Writing and the disorganized mind: a confessional

Quote by John Green; poster by DFTBA.

I used to love writing. I did it without thinking, did it as thinking: I organized all of my thoughts on paper, all of them. I journaled, I wrote poetry and fragments of stories, I reveled in research papers. I narrated my whole world, the real and the imaginary, on paper. Somewhere along the line, I lost that, and I have been fighting for years to get it back. For the most part, I have failed. Sometimes I find bursts of inspiration and begin scribbling again in one of the dozen or so notebooks I keep scattered around my house. Most of the time, though, I struggle to write anything at all. I stare at a blank page, a blank screen, for ages, and the words don't come. I get distracted, look away, have a hard time finding my way back. Working on my masters' degrees, I would often spend 20 hours or more on a few pages of writing that would previously have taken me maybe two or three hours.

The critical question is, what happened? Why the drastic change? I believe the issue is twofold: a combination of falling out of practice, and the wildly distracting effects of technology upon my magpie mind.*

After finishing my undergraduate degree, I moved across the country and took a job managing art house movie theatres. There was really no call for writing there, and although I did a bit in my spare time, I largely fell out of the habit. I regret that now, but it wasn't ultimately a tremendous drawback. After moving back to Tennessee, I returned to school for two semesters to earn a second bachelor's degree. It took some readjustment, but I fell back into the writing habit quickly enough. During a summer course on children's literature, I cracked out 20 pages in four days for a 10-page assignment, and would have happily kept writing had I not run up against the deadline. That paper led me, a few years later, to the MALS program, where I planned to continue following that thread which had so inspired me not long before.

In the meantime, however, something had changed. When the time came to write again, I ran straight into a wall. For everything I have tried to write since, I have to climb that wall -- sometimes once, sometimes repeatedly, three or four times for every page of writing I produce. It's frustrating. It's infuriating. For someone who has always dreamt of making a living as a writer, it's devastating.

Allie Brosh, of the brilliant and highly relatable (to me) blog Hyperbole and a Half, says of her writing that "I've been known to sit in my toll-cave of a workspace for 18 hours in a row, for days on end, and work until I hate myself and whatever I'm working on. As you can imagine, this practice is not psychologically advisable, so I've been trying my best to avoid doing it too very often." She is entirely right about that, and I try too -- and yet somehow I continue to fail at avoiding to fall into the very same trap. More often, however, the magpie mind takes over, and I spend those 18 hours, days on end, thinking about the work I have to do -- while studiously avoiding it.

This is more or less exactly how I function when left to my own devices:

by Allie Brosh, via her blog Hyperbole and a Half

I know, of course I know, that through avoidance I only hurt myself. You know it, too. The knowledge doesn't make it any easier to change, does it?

I was extremely fortunate in that 85% of my best was usually enough to earn me excellent marks on my assignments. That isn't particularly satisfying, though, when I know that I have done less than my best; and, moreover, I have made myself miserable in the process. 

Although I don't have a great deal of advice to offer, here are a few strategies which served me well in my struggles to combat the magpie mind:

Huckleberry's implied label is 'To Pet.'

1. Go offline. Personally, I find the Internet to be my single greatest distraction, and the easiest one to fall prey to. I am a social creature, and will regularly fall into the trap of "quickly" checking social media -- only to get ensnared online for hours, abandoning my work. When you have to be on the computer, you may install a lockdown browser or productivity software to prevent your going online, or spending more than a limited amount of time there. Better yet, when possible,

2. Go old-school. Get away from the computer. Write first drafts by hand, on paper. Print out those articles and read them on paper, with a highlighter. Make marginal notes -- write down anything that comes to mind, whether you expect it to be useful or not. Print out your typed drafts to proofread them (I recommend doing this no matter how productive you are -- you'll spot things that are easily missed on the computer screen).

3. Change your setting. It can be hard to work in familiar environments, particularly at home, where there are always other things (or people, or, in my case, cats -- see photo evidence) demanding your attention. You might work better at the library -- there are private study rooms on most floors -- or at Starbucks. For me, I did my best work by combining these strategies: I printed out articles for my thesis and took them outside to  read in my hammock. 

Calliope is the priority here. Because she says so.

4. Establish a goal-and-reward system. Finish this article, then allow yourself a few minutes online. Write a certain number of pages, then call a friend. Just be careful to limit the time you spend on the rewards.

5. Make lists. Write down absolutely everything you need to get done, and the relevant deadlines. I kept lists of assignments on a dry-erase board as well as a computer file, and took great satisfaction in marking them off and deleting finished items. If you have a calendar on your computer or phone, add major deadlines to it. Use alerts to remind you to get things done when they need to be done. Without reminders such as these, my everyday life looks very much like this:

In which Distraction prevails, via Wondermark.

I imagine that, to some, this seems an impossible way to live, and particularly to work. And, in fact, it can be -- if you're trying to work in a field incompatible with the magpie mind. There are fields, however, that mesh beautifully with this mindset. Certain jobs require it. As a movie theatre manager, and in my recent other life, as a substitute teacher and school librarian, my need for active, ever-changing, multi-tasking work serves me exceptionally well. 

