How to Write an Essay Everyone Wants to Read: 5 Steps to Craft Meaningful Personal Narratives

Summary

In Medium's inaugural Creator Workshop, Amy Scherner and Harris Sockle lead an insightful session on crafting personal essays. They emphasize the importance of observation and note-taking as foundational writing habits, akin to 'being a noticer.' The workshop explores the significance of having a driving question in an essay, the balance between scene and summary, and developing a relatable narrative persona. With examples from published essays on Medium, they illustrate how to engage readers and provide a scaffold for writers. The session concludes with advice on writing exercises, reading widely, and embracing the unique voice of the writer.

Takeaways

• 📓 The importance of being a 'noticer' in the writing life, which means paying attention to the world around you and noting down observations, ideas, and sensory details.
• 📔 The value of free writing and using note cards or digital equivalents to organize thoughts and ideas for future essays.
• ✍️ The advice to 'be a notebook' and gather all sorts of information that might eventually connect into a cohesive essay.
• 🤔 The necessity of having a driving question in an essay that the writer is investigating, which adds excitement for both the reader and the writer.
• 📚 The recommendation to read widely and across different genres to develop as a writer and to find inspiration.
• 📖 The role of a personal essay in telling a story, with elements of plot, character development, and scene setting similar to fiction.
• 🧑‍🎨 The need to develop oneself as a character in a personal essay, being honest and showing both strengths and weaknesses.
• 🎨 The idea that writing is a series of choices, and that the writer is in charge of deciding how to best convey their message.
• 🔍 The presence of two stories in every essay: a small personal story and a larger story that connects to a broader context or theme.
• ⏱ No specific optimal length for essays; the length should serve the story being told, with both beginning and ending clearly defined.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the Medium's Creator Workshop?

The purpose of the Medium's Creator Workshop is to guide and support writers, particularly those interested in writing personal essays. The workshop provides insights, strategies, and exercises to help writers develop their skills and understand the nuances of creating compelling personal essays.

Who are Amy Scherner and Harris Sockle, and what are their roles in the workshop?

Amy Scherner is the content lead for writing at Medium and editor of Human Parts, a publication that features the best stories exploring what it means to be human. Harris Sockle is a colleague of Amy's, also involved in the workshop, and he has been featured in various publications, is the author of an Amazon Kindle single, and contributes to the discussion on writing personal essays.

What is the significance of 'Human Parts' in the context of the workshop?

Human Parts is a publication on Medium that showcases the best stories about the human experience. It is significant in the workshop as it serves as a source of examples and inspiration for the participants, highlighting the quality and depth of personal essays that can be achieved.

What is the first step suggested in the workshop for creating a personal essay?

The first step suggested in the workshop for creating a personal essay is 'be a noticer.' This involves paying attention to the world around you, writing down observations, ideas, dialogue, and sensory details, and keeping a notebook or some form of record for future reference.

Why is it important for a personal essay to have a driving question?

A driving question is important for a personal essay because it gives the essay direction and purpose. It helps the writer to investigate and explore a topic deeply, making the journey of discovery exciting for the reader, who follows the writer's thought process and conclusions.

How does the workshop suggest using note cards or a similar system for organizing ideas?

The workshop suggests using note cards or a similar system to gather and organize ideas, observations, and fragments that could potentially become part of an essay. This method allows writers to see patterns and connections and to experiment with the order and structure of their ideas.

What role does reading play in the process of writing a personal essay, according to the workshop?

According to the workshop, reading plays a significant role in the process of writing a personal essay as it helps writers to train their 'noticing muscle.' Reading widely across different genres and topics can provide inspiration, expose writers to different writing styles, and contribute to their overall understanding of storytelling and narrative structure.

Why should a writer consider developing themselves as a character in their personal essay?

A writer should consider developing themselves as a character in their personal essay to create a narrative persona that readers can relate to and engage with. This helps to build a connection between the writer and the reader, making the reader more invested in the writer's journey and insights.

What is the significance of including both a big story and a small story in a personal essay?

Including both a big story and a small story in a personal essay adds depth and resonance to the writing. The small story is the personal experience or narrative that the writer shares, while the big story is the larger context or theme that it connects to. This dual-layered approach makes the essay more meaningful and impactful for the reader.

How does the workshop address the concern of being preachy or self-absorbed in personal essays?

The workshop addresses the concern of being preachy or self-absorbed by encouraging writers to focus on the reader's experience, to be honest about their intentions, and to include a balance of personal strengths and weaknesses. It also suggests being self-deprecating at times and acknowledging that the writer doesn't know everything, which can help to maintain credibility with the reader.

What advice does the workshop give for creating compelling headlines for personal essays?

The workshop advises that headlines should be compelling and make the reader want to engage with the essay. They should reflect the core message or moment of the essay and use strong verbs or assertions. It's also recommended to avoid clickbait and instead focus on creating a headline that is both intriguing and straightforward.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Medium's Creator Workshop

The script opens with an introduction to Medium's inaugural Creator Workshop, hosted by Amy Scherner and Harris Sockle. Amy is the content lead for writing at Medium and editor of 'Human Parts,' a publication featuring the best stories about the human experience. Harris, a colleague with work featured in various platforms, is an author and editor. They are joined by Miranda Durham, who will provide resources and links. The workshop aims to guide participants through the process of writing personal essays, starting with an icebreaker poll about their experience with the genre. The script emphasizes the importance of the workshop's interactive nature, with resources and exercises to be shared.

05:01

🔍 The Art of Noticing and Gathering Ideas

The second paragraph delves into the first step of essay writing: being a 'noticer.' It encourages writers to observe their surroundings, record observations, and maintain a notebook for ideas, dialogues, and sensory details. The advice extends to consuming various forms of art and media to train one's 'noticing muscle.' The paragraph highlights the importance of free writing and the use of note cards or digital equivalents to organize thoughts, which can later coalesce into a cohesive essay. It also references essays by Carly Moore and Susan Orlean that offer practical advice on note-taking and the use of index cards as writing tools.

10:02

❓ The Power of a Driving Question in Essays

In the third paragraph, the discussion shifts to the significance of having a driving question in a personal essay. This question propels the writer and the reader through the narrative, fostering curiosity and discovery. The advice emphasizes the importance of genuine interest in the question, as the writer's passion will engage readers. It suggests that the question need not be complex but should be something that the writer is genuinely trying to understand or explore. Examples of essays that embody this principle are mentioned, showcasing how they delve into personal obsessions and feelings.

