- Storytelling, Podcasting, Film, Radio -- I love them all
- Niche dividends
- Inseparably Inseparable
- Reflecting on My Internet Persona: A Caution
- What do you want to know about podcasting?
- Unplugging for a weekend
- Kicking the 'Last Minute' Habit
- The Tool is Not the Thing (The Tool is Really Important Though)
- Hacked
One theme that I can see here, and that I wish to continue to develop, is my interest in using digital tools to talk about non-digital things -- in the past: religion, Pixar, or whatever, and in the future: areas of professional interest. I came to a point of clarity with my recent post "The Tool is Not the Thing," and I have been mulling over for the past few days how I can apply these tools to creative nonfiction writing.
My goal for further work is to apply what Dr. Burton wrote in his recent post about academic blogging: "By using a social medium in an appropriate way, in the end, academic blogging really becomes less about content or even publication; it really ends up being a form of entry into various communities who value serious thought about serious subjects." I want to enter into this particular conversation. Or as Dr. Burton has said elsewhere, one of the primary functions of digital literacy, "Connect."
I have some experience doing this with animation and religious studies, topics that are inherently important to me because of who I am and what I am interested in, but as I look ahead to my life after graduation, I can apply these same tools to a topic I know less about than those two, and about which I hope to gain skills and experience. This is my attempt to break into meaningful conversations about a topic that I feel less knowledgeable about. I will be coming in more of a novice, and I have a lot to gain from making connections with people interested in this field.
So on my immediate horizon: who are the people who are talking seriously about creative nonfiction writing, both practitioners and those who analyze it? What is involved in making excellent work, and how can I use my blog and social media to both find people and share with others what I am finding?
In your initial question, I found it interesting that you asked who's "talking seriously." I'm actually exploring the topic of what makes someone "serious" about a topic. Today in class, Dr. Burton discussed how after he had written a thought-provoking blog on the LDS film festival, he automatically gained an authority on the topic. Because I am less familiar with the topic of non-fiction writing specifically, I can't offer any direct solutions. However, because your goal is to contribute, I would suggest searching on the google blog search. Find out what's popular in non-fiction and make connections between the types of topics and forms that popular non-fiction works manifest. I think a good place to start is to find the broader characteristics that seem to gain popularity and use those to give a skeleton for your personal work as you individualize it with your own unique preferences.
ReplyDeleteI like that you brought up the point that you have a lot to learn from people that you make connections with. I'm not an expert on all of the sources that are out there for you to use or anything, but I think that the most important thing you can do is networking, both virtually and physically. As you get to know more people and make connections with them, you will be able to point them towards your own work, and then they will be able to give you suggestions of how to further it or even introduce you to other people who are more grounded in the subjects. As your connections keep spreading, so will your opportunities.
ReplyDelete