Unfortunately, for me, online work is particularly incompatible with the way I function. I require activity, variety, and face-to-face human interaction. While I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you, reading your papers, and posting here for you these past few months, I quickly realized that this job and I are not very well-suited to each other. For that reason, you will have yet another new writing consultant in January. This post is my farewell missive. I will still be present (as myself, not as the MALS Writing Consultant) on the group Facebook page, but after today I will no longer have official access to that page, nor will I be the one replying to the Gmail account. I will miss getting to know your minds, your goals, and your words. I wish you all the very best of luck in your academic, personal, professional, and creative pursuits. 

Cheers and best wishes,

Emily.

*"magpie mind" is my term for the way my brain functions: 

all-too-easily distracted by shiny things. By anything, really. 

via Keep-Calm-o-Matic

In the home stretch

As the end of the semester fast approaches and deadlines loom, stress and the sense of being overwhelmed by work can send your focus and motivation out the window.

via Cyanide and Happiness. 

All joking aside, you are in the home stretch now, and in less than three weeks, the semester will be behind you. Hopefully you are all looking forward to a warm and restful winter break, and will finish out the semester feeling satisfied with the work you have done.

A reminder

I'm sure none of you are in such dire straits as Patrick here.

Your friendly neighborhood writing consultant remains available to help you with end-of-semester assignments, including both MALS and elective coursework. Even if you have never worked with me before, I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions, could use a second pair of eyes on a paper or other writing in progress, or if you simply need to vent about the stress and challenges of graduate school. Email any time at malswritingconsultant@gmail.com, and feel free to open a chat if you see me online. 

I know how difficult it is to complete work far enough in advance to allow time for feedback, but keep in mind that you do not have to have a finished draft in hand in order to seek consultation! If you have a couple of pages roughed out, or even a couple of paragraphs, feel free to send them my way. Be sure to indicate the goals of the assignment  (it doesn't hurt to send the original guidelines along with your work), specify any particular concerns you may have, and let me know the due date so that I can prioritize appropriately.

DON'T BE THIS GUY.

via ETSU Memes.

Thinking ahead

Although this is a very busy time of year, this is an ideal time to start thinking about steps you can take to make your life and your schoolwork easier next spring. Specifically, consider the power of teamwork, and think about joining a peer writing group. I'll talk more about this later, but for now, check out some FAQ's about writing groups on the MALS Writing Center website, as well as the information under "content" on the Writing Center D2L page. If you are at all interested in working with a writing group, please email me and/or post on the D2L page so we can get the ball rolling!

In a different approach to teamwork and community support, MALS is preparing to launch a new peer mentorship program. Details are coming to you via email. This spring semester, everyone enrolled in the MALS program will be eligible to participate, either as a mentor (students in their third semester and beyond) or a mentee (newly enrolled MALS students and those entering their second semester). Please look over the email and think very hard about getting involved in this program.

Take five

Don't be this guy, either. via Shoebox Blog.

In the midst of all this hustle and bustle, try to make a little time in your busy schedule to unwind. You can often focus better and work more productively after stepping away from work and schoolwork for a few minutes or a few hours. This is particularly helpful if, like me, you tend to get stuck in a cycle of non-productive time wasting instead of getting your work done.

Here are a few local and on-campus happenings over the next few weeks (click the links for more information):

• ART 

If you are on campus this Wednesday or Thursday, November 28-29, swing by the Culp Center's ballroom for ETSU's Student Ceramic Association sale. Students will be selling one-of-a-kind, handmade pottery and ceramic items.

Walk through Slocumb Galleries in Ball Hall this week to see graduating students' BFA and MFA shows.

Beginning December 3rd, visit the same space for the annual postcard art show and silent auction fundraiser. The first weekend of December also brings First Friday and the annual Christmas Parade to downtown Johnson City.

• MUSIC

At 7:30pm this Thursday, November 29th, ETSU's Ending Fall Bands Concert will play in the Culp Center. The concert is free and open to the public.

ETSU Chorale's annual Christmas Concert takes place this Friday and Saturday in downtown Johnson City. Appalachian Studies professor Jane MacMorran, whom some of you may know, is featured on the violin.

Check out the Down Home and the Acoustic Coffeehouse for additional live music close to campus, including several upcoming performances by ETSU affiliates.

• THEATRE

Glasgow Theatre Company's production of David Sedaris' hilarious "Santaland Diaries" plays this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 29-December 1, at Nelson Fine Art in downtown Johnson City.

Johnson City Community Theatre's holiday comedy, "Nuncrackers," opens this Friday, November 30th, and runs for three weekends.*

For non-holiday-themed fare, Theatre Bristol presents "Peter Pan the Avenger" the first two weekends in December.

• DANCE 

ETSU's Student Dance Workshop performs on Thursday, December 6th, at 7:30pm in the Mini-Dome Dance Studio (room 104). Free admission.