15:04

📖 The Narrative Arc and Storytelling in Essays

The fourth paragraph discusses the importance of storytelling elements in essays, suggesting that a good essay shares many craft elements with a good short story, novel, or screenplay. It talks about the need for a narrative arc or movement, where the essay takes the reader on a journey that changes or reveals something by the end. The paragraph also touches on the use of dialogue, sensory details, and the writer as a character within the piece. It provides examples of essays that effectively combine scene and summary, showing and telling, to engage the reader.

20:04

👤 Developing a Compelling Narrative Persona

The fifth paragraph focuses on the personal aspect of essay writing, emphasizing the need to develop oneself as a character that readers can connect with. It suggests being honest, showing both strengths and weaknesses, and providing a balanced picture of oneself. The paragraph also recommends using humor and self-deprecation to make the narrative persona more relatable. Examples of essays that successfully create a likable narrator, even when dealing with difficult subjects, are highlighted.

25:04

🌟 Connecting Personal Experiences to Larger Themes

In the sixth paragraph, the conversation centers on the idea that every good essay has two stories: a personal story and a larger theme. It encourages writers to connect their personal experiences to something bigger, revealing insights about the self and the world. The paragraph advises that this connection often becomes clear through the revision process and emphasizes the importance of taking the time to revise and re-read the work from a fresh perspective. It also suggests reading the draft aloud or in a different font to gain new insights.

30:05

📚 Recommended Reading for Aspiring Essayists

The seventh paragraph provides recommendations for books on essay writing and classic essays that all writers should read. It suggests that reading widely, beyond just essays, can help writers grow and find their voice. Specific recommendations include works by Joan Didion and Nora Ephron, as well as essays available on Medium. The paragraph also mentions the importance of reading for pleasure and curiosity as a means to improve writing skills.

35:06

✍️ Writing Essentials: Length, Focus, and Avoiding the 'Boring' Trap

The eighth paragraph addresses various questions from the audience about writing essays. It discusses the optimal length of an essay, emphasizing that there is no specific length and that the focus should be on telling a compelling story. The paragraph also tackles the concern of being boring or overly self-absorbed in personal essays, suggesting that writers should focus on the reader's experience and include research or other stories to enrich the narrative. It encourages writers to study essays they admire and to understand why they resonate.

40:07

🎯 Embracing Intuition and Flexibility in Writing

In the ninth paragraph, the hosts discuss the balance between having a sense of direction and allowing the writing process to be intuitive. They agree that while it's good to have a rough idea of the story, writers should be open to changes and discoveries as the story unfolds. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of being flexible with the structure and content, moving paragraphs around if it serves the story better, and using tools like note cards to help visualize and organize the narrative.

45:08

🏆 Encouraging Exploration and Originality in Writing

The tenth paragraph encourages writers to explore various topics and not be afraid to write about subjects outside their usual focus. It suggests that a writer's unique perspective can turn any topic into interesting content. The paragraph also discusses the importance of being true to oneself and one's voice when writing, as this is what connects different stories and attracts readers.

50:09

🤓 Avoiding Preachiness and Maintaining Authenticity

The eleventh paragraph offers advice on how to write without coming across as preachy. It suggests creating a relatable persona that acknowledges its limitations and shows both strengths and weaknesses. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of earning the right to make strong points through the narrative and by being honest about one's expertise and knowledge.

55:09

📘 Navigating Privacy and Intentions in Personal Writing

In the twelfth paragraph, the discussion revolves around the delicate balance of writing about personal life without invading privacy. It advises writers to consider their intentions and whether the story is theirs to tell. The paragraph also touches on the importance of honesty when writing about others and ensuring that the writing is driven by a genuine desire to explore and understand rather than to expose or criticize.

Keywords

💡Personal Essay

A personal essay is a form of writing that reflects the author's personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings. It is central to the video's theme as the entire workshop is focused on teaching and discussing the creation of personal essays. The script mentions various aspects of writing personal essays, such as finding a driving question, developing a narrative persona, and combining scenes with summary.

💡Scaffolding

In the context of the video, scaffolding refers to the structured guidelines or steps provided to help writers organize their thoughts and approach to writing a personal essay. The script mentions that while there isn't a strict set of five steps, the guidelines serve as a 'scaffolding' for writers to lean on when they feel stuck or need a starting point.

💡Noticer

The concept of being a 'noticer' is introduced as advice for the writing life. It involves paying attention to the world, noting observations, ideas, and sensory details. In the script, it is used to emphasize the importance of being aware and documenting experiences that can later serve as material for personal essays.

💡Question

A driving question in a personal essay is what propels the narrative and the writer's exploration of a topic. The script highlights the importance of having a question that the writer is genuinely interested in answering, which in turn can engage the reader and make the journey of the essay compelling.

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is a key element in personal essays, as it helps to engage the reader and provide a narrative arc. The script discusses how a good essay should tell a story, with elements like plot movement, character development, and dialogue, despite not being a fictional story.

💡Narrative Persona

Developing a narrative persona involves creating a version of oneself as the main character in the essay. The script touches on the importance of being honest, showing both strengths and weaknesses, and providing enough detail to make the writer relatable and compelling to the reader.

💡Revision

Revision is the process of reviewing and refining a written work. The script suggests that layers of meaning and the intertwining of personal and larger stories often become clear through the revision process, emphasizing its importance in writing personal essays.

💡Scene

In the context of the video, a scene refers to a specific moment or event that is described in detail within an essay. The script mentions that including scenes can help to ground the reader in a particular moment, providing a vivid picture and enhancing the narrative.

💡Summary

Summary in a personal essay is the act of condensing and presenting information or events in a concise form. The script discusses the balance between scene and summary, noting that while scenes provide detailed moments, summary can move the narrative forward and provide context or analysis.

💡Show, Don't Tell

This is a common writing advice suggesting that writers should show events and characters through actions and dialogue rather than merely telling the reader what to think or feel. The script references this concept, explaining that good writing includes both showing and telling to different extents depending on the story's needs.

💡Writing Exercise

Writing exercises are activities designed to help writers improve their skills, explore ideas, or overcome writer's block. The script mentions that the provided worksheet will include writing exercises related to the steps discussed in the workshop, indicating their use for practicing and applying the concepts learned.

Highlights

Introduction of the Medium's first creator workshop with hosts Amy Scherner and Harris Sockle.

Amy Scherner is the content lead for writing at Medium and editor of Human Parts.

Harris Sockle is a writer and editor for Human Parts, with work featured in various publications.

Miranda Durham will provide resources and links for the workshop.

