Archive for the ‘Tips for Teen Writers’ Category

Another use of an English degree (HT JoVE)

JoVe likes to send me articles every now and then. They are always wonderful! Today she slipped the following one into my in-box related to another use of an English degree. This one shows how one academic found a career teaching writing in a big law firm. I got a special kick out of it because my dad is a lawyer and I’ve long argued (ha!) that my bent toward academic writing was fostered and nurtured through his rigorous approach to any debatable topic at the dinner table. I grew up, essentially, learning how to create an argument from my earliest memories. Not only that, lawyers do a tremendous amount of writing. The care with which trial lawyers must prepare opening and closing statements is every bit as conscientious as any academic preparing a thesis or scholarly journal article (if not moreso since justice and money are always on the line!). Think how many lawyers-turned-best-selling novelists there are, too. 🙂 I remember my dad writing a novel into his dictaphone when I was in high school. (He never did get it published though.)

With all that personal background out of the way, check out this article: From Global Lit(erature) to Global Lit(igation).

A big litigation firm like ours is filled with nothing but writers. One lawyer here, in fact, tells people that he is a writer when they ask his occupation (insert joke about lawyers’ public perception here). My main duties are twofold. I travel to our offices around the world twice a year and conduct seminars on all aspects of the writing process, from punctuation to Aristotelian argumentation. I also work with associates and partners individually on their writing (what the corporate world calls “coaching” and academe calls “tutoring”), either in person or over the phone. They contact me at any point during the writing process. I sometimes answer questions on the spot, but it’s much more common for lawyers to send me a draft, which we meet to discuss.

My job is endlessly rewarding. I work in a five-member office of professional development. Three of us have Ph.D.’s, all in different fields. I teach an enthusiastic population: Professionals, especially those who write for a living, are eager participants in the learning process. Some of the intellectual-property and antitrust cases are fascinating; unfortunately, I am not permitted to tell you about them.

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Email: What to do with an English Major

Dear Julie,
I own and have enjoyed your two writing books with my homeschooled children.

I recently read about your background on your website and would like to ask you a couple of questions.

My 11th grade daughter is thinking of majoring in English with teacher licensure. She would like to teach English, write books, and is also looking into what else she could do with an English major.

I read that your husband majored in English and was wondering what kind of advice he could give to someone in this major. What suggestions would he or you have for her to be successful with her college classes and beyond?

Any comments, suggestions, and advice for my daughter would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

Blessings,
Sabrina

—

Hi Sabrina’s daughter!

Wonderful that your daughter loves writing and English so much. My husband was hooked on literature which is what led him to his major. There are some unique opportunities that go with being an English major, but, in the interests of full disclosure, I should add that many of them don’t pay well. 🙂

English majors often go into teaching, editing (for a publishing company) or some kind of communications role (sales, marketing, technical writing, copy editing) of big companies. Writing (as in, writing to make money) is the least likely to earn a person a living, though plenty of English majors (or creative writing majors) attempt to get published. My mom, who works as a full-time author of over 65 books, says that the vast majority of writers earn only part of their income through their writing. They almost always combine their writing with teaching.

So teaching is clearly a popular choice and a good one. Jon went into the Peace Corps after his major in English and earned his credential while teaching English as a foreign language in a Moroccan high school. He returned to the states where he earned his MA in American Literature and has been able to work as an “adjunct professor” at multiple universities in both California and Ohio, as well as a high school English teacher. Teaching’s been a great outlet for him as he worked in other full-time jobs.

Jon just mentioned that the English degree is perfect if your intent is to teach junior high or high school English. It dovetails beautifully with that ambition. The teaching path offers a good living with excellent benefits and is conducive to family life, too.

Jon also worked as an editor at a text book company, which is yet another way to earn a living off of a degree in English.

I, unconventionally, majored in history. My writing has been both avocation and vocation. I found that my interest in writing had less to do with literature and more to do with issues: with non-fiction content. I earned my MA in theology which also called on my writing skills. It isn’t necessary to major in English to become a writer (just want to point that out). And some teen writers would do better to major in journalism where more writing jobs are available than can be had through “writing novels” for instance. So if current events are your thing, bypass the English major and go for journalism.

