The Writing Center

Have you ever wondered how famous writers make such beautiful words flow from their pens (or their word processors)? In this article, I’ll show you what some of the most well-known writers of the century have said about how writing is done.

Being a writing professional in the Writing Center is, in some ways, the opposite of being a ghostwriter. While I trained myself to be a skilled technician who treats the client as the author during my time as a ghostwriter, a writing center tutor’s purpose is to empower the client as a writer.

A year out of college, I got a job at National Journal, a political media company in Washington, D.C. The team I was on researched political advocacy tactics and produced reports recommending certain strategies to our readers. Early in my time there, a humbling experience occurred to me with some frequency.

On the first day of class, your instructor described a future writing assignment. The deadline was nowhere in sight, and you had plenty of time to work on it. Or not work on it. But, eventually, plenty of time dwindled down: the paper is due tomorrow and you still haven’t begun.