The importance of being a 'noticer' in the writing process, keeping a notebook for observations and ideas.

The value of free writing and how it can combat writer's block.

Using note cards or digital tools to organize thoughts and ideas for essays.

The significance of asking a driving question in an essay to guide the writing process.

How personal essays should tell a story, incorporating elements of plot and character development.

The balance between scene and summary in essay writing to maintain reader interest.

Developing a narrative persona in personal essays to engage readers.

The necessity of being honest and showing both the good and bad aspects of oneself in writing.

The presence of two stories in every essay: the personal and the larger, connected narrative.

The recommendation to read widely to improve writing skills and gain inspiration.

The advice against being preachy in personal essays and the importance of credibility.

Strategies for creating compelling headlines and the role of imagery in essay presentation.

Encouragement to participate in the Medium Writers Challenge as a way to practice and share writing.

The workshop's conclusion with a reminder to write and read as part of the creative process.

Transcripts

hello and welcome to medium's very first

creator workshop

i'm amy scherner i'm here with my

colleague harris sockle

my hairs and we're so glad that you're

all here

paris local is the content lead lead for

creator programs at medium

and edits human parts which is medium's

publication

of the best stories that explore what it

means to be human

i say added that because i realize

people might not know what human parts

is and it sounds weird out of context

um his work has been featured in

catapult the toast and elsewhere

he's the author of the amazon kindle

single the kids don't stand a chance

and he's awesome i also added that part

to his bio

thank you amy that was great i

appreciated that introduction

um amy schern who you just heard from is

the content lead

for writing at medium and also editor of

human parts

she is the author of three novels most

recently unseen city

which is great i'm actually reading it

right now i recommend it

um and has had work published in the new

york times

slate and elsewhere amy also has an

essay

coming out in a forthcoming anthology

called the lonely stories

and i would also like to introduce

miranda durham who is our colleague

you'll see miranda popping around the

chat

dropping links and resources for some of

the essays that we're going to talk

about today

and the first thing yes sorry i was also

supposed to say but i didn't that we

will be dropping or miranda will

be dropping links in the chat to essays

that we discuss and

there will be a link at the end that's a

medium post

that is sort of like your worksheet for

this

workshop it has some takeaways some

writing exercises that you can do if you

want to

um and we'll drop that that in at the

end

sorry okay yes no that's great um so

the first thing we'll do just to sort of

break the ice and see who's here is

we're going to open a quick

poll and

[Music]

