For those of you who are wondering, I got all my writing class materials last week. As I looked through the various books, assignments, and due dates I felt a little stress monster jump on my shoulders. But I made the conscious decision to instead take a deep breath, and begin the journey.
Submitting work to be critiqued by a stranger that I can't impress with a nice smile and cheerful disposition is hard for me. I am realizing how little I trust what I can create. I can hear Michael Kors telling me, "you have to create something that can stand on its own". Haha. I've been watching a lot of Project Runway. Anyways, being someone who [very] highly values self-expression, it's nerv-racking. It feels makes me feel so naked to share my dreams and thought processes. Mostly because I am just one person, and there are a million others out there trying to "make it".
The first assignment involved a lot of great tools for making writing an intentional and high-priority part of your life. Very organizational and practical, which I am all about. And then there were a couple things that challenged the way I think about what I do. In less than 150 words I am to describe the effect I want to have on my readers. For the most part I write entirely out of selfishness. Not to impress people or forever change their lives [though that would be wonderful], but because I feel alive in it. I write to express.
The first assignment involved a lot of great tools for making writing an intentional and high-priority part of your life. Very organizational and practical, which I am all about. And then there were a couple things that challenged the way I think about what I do. In less than 150 words I am to describe the effect I want to have on my readers. For the most part I write entirely out of selfishness. Not to impress people or forever change their lives [though that would be wonderful], but because I feel alive in it. I write to express.
It was a really good excercise to spend some time thinking about the bigger picture.
And here's what I've concluded:
In all that I write, my hope is to bring a breath of fresh air. Whether through wit or muse, I want to venture past the conventional and express sincere truth. In writing, my goal is to bring a unique and personal perspective on the challenges and joys we face. It's not about informing, affronting, or convincing. It's an invitation to sit on the shores of the vast sea and share the view, whether pleasant or stormy. Like C.S. Lewis, Mark Twain, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, I want to bring a message of conviction and hope, yet marked with a distinct beauty.
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