Writing
- What is your earliest memory of writing?
- Writing short but barely legible stories on brown loose-leaf paper during “free time” at a Montessori school.
- What is your earliest memory of being taught to write?
- The Montessori school had us write creative stories.
- Did your parents read to you?
- Yes, my mom read to me.
- Did they have books lying around the house?
- Yes, plus they would buy books or take me to the library if I asked.
- Did you have an influential school teacher and if so, what do you remember of them?
- Yes, Miss Reuss. She was my second-grade teacher who greatly supported me despite my severe dyslexia. She also recommended me to the IEP program which I benefited heavily from. While I am an adult now, I see her occasionally for lunch to chit-chat.
- What part did reading play in your development as a writer?
- It expanded my creativity and showed me the diverse ways someone could explain something or tell a story.
- Did you ever read a precis or watch a movie instead of reading the book?
- I’m sure I have, but I don’t remember which ones they’d be.
- Did you have an influential professor and if so, what do you remember of them?
- I will keep this to the undergraduate professors I have had. Professor Vines, Dr. Moss, and Dr. Shields were my media/film professors. Professor Vines was a great screenwriting mentor, strict but encouraging, and quite sarcastic. Dr. Moss was a kind soul who made me really dig deep into film theory and use theorists to ground my arguments. As for Dr. Shields, I remember his teaching philosophy as helping us become our own skeptics. To question and critique the content we, as consumers, flock to. Besides that, he was quite laid-back and I broke his final exam’s curve. Regardless, I was always excited going into their classes.
- Describe your writing processes and behaviors.
- If I have the luxury to, I like to prepare by turning on Lo-Fi or jazz music as background noise with a nice scented candle and an energy drink or chai tea. Creating an atmosphere helps with any writing anxiety I may have. My writing process starts as a “skeleton outline” which some call a zero draft. I jot down whatever comes to mind for that writing piece which may include notes. After that, I do another draft or two before I start to flesh it out. My drafting phase is about being able to create a cohesive and logical picture of what I want to articulate. Essentially, I have two drafting phases, outlining and writing. My editing process has two phases as well: macro and micro. I deal with bigger issues like paragraphs not sounding in sync or my argument being muddied before I tackle grammar or misspellings. After this, my paper is finished. While the process is long, I find it has helped me with getting started.
- How do you teach writing?
- While there are several different ways, I prefer teaching in “outlines” and “blocks” due to their flexibility and being easier to start. For writing an ordinary essay, you start by jolting down the ideas you have and the points you want to make. After editing the outline into a structured one, you use it as a guide for creating each paragraph which is a block of information, description, and/or argument.
Reading
- What is your earliest memory of reading?
- It is fuzzy, but probably a Dr. Suess book or something to that effect.
- What part does reading play in your writing?
- It depends. Reading for academia is part of the process. I see it as an element in a collection. If I am not reading fiction books, it is much harder to write creatively. There is a drought of inspiration. As Julia Cameron would put it, writers need to “refill the well.”
- Have you ever read a summary or watched a movie instead of reading an assigned book?
- Not instead of but a supplement to. Whoever thought that putting books like The Great Gatsby and The Crucible in the high school literature curriculum is part of the reason some people do not like reading. Some classes did have us watch the movie afterward. Oftentimes, this backfired because the class favored the film version and not the book. Sometimes, the film is better.
- Does listening to someone read a book provide you with the same experience as reading it yourself? Elaborate.
- It’s definitely different. I put my audiobooks on 2x speed and do activities like cleaning. Some narrators have incredible voice acting, which enhances the experience. I like nonfiction or “light” academic books for this. I enjoy the information but don’t need to obsessively jot it down. When I read for myself, I like to take my time and focus on the activity.
Opining
- Do you have an opinion about the present state of the economy?
- Yes, healthcare is a human right, the greed from companies needs to be addressed, and we need to have a long-term mindset instead of a ‘save now’ one (e.g., increasing the budget for education, investing in infrastructure like buses and high-speed rail, enacting climate change policies).
- Do you have an opinion about NATO?
- America should remain a member and stay on good, strong terms with our allies.
- Do you have an opinion about the relationship between sacrifice and faith?
- Historically and currently, sacrifice is a word that floats around in various religious doctrines. My opinion of this “relationship” depends on the type of sacrifice. Sacrificing a person or not being able to drink alcohol would be two very different answers to me. I have complex thoughts about animal sacrifices as I come from a vegetarian perspective. What’s the difference between eating a chicken and sacrificing it on an altar? While I would prefer neither, I know it is unrealistic, so I settle on the same logic as eating animals: no cruelty and no wasting. As I am also coming from a Pagan perspective, what can be described as “sacrifice” and “offering” becomes muddy. There is debate on this word and its definition in the community. For myself, I do not use sacrifice at all as it conjures a more negative connotation than offering. Personally, I do not think of faith and sacrifice as intrinsic and more of a theological mindset.
- Do you ever use words you can’t define?
- No. However, I have used words that I misheard or interpreted incorrectly and then used them, only to realize my mistake much later.
- How comfortable are you with saying, “I don’t know.”?
- It depends. If I can find out, I will say I can search for it. Otherwise, I will say that I am not sure or do not know.
Thinking
- Do you have an internal monologue?
- Yes.
- Do you ever edit as your narrate to yourself?
- Yes, my mind will redo a whole sentence to correct or fix the part I messed up on.
- What is it like to think wordlessly?
- I do not.
- Is there a difference between rationalizing and thinking?
- I think rationalizing is a type or category of thinking. Essentially, I cannot reason with an idea, someone, or something without thinking about it first. Thought is the vessel or vehicle in which rationale must travel.
AIing
- Have you used AI?
- Yes, I have. I typically go for ChatGPT or Perplexity.
- How many times?
- Since I started using it once it hit the public, I would say over 100.
- Toward what ends?
- I use AI as a way of testing ideas like a brainstorming buddy.
- Current thoughts about it?
- AI, ultimately, is another option in one’s toolbox. The tool can do some things great but can be bad or useless in other situations. You have to feed it significant context in certain situations or it will not “get it.” It is also prone to hallucinating where it gets certain information and can make up sources.