just to get a sense of your experience

with personal essays

take a second answer the poll and

we'll look at the results in a few

seconds

wow this is neat i like it yeah this is

cool

good students all right we'll give it a

few more seconds

really interesting seems like most of

you have published a few essays

a lot of you are chipping away at a few

drafts but haven't published anything

yet

just wait

that's not threatening

all right so wow

this is interesting so it looks like

most of us here there's definitely a

range most of us here have published a

few essays

a bunch of people chipping away at a few

drafts i've been there i'm actually

doing that now too

um and uh

and then a few people on the haven't

written once in school

side of things and the very experience

published lots of personal essay side

that's great um let's get into it

so i will we'll get started i'm going to

share

my screen okay

thanks harris okay so

i know we just told you there would be

five steps to creating a personal essay

but there's not really five steps um

and you don't have to do these all sort

of when you sit down to write i think

that's the most important thing

uh but they're meant to be sort of a

scaffolding to

so that that you have in place before

you sit down to write and that you can

go back to

if you ever feel stuck this first one

be a noticer it's kind of more like

advice for the writing life more than

something for a single essay um and it's

our version of

keep a notebook uh it doesn't have to be

an actual notebook

but the point is to notice things to

write them down

it doesn't matter where the important

thing is to keep writing down

observations and ideas and scraps of

dialogue and sensory detail and straight

thoughts

so that eventually you'll be able to see

the patterns and connections

and part of that is reading a ton too

um look at art listen to music watch

movies all of these things lucky for you

count as writing free writing pay

attention to the world

and the more you do this the more you

can train your sort of

noticing muscle um

harris you're really good at this i've

found that um remember when once i

tweeted something about missing

libraries and harris immediately didn't

we said that's an essay he said

he's right um i didn't i didn't

notice um until you pointed that out but

it's like the more you're thinking that

way the more

it seems that way uh the real advice

here is

be a notebook that's actual advice right

be a notebook um here

there are lots of ways to organize the

things that you observe

note cards a separate email accounts you

just you never know what's going to

become a part of something or be the

missing link that connects a bunch of

disparate experiences and thoughts into

a cohesive essay

so just gather it all just in case

and a lot of great essays are made of

fragments they're the product of lots

and lots of accumulated ideas

reflections memories

i love this list from on keeping a

notebook which is an

essay by carly moore on medium this is

just a little snippet where she suggests

some things to

to keep in your scratch pad um overheard

language

imagery and descriptions of what you see

here smell taste and feel around you

rants plot ideas dialogue things you ate

that made you happy i love that one i

would have never thought to start making

a list of that

fantasies for the future letters you

won't send

the list is endless um and this picture

here

is from uh ryan holiday who is a

writer who has written a lot on medium

it's his system for organizing his note

cards into ideas

which i just sort of love um and

kind of the like bigger lesson here is

that a lot of writing is

not writing or at least not writing

publishable

work um it's like the writing

that no one will see the writing that's

just for you

uh next slide please mister so glue

thank you

um so we have these are two essays that

are on medium and i think you should be

getting the links in the chat

um if not they'll all be in this

worksheet that we're going to share at

the end

for you like super nerds who want to do

all the homework

uh here's this essay on keeping a

notebook

that you saw a little excerpt of earlier

i love how

here at carly moore writes notebooks are

perfect for free writing which is what

you should be doing quite a lot of

free writing can also stave off writer's

block i feel like

that is really good to remember whenever

you get stuck on something

or just feel really blocked sometimes

the answer is

just that you're too in your head and if

you just start writing you might not

come up with something

beautiful immediately but you might

find something later in that or it might

just loosen you up and get you started

sort of work on your

muscle memory um this other essay is by

susan orlean

you might know she's written about a

thousand books um

and also writes a medium this is a great

really helpful tactical essay called

another essential writing tool you

should own in large qualities and it's

sort of an

ode to the index card i'll just read a

little bit of this

but she says eventually all the tastiest

morsels of my reporting are written on

cards

then i take those cards and spread them

out and move them around like chess

pieces

until they begin to have some order and

logic and harmony

the amount of material you can fit on a

card is somehow exactly the right amount

they're about the size of a fully formed

idea

and this can also help you when you're

forming your essay

sometimes it's hard to make an essay

feel like it flows or to combine the

different

story elements that you want to be

combined in there and if you have some

sort of visual

map for yourself that you can move

around a lot it helps you sort of just

imagine the possibilities

um yeah harris what's next do you think

yeah so the next step and again

we call these steps in the title writing

an essay has never ever felt like

following a list of steps for me

but they're things to keep in mind as

you go so

the second one is ask a question you

should have some kind of

driving question that you're

investigating as you go through the

essay and that's part of what makes it

exciting to read

is that you don't know exactly where

you're going

you don't know exactly what you'll just

what you will discover and readers

don't know either and as readers sort of

like

watch you go on that journey it's

exciting for them

to see you make those connections as you

write

this is a quote that i love from a

column by

eileen who is a great writer

eileen actually had a column

on human parts called the draft where

she was answering questions from writers

about

about writing and this this quote is

about questions specifically

maybe no one has ever asked it before

or everyone has been asking that same

question since the beginning of

humankind

all that matters is you care about the

answer so if you're interested

in the question readers will also be

interested

in watching you try to investigate that

question

and these are a few

sort of pointers i'll talk around these

um

i think you know in an essay you're not

writing

always to share some knowledge you're

really writing towards the knowledge

and again that's sort of what makes it

exciting for a reader is that you're

trying to discover

as you go what you can figure out about

this question

it doesn't need to be a literal question

that you can write down all the time it

also doesn't need to be super unique

um it doesn't need to be that complex it

can be

an inclination it can be a feeling it

can be

um something i like to start out with is

like if something

if you're obsessed with something and

you keep going back to a certain memory

or a relationship or a time in your life

like

the question can be as simple as like

why am i obsessed with this time

this thing that happened to me or like

why can't i stop thinking about it

why can't i figure out how i feel about

this thing

um that is also a

very valid question um and again

follow what interests you if you're

interested readers will be too

and to the question point like you can

have an outline

but be prepared to abandon your outline

because it's really i think the best

parts of an essay are where you sense

that the writer

is really trying to figure something out

for themselves

these are two essays that do this really

well they're both really rooted in

questions

and i like both of them for that reason

so the first is

by sophia smith the questions no one

asked when you move

3000 miles across the country this is

about sofia

sofia's decision to move from the bay

area

to new york and i'm just going to read a

little bit of it at first

i certainly don't have it all figured

out yet i learned soon enough though

that the simplest response to a boring

question is a boring answer

to say anything too extraordinary would

overstep the dance

the questions people ask are at least

ones that i have answers for

are you keeping your job yes how are you

getting there i'm driving

do you have an apartment yet no i'll

figure it out why are you moving

because i've spent most of my life

bouncing between points in a particular

constellation

and i'm young and sufficiently

unburdened and would like to explore a

different constellation

because i'd like to pluck for myself a

small bit of the american millennial

dream

my own silverware drawer a windowsill

for propagating houseplants

my surname pasted label maker chic next

to a buzzer

what i really like about that paragraph

is that you're sort of

so like the first few questions the

boring questions those are things that

she

actually probably said to other people

the last question

which is like the real question that

she's trying to answer in this essay

which is why are you moving

that's a question that no one really

asked her or that they didn't ask it in

the way that she wanted to be asked

and that answer that she gave is

probably not something that she said

verbatim to people

but it's something that she's trying to

figure out for herself as she goes

through the essay why did i make this

decision

um and i like that she sort of

establishes herself as someone who

doesn't have it all figured out at the

beginning the second essay

is why the giving tree makes you cry it

is

a classic a medium classic i think um

it's by anthony ford

and i'm gonna read a little bit of this

um

readers have debated the book's meaning

since its publication in 1964

with the primary disagreement captured

by the title of a new york times sunday

book review from 2014.

