on deadline
I had already decided to make my News Reporting students complete their “get to know me” assignment by hand, on paper. I was planning to print the questions using, you know, a computer and a printer, but I realized earlier that I could really do the thing right: I could typewrite the assignment. Luckily I only have 15 students.
I was about 11 typewritten assignment sheets in, taking a quick break, when I saw Austin Kleon’s Instagram story, quoting Lynda Barry: “In the digital age, don’t forget to use your digits.” Validation, plus motivation to keep typewriting.
By the time I had typed my questions 15 times (16, if you count the test run that will end up in my journal), I really only still liked two of my questions: What is the last thing you read that you loved, and what is the last thing you wrote that you loved?
After a busy week of the Kentucky State Fair, other job responsibilities, class prep, my writing group’s meeting and spending time with family, I remembered at 11:39 p.m. that I needed to write this newsletter today. I can’t in good conscience teach News Reporting tomorrow morning if I’ve missed a deadline tonight. So you will see this newsletter in your inbox before midnight, and I will answer those two questions that I still like.
What is the last thing you read that you loved?
I posted on my revitalized writer Instagram, @bybaileyvandiver, about how wonderful the first five books I read in August were. Here I’ll shout out the sixth: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. I picked out this book at Poor Richard’s on my and Loui’s first anniversary, earlier this year, because it’s a fantasy novel with a typewriter on the front. A typewriter-like machine is an important part of magic in the world of the book. It was a great read.
What is the last thing you wrote that you loved?
Last weekend, I rewrote the first chapter to my Alice book for the one millionth time…and I really, really love it. I think it (finally!) strikes the balance of emotional connection and journalistic intrigue that I’ve been working toward for a very long time. I also love that the opening has some things in common with the very first words I wrote about Alice, in this story.
I was also happy with my story that published for the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment this week, about a dietetics student who always felt like she would end up at the University of Kentucky. It reminds me of the first words I read from bell hooks, which are still among my very favorite: “Kentucky is my fate.”