Small Writing

I have always been one for the details. Maybe there is something ingrained in my mind that causes me to focus on small, trivial facts. I once had an eighth grade teacher tell my entire class (to my embarrassment) that I had a photographic memory. Of course, this was not true--I just got into the habit of writing unnecessarily long responses to tests and quizzes in her classroom. Perhaps my tendency is some weird form of perfectionism (or OCD...) that forces me to remember or include small bits of information in my academic writing. Countless teachers commented on my papers that spilled over pages limits telling me that "this is good, Mackenzie, but it is just too LONG" and urged me to narrow my focus. I can't blame these teachers and worked for years to improve this part of my academic writing.

Strangely enough, this obsession over the details never seems to transmit well into my personal and nonfiction writing. When working on my writing memory this week, I struggled including the "small things." My piece centers on my grandmother and because it is so personal, I am often overwhelmed while attempting to capture her personality in a few short pages. The subject felt too big for me to handle and I became frustrated when I couldn't convincingly explain my thoughts in words.

These worries in mind, my inner-detail-oriented-self rejoiced when I read Fletcher's comment that "writing becomes beautiful when it becomes specific" (47). A couple pages later, he continues to say "the bigger the issue, the smaller you write" (49). After I read these short sentences, I knew my compulsion for the details finally had its place. Fletcher's advice truly changed how I approach my writing. Now, I feel that I can my details--the "small" parts of writing--to illuminate the big. The trick is simply finding those few moments in my story that will inform my larger message.

Mackenzie