the giving tree tender story of

unconditional love or disturbing tale of

selfish of selfishness

variously interpreted as a picture of

parental love of divine love

of abusive relationships or even of

environmental rapacity

this book sharply divides readers here's

what's fascinating the book deeply moves

adults

regardless of whether they view it as

extolling the tree's unconditional love

or lamenting the tree's self-destructive

love what's going on here

i love that this essay is taking a

popular children's book the giving tree

and asking really deep questions about

why it makes adults cry

as they're reading it to their children

um

i really recommend reading this one i

also love the way that

anthony ford is very dedicated to

finding out the answer to this question

he has done a lot of research into what

other people have said about the giving

tree

and he also does sort of like a close

reading of the book and explains how it

makes him

feel when he's reading it and what the

symbolism is in the giving tree

so that's another great question that's

motivating him throughout the essay

and i will pass it back to amy

um thanks i love that essay because i

have really

like everyone really strong feelings

about the giving tree

okay um so a good essay also

should tell a story which might sound a

little counterintuitive

because it's not supposed to be a story

it's supposed to be an essay

um but basically a good essay is going

to share

many craft elements with a good short

story or novel or

screenplay or tv show think about plot

or if that sounds too hard the sort of

traditional like plot arc

because that's a lot for an essay to

handle but think about

movement uh where is the essay going to

take

the reader what will change or become

clear

either for the narrator or for the

reader by the end

um apologies to any like high school

english teachers who are here with us

today

but they feel like many of us were led

astray by sort of

um our training in school about kind of

five paragraph

essays and what non-fiction writing

is in this context yes even non-fiction

writing

has seen dialogue sensory details

you as a character in the piece

except that's not to say that everything

in the essay should be expanded into

scene

of course then your essay would be you

know 10 000 pages long it's the most

important moments

in your essay that should be expanded

into scene just like in any good story

the scenes can be super short just an

important snippet of dialogue

a description of an interaction just

enough to place the reader

in time and space

a scene or line of dialogue can be a

great place to start an essay

starting right in the action grabbing

the reader

um peaking their interest oh a hair

sorry i think you can go to this yeah

yeah there's joan didion smoking and

looking

scholarly but don't smoke um but do you

read jump jordanian

um okay so i was going to say a scene or

line of dialogue can be a great place to

start an essay as a reader it's

fun to start right in the middle of the

action grabbing the reader

or you get what i'm saying if you're

still in the drafting stage though

don't feel like you have to start

where your essay is going to start

you don't have to labor over your first

line it probably won't stay your first

line

but that said if you need a place to

start you have this idea you're sort of

going over it in your head you don't

know where to start try a line of

dialogue

try a little moment of seeing place

the reader right where you want them

um and we have a couple

examples that oh thank you

of essays that combine sort of scene and

summary or showing

and telling you know we've all been sort

of told show don't tell

really any piece of writing includes

both of those things

um so i these are both essays that

appeared in human parts

and okay i should maybe give you a

slight content warning for this

bleaches essay it's beautifully written

a little gruesome there's a lot of blood

uh and i'll just read you a little bit

from the start

uh if you ever need hand surgery you

should try to get it done in japan

at least that's what the hand surgeon at

mass general hospital told us right

before he spent 10 hours trying to

reattach my husband's summer left index

finger thanks

um the surgeon's tone was cheerful and

matter of fact as he talked with us

we were sitting on a cot in the

emergency room on a friday night jared

had been working on a project

at our house when his hand got sucked

into the blade of the table saw by a

loose bed if you guys weren't awake you

are now

um his clothes looked like a jackson

pollock painting with regular dirt and

oil stains interrupted by bright red

streaks

of blood it starts as right in the

middle

right we're intrigued but not confused

which i feel like

is really important she lets the imagery

speak for itself

and this essay is focused on an

experience so there's more scene than

summary throughout the whole essay

it's almost all kind of a description of

what happened

but she does include a few moments um

of analysis lines where she kind of lets

the reader know why we're being told the

story

the so what if you will the why it

matters why

why we want to know and those lines do a

lot of work

a lot of narrative work in the piece but

mostly this piece is recounting what

happened

this other essay become what you are is

almost

the opposite in form um

it's by jude allison doyle you might

know is

a very prolific essayist wholesaler it's

a medium

and this piece as you can see here it

starts with some dialogue

um i'll just read this you look very

much like yourself my husband told me

we were in a pool in virginia late at

night taking turns dragging each other

through water warm as blood

god sorry there's so much blood um i had

no idea what he meant

what he meant my husband went to grad

school to study wittgenstein at one

point

and he has an academic habit of choosing

a word located two doors down from the

one you'd use in casual conversations

you can sit with his little poems

forever without decoding them

you're all sharp and spiny he said i can

always tell exactly what you're thinking

when i look at you

your body has your personality now it's

weird

that's really where that scene ends and

most of the rest of the die

of the essay is um is summary

it's analysis it's um

your job okay sorry in the opening

your job in the in the as the reader and

the opening is to kind of figure out

what we're talking about where we are

who these people are

and then the rest of the essay is

focused on doyle's processing of

non-binary life um this is a writer

who's going from

presenting female to presenting

something more indefinable

um and so it's more introspection

narration sort of musing on what it

means to

not present as one gender or another all

of which is to say

there's no magic formula of how much

scene to use and how much summary to use

it's dictated by what you're trying to

tell the reader about

and where you want their attention to go

um you know you're you're in charge but

it does need to

be a choice that you make you know

writing is always a series of making

choices and sticking with them

so you decide what you're trying to get

across in the essay

and then kind of create your own rules

within the world of your essay

yeah harris what else do you think that

we should do

yeah i really like the jude allison

doyle

essay it's really good i think they use

dialogue really well

um and everything you said about it is

true

um the next sort of step

is one of the keys i think to writing a

personal essay is you're

writing about yourself but for the

reader

which can be a little bit tricky but um

it's something to think about as you're

writing a personal essay

so in a personal essay

you're writing probably about something

that you witnessed or something that

happened to you

and the main character is most likely

you

you're the main character in the essay

so you need to develop yourself

as a character as if you would as you

would any character

in fiction um sort of develop your

narrative persona

into something that readers can attach

themselves to

and readers want to go on a journey with

there are lots of ways to do that

being honest i think is

something that you should strive to do

um and everyone's honesty is different

that's sort of where the uniqueness

comes in an essay

by being really honest about what you

notice

what matters to you those will be the

things that readers are latching on to

another maybe it's just me but i think

like poking fun at yourself

really quickly um or briefly can be

another good way to sort of develop your

narrative persona

you want to at the beginning of the

essay sort of give

readers a sketch of who you are and

um just give them a few details maybe a

bit of backstory

so they have some sense of of you

because you're the main character that

they want that they're going to be

paying attention to through this essay

um they don't know you you're the expert

on who you are

so think about what those details are

um and i think it's also important to

like show the good and the bad

no one is all good no one is all bad you

you're sort of like painting a balanced

picture of yourself

um for readers so here are two

essays that i love that i think do this

really well this sort of like writing

about

themselves but for the reader the first

