The Unmasking of Writer Woman!

The Recipe for ME

They say, "little girls are mad of sugar and spice and everything nice." Well the recipe for ME is slightly more complected. In fact there are many variations based upon the occasion and the audience. Let's focus on the ingrediants that combine to create my persona as a composer, writer, and editor.

For Megan the Composer

• One part explorer
• One and a half parts researcher
• Two parts dreamer
• One part artist
• A pinch of inspiration
  

For Megan the Writer

Take the recipe above and add:

• One part reporter
• One part matador
• One part interpreter
  
• A dash skeptic
• Two parts juggling act
  
• A splash of intuition
  

For Megan the Editor
Take the recipes above and add:

• One part critic
• One part cheerleader
• One part analyst
  
• Two parts teacher
  

Notice that all the recipes must build upon the ones before. That's because the three are connected and at times while writing I will need to draw upon the skills of my composing or editing self.

Mariposa

I used to live in the dark.

My days were nights, and my nights were all day,

Everyday.

For a prolonged period of time

And then I caught a glimpse of Change

Change was all I had

And it was all I needed

Wrapped tightly in the dimness of my past

I had to escape, and Change knew the way

So I became one with this Change.

And in the dark is where I saw it all.

Change illuminated my flaws, my vices, my faults

Throughout every stage in my lifetime

Change was present, but I’d never spotted it

It was the key I needed to unlock the next and final stage

And knowledge helped me retrieve this treasure

I was ready.

As I unfolded my exquisitely patterned wings

It broke through pieces of my once harboring shell

I peeked out at the world anew

All I wanted to do was dive into its inviting atmosphere

With Change still by my side,

We broke free and took flight,

Gliding through the world we planned to enlighten.

Brownie sundaes and spring cleaning

My identity as a composer, writer, and editor is a product of many ideas and habits. It's like a recipe.

I think of past ideas or projects (reflection, much?), what I liked and didn’t like, what I think would work for the new composition. It’s like repurposing clothes.

From those ideas, new ones form and develop, and some fail while others prevail. Both old and recent ideas fuel new ideas. Brand new ideas.

I start out organized: a list of ideas, a plan for a paper, a checklist for a project. Things are in order.

And then they are not. Sometimes the plans fail, the lists get thrown away, and I end up starting all over.

But after a lot of work, things end up looking better than I could have imagined.

The Unveiling of Sammi in Haiku

Truth with a Capital “T”

Samantha Erin

is her name, composing what’s

meaningful, her aim.

 

Purposeful, pointed,

frank, sincere… Honest always.

Her heart’s in the print.

She shares what she knows…

What she has learned from the Book,

the love of her life.

Lucado, Lewis,

Spurgeon, Piper, and  Edwards,

inspire and spur her.

She is determined

to leave a lasting mark upon

this world; life is fast.

Prizes and success,

nice, but all loss compared to

knowing, sharing, Truth. 

Alphabet Soup

is for distractions!

Let's face it. All of my work starts with a distraction or twenty. I mean, all of my finished products would be deserving of immortality if they came from a clean, untainted slate. The purest of my ideas are always tarnished by the time they emerge from stumbleupon or facebook. Even at this very moment my mind battles with ignoring the roleplaying chats on which my geek side flies free and finishing a lovely and final blog post for this class.

is for inspiration and ideas!

I think we can all agree that I am pretty awesome. If not, then at least I can believe it. In that case, my ideas that come from my ranging forms of inspiration are also awesome. Syllogism rules. I enjoy a multitude of things that can get me in the right frame of mind when it comes to work. Sleeping is the best, but always the least available. Other things like meditating, swimming, and listening to music are extremely helpful as well.

is for the finished product!

Finally, when I've sloughed off the residual distractions and I have my ideas in check, the finished project emerges like, as Jane Lynch's SNL monologue put it, a god birthed between two storm clouds. Of course the entire visualization would also be claymation. The finished product is always the most satisfying part and also includes reflection. Huzzah!

picture perfect

I start a little crazy....

and then it carries on....

until i see the sunlight...

and then it starts going right..

the thoughts start flowing..

and then my ideas come to light!

Part of Your [Editing] World
(For accompaniment, click here.)

Look at this stuff.

Isn't it neat?

Wouldn't you think my composing’s complete?

Wouldn't you think I'm the guy

The guy who knows editing?

Look at this trove,

Revisions untold

How many markings can one paper hold?

Looking over it you’d think

"Sure, he catches everything."

I've done papers and letters a-plenty

I have written those blog-posts galore

You want remediations?

I've done twenty!

But who cares?

No big deal.

I want more.

I wanna be like those theorists are I wanna think, think about my process

Reading ‘bout blogs and - what do you call 'em?

Oh - tweets!

Just fixing grammar won’t get you far.

