How I Write

When I write, I often connect my thoughts as directly as possible. Lots of therefores, alsos, moreovers, and indeeds. I (also) start my sentences with participles more than most. Writing in this way, I jam a little extra context into sentences that maybe do not need it. Furthermore, I occasionally interrupt myself in the middle of a thought. This may (I think) indicate a lack of confidence in my own voice. I find I am rarely sure where my argument is going, and therefore qualify my points lest I say anything too outrageous. In a similar vein, I repeat myself occasionally, or almost repeat myself via paraphrase. Finally, I have a tendency to employ a Latinate vocabulary.

I started learning Latin in the seventh grade, and I have been reading and translating ancient authors ever since. Latin is a language that depends on participles far more than English does; I have unconsciously adopted some of that language's features in my own writing. In some ways I imitate the Greeks as well. Ancient Greek writers loved to connect their thoughts much as I do (although, admittedly, much more succinctly – there is a three-letter word in Greek that means “on the one hand” and a two-letter word that means “on the other”). It seems I have started to write and maybe even think like the authors I translate.

Now that I am writing every day, I am increasingly aware of my writing habits. I’ve been trying to avoid them where I can in order to experiment with other styles that work better for writing creatively. But old habits die hard.