Blog 10 by Ruthie Heavrin

There is a sense of regret and pain in Randall Silvis' article, "10 Easy Steps to Becoming a Writer." The first paragraph tells about a student who complained of his teaching methods and claimed that Silvis was withholding the secrets of being published. This article feels like more of a rebuttal than a reaction paper as it makes the writer into a genre of their own - an elite per-say. Also, the author shows pain in step 3. This step suggests that a person must experience the world before they can write and even hints that no one under 25 could be at that level. Perhaps he felt that student has yet to experience a little more outside of himself and the university. The voice's sense of regret comes through the suggestions he makes and even says that he learned the hard way for many of the steps. Step five, which is to Embrace Poverty, says that academia is the worst place for a writer to thrive, yet Silvis is a professor himself. With the emotions and back story to the side, the steps are surprisingly true. A reader can tell if the writer knows what their talking about or if they have passion for their characters and/or topic. As most readers know, an author's life and experiences affects almost everything about their writing. That's why a person who lives life, falls in love, works with interesting people all day,and notices the absurdities of life will write more intriguing books despite the topic of genre. There are plenty of scientific and mathematical books that have been written in charming, creative, and entertaining ways. According to Silvis, writing boils down to one thing: life. So just write it.