The best way to successfully pursue the English major is to be a passionate reader. Reading literature is what fuels that degree. You must be willing to analyze it, take it apart and look at it through a variety of lenses. If you don’t like taking literature apart or submitting it to scrutiny, best not to major in English. Academic writing involves critical inquiry so that means you have to be interested in that kind of work.

I love your question and hope you’ll ask follow up questions if you have them.

Julie

Posted in Email, General, Tips for Teen Writers | 9 Comments »

Email: Thanks Anne for sharing!

Julie-

When my 16 year old daughter showed me this earlier today I HAD to send it to you so you could be encouraged – BRAVE WRITER works!! (But you already knew that.) All those lessons that were erratically joined together after I would sit and read the directions a few minutes before administering- All the “Quick we are going to do a 10 minute FREEWRITE” so I could try to get organized as to what we were doing that day- They are PROOF that Brave Writer really does work. All we have to do is “JUST BEGIN…” anywhere.

After I read this article my daughter showed me I got excited and very, very encouraged. Funny, I had been nagging her to start a BLOG thinking this would get her writing… Meanwhile, she is using her MY SPACE to do just that. Sometimes (most of the time) we just need to get out of the way of LIFE and let our kids LIVE IT and share it.

Thanks for helping me see that what my kids have to say is important and for encouraging me to tell them that what they say is important.

Annette Tyrrell
Elyria, Ohio

Monday, March 03, 2008
The Worst Event In Human History

You probably don’t notice it, don’t load it, and don’t care. Yes, I am talking about the dishwasher. Well ours broke, and in a family of 6 who never use the same cup twice, this is no light thing. We kids called it “The First Day of the Dark Ages.”

At first we just stood there, staring at the white lid smudged with finger prints and peanut butter. When we opened it, there was a puddle of water in the bottom that just seemed to say, “Good Luck Now!!” I recall tearing up, not of sadness, but of fear. A million things went through my head. I hated LOADING the dishwasher, and now I would have to wash all the dishes by hand? Now I’m not just talking about pots and pans—I’m talking about plates, cups, bowls and yes, silverware. I could just see it, one by one by one: washing and rinsing and drying. It was horrible, but we had to do it.

“What were you thinking,” you might ask, “when at the end of the day, you faced that mountain of dirty dishes two feet high and stretching the span of the counter?” Then you looked at the helpless dish rag, lying limp on the counter and you knew it just wasn’t capable of doing this job. Well… we went out and bought some ammo: heavy duty soap, scrubby pads and even a steal threaded rag. We knew it would be tough, but we were a tough family.

Our first mission was to decide who would wash when. Of course nobody spoke up, too frightened to say a word. All we knew was that we had to begin, just begin, and hopefully it would all work out. I remember that first time, soap up to my elbows, hands wrinkled and pruned and the front of my shirt soaking wet. But, as the days passed, it got easier. I began to develop strategies and methods for washing and rinsing. I even had a preference of dish soap. I also began to love this time of solitude—not having to worry about anything (except how to get off the burned lasagna). I could just exist, just me and the dishes. But this was not always the case.

Now, when it’s just one person, it’s easy because they can do it how they want to and nobody else cares. But when you have two or more people, that’s different. I am a very controlling person and when someone tells me that I should do the mugs, then the utensils, I get grouchy. One opinion that I am unflinchingly rigid on is “the soak.” That phrase is non-existent in my vocabulary. I do not “soak.” I believe there is nothing that I can’t get off NOW. In fact, I enjoy incredibly stuck-on food. I consider it a challenge for which I am always well-prepared. It just takes the right combination of rag/scrubber, cleaning solution, and raw muscle power. It’s simple: I’m a beast at the sink. So…I guess…it’s not SO bad; maybe not the worst event in human history.

Posted in Brave Writer Philosophy, Email, General, Tips for Teen Writers | 12 Comments »