By: Xiomara Saavedra
“Never hesitate to imitate another writer.”
Learning From the Greats
Everyone learns from someone.
When I think about my high school photography teacher, I immediately picture his kooky personality and brutally honest critiques. When he projected his work onto the board, my eyes always stayed glued to the image.
Every class he introduced us to photographers who influenced him. As I studied their work, I slowly started shaping my own.
I went through a phase where I washed all my photos in this heavy green tint that I now find almost nauseating. At the time, I thought it made my work distinct, and honestly, I was onto something. I just hadn’t refined it yet.
As I got more comfortable using Lightroom, that harsh filter softened. My photos still have a warm yellow to green hue, but now it feels subtle, intentional, and controlled..
Photographers study, absorb, and refine before releasing their work, and writing feels the same way.
A picture tells a thousand words, but good writing should be vivid enough to create a picture in your head.
Exposure Sharpens Instinct
In chapter 20 of On Writing Well, Zinsser argues that imitation is essential to growth. No writer starts out fully formed. Reading widely, studying cadence, and absorbing tone help you develop taste.
This is one of the few moments where I fully agree with him.
You cannot write well if you do not read well.
When I read writers I admire, especially those who write about identity in honest and layered ways, I can feel my own thinking stretch.
For example, writers like my professor Bessie Flores, who shares her experiences as a Latinx queer woman with depth and intention, push me to be more elaborate and more daring in my own work.
Control Versus Flow
Zinsser says writing should feel natural, yet he constantly emphasizes simplicity, unity, and careful word choice. He wants us to think about audience, clarity, excess, rhythm. At first, that felt contradictory. How can something feel natural if I am constantly measuring it?
But, I’m starting to realize that freedom on the page comes from practice. The ability to write naturally is built through revision and growth only happens when what once satisfied you no longer does.
The old and the new can exist together and maybe that’s the point. Our voices can live in that balance.
XIOMIDIA 