Eng 319 blog

Memoir Draft 2

Katie March
Dr. A
Eng 319
WC: 1,325
Memoir- NEED TITLE
The pinnacle of my high-school writing career began during the winter of my junior year. I was home during my school’s winter break and was disappointed that the vast majority of my friends were traveling to tropical vacations and I was stuck in Fort Collins. With the typical dramas of high school having occurred during the previous semester, I was left to my thoughts about unfair coaches, conniving friends and heartless boys. I had had innumerable fights with my parents about minor things such as driving and curfew. I felt that my cheerleading coach possessed an unreasonable grudge against me. Several of my supposed friends had formed a vendetta against me for unknown reasons. And the boy for whom I felt undying affection barely recognized me in the hallway. I was neither depressed nor unhappy, but I felt that in order to bring a sense of balance and understanding I should write a short story that dealt both with the kind of issues I was facing as well as larger issues that I had grown to understand.
As I sat at my ancient computer, trying to drown out the screams of my sisters as they argued over who would get the first shower, I began to collect my thoughts. It was slightly intimidating as I stared at my blank document, hoping that a suitable introduction to my story, or even an inspired title, would formulate in my mind. I slowly began to tell the story of Jennifer, a 17-year-old girl who lived in suburban St. Louis. I set her up much in the same style, as did Salinger, though with poorer results. She was a conflicted and confused young woman who was being perpetually pushed by her mother to follow in her businesswoman footsteps. She had troubles with fitting in with her friends at school, was terrified around the opposite sex, and had few people she could confide in. She felt as though she was betraying her parents by wishing to be a photographer. Slowly, she built a friendship with a shy black boy named Teddy. She and Teddy discussed life and the choices all people must make. The story ends with the two of them running away, going to Mexico in order to fulfill their dreams.
While this story was not a piece of great or revolutionary literature, it gave me more confidence in my writing than I had ever possessed before. I felt that my writing had achieved a level where I could effectively communicate with those around me, and that I could use writing as an outlet for my emotions. I can only hope that as I progress through my life that my writing will continue to serve me as a way to express myself. And while I may not want to be a best-selling author or a professional writer, being able to communicate with fellow human beings is a skill that transcends jobs or affiliations.
Looking back at my inspirations, I realize that this moment in my writing “career” never would have occurred if I hadn’t read my favorite novel, J.D. Slingers Catcher in the Rye. Salinger presented an amazing work of art which showed me that writing did not have to follow such strict rules. Only through this epiphany was I able to channel my true writer’s instinct and begin my path towards becoming a quality writer. Prior to reading Catcher in the Rye, I felt that all writing had to be rigidly constructed in the form of classical, romantic or Victorian writing. Literature seemed dry and indecipherable, with flowery words hiding the message of the work. I have since grown to appreciate the classic works of Byron, Wilde and Homer, but during my formative writing years it was the work of Salinger which kept my interest in literature. The up-front and critical writing style used in the book, placing the main character, Holden Caulfield, in situations which any teenager can relate, amazed me and captivated my attention. And while few teenagers choose a similar path to Caulfield’s, the book provides a unique viewpoint to the human soul. It was this style which intrigued me and allowed me to advance my style and become a writer who could express my thoughts clearly and concisely.
Following my reading of the book I decided that I should attempt to create my own work of fiction which illustrated both the trials and tribulations of a teenager, and that attempted to bring more subtle issues such as race, class and gender into its pages. Similarly to the important issues tackled in my new-found inspiration, I wanted to discuss issues that were important to me and controversial. The style which most intrigued me was during the book’s description of the abysmal movie which Holden had seen. His rambling and seemingly digressing thoughts flowed so well for me, and I could only dream of writing a review or any kind of piece with such amazing ability. With the world of writing newly opened to my teenage self, I looked to my own experiences for motivation. I started by keeping a journal to collect my thoughts and refine my writing. I had never had any kind of regard for literary rules, frequently misusing simple writing rules such as affect and effect, whether and weather and my most difficult demon to conquer, anxious and eager. In addition, my punctuation and misuse of apostrophes marred my writing and made clutter and inconsistency commonplace.
However, as I began to strive towards literary achievement, my writing began to slowly improve. I stayed behind after class and received my teacher’s criticisms and suggestions. My father, a lawyer with a penchant for writing, helped refine my style, reading my essays and personal writings and offering his suggestions and advice. My journal entries began to delve past my thoughts of the day, problems with boys, and frustrations with my parents. I started to muse about deeper meanings of life. Thoughts about religion, politics and human interaction began to fill both my mind and my journal. And while I often wrote about them in a very objective and academic style, the way in which I was writing slowly transformed.
In truth, I always preferred writing a history paper which was entirely in the third person to a personal paper which included my outright opinion. I reveled in my newfound ability to insert my opinion into a paper which did not ask for my personal belief. An example of this may be if I were given a paper that tasked me with discussing the controversial issue of gun control. I would attempt to present both sides equally and use quality research while still crafting my words to more favorably represent one side. An example of this may be as follows: While there is no doubt that firearms which are unregulated pose a threat to communities across America, the right to self-defense supersedes the futile efforts to disarm criminals. As long as guns are kept by responsible men and women, their dangers can be negated by simple education and common sense. This argument is not done by inserting an unsubstantiated opinion that is placed in first-person, but by attempting to have the reader look disinterestedly at my argument and see it as scholarly.

NEED ENDING, SOMETHING ABOUT MY CURRENT WRITING STYLE?