• GET MOVING

As ETSU students, you all have full access at no additional charge to the campus Center for Physical Activity. The CPA is a fully equipped gym with a pool and fitness classes. Drop by to blow off steam, work up a sweat, or even study while using a treadmill or stationary bike. The CPA is open through December 7th, and operates on a limited schedule over winter break.


*Disclaimer: despite appearances, I am not generally a Christmas shill; the holiday tends to take over the area completely in December. If you are looking for a Christmas-free break, you can still see Halloween-themed movies or even "Brave" for $3 at the Real to Reel cinema. 

An actor's guide to writing; or, Don't flub your lines when there's an audience in the house

I love to perform in local community theatre productions. It can be a lot of work -- one director referred to community theatre as "a part-time job that costs you money," and that sums it up rather well -- but I find it to be energizing as well as an outlet. Theatre is good for giving my brain something fun and non-scholarly to do, a nice break from school and work.

But recently, of course, I managed to make a connection between acting and interdisciplinary writing. Isn't the interdisciplinary mind a wondrous thing? It so often finds the overlap, the interplay, the synchronicity between seemingly disparate fields -- whether you want it to or not.

Don't flub your lines!

The striking commonality between acting and writing lies in the importance of getting your lines right -- that is, of saying exactly what you mean, at exactly the right time. The tricky part is noticing when you have failed to do this and taking steps to correct the error. Your job, and mine, is to say exactly what we mean to say, clearly and unambiguously, so that everyone in the audience can understand it.

If I skip lines in performance, I may be leaving out information critical to understanding the play. This is a Very Bad Thing to do, since I cannot assume that everyone (or even anyone) in my audience is already familiar with the story. The same applies to academic writing: you cannot assume that all of your readers will be familiar with the background information that feeds into your paper.

via the wonderful Wondermark 

This holds true even for disciplinary writing, although to a lesser extent. The strongest academic writing in all fields is that which can stand alone, and remains comprehensible to readers from outside the discipline.

Words, words, words

In a similar vein, use of the wrong word may change the entire meaning of a sentence, a scene, the whole play. This past October, during a performance of an Agatha Christie murder mystery, I asked another character, "Is it so wrong to kill the person who has taken everything you had in the world from you?" The other character, a canon (or English clergyman), is meant to reply "Yes!" In one particular performance, he instead bellowed "NO!" In other words, with one tiny slip of the tongue, a priest gave me permission to commit murder. While that defense may not hold up in court, it put an interesting spin on the story. He didn't even realize he had gotten it backward until I teased him about it later. After all, he knew what he intended to say.


This is a common problem for writers in the age of spellcheckers and autocorrection. If you make a typo, your computer's autocorrect function may correct it for you -- but it may not "correct" it to the word you intended to use. If you make a typo that is still a word, but not the word you intended, or if you make an incorrect word choice, your computer will not catch it for you. In all likelihood, when you read back over what you've written, you will read not what is actually on the page, but what you meant to put on the page.

This is where writing benefits from either a second set of eyes, or from resting for a while before you proofread. If your deadline is looming and you can't manage either of these techniques, be sure to proofread as slowly and carefully as you possibly can, and to look up any and all words you're not absolutely certain you are using correctly. This will go a very long way toward ensuring that you have, in fact, said what you meant to say, and not given someone the thumbs up on murder. . . or adultery, as in one famous Biblical misprint. (Click through the link for some excellent advice on avoiding similarly embarrassing typos.)

Also check for spelling.
via Mandatory.

Keep an eye out for missing words, too.
Assuming you still have eyes,.

It's all in the delivery: punctuation and logical stops

Always consider the impact of punctuation on meaning as well as on style and flow. Punctuation was, in fact, initially invented as a means of indicating when orators (and, later, actors) should pause for breath. When actors ignore the supplied punctuation, it makes a mess of meaning. This is a common problem among students and new actors first encountering William Shakespeare's iambic pentameter verse: many people inherently feel that they should pause at the end of each line, regardless of punctation, or lack thereof.

via Motifake

My current play, a comedy called "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)," contains a joke about that very issue. One of the actors, reading biographical notes on the author, pauses between pages at an amusingly awkward point, describing Shakespeare's mother as "Mary Arden, daughter of a Roman. (next card) Catholic member of the landed gentry."

Thankfully, this particular comma fail was a hoax.
via Museum of Hoaxes.

Punctuation is even more powerful in writing. A missing or misplaced comma can change the meaning of an entire sentence.

The best way to check your own work for appropriate punctuation is to read it aloud. Where you naturally pause, there should be appropriate punctuation (usually a comma or period) to indicate the pause. If you don't naturally pause while reading the sentence aloud, you don't need a comma.

Don't skip the rehearsal process

No theatrical production goes public without an extensive rehearsal process, which generally includes a good bit of revision and adjustment. The final rehearsal, when we have everything just about right, is a preview performance. The audience for this show is comprised of family and friends, who serve as a sounding board of sorts -- the actors' version of proofreaders. They can offer feedback on the performance, pointing out any serious problems we may have overlooked. I strongly recommend that writers seek out a preview audience for their work before submitting it as well. For MALS students, please do consider making use of your friendly neighborhood writing consultant. I also strongly encourage the formation of writing groups, which can be a great resource for peer review.

