Welp, I let my hometown pride get the best of me. As a fellow East Tennessean, I find it my responsibility to focus on the writing of Donnell King. I fangirled a little bit when seeing “Knoxville, Tennessee” listed at the bottom of his article, “Writing for (not by) the Ear.” What can I say, Tennesseans have to stick together!

Alright, I’ll put my Rocky Top roots aside (for now). King brings up a few great points in this article, but the one I find most interesting is his advice to “use “you” and “I” forms of verbs.” All throughout grade school and even college, I was told to keep my writing as professional and neutral as possible. Using “one” instead of “you” or “I” was encouraged, and points were knocked off when not included. 

How could my teachers stand to sit through any of my speeches when the language I used was meant for research papers and not a live audience? All I knew was that I wanted to get a good grade. If I could go back and tell myself that one day this rule wouldn’t be a big deal, I think my feelings toward reading and writing would’ve been a lot different.

I realize something now; I would rather hopscotch through a pile of Legos barefoot than leisurely read an article that uses “one” in place of every pronoun. King’s article is geared toward people writing pieces that will be read out loud, but the mini-me inside my head always reads “out loud” to big-me no matter what I’m reading. She’s doing it now as I type; hey, girl! 

Can I not write everything like it’s going to be read out loud? Do other people read the same way I do? I think if everything I read was written to be spoken, I would be able to comprehend the material much quicker. Maybe because of texting, people my age have an easier time reading things if they’re written like dialogue.

I’m going to take a stab at treating all my writing like it’s going to be read aloud; I think this will help break my habit of fluffing up my writing to make it sound more sophisticated and keep my readers engaged. Thanks, Donnell, and Go Vols!