I must say, its very strange to be taking this class again. Its like my career as a journalist at K College has come full circle. I remember reading the article "The Art of Literary Journalism" freshman year in the spring. I wanted to be a lawyer then; I was taking the class just for fun. And suddenly, re-reading it, I discover how much more it speaks to me. Firstly, because I understand the craft so much more now. I've realized my passion for that type of human connection, the joy of the ordinary. In a way, I have joined this community of writers Sims discusses. I am that 21-year-old writer McPhee mentions. I'm in the river. It feels good.
Some things concern me, however. I don't believe I have found my voice yet. I want to work on that in this class. I want to learn more about myself, not only as a writer, but as a person too.
Which brings me to the personal essay. Sadly, I honestly cannot remember what I wrote about four years ago for this assignment. I think it was about my best friend's sister's suicide, but I'm not sure. For my SIP, I completed a lengthy personal essay about my experiences living with Amish people--my struggles as a young woman raised in a vastly different world. I was pleased with the way it turned out and it was the ultimate exercise in what writing can do for your life. One of my favorite Marin quotes is: "Write through it." I did that with that particular essay. But I wrote long and the piece ended up around 7,000 words. For this assignment, then, I want to trim that down to 900 words, a marketable amount for publication. This task feels daunting to me and I am hesitant to return that beast of a piece for revision. But I can do it.
Looking forward to hearing other people's ideas for their personal essays and reading the rest of this week's assignments.
I heart this class. Already.
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7 comments:
Why does the task feel daunting? You have, indeed, written through it; now comes the fun part! It can't all be painful--no one would do it. This is where the play of craft comes in. Think of deadlines and word counts as liberating, not limiting! You have a set container within which you can dance around. . . .
Starting right now, you will no longer write "its" when what you mean is "it's"--the apostrophe signifies a conjunction; it replaces the "i" of "is" or "wa" of "was." "Its" signifies a possessive. Got it? If not, I'll go over it with you. This is one of the most common, needless errors I see students make. Let's all commit to correct usage, shall we?
I heart literary journalism too. I actually just wrote a personal statement with the main theme being my love of people watching. I love that the job of the literary journalist is to hang out with people, ask questions, let them talk and then tell their stories to the world. I look forward to reading your personal essay!
Once again, the grammar goddess strikes!! I apologize Marin, I promise to work on all my grammar foibles, including that one. Thank you!!!
And no, its not all painful. In fact, quite to the contrary--only recently, writing for the Gazette, have I discovered how exhilerating deadlines, word counts and pressure can be for me. Its like a high, seriously! It's a lot of fun and forces me to be primed for writing. I suppose that's where craft comes in. When you work to build a set of skills, you can access them more readily on the fly. At least, that's how it seems. That's cool. I think I'm still far from that stage though.
Seriously, Lauren. Every time you write its/it's stop and ask yourself, "Do I mean 'it is' or a possessive?"
You're killing me, here.
I have been; I promise! It's just a really bad habit, like biting my nails, that's going to take some time to break. Proofreading is my new best friend, cross my heart.
Lauren, other things not to do.
Do not accidentally write "shrugged my soldiers" when you mean "shrugged my shoulders" unless your shoulders can drive a tank and shot an M-16. Mine can.
Also, do not refer to Col. Chris Philbrick as Col. Christ Philbrick when writing about Bush's visit to the military base you cover.
Small grammar / typo mistakes can ruin a whole story. The three worst feelings in the world are reading the paper in the morning and seeing a glaring mistake in your story, having your dad call you to tell you about the glaring mistake in your story on the web and having Marin point out glaring mistakes in your blogging.
But we make mistakes, and we learn, and Marin's always right
Thanks Aaron. I feel as though you may be speaking from experience?
I trust your word. And I know--Marin is always right.
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