And if writing groups fail you, look into acting groups. What was that I said about "energizing"? 

I hope these reminders serve you well as you head into the home stretch of the semester. Did I commit the very sins of which I speak in this post? If so, do point them out to me, and mock at will. And if you need a break and a good, hearty laugh this weekend, come on out to the theatre!

Cheers,
Emily

Strong writing, in which passive voice will not be used (by zombies)

I have spent a completely unreasonable amount of time writing this post -- or, rather, trying to write it.

Even if you are not a shameless procrastinator like me, you've probably struggled with a similar problem at some juncture. I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about, but every time I tried to set the words down, they came out wrong: stiff and formal, and nothing like my usual writing style. This problem is not new to me; I regularly struggled with it while working on class papers and assignments. Many of us, when writing scholarly papers, tend to strive for a formality far removed from our ordinary style or voice. Unfortunately, that effort often leads instead to stilted, awkward, unclear writing. (As an ironic case-in-point, I spent a ridiculous amount of time writing, revising, and rewriting this paragraph because it sounded terribly artificial. It's still a little stiff for a blog, but it will have to do.)

Pie is delicious. Via zoomdoggle.

I set out to talk about passive voice -- a phrase which I will wager most of you have seen written in the margins of your papers at least once. When writing in past or present tense, passive constructions are rarely a good choice, because they approach the subject in an unnecessarily roundabout manner. We rarely use passive voice in everyday speech unless we lack complete information or are specifically trying to avoid clarity. You would never say "The entire pie was eaten by me." You might say "The entire pie was eaten," but only if you wish to avoid admitting that you ate the entire pie.

Similarly, you would not say "An 'A' was earned in that class." If you accomplish that feat, you'll take credit for it directly, by saying "I earned an 'A' in that class" rather than "An 'A' was earned by me in that class."

by Dan Savage, via savagechickens.com

These are, of course, oversimplified examples. Passive voice will often creep into papers in subtler forms. For example, one might claim "It has been said that pumpkin pie is delicious." That's all well and good, but who said it? If you know, say so; if you don't know, you will need to find out before you put it in your paper.

Passive construction with attribution isn't significantly better. It sounds pretty silly to write "It has been said by Emily that pumpkin pie is delicious." Why not simply, directly state that "Emily says that pumpkin pie is delicious"? It is. I said it. I'm not ashamed. You can quote me on it.

Passive voice isn't always so easy to spot, but culture and ethics professor Rebecca Johnson has a solution for that:

Discovered via the wonderful Grammarly page on Facebook

This is sheer brilliance. It works. Try it out:
"The results were published" vs. "He published the results" vs. "The results were interesting."
"The class was taken" vs. "The class was delicious."
"He used his brains" vs. "His brains were used."

Now, I'll grant that academic papers may be far more interesting once you throw a few zombies into the mix, but keep in mind that zombies are dangerous creatures. You're far better off closing any zombie-ready gaps you find. This is pretty easy to remember: zombies are pretty passive. Passive voice attracts zombies. Use your brains, stay active, and avoid the zombies.

Is passive voice always wrong? No; it does have its uses. Specifically, you may appropriately use passive voice when discussing future events or unknown information: "I suspect the entire pie will be eaten today," for example, or "We don't know when the pie was eaten." Additionally, passive voice is generally recommended for certain forms of science writing, where the writer wishes to convey objectivity. (See Grammar Girl's post on passive voice for more information.) When dealing with known information in past or present tense, however, it's rarely the best choice.*

If you write directly and assign credit where it's due, you shouldn't be troubled by passive voice. Zombies are a different matter. I'll just have to wish you luck there. Have a happy and safe Halloween, and I hope that none of you will be eaten.**

Cheers,
Emily

*Unless you are Yoda.*** In that case, however, you have some larger syntax issues to deal with first.
**By zombies.
***Pro tip: you are not Yoda.

A Comic Conference Adventure

I found this blog post already framed by Kit's words, and ready to share. I was very interested in Valerie's experience and asked her a number of additional questions about it. I will share her answers in a future post about conferences -- a relevant topic for me this semester, as I am currently gearing up to present a paper at the annual SAMLA Conference in Raleigh-Durham next month. For now, enjoy Valerie's account of her overseas academic adventure! ~Emily

If you read Valerie's earlier guest post, you know that she had the honor of presenting her work on comics and identity at the Graphic Novel Conference in Oxford, England, UK last month. Valerie has been kind enough to share a bit about the experience with MALS in a Minute! Her adventure, in many ways, is typical for a student presenter . . . in other ways (such as when it comes to opening doors), it was quite unusual . . .

Image source: IU Oxford page

Now that I’ve been on my first Big Conference Adventure, in OXFORD, ENGLAND!, first off let me say that no matter how inept you are at navigating the journey itself, I can relate. When the plane landed at Heathrow Airport in London, I got in line for customs before I realized that I should have used the facilities first. In addition to that discomfort, when a customs agent finally began to question me, I couldn’t confidently tell her where I came from or why I was travelling. She evidently decided that whatever plot I was planning was doomed to failure because she passed me on into England. At this point let me take a moment to thank the Heathrow architect for placing toilets immediately following customs.

