Week 7, Theme 5

Prompt: Evaluation: use your final theme this week to reflect on the work you’ve done so far this term. What has been particularly rewarding or frustrating? How would you characterize your writing? What goals do you want to establish for the remainder of the semester? Your theme can, of course, embody or otherwise relate to the statements you are making about your writing in some suggestive way.

In going through the themes that I have written for this semester, I have come to a rather obvious but multifaceted conclusion: I write well about what I know. I have always felt a strong connection to my childhood, my hometown, and my family, and I think that some of my strongest themes have been derived from these subjects. I have also found that my social and romantic life as a college student is particularly fertile ground. When I write themes about one of these subjects (usually, I can find a way to make a theme fit one of these things), I have a relatively easy and fun time writing them. It is when I encounter more abstract topics (such as the week centered on style) that I run into difficulties thinking about what to write. The “night sky” theme exemplifies this feeling: I stared at that prompt and procrastinated for a good two hours before putting anything on the page.

One of my stated goals at the beginning of the semester was to improve stylistically. I have found that with more frequent writing turns of phrase such as “Mary’s parents divorced before she moved out of the high chair” are easier for me to come up with. I’m never going to master rhythm or beats in a sentence, but I think that I can continue to create interesting ways in which to frame everyday things.

Looking towards the rest of the semester, I’d like to focus on impact of my pieces. I want, as Cathy has mentioned to us, my pieces to matter in and of themselves rather than just being slices of life. Usually the part that can make the piece “matter” or not is the last few sentences, when the writer is ending the development of an idea that started merely 300 words ago. I’d like to focus on creating forceful, affecting endings.