“Writing Is Not Natural” by Dylan B. Dryer is an essay that displays the imperfections of writing and displays how writing is technology. The first point that Dryer brought up is how frequently writing is discussed as though it were a speech. Speaking, however, is much more in line with human nature; after all, we have been talking for at least 200,000 years. The main point the article points out is that it’s easier for one to communicate through speech and when one is trying to express themselves in other ways such as writing it doesn’t seem natural. Although expressing your ideas in writing isn’t natural, and is hard it’s still possible to get comfortable with it. The main examples that Dryer provides to get more comfortable with expressing ideas in writing are practice and repetition. Overall, “Writing Is Not Natural” by Dylan B. Dryer displays the complications of expression in writing and the relation between speech and writing, and the simplicity of speech compared to writing. Dryer did a great job giving examples to overcome the roadblocks of expressing yourself in writing.
Dylan B. Dryers’ article “Writing Is Not Natural” really helped me understand the idea of writing and the complications that come with it. The logic that Dryer provides throughout his article helps support the idea that speech is natural, but when it comes to expressing yourself in writing it gets complicated. My personal reaction to writing was shocking because growing up through my educational career that writing is natural. Although Dryers’ ideas contradict what I’ve always been taught it’s opened my eyes to the truth about the complications of writing. Dryer strengthens his idea of the complications of writing when he states, “The persistent gulf between writers’ intentions and readers’ interpretations are simply inherent to a piecemeal technology encumbered with centuries of patchwork solutions to antiqued designs” (Dryer). The quote shows that the author already has some idea of what they want to write, and that causes complications because it usually doesn’t flow which causes it to be unnatural.
The GIF that I chose is Spongebob Squarepants attempting to write an essay on boater safety. Although the GIF is funny it displays a connection with the article “Writing Is Not Natural” by Dylan B. Dryer. The main connection that the GIF has with the article is the act of speech and the attempt to express ideas on paper. While the speech is smooth and natural the writing isn’t. This shows the complications of expressing yourself in writing that Dryer expresses in his article.
The video I chose connects with the article “Writing Is Not Natural” by Dylan B. Dryer. The main quote from the video is “Writing is just thinking.” (Peterson). This connects with Dryers articles because it displays that writing is just thinking but you need to learn how to express your thoughts in writing.
“Writing Is Not Natural” by Dylan B. Dryer
https://myd2l.lcc.edu/d2l/le/content/247156/viewContent/6374893/View
