The foundation of a great civilization is achieved through its literacy. Writing is by far one of the most intimidating things out there for anyone to wrestle with. We struggle with the projection of confidence when tasked with the development of an independent narrative. The written word is by far one of the best methods to evaluate intelligence. Meticulously formatted paragraphs flaunt the perception of carefully articulated words that seem on par with literary brilliance. One of the worst things any writer can do is to produce volumes of prose without communicating much of anything at all, but in most cases it is practically inevitable in the beginning. The acquisition of effective prose is achieved by practice; there is no other way around it. This borrows from the analogy of the empty-headed speaker with nothing to offer their audience.
On the inside, there is this brilliant orator, but on the outside, the perception of brilliance fails to deliver because spoken confidence, combined with delivery, are not there. When educators lack confidence in their own writing it becomes difficult to encourage its creative diffusion at the classroom level. One cannot learn how to write without acquiring the mechanics of written language first. It is for that reason why things cannot exist without a formidable foundation. There is a more radical idea at play here which suggests that strict adherence to the rules of writing undermines creativity which deprives a curious mind of developing a literary adventure. Public schools across America could possibly experiment with two different folds of creative writing.
Either A) allow students to write free verse over a designated period of time only to grade the quality of their work in terms or originality or B) teach the mechanics of writing, as in the application of punctuation and grammatical rules, only to turn them over to writing free verse using the same methodology from concept A). Teachers could then determine which particular method yielded greater results in terms of the acquisition of creativity, lucidity, and fluidity. Nonetheless, the saturation of smart phones and computerized tablets continue to encourage literacy to achieve unprecedented heights. There are more literate people in the world than ever before, but to establish a cultural appreciation for literacy, it becomes necessary to question the quality of prose in its simplest and most practical form.
Everyday communications such as text-messaging, Snap-Chatting, and Facebook postings fail to qualify as quality examples of prose. Generations from now, historians in a distant future will parse through written communications we had once exchanged in thin air. The hope will be to evaluate the development of language in what will be an effort to ascertain a cultural appreciation of the written word in our time. The unfortunate reality is the one most neglected; the most literate among us can prove to be intellectual underperformers. An imaginative fiction genre can inspire revolutionary breakthroughs similar to science fiction, but the question remains, will appreciation for the intellectual prerogative remain?
Younger generations are transforming into literary zombies by cutting words down for purposes of convenience and expediency. It becomes all too possible to theorize, but perhaps that is the future of the written word and there is nothing we can do about it? A byproduct of the written word’s marriage with computerization by way of hybridization. As a direct result, the future will prove to be more concerned about creativity without bothering to learn how to physically write.
A world where prose will be reduced in favor of images automatically associated with specific ideas.