My capstone class is full of creative writers.
There are some major differences between most creative writers and professional writers.
While there are the CWs that will really find themselves competing in the literary shark tank with people who can make a living off of their art, the overwhelming majority of them are delusional.
We PWs are practical. We love writing and and most of us can piece together a decent short story or memoir/creative non-fiction piece (I find that poetry alludes like 99.97% of us), but we are realistic. People with teaching degrees and law degrees can't even find jobs right now. How guaranteed is a future with an MFA?
GVSU likes to slap us all together in the generic writing classes, like genre theory and intermediate non-fiction. PWs are the ones in the corner talking about 30 Rock, the weird kids that wear chain-mail and/or capes to class, and making plans for the weekend.
The CWs (at GVSU) circle around the profs and talk about how facebook has sucked out our souls, they wear chain-mail and/or capes to class*, and make plans to take down the Kindle.
On the rare occasions that CWs can lower themselves to interact with us, they like to ask what we actually write. "What can you do with a professional writing degree?" they sniff at us, assuming that we could never appreciate their in-depth conversations about the latest Terry Gross interview, debates on whether its still okay to like Elvis Costello, or how David Sedaris is the best thing to happen to literature since Gutenberg**.
In case you can't tell, a lot of the GVSU Creative writers are pretentious and boring.
PWs are so much more fun.
In a completely unrelated note, one of my favorite Nat City customers came to the bank today. Haven't seen him in a while as he joined the military to become a chaplain. He asked for my number, and while blushing furiously, I said no.
Kind of kicking myself now.
*this observation may be limited to GVSU's unfortunate renaissance festival.
**I actually subscribe to NPR's Fresh air, and I like David Sedaris... total hypocrite.
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
Somewhere in the Middle
Welcome to the end of another semester. Another move closer to the end of my college career.
This has been a long semester, as the three of you have witnessed. My finals week was a perfect ending to a stressful fifteen weeks devoted to my computer and ability to BS papers. We had a potluck in one and met at Uccello's for another. The others were more conventional but I survived them.
As much as I have complained this semester, I really really learned a lot. In all honesty, this has been one of the most valuable semesters I have had.
I developed a long(ish) term goal of combining my love of art, history, culture, and writing. I have been in communication with Kerri Vanderhoff, the communications director at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. She does not have a PR degree. In fact, her degree(s) are in communications and humanities. There is hope for me. I want her job. Or something similar.
This is a big development boys and girls. I never really thought that there was anything I could do with a technical writing degree. I assumed I would be at the bank forever. (Of course, if this happens, its not the end of the world, I like my job and I believe that PNC will be a great company to work for.) Heading up communications for a museum would just make my life. Now I have a direction for my internship search.
I learned more about writing well than I thought there was to learn, thanks to Christina Olson and Dianna Booher.
Finally, I would like to share a little George Orwell with you:
Orwell's rules of effective writing: (Circa 1946)
1. Never us a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive when you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
This is essentially what I spent the semester learning. I recommend that anyone who has a love for the English language and writing properly seek out Orwell's "Politics and the English Language".
He says what we're all thinking. :)
This has been a long semester, as the three of you have witnessed. My finals week was a perfect ending to a stressful fifteen weeks devoted to my computer and ability to BS papers. We had a potluck in one and met at Uccello's for another. The others were more conventional but I survived them.
As much as I have complained this semester, I really really learned a lot. In all honesty, this has been one of the most valuable semesters I have had.
I developed a long(ish) term goal of combining my love of art, history, culture, and writing. I have been in communication with Kerri Vanderhoff, the communications director at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. She does not have a PR degree. In fact, her degree(s) are in communications and humanities. There is hope for me. I want her job. Or something similar.
This is a big development boys and girls. I never really thought that there was anything I could do with a technical writing degree. I assumed I would be at the bank forever. (Of course, if this happens, its not the end of the world, I like my job and I believe that PNC will be a great company to work for.) Heading up communications for a museum would just make my life. Now I have a direction for my internship search.
I learned more about writing well than I thought there was to learn, thanks to Christina Olson and Dianna Booher.
Finally, I would like to share a little George Orwell with you:
Orwell's rules of effective writing: (Circa 1946)
1. Never us a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive when you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
This is essentially what I spent the semester learning. I recommend that anyone who has a love for the English language and writing properly seek out Orwell's "Politics and the English Language".
He says what we're all thinking. :)
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