Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Weekly Post #11: Letter from your writer
Now that you've written a letter to your writer (super great job!), I want you to get creative, embrace the style and tone of your writer, and write a letter to yourself FROM your writer. Have some fun. Capture their voice as best you can. We will share these in class.
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18 comments:
Dear Matt,
Thanks for the musing and considerate letter. I appreciate you would take the time to write. I’m also pleased to hear I might be helping you strengthen your vocabulary as well.
I’ve gathered a few compliments here and there, but it’s always refreshing to hear from young people like you — after all, you’re the ones absorbing most of the content these days. One of the things that nagged me in high school was writing for someone else — I think writing to be commended or praised undermines the entire purpose of writing. Please don’t overlook the fact that the only person you should be writing for is yourself.
In the end, who is going to be there? You.
Keep in touch!
Jon
Tatum,
I’m so glad that you’ve been keeping up with my blog these past few months! While my blog is intended for recipes, I’m pleased that the captions also resonated with you. Not a lot of my followers reach out to me so it’s exciting to hear from you. While we’re in communication, are there any particular recipes that you want me to post? I’m looking forward to talking with you more and hearing your thoughts on my recipes. Have a great year in your class, it sounds like a great learning environment. I’m off to stir some things up in the kitchen but I will look for a message from you soon!
Deb
Greetings Sam,
Thank you for your comment. It somehow always helps a critic to see his own critic. Its somewhat bemusing to say that. I resonate with what you are trying to say and I appreciate it. However, although I understand, you have to realize the audience I am presenting to. For a large percentage of my audience, they are reading to resonate with a film or a director's message or to find the technique and artistry to analyze and comment upon. I will say that I will try to make the less artistic reviews a little more grounded
Yours,
Richard Brody
Greetings Katie,
I hope this message finds you with a smile and a ready stomach. This morning I woke up to a dreary morning, the kind that makes you want to stay in your pajamas all day... no shame. As I make my morning coffee and look out the window at the red and orange leaves on the ground, I think about what to make today.
Well, let’s be honest, breakfast is the best meal of the day. Why? Because it combines some of the best foods out there: maple syrup, fruit, and carbs…. lots of carbs.
So looking out the window on this gloomy day and cuddling up with my steaming cup of coffee and an oversized sweater, it hits me. I am going to make the ultimate comfort food: PANCAKES! But not just the plain buttermilk kind, even though sometimes you just have to stick to the classics, but rather the kind riddled with dark chocolate chips and dripping in warm and sticky syrup.
So, my friend, it is time for me to go. I have a very important date with a tall stack of pancakes I need to get ready for.
Cheers,
Lindsay
Hi Samuel,
Thanks for the letter! I’m glad to hear that you follow my blog and enjoy it. It’s people like you that I write for. However, I didn’t really intend my blog to be unbiased, this isn’t the New York Times. It’s my personal website where I give my own opinions, and if you don’t like them you don’t have to follow them. Donald Trump is a racist, misogynistic fascist who America elected because much of the country hates women and immigrants. And I’m not afraid to say that. I do hope you continue to follow me though, I love all of my fans.
Cheers, Cathy
hi anna!
i love that you found my blog for a school project! so fun! i'm sorry you didn't get any of those sprinkles, but i have some even cooler topping mix collabs coming along with the help of some friends, so hopefully we'll get those out by new year's.
also, as i was chilling the heck out last week after a pretty upsetting election season - it seemed more like a wild reality tv season if you ask me - watching the crown on netflix and eating a whole pizza by myself, i got to wondering... where do you think our passion for food comes from? and how do really fat squirrels not fall out of trees? mainly the first one though; i find it's best not to question the secrets of nature and just let them do their thang, like how some sausages go perfectly with specific mustards but not others.
anywho, i hope you have a really cozy, superfun fall with lots of hot chocolate parties and not too much studying!
xoxo molly
Dear Caroline,
Thank you for your letter and for being such an active reader of my articles. I can tell you’re a critical consumer and learner which is are great characteristics in, sigh, a world with Donald Trump as our president-elect. I appreciate the advise to continue using an intersectional lens, as it’s true that acknowledging my privilege is an important– but difficult– part of being a feminist blogger. I hope you have outlets to write your thoughts and ideas as a high school student, in class or outside of it. It’s so important to develop your voice! I know I wish I wrote more at your age and was more engaged with the outside world like you seem to be. It’s young women like you that make all the hateful, sexist comments on my articles feel a little less hurtful and scary.
Best,
Jessica
Dear Sophia,
I so appreciate that you have been keeping up with my blog these past few months. I use my blog as a safe space to express myself. I am so happy to see that in the process I have been able to attract readers. While I know your main focus has been on my writing, I see my pictures as the essence of my posts. Please take some time to look through my gorgeous pictures at some point. As for your criticism, I definitely understand where you are coming from. However, I have found a style that truly suits me and my readers. If you want to see some variety, I suggest following another blog.
