Your assignment: Based on your subsequent research on the essay form, write an essay that details your experiences over a two and half week American tour, spanning from Seattle to New York. Nearly 5,800 miles round trip travelled in the confines of an aging Chevrolet Astro Van with three other human beings.
Page limit is unknown, but keep in mind it shouldn't be too short or too long. Remember, we're looking for quality over quantity.
Working thesis or "nut": Being in an American punk band is a right of passage for American kids. I've been playing music with someone I've known for 18 years. We've toured the United States countless times. We've played what seems like an endless amount of dingy basements, VFW halls, and living rooms. We've been in a roll-over accident in the Siskiyous Mountains in Northern California, (in the same van that is taking us cross county!). Now, getting a bit older, I have time to reflect on the moral underpinnings of the do-it-yourself music community that I have been a part of for so long, as well as all trials and tribulations; touring is stressful. It costs a lot of money. Most of the time you can't sleep. There are no motels. Only the confines of a van. But something makes it worth it; meeting new people, real people who share similar community based ethics, and the deep-seated desire for exploration and travel.
Keep in mind the essence(s) that make essays their own, I.E. -that unique blend of fact, narrative, suspense, and poetic prose. Does your essay ask a question? Is it polemic? Or does it just offer a parable allowing the reader to arrive at her own conclusion?
Based on what you've learned from your previous readings at the beginning of the contract, how can you use these "essences" to create an effective piece of writing, one that is capable of evoking emotion in the reader, or making them think about something new?
With such a vast amount of experiences to document, how to you execute pacing and an economy of words? The essay shares all of the wonderful elements of traditional storytelling that make fiction so enjoyable. Keep in mind that the writer has master over time, and controls what moments are passed over to push the story forward, and what moments are focused on for subtle details that show underlying themes.
Lastly, just write. Write. WRITE. Perfection kills creativity. Despite all the wonderful, thought evoking pieces you've read, you're not shooting for literary gold right now. The most important thing you've learned is to just write and write about what you're doing and thinking. There may be a ton of garbage, but out of that garbage you may find a couple threads of great reflection. Even if literally just two sentences.
Lastly, have fun. It will show in your writing.
well, editing is another tool that one can use to build /find a structure for the "writing".
ReplyDeleteI don't believe great writing starts with a blank page. I very much doubt about trance/automatic writing without reflection/editing. much like an artist needs material before he/she create, a writer needs words on the page before he/she starts...
in other words, write with a black page.