is by stephanie georgeopoulos this is

the joys of being wrong about yourself

and i will read a little bit of this on

bad days

my awareness of life's potential and my

potential yours too by the way

is annoying yes everything is fragile

yet enormous

and of course it's all overwhelmingly

beautiful and intricate and perfect in a

way that's sometimes hard to explain

without getting all mythological about

it

even nature itself is life-affirming

isn't it with its rainbows and mountains

and

but on bad days it's like okay get it

okay i'm a speck on a speck

and it goes on like that and what i

really like about this essay

is it's almost all if you think about

like showing and telling this essay is

pretty much almost all

telling it's almost all narration and

introspection

but you want to go with the writer

on this journey because she's just so

honest

and also there are just so many great

sentences in here but she's just very

honest about what she doesn't know about

herself

and that is compelling as a reader to

like

read someone who is really imperfect who

doesn't know themselves but is being

really honest and trying to be really

honest about that

the second essay by brian broome is

another one i really love

i'm sorry i wasn't enough for you dad um

this essay actually is pretty much all

seen so it's all showing um

there are two scenes that are going on

here there's one where he's in a bar

with a friend and there's another in a

hospital with his dad who is dying

um it's really all seen but it sort of

does the same thing as stephanie's essay

i'll just read a little bit uh i've come

back to ohio

and i'm standing in the nursing home

where my father lies dying in bed just

down the hall

i don't even want to be here to tell you

the truth i feel little to no connection

with the man lying in that bed down the

hall

my mother seems to want an emotional

scene the kind that my family has always

avoided

so i don't understand these theatrics i

don't know why she's called me here

dropped me in the middle of a soap opera

hospital set and commanded me to be an

actor

um it's really an essay about like his

relationship with his dad

and why he um

has this kind of complicated

relationship that makes him reluctant to

see his dad even though his dad's in the

hospital

dying and i think i recommend reading

the whole thing he does a really good

job of sort of getting you on his side

as a reader while still being a narrator

who

you would think is unlikable because he

is being

petulant and immature about wanting to

see his dad in the hospital

um so that's another great example

um and

amy what do you think um

yeah i i i feel like we just

are having fun talking about essays that

we like reading rainbow but for

essays like yes let's talk about the

brian broome essay for like at least 45

more minutes um

he does such a good job of creating

himself as a likable narrator even as

he's being a little unlikable

so good okay i mean maybe that's like

the real

key here is just like read a ton of

essays

like the real way you're gonna learn how

to write essays is

read a lot and write a lot but stick

with us for a few more minutes um

i also would like to say that i think

this is true really of any piece of

writing

there are two stories in every essay

there's a big story

and there's a small story and it's okay

if you don't know them both when you

start

it'll come in revision and we can go to

the next slide

um oh wait yep there there she is kathy

parkhang

not smoking good job so i think when we

think about the personal essays that

really make us like

feel and think and get goosebumps there

are almost

always essays that have a couple

different layers to them that's true of

all the essays we've been talking about

here

maybe there's a personal story but it

connects to something larger

sometimes these are woven together in

alternating sections

like in that brian broome piece

sometimes the bigger picture

only becomes clear in like a very

powerful last paragraph

that bigger question might be the part

that you didn't quite know or fully

understand when you were start

starting to write maybe that was your

question remember the question from

earlier

um and this is true of short stories and

novels too by the way there's often like

an internal

smaller maybe invisible conflict and

then an external bigger more obvious

conflict

and each reveals something about the

other

um you might be telling a bigger story

you might have some statement you want

to make about

a certain kind of experience or

something that's happening in the world

but for creative nonfiction for a

personal essay you're going to want to

connect it to your personal experience

why are we hearing this from you

with the like with a lot of these steps

i think this doesn't all happen

in the first draft like if this stuff

all happens for you in the first draft

lovely i am resentful of you but

good for you but i think for most of us

this happens

in revision um this is something to keep

in mind as you go

and i know we're talking about you know

writing on medium and writing for the

internet things can happen really fast

but even so just like give it a beat

save your draft re-read it give yourself

a little bit of breathing room

um i think i always think it's a good

idea to read something aloud

to have someone else read it a really

basic tip that i actually think really

works is to

copy your draft into like another doc

in a font you don't usually use it then

it like feels like it's someone else's

voice weirdly

um and you can sort of get a different

perspective on it

um so here are two more examples these

are both from

medium two all the mugs i've loved and

lost

um this was on human parts i was gonna

say this was also like a medium classic

from years and years ago but i see it

was

just from 2019 but you know in medium

years and internet years that was a long

time ago but this is this beautiful

piece that um

is structured and it's a structure i

think that anyone could

use like as a writing exercise almost

it's about

mugs these certain muds in in the

writer's

life that she has or used to have and

each

mug is an entryway into a little mini

essay it's sort of these fragments

about a relationship um

this uh okay so i'll just read a little

bit of this uh one of my best friends

reached over and placed a pink mug of

earl grey tea in front of me

i don't drink tea unless i'm with her

she doesn't drink coffee unless she's

with me the surface of our friendship

is dependent on compromise but the

foundation is based on alliance

i almost feel like that paragraph does

like what you want an essay to do

you have the specific example i'm there

in space and time but then i also get a

little bit of like why

and a little bit of a lesson that i can

take with me

um this other piece is called the joy of

being a bad asian i just realized we

have two essays with the joy of

the title maybe that's a title tip for

you

or maybe not um this was in the stop

asian hate blog on medium

it's a really beautiful piece of writing

uh

that um i'll read you a little bit it

says i'm this is the very beginning of

the essay

i am a huge disappointment to my parents

like

if you want a first line that's an

amazing first line

there i said it but it's not because i

didn't become a lawyer or a doctor an

accountant a pharmacist a nurse heck not

even a dental assistant

after university no i'm a huge

disappointment because i just can't

quite explain

who i am to my parents or why i'm

compelled to share my messy thoughts

out loud as writers i think we can all

relate to that you see my parents are

all about flying under the radar they

fled the communist regime in subsequent

genocide in laos during the 1970s

and arrived in the united states as

teenage refugees protected by both the

1965

immigration and nationality act and the

1975 indochina

migration and refugee assistance

assistance act

skipped the 1960s entirely and missed

the whole context of the civil rights

movement

they didn't know that asian immigrants

and american-born asians had been barred

from u.s citizenship

until 1952. like right away in the story

we get

i feel like this sort of follows all of

these steps we've been talking about she

creates herself as a character she

introduces herself she's a little bit

self-deprecating there's a little bit of

humor

we're sort of invited in and then we're

told right away

why we're there um we're getting a story

not just about sort of

having a difficult relationship with

your parents but sort of this larger

story about

a very specific immigrant experience

why why her experience um is especially

relevant to us like

the so what the why now um

and this all sort of like seems so

effortless when you're

reading a really beautifully written

essay but i think it's

just sort of always something to

remember and something that anyone who's

tried to write

uh knows that sometimes the things that

seem

the easiest the most effortless the

smoothest they took the longest to get

there

so don't beat yourself up if this

doesn't happen all at once

um i'm sure these essays went through a

lot before we ever read them

uh so that's essentially

what i wanted to say let me now the time

to answer your questions and

harris do you want to grab one from the

trap

there's a lot of good questions here

um yeah so here's one

[Music]