When I reached Mansfield College in Oxford, it was too early to get into my room, so I decided to visit a nearby park. The park was beautiful and huge, with many gates and paths. I sat down to call my husband, as we had pre-arranged, to let him know that I was o.k. When I realized I couldn’t get my cell phone to work, I immediately freaked, set out in search of a pay phone, and got LOST. I changed my priority to getting back to Mansfield College, and, after asking various people, I eventually found someone who could direct me.

It was still too early to get into my room, but I didn’t know what time it was because I had incorrectly used the daylight savings time function on my travel clock. The porter took pity on me, sold me a phone card, and gave me my room key early. He then proceeded to explain how the locks work. On the door to the building one uses an electronic button, waits for a green light and then pushes the door open. For the room door one uses the same electronic button, waits for the ringing buzz sound, and then turns the locking mechanism two times to the right to open, and twice to the left to close. I confess, instead of politely asking him to repeat those instructions, I replied: “Oh no!” The porter then escorted me into the building and up to the room and taught me how to open the doors. . . . Let’s review:

        

Tiger By the Tail by Valerie Bodell

I didn’t know where I was
I didn’t know what time it was
I couldn’t use my cell phone and
I couldn’t open the door.
Everyone I had had direct contact with has the 
       impression that I am helpless and shouldn’t 
       travel alone.


Everything after getting into the room was easy: I called my husband only a half hour late, and my presentation went well, though I got more complements on my presentation style than on the content. . . it’s good to know your strengths.


Let me share my feelings as an attendee. We listen more than we present, so for those who are listening to you, please start your presentation from the beginning, don’t assume that all of us know what you’re talking about. Also, please practice going slowly, especially if the language of the conference is not everyone’s first language. My approach to presenting, in case it will help anyone, follows: I didn’t use any technology mostly because I did not want to be that responsible, figure out the connections, or carry the weight of a laptop. I only had two images and I printed them out on both sides of one piece of paper to hand out to attendees. An added advantage of a paper copy was that everyone got the same view of my material no matter where they were sitting. I wore relaxed professional clothes that I did not have to think about, and I practiced . . . A LOT, so I could be comfortable with my material and just talk to the audience. The question and answer portion is not scary for me because by then I have successfully completed my presentation. In addition, this time I did not get many questions. I especially appreciated learning firsthand the depth and breadth of work currently going on in my field of interest. My final piece of advice is to try to take comfort from the other beginners, and learn from the more experienced. 
~Valerie Bodell

If you are scheduled to present at a conference soon, take Valerie's advice! Practice! If you haven't given a conference a second thought, why not? As Valerie mentions, conferences are an excellent way to meet people with similar academic and worldly interests, and you will learn more about how your topic fits into the bigger picture. Thanks, Valerie!

    

Red Cabbage by Valerie Bodell

First things first

Greetings, MALS friends, from your shiny new Writing Consultant! My name is Emily Carmichael. A few of you already know me from classes we shared during the past two years; I hope to meet the rest of you face to face sometime soon.

I graduated from MALS in May 2012. My area of study was the relationship between text and culture, with specific emphasis on folklore and fairy tales. Because text and culture are both broad fields, I built my program of study from a relatively wide variety of disciplines, including literature, art, history, and anthropology. For my Capstone, I chose to do a creative project focused on Grimms' fairy tales and the ongoing process of revising and retelling those stories, both visually and verbally, with an emphasis on the mutual interplay between retellings and the cultures in which they are produced. 

Grimms' Girls: part of a larger series
which made up part of my Capstone.
Acrylic and glitter on canvas, 2012.

My undergraduate work is in fine art and literature. I also have a background in librarianship (I have worked in public and school libraries, and earned my Master of Education with a concentration in school library media simultaneously with my MALS degree), which means I'm happy to help with research problems. I will certainly post about research here as well.

I came to MALS, interdisciplinarity, and writing quite naturally; I am addicted to learning, my scholarly background is varied, and I have always had a tendency to think and write interdisciplinarily (although I didn't know there was a name for it). Even so, I found the work I did in the MALS program to be the most challenging of my life, in no small part because MALS students are held to an extremely high standard. As intimidating as that standard is, and as frustrating as I found it at times, it has shaped me into a far better writer than I was prior to entering the program. 

Swan Song. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 2012.

Additionally, I struggled with many assignments because I am highly subject to the major pitfalls that trip up many students: procrastination, a short attention span, and a vocal inner critic. While I still don't know how to fully conquer these problems, I have learned to devise personal strategies to circumvent them, a little at a time, in order to get the necessary work done. At a later date I'll talk some about those strategies as well.

On a personal note, I live here in Johnson City, so I am happy to make face-to-face appointments if those suit your working style better than online conversations. At present I live with four cats, but only two are permanent (the other two are foster kittens), so I have not quite reached cat lady status yet. I spend much of my free time reading, cooking, and performing in local theatre productions.

