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Defining the Occasional Essay

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Defining the Occasional Essay
Allison Foster
Prof. Matthew Bryan
ENC3331
09/08/13

The Occasional Essay: Redefining Value As a writer sits and processes, they hold the strongest thing in their hand which is a pencil. A pencil allows a writer to express their true feelings towards a subject and struggle through a topic together. This pencil is our friend in this process. Contemplating where are we going in this journey or even in this broad topic? A pencil is our aid in the chaos of our mind, and helps us decide which path to take. The whole point of writing is to provide our point of view, and this can prove to be difficult in our society today. There are two types of writing that are quite varying nonfiction and fiction writing. No matter what type of writing one chooses to partake in, a pencil is necessary to convey our ideas. This pencil will aid us in choosing which road we will choose, fiction or nonfiction. Society pressures the pencil to be in one form because this is what is easy. Fiction is a means of an escape into another world. The pencil paints this beautiful journey in which the readers are jumping amidst the chaos and in a sense continue to struggle until this magical conclusion in which everything is perfect in the end. Fiction is the place in which the pencil’s creativity is forced into a box to have certain qualities and be a certain way. While the choice of non-fiction allows the pencil the time and creativity to be whatever it needs to be. An essay plays a large role in the process of non-fiction writing. The essay is an undiscovered secret that the pencil is willing to let you in on, if you will try this. The essay is the place in which you can struggle and write about anything. An essay can’t be defined into a box and made to be something it’s not. An essay allows the writer and the pencil to go on a journey to struggle and show the processing of their minds. An essay can be about something as mundane as taking a walk and lead to something so spectacular that

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