So...it's been a while since my last post. This always happens toward the end of the semester. All sorts of work pours in, and I struggle to keep from drowning in all of the papers that flood my inbox. Even now I'm making notes on research papers for three classes tonight after having finished one class earlier today. And I've got one more class to work on tomorrow.
Anyhow, I'm taking 5 to clear my head a bit. A student in one of my classes asked the other day where he could find more of my writing. I'd given his class 2 of the poems I'd written in grad school as a way to introduce our unit on poetry. It's my dirty little trick to get the students reading and postulating about the poems before revealing their prof is the evil genius behind the pen (as if!).
It's always an attention getter. But no one has ever asked for more, and I didn't really know what to say since most of my publishing credits are for nonfiction, not poetry or other forms of fiction.
So, I decided to start posting some of the short stories in my repetoir here on The Drabbler. The first I'll post in a few and would welcome any comments/criticisms. Everything is always a work in progress.
When did you know you wanted to be a writer? Were you always good at it or was it something that took practice. I hope with practice i become a better writer. I know your class helped me with that.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, I still don't want to be a writer, per se -- at least the kind of writer that I am now. I don't really think of myself as a writer, actually. I spend most of my time writing for other people and not myself, and I hope to change that one day.
ReplyDeleteI guess I've always been good at writing. I used to write bad stories and poems in school. For some odd reason, my 7th grade class just assume I'd write the class play (when I'd never written one before!). I seem to have a flair for language in general, so it makes sense to me. Plus my years in college have helped me to become a critical thinker, which helps a lot.
What most people don't understand is that writing is a skill that anyone can learn. It's never a matter of if you're naturally good at it or not. With practice and study, anyone can become a good writer.
Maybe you should've given us less work so you would have less papers to grade. Unfortunately, it is a bit too late for now.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Matthews, thanks for all the support and everything you taught me in your class. I am a lot more confident in my writing now than I was ever before. Happy Holidays
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