Chapter 12 of Tell It Slant will be incredibly helpful for my writing in this class. I've found myself writing a lot about my emotions, even in my obsession journal. Although this has felt therapeutic, and I like what I'm writing, I feel as if I'm focusing too much on my emotions rather than actual events. Tell It Slant succinctly showed me where I was going wrong and how to strengthen my creative nonfiction pieces. One phrase of advice I highlighted was, "You must know when you are ready to write about certain subjects and when you are not" (159). For some prompts, I originally wrote about entirely different subjects than I ended up sharing with the class. But when I read them back to myself, I felt it was too raw and too open. There is a boundary, being a creative nonfiction writer, between being real and being unbarred. Sharing emotional events that you have not healed from will result in an essay that doesn't have a complete message -- and no one will enjoy reading that.
Another phrase I highlighted from the book was, "Only when the infinite has edges am I capable of making art" (158). I have wondered before during our class whether others' writings have been entirely true (not to say any of you are liars, but one does wonder!). There have been certain elements of my own stories that I have created out of my imagination. For example, in my writing about Rome and the plum tree, I mentioned two of my friends Emily and Dre. There were actually more friends in my group that I spent a lot of time with, but for the purpose of the story, I created composite characters (as the book mentions).
In my opinion, it's useful to create your own truth in creative nonfiction. I was honestly surprised to read about the author Frey who was shamed by Oprah for fabricating parts of his nonfiction story. However, I suppose if I found out The Glass Castle (a memoir I read in high school and loved) was entirely exaggerated, I would also be slightly offended because I had opened myself up to the book assuming it to be real. In my own creative nonfiction writings, I plan to continue writing by interpreting factual stories. What I write is factual, but I add in my own smaller details to get the message across. I particularly think it's helpful to add certain statements such as "I don't remember exactly, but" (159), because they can maintain the trusting relationship between author and reader.
I found the mini essay "On..." to be the most meaningful because I was able to write about whatever I wanted. The previous mini essays were great guides because they oiled the gears in my brain. The "On..." essay was timed perfectly for the class because we had had a good amount of practice, and at that point, Professor Brigid let us have the freedom to explore our own minds. This essay was also meaningful to me because I wrote about Rome, which was a very pivotal point of my life. I am going to write about Rome for my longer essay, and the "On..." essay is just the beginning.
A challenge I've experienced while writing the mini essays is to choose what details to include/exclude. My brain is always moving at 100 mph, my thoughts are always running. It's very hard for me to decide what is not-essential to a story, especially for a piece that is only supposed to be 300-350 words. I think I've been getting better at being succinct. The Tweet essays will certainly be a test of that statement. In terms of successes, I am proud of the writer's voice I have developed, and feel it reflects my personality very well.
Comments
Post a Comment