Thoughts on the Perl Guidelines

For me, Sondra Perl's article "Understanding Composition" was a fascinating read and it reinforced some of my own personal beliefs and strategies for writing. A lot of the concepts introduced by Perl such as "felt sense" are the type of things I have always tried to do in my own work. Having a set of guidelines such as Perl’s creates a virtual checklist for a writer, aloowing them to be creative while still keeping their focus and staying on topic. Much like Perl suggests, in my own writing process I tend to do a lot of pausing and revision as I go along, reading my work over and over, in an effort to make my writing sound like my inner voice. I constantly ask myself "How does this line sound or feel to me?", "Where is this leading?", or "Am I getting my message across?”. Adapting the Perl guidelines to my writing process is definitely something I will do because for me writing is an art, individualistic and expressive, and from a creative standpoint, it is all about baring your innermost thoughts and ideas on any subject for the world to see. By always questioning myself ala the Perl guidelines and checking in on the direction and flow of my writing, it will allow me to write clearer, more focused pieces without losing my creative voice as a writer.