Live Lit assignment was to pick a public figure, not political or religious, and write, well, a diatribe. The other stories in class were excellent. One on Walt Disney, one on PowerPoint and one on a guy who runs an…
Author: Gwynne Monahan
The assignment was to be descriptive, choosing one of three scenarios presented, and condensing it down to a 2-minute piece. She looked normal. Cake foundation pock-marking the wrinkles, enhancing the fine hairs above her lip. The lips were curled as…
One of my slides in my LexThink presentation shows my Data Points stack in Evernote. A few people asked about the one labeled Music, the one labeled Lyrics, and what they mean. Good question. The one labeled Music has to…
Yes. Learning. A pattern reared itself while I was working on my LexThink presentation: backdoor compliments, more commonly known as insults. Like being told you were added to the speaking roster because you are female. What, if anything, you had…
St. Patrick’s Day is a big celebration in Chicago, and this year I got to experience the day as an attendee instead of participant. For a couple years before I moved to Vancouver, I played pipe snare with the Shannon…
I was looking forward to blending into the background, like normal, at LexThink. There’s a line about people planning and God laughing that comes to mind, and I’d wager He’s ROFL at this. I’m now presenting. Armed with 20 slides…
Another assignment from the nonfiction writing workshop at StoryStudioChicago. We were to think of a space, a room, and start listing objects. A room I despised nestled in my head, sank its claws into my brain so the only thing…
I’m taking a nonfiction writing workshop at StoryStudioChicago, and this is one of the in-class assignments from last night. We were to describe a moment involving food The signal my teeth sent to my brain conflicted with the signal transmitted…
I’m used to being ignored. I’m used to blending into the background and observing. Over time, I’ve learned to leverage this to my advantage, hearing things whispered or discussed quietly while learning a few things on social interactions and who…
A bit overshadowed by the weather has been the efforts of the Northwestern University football team to unionize. Yes, unionize, in a city known for its unions, corrupt and straight. You may recall the Chicago Teachers Union, and its continuing…