Dearest Class,
I am very happy to have experienced this with all of you. I couldn't have asked for a better group. You were all so supportive, smart, and talented. I look around the classroom and everyone is an inspiration to me.
What I will most take away from this class is the communal spirit I can find in writing. Writing has always been a solitary endeavor to me--and I've always liked it that way--but I learned for the first time the real benefits of working closely with other writers to produce your best work. It was such a relief going in to workshop and knowing that I could trust everyone's critiques would come from an intelligent and well-intentioned place. Even if I didn't agree with everything that was sad, it all gave me something serious to think about--not just with this piece, but also as I move on and develop as a writer. I will be thinking about what you all said about characters, temporality, and structure. I will keep that with me as valued insight. And from this, I know better now what a joy it is to pour over someone else's pages and give them all of the care I have in me, to truly take the story at its own level and understand where it's trying to go. To respect our separate visions, and to cherish what they can produce when mixed together.
I am proud of the work that I have done this semester. It's a longer piece than I ever intended to write and continues to grow each day. I know this is something I will be toiling over for some time, with breaks here and there to work on other things, to go back to my beloved flash fictions or to pen poetry. And when I write, whatever I write, I will take my lessons with me. I will remember to appreciate others, and to trust my instincts, and to read read and read, and to remember what truly matters to me. In these four years, I have developed a strong artistic voice and I will never be silenced again.
So let's go to the highest roof top and scream our hearts out.
Love always,
Katy.
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