WHAT’S IN A NAME?

By Sharon May

So who can call themselves “writer?” Anyone who picks up a pen or sits at a computer and begins to put words on paper? Does one have to be published? Or do the desire and effort define us?

In Freshman Composition, I used a rhetoric entitled, Everyone’s an Author, which approaches writing as something all of us do on a daily basis. Its goal is to help students understand the rhetorical aspects of writing in its various forms as well as pushing them to take writing more seriously and to view themselves as having the ability to write.

While the textbook aims for students to produce “good” writing, there is an underlying assumption that the act of writing is greater than the quality of the writing. In a sense, that is like calling myself an athlete because I try to play a sport, though I may never win a game.

Years ago, I was discussing a piece of my writing with a friend who also writes. He informed me, in a way that might be called condescending, that he writes only for himself as if that should be the goal for everyone.   

If there is no intended audience, is it “real” writing? After a mental breakdown during my Ph.D. program (no cause and effect implied), I couldn’t/wouldn’t finish a dissertation in good faith. Writing it felt like an exercise in mental masturbation, written for no audience beyond a handful of scholars. Except for a few presentations, I quit writing academic papers and turned to creative writing.

As of May, 10^th, I began calling myself a writer since that will be my vocation after retiring from teaching. I’ve written for years but only now do I feel comfortable claiming that label, which may surprise people who know me well.

I have won awards for both academic writing and creative writing, but those for academic writing made me feel like a scholar, not a writer. I co-authored and published a college textbook, but that didn’t make me feel like a writer either though I have made more money from that book than I have yet to make from my creative writing. I have always envisioned an isolated author slaving away, so a group effort didn’t qualify me as a writer.

Many of us value fiction and creative non-fiction over college textbooks. Fiction and memoirs are mystical creations, not dry tomes of information or how-to books. Anyone in the field can write those, right?

Being a writer is establishing a mindset about who we are and what we do. Most of my students don’t buy into the theory that they are writers, no matter how many times I or the textbook called them that. They have no intention of writing any more than they have to while I want to do little else now.

So what are your assumptions about writers?  How do they affect your writing?  

AN INSPIRATION OF THE HEART

By Nick Rolon

Author, Roy T. Bennett once said, “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind.  Be led by the dreams in your heart”.  

My parents, Teresa and Nicholas Rolon, met in Brooklyn, NY.  My mother was Irish, and My father was Spanish.  At the time, their parents had opposed the relationship.  They lived in apartment buildings across from each other and would use walkie talkie radios to communicate in secrecy.  Bike rides, talks at the soda shop, walks from school, and trips to Coney Island soon led to this real life “West Side Story” love affair.  They were in fearless love and would lay on their beach blankets dreaming of a future together.  Their love for each other inspired others and acceptance from their parents. They married on Saturday, September 19, 1965 in a Brooklyn church.   Our life would begin above a bakery with the first of five children born and the smell of oven baked bread from the bakery waking us each morning.   On a fall day in 2015, My parents would renew their wedding vows at the same alter; both looking into each other’s teary eyes and saying “I Do” again – 50 years later.    

In the spring of 2016, my mother, Teresa Rolon, was having trouble walking and fell several times including during a doctor visit.  She was taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation and an MRI was completed to examine her brain.  At 73 years old, she had led a life of relatively good health.  Aside from her hospitals stays during the births of myself and my siblings, she had never been admitted to a hospital.   A biopsy further revealed our worst thoughts – Lymphoma of the brain: a rare cancer that starts in the lymph tissues/blood of the brain.  The most loving, giving, caring person was about to enter the battle for her life.

She experienced the depression, the fear, the pain, the self-doubt and at times the loss of hope.  With the love and support of my father, brothers and sisters, family, friends, she was determined to fight back against the disease in her mind with the power of love in her heart.  During the years of chemotherapy treatments, countless lab works, hospital stays, doctor visits, physical & cognitive therapy, and counseling sessions Mom was gracious and giving.  The hospital hallway walks with the IV drip pole, the therapist chants of “left foot right foot left foot right foot” teaching her to walk again, the loss of appetite, and she persevered.  One day I found her sitting on her hospital bed with my father and both were wearing Red Noses to support Walgreens Red Nose Day campaign to end child poverty and then she was at a Metlife Stadium Cancer Survivor event speaking words of encouragement to survivors.

On Monday, May 20^th, 2019 my mother will be celebrating her 76^th year birthday thanks to the many nurses, doctors, therapists, family, friends, and her devoted husband, the North Bergen, NJ community and Samuel Singer, M.D. of the John Theurer Cancer Center /Hackensack University Medical Center who has been incredible from day one.  Thanks to her favorite singer – Ed Sheeran who motivated her through his songs while receiving treatment- She attended his concert in 2018.  

Our life experiences can inspire our writing:

· Observing my mother re-learn to write during her rehabilitation inspired me to write again – never take writing for granted.

· I estimate my mother has handwritten over 5,000 cards & letters to family & friends – I learned early in life the power of words and how they can inspire, encourage, and support others.

· I am inspired to write about my parents 54-year romance which began in Brooklyn, NY; A Brooklyn Love Story might be a good book title.

· Writing is therapeutic- Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you”.  

· In February 2019, my mother began writing her own life story with help from her family.  The handwritten words, at times difficult to read, inspired everyone and proved that a setback is not the end of your story. This example motivates me to continue writing no matter the obstacle.  