More is required for good revising

Making notes will help your - what's that word again?

Peeps.

Up where they work… on magazines,

Up where they publish all the great books,

Composing free - wish I could be

Part of that world

What would I give if I could live out of these textbooks?

What would I pay to spend a day just practicing?

Bet'cha Bitzer would understand Bet he’d get my situation

Bright young writer, sick of revising

Ready to stand

And ready to know what great editors know

Ask them my questions and get some answers

What are good ideas and why do they - what's the word?

Burn?

When's it my turn?

Wouldn't I love, love to practice in that world up above?

Out of the theory

Wish I could be

Part of that world.

My Processes

I begin with some good ole fashioned brainstorming...

It then grows to frustration....

This then somehow leads to a good idea, or what I believe is a good idea...

This then goes on to more brainstorming about that good idea, more frustration that before, until I have a solid concept. I then compose once I have gathered all of my resources! I have found this semester that I am not a fan of fluff, but facts. I feel like I tell the story in the shortest way possible. This is my style as a writer. As a composer I just must follow my process from above! As an editor, I find myself eliminating a lot of fluff! So I think its safe to say I like things short, simple and sweet! :)

The process begins with enthusiasm...

...then ChAoS ensues

followedcloselybyCREATIVITY

which enables me to compose:

Far beyond my IMAGINATION

A story about Kimi

Once upon a time there lived a girl named Kimi. An ambitious young girl, Kimi could write at a very early age. She grew up wanting to be a spy at a very young age, but found that as she spied on everyone she found herself writing every detail about each of her subjects! She wandered through life aimlessly writing about whatever crossed her mind, from what her neighbor wore that day, to a story about a poodle named Kevin. Kimi always had her head in the clouds, imaging everything possible.

As she grew up, things never changed. Though her actions were unlike when she was six or seven, she always found herself observing others, particularly the way they wrote in comparison to the way she wrote. She took it as a hidden challenge amongst herself, making sure she always wrote the best she could. Beyond that though, she took a keen interest in editing. She loved to make sure her work was just precisely the way her overactive imagination pictured it.
As the years went on, Kimi drifted through high school with composing and editing in the forefront of her mind. Although she did other things such as gymnastics, she found that whenever something inspired her, the first thing that came to mind was writing. Often she found herself writing mini books, or telling stories spur of the moment as a camp counselor to her campers.
Kimi originally thought her desire was to become a children’s book writer, not only because she loved children, but because of her talent to be able to think of stories so quickly. She often accused herself of having two brains: one brain at the age she really was, the other of a never-aging child. Her mind always clung to the idea that everything was like a story, however, as time went on, Kimi found a new love: editing.

After years went by with schooling, family moves of houses, and of course writing, Kimi found herself at college, Florida State to be exact. Here she found that she could display her love for writing and editing more than ever. She found her home at the major she had always dreamed of, a major that flourished upon people like Kimi, the students who couldn’t ever write enough. Kimi took the core classes, and then found her way into the world of editing, writing and media.
She quickly realized that these classes were her gateway to the editing world, and she opened her mind to the opinions and teachings of each professor. Kimi made sure to take every opportunity she got, be it an internship at a magazine, a child care job that lead her to work under a children’s book writer, or just writing free lance for her mother’s piano business’ publication. She took what she could and ran with it. Her imagination and used her ambition to be the best composer she could be. Within her classes, she learned as much as she could. Every opportunity to write or edit something became a hobby rather than a task.

So where is Kimi now? She is at Florida State; yearning for the day that she can graduate and transform into the editor she knows she will be one day. She is working diligently with her editing skills, focusing on the basics such as rhetoric, yet always leaning towards the exciting world of writing and editing. Excited and ready for the transition, Kimi can grasp that the knowledge, composition skills, editing skills, as well as life experience she obtained though the editing, writing and media major will keep her on the track she wants to be.

A Eulogy Unveiling

Dear ye beloved, we are gathered here today to honor the memory of writer/composer Jocelyn Joy Rapp.

While she was among the living. . . She took on many projects, thoroughly dedicating herself to the written word. . .

She was possibly most well known for her interests in new media, believing in the grassroots movement, and while she didn’t ever end up video blogging on youtube or anything of the like, she was still dedicated to her writing, even while maintaining a sense of humor. Those who have read her work would know this most of all.

Her loves included spending time with those who meant the most, spending time in new places, and lazy nights in with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Most of the time with a book or two.

Some of her work has been published in mediums including independent magazines. She was adamant about her personal research, always challenging herself. Making her an asset to many publications. She valued her education of other writers, always interested in a new perspective. “Saying the same things you already know all the time gets stale.” She once said.

As we come to pay our respects, she will be remembered in the minds and hearts of those who knew her best. May she rest in peace.