Writing Women's Lives

What are you the tiny master of?  The New York Times (You have access to this!) These are personal essays from college students published in the NYTimes.  1. Read some short essays and think about how and why they "work".  2. Find some idea about the state of women that resonances with you. 3. Puke on the page and look for a moment that you would like to expand on. Here are the pitfalls to look out for in the personal essay.  Make a list of at least 10 things that you're interested in, preoccupied with, or obsessed with. You can include anything on this list, no matter how big or small. You can be silly or serious, ridiculous or sublime. Anything goes. (Feel free to share your list below if you'd like.) Make a list of at least 10 things that you know. What do you know? Don’t overthink this. You know more than you think you do. You know how to do things. You know what you believe. You know what memories you have. You know things about other p...

First Link-Souders Creative Writing Contest  runs through Monday, March 2, 2020. Write to win $250! Participate in the English Department's annual Link-Souders Creative Writing Contest by submitting your poetry and short fiction to  avalon@su.edu . You may submit up to 5 poems and short fiction up to 5,000 words. Participants must be undergrads enrolled in 12 credit hours for fall and spring 2019-2020 and submissions must be unpublished. If you do not wish to participate in the contest you may still submit to Avalon by indicating "Avalon only" in your email. For more information, please contact Christin Taylor at  ctaylor4@su.edu .  For every girl who is tired of acting weak when she is strong, there is a boy tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable.  For every boy who is burdened with the constant expectation of knowing everything, there is a girl tired of people not trusting her intelligence.  For every boy for whom competition is the only...