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CTJ Contributes Essay to Andi Cumbo’s “Our 10 Best Tips for Writers”
My Latest Essay
My latest essay, “Writing is for the Birds (So I Should Probably Build Myself a Nest),” appears in Andi Cumbo’s e-book, Our 10 Best Tips for Writers alongside pieces by Gayle Brandeis, Andi Cumbo-Floyd, Karrie Higgins, Sonny Lemmons, Jennifer Luitwieler, Gwyn McVay, and Alexandra Moffett-Bateau.
“Like” my Facebook page, and the download the book FREE:
An Excerpt:
In the English class I took as a freshman in 1996, my professor required my classmates and me to read and write a reaction paper in response to an E. B. White essay. Lacking any couth whatsoever, I wrote about how unimpressed I was with White’s piece.
“I. B. Bored, E. B. White,” I wrote, or something equally churlish. “This stuff is strictly for the birds.” Cue pigeon cooing.
Having read few (if any) essays at that point in my life, I lacked a sophisticated palette for appreciating White’s writing. In response to my remarks, my professor wrote the following note on my paper: “When you learn to write as well as E. B. White, you can criticize him all you like.”
I half expected the paper to burst into flames then and there.
Eighteen years later, I may or may not be in any position to critique E. B. White—I may never be qualified for such a task. Nevertheless, when my friend and fellow writer Andi Cumbo asked me to write about writing for this compilation, I agreed to do so—if nothing else as penance for the paper as a freshman.
What I write in this essay then, represents what I think I know about the art of word wrangling. I still have much to learn about the craft of writing, but hopefully my thoughts on the matter will prove helpful to anyone who wrestles with words for pleasure, prestige, or practical purposes.
Source: http://chadthomasjohnston.com/2014/03/ctj-contributes-essay-to-andi-cumbos-our-10-best-tips-for-writers/
