First of all, I had to change my Beyond the Classroom Plan because I couldn’t attend

the Book Club meetings. The one thing I have ever wanted in my life is to belong to a book
club, so this was devastating to me (however, after their first month, their book selections
were pretty lackluster) Don’t worry, I’ve been trying to find one at the local libraries, and
once I can drive again next semester, I will be sure to join one!
So what did I do this semester? I know you’re burning up with anticipation. Well, I
did what everyone else did. I went to the Visiting Writers Series. I went to both sessions with
Maurice Broaddus because man, I love that guy, and I went to the Q & A session with Viet
Thanh Nguyen. Then, my favorite thing I did for my Beyond the Classroom Plan, which was
in my original, was going to a poetry workshop with the Januarie York. Ahhh, it was amazing.
Visiting Writers Series
Maurice Broaddus
I was surprised at how much I liked this man. On paper, we have nothing in common.
I mean the man is a biologist (or something like that, okay it’s been months). I fucking hate
science. I LOVED Maurice. He needs his own TV show because he is so funny. I mean the
tissue incident alone sold me. His stories are so thought-provoking and just honestly
well-done. He puts so much care into his writing. He told us that he read two books about
quantum physics for a chapter of his book. To put that much care and attention into your
book proves that his love for his craft is strong. I learned that you can’t be afraid to put the
time into your pieces. You’re not going to write a bestseller overnight.
Maurice answered my worries, not so much my burning question. My worries about
my writing are always that I’m not good enough to be a writer, and to that he said:
1. Give yourself permission to suck.
2. Write for yourself.
These two phrases changed my perspective on first drafts. I know you always said to
let the first draft be shitty, but it always helps to hear it from someone else too. Especially the
writing for yourself part. I don’t get to do that a lot. I feel like every story I write will
eventually be read by someone else. I don’t get a story that’s inherently mine. My eyes only,
well except for maybe my Harry Styles fan fiction. I started writing with that attitude early
on in the game this semester, and I could tell that it made a difference. I just wrote it down,
shitty or not, and I let it be. I didn’t fixate on it. I just wrote it down. Whether it was a
sentence, a word, a thought, a paragraph, or a page, I just wrote it down, and that really
helped me grow as a writer.
However, he said that one of his books was being adapted into a show, and I was
dying to ask what that process was like, but I felt like we were on that topic for two seconds
before we moved on, and I didn’t want to be the weirdo girl obsessing over the TV show, but
that’s so fucking cool though.
Let me go on to Viet before I answer the final question.
Viet Thanh Nguyen
I was going with EN185 class to this Q & A session, so I had zero expectations. I was
surprised at how accomplished he was. I had no idea who he was, but now his book is on my
Christmas list. I learned about the screenwriting and TV show process in Hollywood, which
you know is so exciting for me. I didn’t check my watch once, which is a sign that I’m
enjoying myself.
He answered any question I could possibly have about the entertainment industry
and how hard it is to get a show picked up and how long of a process it truly is. It was
fascinating. My new question I have for him is how can I as a white woman get cast? The
answer is, I can’t. A real new question I have for him is if he felt like his creative liberty was
restricted by Hollywood screenwriters or did he enjoy having people to bounce ideas off of?
He kind of touched on this but just briefly. I think this is an interesting concept that I don’t
really hear much about, so I’m dying to ask an author that question.
What will I do next?
I want to continue going to the Visiting Writers Series. I think it’s an amazing program that
Butler offers. I haven’t not enjoyed a single one I’ve been to. I hope my schedule allows for
me to be able to go more because currently, that’s the only thing in my way. I feel like that’s
really the only thing in my way. Also, my boot was in my way for a tiny bit there, but not
anymore, so yay!
Miss Januarie York
I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this workshop. I didn’t want to go. All day I
was dreading it. I even thought about skipping it all together. I really didn’t want to go, but I
am so glad I went. I had the best time. Januarie was the best! We learned this technique
called “Flipping the Totem.” She told us to think of the movie, Inception, and how they
continuously go deeper and deeper into different realities. Well, put that in your writing.
Start with a word, and think of a synonym for it. Then, look at the next word and think of a
synonym for that. After three or four synonyms, you found descriptors or other ways of
describing something to get your reader invested. For instance, describing an office as a jail
cell allows readers to be there with the character. If you say “office,” people will be like, “Oh
yeah, that’s an office.” However, if you say that the character sits in a 4 x 4 jail cell, you’re
allowing your reader to immerse themselves into the world the character inhabits.
That was some of the best advice I had ever received. I started implementing it into
my writing, and it made a world of difference. I was nervous that I wouldn’t learn that much
because it was a poetry workshop, but the class actually made me want to write poetry.
Crazy! Her energy was off the wall, and she was just a person I wanted to get coffee with
afterwards and talk about her life story. A question that was answered for me is that
everything you write is not going to be a winner. That’s something I struggle with, feeling
like everything I write has to be a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It doesn’t. I can write stories
about Bigfoot and Harry Styles fanfiction and the world isn’t going to collapse. I’ll be fine.
You’ll be fine. We will all be okay. Because every okay story can lead to an amazing one.
Another question I have for Januarie is “How do you be descriptive without being too
descriptive?” I feel like there’s a very thin line between overdescribing and descriptive
writing, but I feel like a poet would have a better understanding of the balance between
them, so I might just Instagram DM my girl Januarie and see what she thinks.
I definitely want to take more classes through the Indiana Writers Convention. I really
enjoyed their program. Chantal, one of the girls I met at Januarie’s workshop, is hosting her
own event, so I might check that out. She was super sweet and talented. I want to strengthen
my relationship with the writers of Indy. Also, I want to strengthen my relationship with
Januarie by going to one of her open mics. I want to build a network of Indianapolis writers,
so people don’t feel so alone in this industry. Finally, and most importantly, I want to join a
goddamn book club. Thank you and good night.