This year marks the 70^th Anniversary of celebrating Mental Health Month in May.  The theme this year is expanding  upon last year’s theme of #4Mind4Body and taking it to the next level exploring the topics of animal companionship (including pets and support animals), spirituality, humor, work-life balance, recreation, and social connections as many ways to boost mental health and general wellness.  Please visit the website below for more information.

www.mentalhealthamerica.net

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741

www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

www.cancer.org

THE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR

By Kasie Whitener

Christine doesn’t remember anything. I’ve just started a new book by a favorite author and the opening chapter is told from the point of view of an amnesia victim. What an incredible lens through which to bring a story.

Without remembering anything, Christine can’t tell us where she is, who she is, or what brought her into these circumstances. She doesn’t know the people who enter the room despite them knowing her. She is relying solely upon what she sees and feels right now. Unclouded by exposition, this narrator is confused and, as a reader, I am too. Moreover, I’m curious.

The unreliable narrator is a first-person account that can’t be trusted. So often we take for granted that the narrator’s point of view is absolute: it’s how the story really unfolded. But the unreliable narrator makes us question if what we’re seeing is true or just her perception.

Faulkner used an unreliable narrator in The Sound and the Fury. Nick Carraway qualifies as an unreliable narrator in The Great Gatsby. The Moviegoer by Walker Percy and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger both build empathy for their narrator before starting to hint there’s something unstable and untrustworthy about them.

Arguably all first-person narrators are unreliable. Anytime we are seeing things only from a single character’s point of view, we are subject to the lens through which that person sees the world. Experience, values, and ambition all cloud a character’s perception and the first-person narrator is an extremely limiting view point because we only get the other characters through the first-person.

Nick Carraway doesn’t know what Gatsby wants or how he feels, he can only report what he sees and make inferences based on Gatsby’s actions. We think Carraway is reasonable, but with all those parties, he may have been drunk more often than not. In The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins makes one of the narrators an alcoholic. Intentionally casting doubt on what that narrator thinks she saw.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson also deals with an amnesia-suffering narrator. The fragments of memory captured in the woman’s journal reveal, slowly, the terrible circumstances in which she finds herself. It’s a compelling thriller made all the more dramatic because for most of the book the reader is as confused as the narrator.

Some dangers to the unreliable narrator are reader confusion and the writer must decide how much confusion she thinks the reader will tolerate before putting the book down. Admittedly, The Girl on the Train had to rely upon a cast of narrators to offset the drunk woman, but it also seemed to turn those other seemingly trustworthy people into unreliables over the course of the novel, too.

Most importantly, the unreliable narrator is both realistic (we are all unreliable because we see things only from our own perspective) and limiting in a way that might frustrate not just the reader, but also the author. But it’s so totally worth it.

THE LATEST ADDITION

Meet a New SCWA Columbia II Blogger

RUTH P SAUNDERS

Ruth retired in February, 2015, after 30 years of teaching, research and service in the Department of Health Promotion and Education in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Retirement afforded her the opportunity to begin writing creative nonfiction in earnest after years of dabbling. In addition to focusing on writing, Ruth is also a visual artist and has worked for about four years with oil, oil pastel, gouache, graphite, collage, and mixed media. She plans to combine her passions for literary and visual arts. Her current goal is to develop professionally as a creative nonfiction writer and to write, illustrate and publish a collection of memories and stories about growing up in rural Lowcountry South Carolina in the 1950s and 1960s.

TRANSITIONING from ACADEMIC to CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITING

By Ruth P Saunders

I enjoyed 30 years in academia and produced the expected scientific publications. I liked academic writing, but by retirement four years ago I felt ready to explore more artistic approaches.  One of my retirement goals is to channel my love of writing into creative nonfiction, to explore and reflect on memories in essays and stories. Here are my thoughts about similarities and differences between the two nonfiction styles.

First, some similarities. It is important to know your audience and use clear language as well as appropriate grammar and punctuation. Academic and creative nonfiction pieces need a beginning, middle, and end. Each paragraph conveys a single point, and transition sentences guide the flow of the narrative. A well-written manuscript of either type conveys a clear message. Feedback from peers is essential for effective writing in any context.

Academic and creative nonfiction differ in several ways, as well. In a rather academic fashion, I have categorized these into purpose, audience, structure, content, and language.

Differences between Academic and Creative Nonfiction Writing

	Academic	Creative
Purpose	Advancing scientific knowledge and informing	Personal expression and entertainment
Audience	Professionals within a field of study	Broader audience
Structure	Highly structured by journal-specific publication guidelines	Flexible depending upon purpose, audience and intended outlet
Content	Narrowly focused professional topic describing research methods and results, systematic literature review or professional commentary	Describes author’s perception of a wide range of factual experiences or events
Language	Formal, often containing field-specific jargon and abbreviations; intended to convey an objective perspective	Informal, using simple words that are clear; presumed to convey a subjective perspective

Academic manuscripts are formal in tone and intended to advance scientific knowledge. They are directed at scientists and professionals within specific disciplines using field-specific technical language. The content focuses on a specific topic, builds upon previously reported work, and is presumably guided by scientific methods designed to increase objectivity. Manuscript structure and formatting is prescribed by field-specific academic journals to maintain objectivity and consistency across time. Guidelines include headings for major sections of the document (e.g., Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusions, References) and how to format citations of previous scientific work in the narrative and final reference list.

Creative nonfiction writing is more flexible and less formal. It is subjective, focusing on the author’s experiences and reflections to entertain a more broadly defined audience. The language should not require specialized knowledge to understand, and the structure is simpler and clearer. It should be interesting, meaningful, relevant, and engaging to the reader.

Academic writing is comfortable, and I continue to publish. But I want to reflect upon my life more subjectively, with a hint of humor. I want to honor memories that have shaped the present and share them in meaningful ways. Creative nonfiction writing enables me to do this and helps me grow as a writer and a person.