2nd Half of Reckoning

Here is the second half of the writing sample I posted Sunday :) This will be one of my last posts. I'll have one or two more next week and maybe some random ones later on. However, I feel this blog provided some food for thought and a way to really think things through. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as I have writing it. Enjoy the reckoning. As always, I love feedback. Tell me what you think!!!

Part 1: Reckoning Writing Sample

Ok guys...here we are...nearing the end. I have my final writing sample that I'll be posting in two parts because it's around 16 pages long. This was my longer nonfiction piece that I worked on for weeks last semester. Dr. Graham gave me some suggestions for it, so it's subject to later revision, but for right now, this is what I have. I did go through and shuffle some things around or delete things altogether. But it's a piece I worked hard on and would want to send with my applications. So...without further ado...The Reckoning Essay. (Also, a reckoning essay, in this case, is a personal narrative tied together with other pieces of literature or art. In this case, I used a myth, a poem, and a statue.)

Three Brevities...Writing Samples

So I took 3 of my other Brevities from last year and decided to post them on here just to break up the monotony of the last few posts. "Train Ride", "Winkie", and "Growing Up". "Train Ride" is the only one I really need to do any revision work on. But I think all three would be strong options to send in as writing samples. Would love some feedback. I'm still trying to generate some original work. We'll see how that goes... Click on "read more" to see the examples :)

Second Writing Sample

This week, I decided to post one of my other options for a writing sample. It’s always hard to write about relatives. I haven’t received any feedback on this piece. However, the prompt for it was simply “hearing.” The essay, another brevity (which means it only has 850 words or less), was a sample for class that I never handed on. Writing about my grandfather is difficult. As Dr. Graham instructed me last year, when we write about our relatives, it can come across as overly sappy or dramatic. It needs to be crisp, clear and reflective.

This piece clearly needs a lot more work than the Bella essay. I’ve refrained from working on that one just yet because I’m struggling removing and adding new material. This piece about my grandfather, who passed away in the fall of 2008 as I was starting college, feels like it could be a prominent piece alongside my reckoning essay. It’s also interesting how it’s four years later and could possibly be the start of another school year that he is distantly involved in. 

Currently, it’s at about 800 words and needs serious work in terms of sharpening my images and creating a clear, poignant reflection without falling into the cliché, “Oh I miss my grandpa.”It’s difficult because as Dr. Graham taught me in class, we love our grandparents. We want to write warm, fuzzy things about them. But readers want the truth and honesty. They want to see both sides. Maybe grandpa went to jail or grandma stole flour from the supermarket. I’m making these up and they’re ridiculous, but I hope everyone got the point. This essay hasn’t touched upon the ugly sides. It’s a struggle, but I have a feeling if I can push aside that pedestal I’ve placed my grandpa on, I can get somewhere. 

What’s to be remembered, we love people no matter their flaws. That’s what makes us human. In fact, I feel as though I loved him more because he magnified my own flaws for me to see. He was my grandpa. We shared some of the same personality quirks and flaws. 

Also, have several options for writing samples. My longer reckoning may be tossed aside if I have a sudden burst of inspiration. Never stop writing. a little scribble on a napkin can become your next personal statement or narrative essay.

Writing Samples! The first of many...

Ok, so this week into next will be a few different posts. I have a couple interviews to put up. One is with Dr. Lea Graham and the other is with graduate student Keara Driscoll. This post, however, will be about WRITING SAMPLES! I used the previous week to go through my nonfiction samples and select a few to revise actively on this blog for people to see. Many were written last semester in my nonfiction workshop with Dr. Graham. I do have a longer, 15 page reckoning essay that I may send in with my applications, but for the purposes of this blog, the shorter pieces will be more helpful for everyone to take a look at. 

One of my first recommendations is to GET FEEDBACK! I’m still considering applying in the fiction area as well, so I asked another professor, Dr. Anderson, who taught my play writing workshop, if he wouldn’t mind helping me out with that. However, I may wait until the spring to apply to a fiction program, after I take the Fiction workshop at Marist. Dr. Graham has already made really instructive comments about some of these pieces when I handed them in to be graded. So I already have some work that I can do. However, having feedback from my professors is what is most helpful and will be down the road. 

Another recommendation, pick pieces you are CONFIDENT in! Even though they may need some revision work, pick pieces to work with that you are comfortable sending to a college. For example, you wouldn’t want to send in a piece filled with vulgarity and sexual content. But you may be able to tone it done or incorporate some of the really great, clean parts into another piece. Send your best writing. As Pat Taylor told me, the writing samples are extremely important. Sometimes picking pieces you feel strongly about help as well. Using work from creative writing classes is also a great idea because you can still talk to the teachers and get feedback.

One more recommendation, talk to other graduate students. I spoke with Caela about her writing samples and she even sent me the one that she sent with her application. Get a feel for what the schools are looking for. Be familiar with the programs you’re applying to. You want your writing to fit in where you’re going. Some programs have different focuses than others and you want to be at the right program. 

My first writing sample will be posted under the link and I will also include Dr. Graham’s comments to me from last semester. In a week or so, I will hopefully be posting a revision of this essay. Or I may decide to keep it as is and begin working on another.

One final comment, writing samples vary from school to school. Some ask for 10-15 pages, others ask for 30. So be aware of how much you are able to send and how much you WANT to send.