All the best, Krystal
Claire,
Thank you for taking the time to follow my blog and I’m so glad you like the recipes — and my stories. I hope if you try anything I’ve talked about, you find your own spin to put on it, and really make the recipes your own. It still seems funny to me when I have readers like you who tell me they admire my talents or the way I write, because it still feels like sometimes I have no idea what I’m doing. Mishaps always happen, and you just have to learn to go with it. I’m assuming, as a reader of my blog, that you have some sort of interest in food and/or writing, and I would just say to always be aware of what’s happening around you because inspiration can come from anywhere! And no matter what’s going in your life, the answer is just to bake something.
Sincèrement,
David
Dear Bay,
I’m so sorry I’ve been so inactive on the blog lately; the season is really intensifying and my many rehearsals are very demanding. The weather here in Rhode Island is getting super chilly, and my body has definitely been feeling creakier and I have to warm up for longer. But nowhere else beats the fall colors and festivities that I’ve found in the Northeast. I hope i’ve been able to capture that on the blog, and I promise I’ll get back on it soon, hopefully before Nutcracker! Thank you so much for your letter, please write again anytime!
Best wishes,
Kirsten
Alice,
I think I should start off by saying that I appreciate how closely you have been following my blog, and the weekly posts you have written about my writing. I also would like to address some of your recent claims about my writing in that my "writing has become bland because you know longer feel the same desire to write, considering your posts have become sparse and short.." While the facts here are true, the reasoning behind my absence has nothing to do with my "desire to write." The truth is, I write for myself and myself only. While I admire your's and others' dedication to my blog, I really don't care. I don't owe you or anyone anything and while I would like to thank you for your compliments, I really couldn't care less.
Sincerely,
CS
Dear Maddie,
Thank you for your letter. I appreciate your inquiries and attention to my commitment to brevity. I believe in being straightforward and concise, as you so astutely pointed out. Something I noticed in your questions made me think that you see my writing as voiceless. You seem to think that because I do not create images and use abstract and artistic language that I have no specific voice. You are wrong. My voice is in my style of writing. My voice is in sentence structure, my punctuation, and my vocabulary. My voice is truth and I tell that truth in a way that is specific to me. What I want you to take away from this correspondence is to look deeper than the surface with writing and find what makes each writer's voice unique and how that manifests in their work. Good luck, Maddie.
Take care,
Nicole
Dear Tommy,
That was so nice of you to write me a letter! I have never gotten fan mail before. It's really great to hear from someone who reads my posts. Sorry I haven't been writing, but now life is taking me off my feet in a new direction. I'm in a serious relationship now and I have a job. I never thought about writing for someone else. I always just wanted to do things on my own, even if no one notices. When I write, I write whatever comes to mind and I don't hold back. If you hesitate or second guess yourself you wont get anything done. Also the post that you mentioned in your letter was defiantly my most personal one, maybe a goodbye one at this point. I would love to keep writing, but I think at some point, you learn when you need to move on to the next adventure; where ever life takes you. Of course I still watch anime, and sometimes I think about writing, but I just don't have the energy anymore to keep it up. Choose your life, don't let life choose you.
Peace,
Bateszi
Connor,
Thank you for the letter. I am thrilled to see that you have been following my writing for the past few months. I am very happy to see you are a fan of my articles and my commentary on the sports world. I try to focus on the sports stories that a not often told by the big name networks. For instance my piece about former wide receiver Chad Ochocinco telling people that he is avaliable to kick after watching the appalling number of extra points missed this week. It is very cool to see that I have helped another sports fan get a few good laughs in every week. As you continue to read my writing I hope you not only find it entertaining but I hope you pick up on how useful videos and images can be to a compelling article. Lastly, when in doubt shoot the ball.
All the best,
Thomas Duffy
Hi Kraz,
Thank you for your letter. I love that someone is getting all of the references I throw into this blog. I hope that you and your friends learn something every week while reading. I aim to help readers learn through a mix of statistics and humor. I'm glad that you have picked up on this. I hope that I've added a considerable amount to your enjoyment of this tremendous sport. Hopefully you never stop watching analyzing, and bonding with your friends over it,
From,
Bill
Hi Mac, thanks for writing such a kind letter! I am honored that you like my pieces.
I totally agree with you about the types of articles I wrote for Vice compared to the articles I write for ABC. My Vice articles did encompass more extreme topics than those of my ABC articles. I hope this doesn't repel you too much from my current writing though! Because just as you said, I do have to follow certain perimeters when I write any article. I know these articles may be a bit more serious, but give them a shot! I try to incorporate my voice into all of my articles.
Best, Sydney
Hey Jordan!
Wow. It still shocks me whenever I find out that people actually find my articles, and actually READ them? Thank you so much, Jordan, for taking the time out of your day to put up with my interests. Whenever I get down to writing something, I try and think about what will make readers want to click on my article, or at least take a second look. I'm just about as happy as I was when I posted my first post-election, non-Trump related article that you've done both. Ok, so, it will be a while before that feeling is matched, but you sure are close!
No, but seriously, any reader I can reach means the world to me. Thank you, and I hope you keep giving me the time of day.
All the best,
Mike
Julian,
Thank you for your letter. It is always great to hear other people's opinions on my writing, and it is even better to hear from young people like yourself who are also fascinated by our future in space. Your interpretation on my writing style is pretty spot on, so it looks like I'm doing my job. Our new era of space exploration is truly exciting and it is great to hear that young people are as invested as I am. Thank you for your feedback!
Best Regards,
Kenneth Chang
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