When it came time to submit my repurposing draft, I was initially extremely concerned about how my peers would receive my work. I usually don’t share it for others’ viewing until I’m 100% confident in my work, but I had no choice but to hand over a shitty first draft. While I knew that I wanted to keep my piece in the creative non-fiction genre, I had no idea that the ending point I ended up concluding with would have even made it into the piece. What I thought would be a distinct expanded narrative based on a five minute segment of my life turned into a reflection about what brought me to that very moment, referencing several incidents over the course of my lifetime. While I ended up satisfied with the direction that it took, one that referenced events of the past, I definitely think I need to work on the narrative aspect more. This overall was the main critique I received from my peers; while they were moved by the overall theme my narrative represented it seemed more like a personal essay than creative nonfiction.
As the re-purposing project goes on, I want to really hone my skills on crafting a narrative that is true to my life, depicting how the events unfolded in as much detail as I can muster, perhaps even including dialogue from the other players that were present. While I certainly have a overall lesson that is hidden between the lines of my writing, I don’t want to make it too obvious to prevent it from being too preachy. It is in that sense that I hope humor or perhaps just a light-heartedness shines through. It’s not this sad, sad moment of depression that I want my readers to wade through but rather to find the humor in it, or just how I personally see it after that fact. Even in the face of daunting and depressing realities I was always hung up by the more superficial of problems.
The other advise I received was about deciding whether it should be humorous or more serious. I don’t necessarily think I need to decide one or the other, I think I can find a place for both if I do it correctly. I certainly need to work on my craft, amending my typical style to include a stronger narrative while also making sure my voice stays authentic. At the end of the day, what is most important to me is that once my reader has finished they conclude that no one else could have written my story but me. Hopefully as I continue to draft I will find my stride. I certainly want to expand on the original event depicted in my first two paragraphs while also temporarily shedding the spotlight on prior experiences that foreshadowed towards the ultimate battle.