Initial Experiment
ORIGIN PIECE
Below is an excerpt from my initial reaction to this piece. This was written in Fall of 2021 during my first semester at the University of Michigan for English 125, taught by Dr. Ryan McCarty.
"My audience for this piece was undoubtedly other young queer kids that are struggling with themselves or who they might be. On the other hand, there are many moments in this piece that are aimed more towards those who might not understand the struggle of growing up in the LGBT+ community or those who have been/are ignorant in regards to assuming labels on others. I think that there is something in my narrative for everyone—maybe I did that unknowingly?
The writing in my narrative strongly resembles that of my personal journals. I put so much of myself in this piece, it’s not very surprising that it mirrors the writing I do for just myself. I think rather than this piece giving me insight into future endeavors, it has given me a chance to be introspective. It has forced me to think long and hard about parts of my life I’ve never been too keen to investigate. Yes, this has made me a better writer, but I also think it’s made me a better person—better to myself even. "
EXPERIMENT
In the context of my zine, my origin piece served as a stepping-off point for two experiments that took place in my Sweetland Minor in Writing Gateway class, Writing 220. Throughout the semester, our goal was to take one piece through a series of experiments, toying with genre, narrative framing, and modality.
My first experiment had me playing with what my piece might look like had it been written in the style of a prologue and an epilogue, intentionally left without a middle. I wanted to see if my tone would change now that I was writing directly to the reader rather than some unnamed academic being, as I had with my origin piece.
In my origin piece, I was writing to convey a message or an argument. I was commenting on a piece of already written work and bolstering my claims with personal evidence from both me and someone I knew. In contrast, this piece felt like I was writing it for myself. Technically the intended audience was other queer people who needed to hear those words, but I think I inadvertently wrote it for myself.