When I first heard about the MC Writing Center, I assumed I didn’t need to go. The writing center was a place where people went to get help on papers, and I—as an English Literature major—believed myself to already be a “good writer.” Later on, I decided to work there, and in order to get the job, I took English 398 (Practicum in Writing Consulting), where I learned what the writing center was really about. The MC Writing Center isn’t simply a place to get a paper edited, rat

Dear writing center friends, October 20 marked the National Day on Writing, and this Thursday, October 24, the library will be swarming with letters, just like this scene from Harry Potter! Why will the library be full of mail? Because writing a handwritten note is way more fun than writing an essay, and we want to brighten someone else’s day with our words! Don’t you love encouragement and words of affirmation, especially when it surprises you in your mailbox? The writing ce

The irony of this moment is not lost on me. My least favorite part of writing papers in late elementary and early middle school was when I had to outline the whole thing on paper. I would whine and complain about how I just wanted to start the essay and about how useless outlines were. My teacher would just smile and tell me that I had to do it anyway. Given that I am now, writing this post, she must have foreseen this moment. The truth that I see now, and did not wish to ack