can you point to some good books on

essay writing and some classic

essays that all should read great

question

um i actually have a book right here

that i have read you plant that why

no i did not plant this i have i have

this on my desk all the time

several short sentences about writing

it's not specifically about essay

writing but i do recommend it

for writers it it's not really written

like

an essay it's more written like a poem

it's like line by line

and it sort of

is really good for helping you to like

focus on what you're saying specifically

um and it's also has a lot of great tips

for revision

um classic essays that all should read

that's a good question um

i mean i don't know there's obviously

there are the the people that you hear

about like joan didion um i really like

nora ephron's essays i think she's

really funny

um i there's a lot of good stuff on

medium obviously

um amy anyone that you really like or

would recommend

um i think those are all really good

suggestions i think joan didion's on

keeping a notebook

is kind of a classic um and it's really

helpful

and i also think that part of this might

not really be an answer to that question

but

i think part of what really helps you to

grow as a

as a writer is to read really really

widely

so even if you're trying to write you

know a sort of

searing personal essay like go write go

read

a popular novel go read a classic novel

go read a non-fiction book about a topic

that

you didn't know you wanted to know about

um i feel like following your curiosity

and reading really widely

can both help you as a writer and can

sort of free you up if you

i find sometimes if i read too much of

the thing i'm trying to write at the

time

i can get a little tangled up in my head

i'm like ugh so

harrison already wrote this why do i

write anything

um just to i just wanted to say there's

a bunch of questions about

will this be reported um there is going

to be a recorded version

on youtube and in creator's hub

eventually so yes the answer is yes and

also i dropped a link in the chat to

a post um on medium

hopefully i did hopefully you guys can

see it and that's sort of

your your worksheet to take home with

you

and it has the links to all the essays

we've been talking about

um because the chat will disappear

when when we do and it also has some

writing exercises for you to do

and more on that in a minute but all the

links to the essays we've been

discussing are there um

i don't know if that covenant is really

answering the question

but it was a question yeah i think i'm

seeing another one here that might be

interesting to talk about so

is there an essay length and like an

optimal essay length so the examples

that we showed were between 4 and 12

minute reads on medium

what do we think of essay length my take

is

short answer no i don't think that there

is like a specific length that you

should be aiming for

i think that the thing that i

think about is like the the last step

that amy mentioned like the two stories

you sort of have to like just make sure

that like you have

a beginning and an ending to both of

those stories and that both of those

stories are

are fleshed out and

yeah i mean a lot of essays i think are

maybe 1500 to 2000 words but i don't

want to give that as a prescriptive

length amy what do you think yeah i

think

like i mean like when you're writing

anything you got to think about what you

like to read

um like what's the essay that you really

want to read if that's like a mega

long read that's an hour read that's i

don't know how many words that is

like i think you should write that it

might be hard to place that somewhere

you can always put it on medium um there

are people who really love long reads

there are also great essays that are

like

flash you know one paragraph long

i really i think you have to be guided

by what you like to read and like the

essay that you wish

existed

um one

another question that we've gotten a lot

of variations of this

is um like how do you write a personal

essay without

being boring um how do i write it

without

being naval gazey uh

a lot of sort of iterations of that

and um i think

i think the answer is that here's the

thing

you're really used to your perspective

in the world

and you're and what it's like to be you

moving through the world so that kind of

seems

maybe boring or normal but

no one else has that experience your

experience of being you

in the world is completely unique and

you're the expert in being you

so no matter who you are no matter what

you've lived you have a really unique

story to tell

i think there are certainly i've we've

all read pieces of writing that seem

too internally focused i almost think if

you have that question you're already

like have a built-in prophylactic

against that you're not going to go

there

but i think a key is to think about the

reader's experience

you know what what is the reader going

to get from it how can you open it up

to offer something to the reader that

might be

um you know including another

story it might be including some

research it might be

um you know

weaving in someone else's story um but

yeah and

and again like just to kick it to that

answer of think about the stuff you like

to read

take a look at an essay that you love

and just pick it apart

um you can even sort of like a classic

writing tip i feel like is to rewrite or

type out passages that you really like

that's a good thing to put in that

notebook we're talking about and

just sort of like absorb the um

cadences and voice of writing that you

really love

of course then you're going to want to

free yourself up to discover your own

voice

but it's worthwhile to like study how

something's made

to sort of figure out why you like it so

much

i think i don't know what do you think

hairs yeah no i agree with that i also

i think to like the boring point i would

think about the question that you're

trying to

investigate and answer for yourself like

if you have a question that is really

bugging you that like you're

really you really care about and you're

trying to get an answer

that readers will will want to go with

you on that journey

and they'll be interested too so i think

that's sort of like

if you think about it as more of like an

investigation

and less of like i mean you can think

about it as whatever you want but like

you're going on a on a journey to try to

answer a question

um you're telling a story as you do that

but

you have a question in mind that you

really want to like figure out

um yeah that's right

do you want to grab one so

um so i often hear a writer this is a

question that just came in

i often hear writers um should know

their theme before writing

um i

don't really do that i sort of write

intuitively

do you relate to this what do you think

of of that

um that's interesting i feel like

there's it's sort of a balance between

like having a sense of

what you're interested in and what kind

of story you want to tell but i also

feel like it is an intuitive process and

you want to be really open to

going wherever the story is taking you

and that can often mean

changing the structure or moving the

last paragraph to the beginning or the

first paragraph to the end or like

switching around

uh switching around sort of the order of

how you're telling the story

based on your intuition and seeing what

works and what doesn't so i think

it's good to have a rough sense of where

you're going but you don't want to be so

attached to the plan that you can't sort

of like respond to what

what you're discovering and like what

your intuition is telling you as you

read your own work but amy what do you

think

yeah i think that's that's really right

like i relate to that a lot and i think

that's sort of maybe the difference

between writing a personal essay and

writing like an article

i think if you're writing you know an

article and you're trying to share some

information

then you should have a good handle on

what you're going to say

outline it know what you're going to say

get there efficiently

in a personal essay i think there's just

more room for writing your way into the

knowledge

um and i often

find that the theme of something i wrote

is different than what i thought it

would be

but you discover it as you go and again

note cards or something like that is

really useful

i love to like plot out the scenes or

the important characters and something

writing on note cards

and then sort of shift them around and

put them in categories and then you can

see like oh my god look there's all of

these in this category of

home who knew i was writing about that

but turns out i am

um and so we have a couple questions too

that i think are kind of related to that

weirdly um like should you try to have a

consistent focus

area this question is i enjoy writing

short pieces loosely about politics and

economics but sometimes i just want to

write about my thoughts about the latest

pokemon series

hell yeah um i would say

i mean when you're writing you

are the focus you know and probably if

you have

if you know you're lucky enough to have

some devoted readers they're probably

interested in you and your perspective

and what you have to say

um you know think about the writers that

you really like if there's an economics

writer you follow and all of a sudden

once they wrote about

pokemon would you find it interesting

would you be mad

would you fault them for it probably

they could have a really interesting

perspective on like i don't know the

economics of pokemon

i don't know how pokemon works but i

think there's politics

i know there's like a hierarchy um and

sometimes

that's when really interesting

writing happens i know at medium i've

worked with a lot of writers who sort of

have

a beat a focus they're trying to kind of

um

build a brand build up a readership

totally all good valid things to do

and then they'll sort of you know say

well i kind of want to write about this

totally off the wall thing that's like

not my normal thing is that okay and

i feel like that often ends up being

some of the most interesting writing

you've seen from them

um so once again i think just like look

to what you like to read

look at the writers that you really love

and remember that like

your perspective of the world is totally

unique and

is enough to sort of be a theme

yeah i agree with that like your voice

will be the unifier

between all of those different stories

even if you're writing about different

topics it's still

you and your voice and readers can tell

that

um and sort of that's why they're

reading

um so i see another one

um

[Music]

