"Writing like a River" by Bill the Basil Plant

I am a flowing river.  I move forward regardless of destination, regardless of changes in the future.

This describes me both as a writer and as a person.  When a difficult point comes, much like a rock for a river, I flow around it finding the best path of movement.  I can explode with energy like rapids or I can be calm and mellow like a meandering stream.  

To me writing assignments are like a dam.  An impenetrable force that builds up pressure until a crack is found and the water rushes through.  I stress and stress about writing until I work myself into a position where I cannot think.  All I need is that crack to rupture and bring it all out.  Throughout my life writing has been about assignments and stress in crafting words.  

Like a fast moving river, my mind does not slow to wait for my finger to catch up.  This causes many missed opportunities that I might otherwise have had.  Too many times I  have had to return to a thought in order to achieve it but, like an eddie in a river, it is not the same exact thought.  Decisions about writing have been like people floating in a river.  I ponder the outcome for long periods of time, slowly going through the possibilities, and deciding whether it will sink or swim.  

Writing is a rock that will not budge.  I try to push it but I know that a slow and steady pace will erode the monumental task and make the entire thing a little easier.  Too many times have I tried to buckle down and write one thing or many things in one sitting.  Similarly to a river, it does not work.  

I do not write much outside of school and this is something I have not had a need for.  When I have wanted to write I have found that I do not know what to write about or I can not find the words to describe what I am thinking.  Too often writing is stressful and tiresome, I have found that writing for fun in or out class of class is methodical and stress relieving as I can release tension from my self.

Like a river, I do not mind other streams or people rather looking at my work.  I openly ask for help and any recommendations I can get.  I do mind the thought of my work being used without my permission.  Also, I accept that I am not a fabulous writer.

Like a river my work can change.  Sometimes it is slow and methodical stating facts and fact based commentary, and other times it is like a waterfall.  A waterfall is full of energy, much like my opinion based essays.  One thing is always true.  Water always flows downhill, however this can be changed with clever engineering like canals and Archimedes screws.  Similarly, I always default to an AEC style essay, but I can mend my style to create any type of writing.

Water is the essence of all living things.  Much like a river feeding an ecosystem, a writer feeds every subject.  Writing is needed for history, literature, science, and even math.  As a writer I write about anything I so choose if there is no prompt.  A river can flow anywhere and can become entrenched in old habits as it carves a path through the earth.  However, a river, like me as a writer, can break free from the old habits and create branching streams.  

I am not the best writer, and usually find it strenuous.  However, I always need to flow in a direction never faltering.  I am nothing without direction, much like how a river would turn into a placid lake.  I cannot write what I cannot think, and unfortunately my mind blanks far too much for my liking.  I do not doubt that there are others who are in my very same predicament.  However, I am trying to change how I write and why I write.  Thus I am a flowing river.