  If any writer is writing to discover oneself, a conclusion can be made that all writers must would be considered student writers.  Every writer is writing with the intent to explore one’s world, allowing the individual to acquire new thoughts while reflecting on their experiences in life.  Each time a writer begins a new piece, they are presented with a blank canvas.  At this exact moment in time, disregarding one’s standing as a published novelist or the opposite, one becomes a student writer.  As a writer begins with a blank canvas, he may know as much about the final product as any writer would at the beginning of a piece—he would not know a lot.  It is important to continue to be a student writer, because this is how one discovers himself while creating new thoughts.  

Through reading Murray’s piece, I was able to discover how much I can relate to his points.  As a college student, I have experienced forced writing through my entire education process.  I have dealt with painful experiences as I attempted to write what my teacher wanted to hear, doing this for the good grade.  I was never provided with the opportunity to sit down and write what first comes to my mind.  Murray unveiled a new perspective on writing that I have never been exposed to before.  I am hoping his views will reach more individuals—such as teachers—so in the future kids will be able to write in the correct way.  I hope that every education system will adopt the view that one cannot learn to write.  The power writing provides will not be attained if one is ‘correct,’ it will be attained if one is true to himself—there is no power stronger than the power of written word. 
