Abstract

I think I found a new way of writing.

I scored some feedback on my writing the other day from Adrian and I'm starting to put it into practice.

Neal gave us something to write about - an abstract for a soon-to-be-due assessment - and I started applying some of the stuff Adrian said, in conjunction with the other stuff Neal told me earlier.

I also added a bit of the stuff Larissa told me from my 'meltdown' email.

You know what? I ended up with a pretty good abstract, about 400 words of pretty clear writing that covers everything from bludgeoning my way through my initial Precursor to where I'm headed.

It's not perfect, but (I think) it's much better than my previous endeavors. It also gives me a pretty concise map to fill out. It's in five short, connected paragraphs and each one leads into the next - but they all connect to each other as well, which gives the whole thing a real sense of purpose.

It also forced me to look at why I'm doing what I'm doing and how the parts of my project will inform each other, and the outcome. Like I said to Adrian and Larissa via email, I'm not looking to prove whether something 'is', but rather see 'if' something is (I think that's what I wrote, and if it isn't that's what I meant).

I also started chasing down a few leads Christian (here talking about a play he directed by a playwright I don't really like - but he's a cool guy) sent my way, which threw me into a great thesis (long) by Christy Dena as well as back into the hands of Rob Reid, who really just keeps popping up (pardon the pun considering he's the artistic director of Popup Playground) everywhere I look.

Anyway, the main thing is that for me, writing in a small format forces me to focus my words and my thoughts, without getting to abstract.

Oh dear.