Since it is now my responsibility to craft a blog worth the time it will take for you to read, I will do my best to keep things fun as well as informative. I'll also try to do the same with the MALS Writing Center Facebook page. I look forward to meeting, getting to know, and working with all of you. 

Cheers,

Emily

p.s. Despite my background in literature, I still find theory challenging! If it's easy for you, please let me know, because I want to shake your hand.

Passing the Torch

Good Evening MALS students,

Most of you know by now that starting tomorrow, Thursday, October 11, you will have a new MALS Online Writing Consultant.

During the past two years, my goal has been not only to support my fellow MALS colleagues through the often murky and treacherous writing process, but also to become a reliable, trusted source of sanity. If there's anything I recall from my own time as a student, it's that we can all use some calming perspective from time to time, and I have always tried to maintain that voice of perspective without sliding into a pit of preachiness. Much to my delight, I have received some very kind words from many of you that indicate that I succeeded to some degree.

I now want to take this opportunity to tell you how much you have helped me become a better writer and life-long interdisciplinarian.

Because of you, I have had the best job in the whole MALS world. I have been in the unique and privileged position to learn through your scholarship - and as a result I know more about art, women's and gender issues, music, and genealogy than I ever could have foreseen. I have seen students go from human balls of stress to poised, articulate writers and public speakers. I have seen students become ambassadors of MALS at a variety of conferences and scholarship programs throughout the world. To be associated with you as MALS alumna is an honor.

It is time for me to move on, but neither I nor the MALS program are leaving you hanging. Emily Carmichael, a 2012 MALS graduate and a splendid writer, will carry on my mission. In fact, she'll probably offer even better feedback, not the least because she'll be able to provide a fresh perspective to the writing process. I bet she won't use cats or bikes in so many of her examples, either. I know Emily is looking forward to working with you, and you will be in interdisciplinarily good hands.

Alas, it is now time to say farewell. I wish you all the absolute best as you continue graduate school, celebrate earning your degree, and use your knowledge and abilities to contribute to your job, family, and community.

Thank you, and good night!

Kit Hayes
MALS Class of 2010

Milk Duds, Anticipation, and a Bleeding Thesis

The next installment in the MALS student guest blogger project comes from Kari Roueche. Kari, whose concentration is in Archival Studies, is finishing up her program this semester and is currently working hard on her culminating project, which features a Web site built around a family archive. Kari has become quite a prolific writer above and beyond her coursework, presenting a paper at the 2012 Regional Graduate Liberal Studies Conference, held here at ETSU last April, and documenting her archives practicum experience at the LDS Church History Library and Archives in Salt Lake City through her own blog Archiventures. Kari has been gracious enough to share some of the advice she’s received that has had the greatest impact on her as a writer:

The first good piece of writing advice I remember receiving was when I was still in high school, but it wasn’t from a teacher. My friend Kathy’s Mom had gone back to school to finish her bachelor’s degree in public relations. I had her read several of my essays and stories. When she returned one of them, I remember her saying that just when she was wondering about something in my story, the next paragraph answered her musing. She told me that the key to writing is anticipating your reader’s questions and answering them at the right time.

During my freshman year in college I had a graduate student for an English teacher. Her name was Ruth Ann Porter and I have never forgotten her. One of the things I learned from Ruth Ann about non-fiction writing was never to edit a quotation or passage in a way that supports your argument if it changes the original meaning. You want to gain your reader’s trust early on; not lose it. For fiction, she stressed writing for all of the senses so that your reader can imagine themselves in the character’s situation. How does something feel? How does it smell? If a situation was hard, what made it hard? Don’t just write that it was hard. Ruth Ann gave our class tools that we could use and that made writing enjoyable. Also, she loved Milk Duds.

The next piece of advice is advice I have given, rather than received. I noticed during my first semester of grad school, that every essay with a good grade had a margin note on it that said, “good intro” below the first or second paragraph. I learned from this that it is important to put your best writing upfront. If your introduction is interesting, your reader will stay interested. I used to tell myself that a day in which I wrote my title page, my reference list, and my introduction was a good writing day and I shared this tip whenever a classmate asked me for help.

The last piece of advice came to me through a talented writing consultant name Kit Hayes. When she was assisting me with my 5400 seminar paper she told me that I was bleeding little bits of thesis for pages into my essay. Having courage to state a thesis for a 7-8 page paper is hard enough, but boldly stating a thesis for a 20-plus page paper seriously takes guts. The real advice here is that it is worth having an impartial reader edit your paper to help you rustle up those wandering bits of thesis statement so that your argument can be clear and concise.

There you go! Advice from three experts and one well-meaning student. I hope some if it will be useful.

Oh, Kari, you flatter me so, but I think the moral of the story here is that we spend our whole lives becoming better writers, and we don’t do it alone. When we’re caught up in the thick of that 20-page seminar paper, it‘s important to remember our past moments of triumph. Recalling the words of those mentors who have contributed to our success as writers encourages us to keep pushing through. While perfection is impossible, progress is inevitable so long as we remember our achievements even as we learn from our mistakes.