how do i come off as how do i not come

off as being preachy

um that yeah so i think

back to the what we were talking about

with like

writing about yourself but for the

reader you want to sort of create

yourself as a persona

and part of that a good way to do that

is like

be a little acknowledge that you don't

know everything

be a little uh you can be a little

self-deprecating like

you can make a strong point about

something

um but you sort of have to earn the

right to do that based on the story

you're telling

or uh where you've taken the reader by

that point

um and i would also just sort of like

show the good and the bad of

you and um

you might be an expert on some things

but there's also some things you

probably don't know

so showing all of that and trying to be

honest about all of that i think will

give you a lot of credibility

for readers um i really like narrators

that

are very honest about what they don't

know and then they're honest about what

they do know and what they actually are

an expert in

um amy what do you think yeah

um i think that's exactly right

that's it that's all i have to say great

job um

there's a bunch of questions that are

sort of variations on the theme

the sort of age-old theme of creative

nonfiction writing of how to write about

your personal life without being

invasive to your private life or how

much are you allowed to say how much are

you allowed to reveal about the people

in your life

um it's a tricky one and i think that

everyone has different comfort levels

with that

um i i think that the important thing to

keep in mind is to like ask

yourself what your intentions are in

writing

if you're if you're sort of running

towards the question like i want to

figure out

what happened um like why

whatever it is you know why did it make

me feel weird that my high school

english teacher

acted in that way you know if it's

really a question you're trying to

figure out

if it feels like your story to tell

then i think that's your story to tell

there's that great anne lamott quote

from bird by bird that's another

really good writing book that you should

read

um that where she says something like if

people wanted you to write nicely about

them they should have treated you better

like okay okay but i mean

there um but right just look at your

intentions if you

sort of realize that a little bit of

your intentions like oh my god i'm gonna

make my

s look so stupid on the internet like

then

maybe maybe that's not the story that

you want to write maybe that's not

that's like a story to tell over drinks

but maybe that's not the personal essay

um but yeah it's like are you writing

with honest intentions

um yeah i agree with that i think

you have to be honest if you're writing

about someone else

you have to be like you have to be

honest about why you're doing it with

yourself

um first and figure out like ask

yourself why are you writing about this

person

and if it's really to answer a question

that you

want to answer for yourself then go for

it um

[Music]

so we're getting this we've gotten a few

variations on the question

any tips on coming up with headlines for

a personal essay

i think um

the headline should be something that

will make people want to read the essay

i think that's probably

um important to think about is like if

you saw this headline in the wild

would you want to read this would you

want to read the essay without veering

into clickbait without sort of like

um without doing anything that's like

too uh sort of making people click but

like

would you want to read the essay it has

to be compelling it has to make your

writing feel

irresistible and then also i would think

about

um what's like the real core

message or moment in the essay that's

um that's sort of like the thing that

you want readers

to get out of the essay and you can

bring that out into the headline and

make that into a headline

also i think for headlines like

assertions are really good

strong verbs are really good um

i would you know think about it as

a headline on the internet internet that

people are gonna are going to want to

read

maybe not just one or two words maybe a

sentence

something that can stand on its own as

an assertion

i used to have i was gonna say i used to

have a friend i still

have a friend who used to test their

headlines

on twitter by just tweeting the headline

as a tweet and if people if it

felt good as a tweet and if people sort

of wanted to

engage with them with that as a tweet

then that was sort of a good signal that

it might work as a headline um

yeah yeah i love that and i think just

like remember that um

we think you're fascinating and your

story is fascinating most people

especially if you're like writing up for

medium

for the internet just like think about

how people are consuming the internet

there's a lot

of internet and people are scrolling

fast you know or clicking through medium

fast something that like the headline

should be something that's not

that is intriguing but not hard to

understand like it shouldn't stop you so

that you're like wait what

um just think about how what will grab

the reader

and another i mean if you're writing for

medium i think that's probably true of

the whole internet an image

is so important too you know there's a

lot of

visual scrollers out there um something

that we've

found that like works really well on

medium or

that medium writers have told us is that

if you sort of create

like a little original image like a

little drawing or something

i've never done that but i think it's a

good idea um something that's not just

like

you know there's some great stock

imagery out there but something that's

not the same

stock image of like a person by a

typewriter or like holding a cup of tea

or whatever that we've seen a million

times

um but just remember that like you're

asking a total stranger to stop

their scrolling of the entire internet

and spend some time with you

like why are they gonna do that you know

yeah i agree i also think for imagery

for personal essays like you don't have

to do this but like personal

imagery really works well like if you

have a picture of like the person

that you're writing about or like if if

you're writing about yourself when

you're in middle school like

do you have a picture of yourself in

middle school or like some

kind of like personal imagery can work

well with a personal essay

yeah we're this is crazy we're actually

almost at time and i just want to say

some things um first of all i just want

to

shout out the um medium writers

challenge which was just launched this

week it's this big

exciting writing contest on medium check

out creatorshub for the details because

there are a lot of details

but um and it's there's four

sort of topics that people can write to

their

re-entry deaf space and work and you can

kind of write whatever personal essay

you want to write

as long as it's an original essay to

those topics

and then check the rules to make sure

you're doing it right but then tag it

on medium and then you'll be entered to

win this

exciting amazing challenge i also think

it would be a really fun sort of mini

challenge to

challenge yourself to write to all four

prompts um

because why not and they're such

interesting topics

um i also want to say that

uh the medium post that i dropped in the

chat that you hopefully all have it's

also on creator's hub

so you can find it on creatorship it

will live there

um it will have it has all the essays

we've been talking about

it also has some ideas for writing

exercises to get you started one for

each of our steps

and if you're so inclined you can

and you want to write one of those you

can post that as a medium post

and use the tag that's in that post um

i can't remember this but i think it's

sw

wait what is it i check the post

it's like scw scw

essay that's what it is summer creator

workshop get it

um and then and we will do our best to

look at all of them you should all look

at each other's you know if you search

the tag

like live the writing workshop

uh you know mentality of like

leave a positive comment for each other

cheer each other on get inspired by each

other um

yeah but then also just to say like

thank you so much for being here um

writing is hard

i think posting can be scary

um but we believe in you i think you can

do it

okay anything else that we need to say

here is

no i think i think that covers it

okay so we'll go oh thank you miranda

for reposting that link

um thank you so much for being here

thank you for your great questions

come to the next um writing workshops

that are upcoming they're gonna be

amazing and

uh and yeah go write go read something

thanks so much

you