This study explored college students' beliefs about the value of writing, their past experiences with writing, and the relationship between students' prior experiences with writing and writing value beliefs. One hundred fourteen undergraduates from a public Southeastern university participated in the study. Using expectancy-value theory as a framework, structural (Saldaña, 2013) and hypothesis (Bernard, 2011) coding was used to analyze student responses. Findings suggested that attainment, utility, and interest value aligned well with student writing value responses. Students noted both positive and negative experiences with writing. Whereas most students discussed the role of good instruction, positive role models, and constructive criticism in their positive past writing experiences, unengaging and daunting tasks were salient memories for students describing negative prior experiences with writing.