A "National Punctuation Day"? (Who knew!)

Well, I hope you'll excuse this brief interlude between student guest posts.....but I cannot keep my blog-equivalent-of-a-mouth shut about this! Today is NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY!
I am elated to see punctuation getting the respect it deserves. After all, punctuation is as crucial to clear, effective, and professional writing as any word or phrase. We've all read something similar to this:

Source: Motifake,  http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/1202/stop-clubbing-baby-seals-stop-clubbing-baby-seals-punctuatio-demotivational-posters-1328522015.jpg 

One misplaced, omitted, or superfluous punctuation mark can derail the meaning of an otherwise superb essay. So, I encourage to take a moment in your writing today to give a little love to the punctuation in your paper. If you, like many writers, struggle with comma usage, take a few minutes to review a good comma tutorial. Want to make an impact with your words? Learn when to use - but not overuse - the dash. Not sure whether to hyphenate "super-duper"? Remember that dictionaries do still exist.

Can't get enough of punctuation? You can enter this contest from the National Punctuation Day council. The challenge is to write a clever, three-sentence paragraph that correctly incorporates 13 different punctuation marks, and winners have some punctuation-related swag heading their way! (It's tougher than it looks... I'm trying this one myself!)

So, whether you're bidding for question-mark-shaped candy or revising that MALS 5100 essay, pay punctuation its due respect!

P.S. > I know you're just dying to know what tops my punctuation list. Well, the answer is oozing throughout the above post... I just love the exclamation point! Why? Because it always means something dramatic. Sure, at times writers overuse it and render their passage the literary equivalent of a used-car ad, but it's oh-so satisfying to conclude with that SHIFT+1 movement! Besides, who doesn't add a little flourish with the left hand when typing an "! "? Write on!!

No Such Thing as Useless Knowledge

Last week I addressed the demons of doubt we’ll all face sooner or later during our MALS careers.  This week I’ve asked current MALS student Valerie Bodell to share her thoughts on how interdisciplinary graduate study has proven valuable both to her topic of interest and her outlook on life. Valerie is in her third year in MALS, and she’s also a full-time ETSU employee. Her program of study concentrates on the role that comics, as a form of literature, play in forming cultural and personal identity. She has presented several papers at graduate liberal studies conferences during the last few years, and presented at The Graphic Novel Conference in Oxford, UK earlier this month:

Rabbit Race by Valerie Bodell

 A Few Interdisciplinary Thoughts

  First of all let me say that panic and confusion are normal.  In addition, elements that crop up throughout your interdisciplinary studies that seem crazy and not applicable to your situation will probably turn out to be the valuable tools, advice, or points of view you should keep in mind.  Also realize that we’re here to learn.  Since we don’t know everything - and some days it feels as if we don’t know much of anything - we’re going to make mistakes, lots of them.  That’s normal too. 

Another characteristic of interdisciplinary studies is that everything connects to everything else.  Therefore there can be no such thing as useless knowledge.  Now I want to take a moment to applaud my fellow students who are pursuing high ideals and socially conscious studies.  That recognition out of the way, I can tell you that my topic is creating a comics autobiography.  Is this a frivolous goal?  No.  If your topic interests you, go for it.  You’ll find that it connects to the larger picture of humanity sooner or later. For example, I learned that comics can help victims address trauma.  Further, as I consider identity in our modern, electronic world, incidents like the Colorado shooting at the Batman movie strike me as role playing fantasies gone wrong.   Can exploring the enduring allure of comics like the Dark Knight series, and fantasy in many online role playing games, illuminate how most people separate electronic realities from physical realities?  Is the Colorado shooting incident about male identity?
.... Valerie Bodell, MALS Student

Giraffe, Tree, Lion by Valerie Bodell

One of the greatest powers of interdisciplinary thinking is that it conditions you to make such connections. Interdisciplinary scholarship celebrates knowledge and recognizes the value in all forms of creativity, not just for their own sake but as tools to help us better understand both the natural world and the human experience. I encourage you to embrace your MALS journey and always to look for ways that your interests fit into to the big picture.

A Minute for MALS Students

For the past two years, the only voice in this blog has been that of yours truly, the esteemed MALS Online Writing Consultant. I am genuinely excited to say that that's about to change! During the coming weeks, a few current ETSU MALS students will be sharing their thoughts on graduate school, writing, and interdisciplinary scholarship. That's right - you'll get a break from my musings and hear from students you may know already.

I think you'll find their reflections to be interesting, helpful, and easy to identify with if you too are pursuing a degree in graduate liberal studies.

As much as I enjoy writing MALS in a Minute, I believe that when more of our peers enter the discussion, this blog can only become richer and more informative. It's simply the interdisciplinary thing to do. So, if you're a graduate liberal studies student at ETSU or otherwise, or if you are an alumn of a graduate liberal studies program, I'd love to hear from you too! Those interested in writing a guest post can contact me at malswritingconsultant@gmail.com.

Stay tuned - our first student's post will go up later this week!

Putting down the pen for a brief spell. 

How's This for an Answer?

For my Fall 2012 welcome post, I didn’t want to write another page on the beauties and challenges of interdisciplinary graduate study. I'm going to let my previous first-posts-of-the-semester do that. Instead, I wanted to address a situation (problem?) that I am willing to bet all of you have encountered at least once before, during, and, if you're a MALS graduate, after your time as a graduate liberal studies student. Here's how it goes: 

You: “Yes, I’m in grad school at ETSU. 

Family Member/Friend/Employer/Guy in Seat 4G  (Henceforth known as “Them”): “Oh, what are you studying?” 

You: (pause while you decide what to say) “I’m getting a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies.” 

Them: Confused, Inquisitive, or Raised-Eyebrow Facial Expression 

You: “It’s an interdisciplinary, self-designed degree, but what I’m really studying is (insert concentration or list two disciplines here)” 

Them: “Okay. What do you plan to do with that degree?” 

You: Explain your program of study, being sure to explain that the degree does not involve lying under trees, staring at the sun, and philosophizing all day. 

Them: “Sounds interesting. Good luck.” All the while looking ever more confused, skeptical, or (the worst) disinterested.

I think this might have been the worst part of being a MALS student, even worse than the gobs of reading I had to do, worse than learning to pronounce the names of French theorists like “Beaudrillard” and “Foucault,” and worse than searching for a parking space at 9:30 on a Tuesday morning. I really hated having to constantly justify the time, money, and energy I was spending on what turned out to be the most difficult and rewarding experience I have ever had (MALS was way harder than any ironman triathlon, in my opinion), not only because it was annoying, but also because these encounters activated that menacing, not to mention false, little voice in my head that said, “yeah, Kit, why are you doing this? No one even knows what a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies is. Why are you working so hard when everyone thinks you’re getting some artsy-fartsy degree that won’t land you a job?”   

And I never seemed to have a completely satisfying answer to the “Why MALS?” question when I found myself in this situation. While I knew I was learning valuable skills in writing, critical thinking, and just “being,” I wasn’t able to put them in words that would fit nicely into the average resume, much less the average elevator speech.

Perhaps this is because there isn’t a single, static answer to the “Why MALS?” question. Part of the beauty of learning at such an intense and deep level is that your answers to “why” are constantly evolving. My answer to "why" one month into MALS would probably have been “because this is the degree that had the archival studies courses.”

"What should I tell "them"?

But now it is 100% different. My answer to “Why MALS?” now is: because MALS forces you to fully engage in the thought processes, reasoning, imagining, and problem-solving that will make you a better critical thinker, writer, worker, and community member, and you might not get that from following a strict, specialized, job-oriented, narrow, disciplinary path.

Let me be clear: there’s nothing wrong with a disciplinary degree. I’m not saying that I’m smarter than anyone with a PhD in biochemistry, nor do I believe Dr. Biochem to be narrow-minded. I am certainly not saying that the Doc is a less worthy human being than I am. What I’m saying is that MALS is designed to force you out of your comfort zone and be the one who considers the whole proverbial wheel instead of being the guy who knows a whole lot about the bearings in the hub. Both are necessary to create the knowledge that will make society better. When you condition your mind to study the whole wheel, you’ll know the right questions to ask of the bearing expert. You’ll also know that the state of the hub has an affect on the condition of the rim. Being able to recognize and act upon systematic relationships is a key skill you’ll develop in MALS.

The point is - and I think this is where we need to do a better job answering the “Why MALS” question when non-MALS people ask it - that the liberal studies student, who chooses an interdisciplinary course of study, holds value to society, employers, and academia equal to the highly specialized student.

So, the next time you find yourself in the “Why MALS” situation, think about giving an answer along these lines:

“I am in MALS because I am interested in doing this, and I see that the best way to learn how to do this is by studying how it fits into the larger picture. I can do this by learning to approach problems associated with this critically, and by using the knowledge of disciplines such as A, B, and Q, I will be better equipped to help develop solutions to the problem. And while I’m at it, I will be writing about complex issues at such a high level that I will have the skills to communicate with professionals not only in the fields of A, B, and Q, but also with community leaders and clients from diverse backgrounds.”

How’s that for an answer? Almost sounds like your MALS degree could land you a job, a community project, or a look of respect and sincere interest from “them.”

As you go through this semester, be ready to address the “Why MALS?” question. Not only to have a brilliant response for the unititiated, but also because you will be required to justify your program of study to your program director and your Graduate Advisory Committee. MALS not only teaches you to think critically, but also requires you to think critically about your approach to your program design.

And while your answers to this question will evolve as you become more familiar with the tenets of interdisciplinary study and research, never let the negative voices get the better of you. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I learned to shut them up. Sure, I wish the rest of the world would give me the same automatic respect they seem to give Dr. Biochem, but I would rather have to continue answering the “Why MALS” question than I would have to be the “them” asking it.

Write on,

Kit

P.S.>  I still wonder if I say Beaudrillard’s name correctly. Readers of this blog may never know. That, my friends, is one of the great advantages of writing.