Carrie says "roar"; Aria says "meow"

I was nominated by the fabulous and lovely Laura Collins (author of Eating with Your Anorexic)* for a writer's "Roar" award. The terms of the award are that




1) You have to identify three characteristics of writing you find to be most important and


2) Nominate five other writers.

I had the ability to teach a freshman writing course this past semester, a course in which I no doubt learned far more than I taught. Though I didn't actually like the experience of teaching, I am glad I had the opportunity. And because teaching begins with the ABCs, so does my writing criteria.

Authenticity. Mean what you say, and say what you mean. Your writing should communicate some aspect of who you are, of what you believe. I don't know how many things can fall, truly, under the category of The Truth. But speak Your Truth. That is the important thing. Many times, the only thing.

Bravery. It's easy to write about things that "everyone" knows, that "everyone" approves of. What is much harder is to talk about those things that you might otherwise keep in the dusty corners of your soul. This could mean speaking out on politics; it could also mean sharing parts of your life that might otherwise remain known just to yourself.

Content. Do you have something to say, or are you writing because you like to see words appear on a page? This was the hardest lesson to teach to my students, to help them understand that what they had to say was important. So what do you have to say? People can change others- it's the only thing that ever has.

And now, for my five authors. Some have blogs, some don't. And one doesn't even "write" in the traditional sense.

In no particular order:

  • Jessica Hagy at Indexed. Her blog makes me laugh and look at the world in a different way. Though they're just index cards, they are writing nonetheless.

  • Hungry for Hunger. He swears like a sailor, but he loves his wife and supports her fight against anorexia. Half the time I wind up shaking my head while I read, but this man expresses himself like no other person I have ever met. And his ability to torture a metaphor is rivaled only by my own.

  • My classmates. Okay, fine, they don't read this blog, and probably will never know they've been nominated, but nonetheless. They teach me how to write, and they make me want to be a better writer. They're also a lot of fun.

  • Jenni Schaefer, author of Life Without Ed. Not only is she passionate about helping people recover from eating disorders, she is a great person and a wonderful friend. Her gentle soul belies the fact that she can kick Ed's ass!

  • The cul-de-sac. Because you guys rock.

*Laura- I found this shirt when I was looking up the link to your book on Amazon. I had to share it with you. And I'd totally wear one of these. With a gold fork neckace of course.

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6 comments:

Unknown said...

**BLUSHING**

Thank you so for the t-shirt and kind words.

I'm verclempt!

samsi77 said...

LOVE IT!

Anonymous said...

I would nominate you also. You're writing has been very important to me over the past year. H4H would get my vote also but now is open only to invited readers and I am, alas, not one although I mainly lurked anyway. I will miss him terribly.

congratulations!

Dreaming again said...

oh no! I just started reading H4H's blog! It was incredible reading it from his perspective.

It was quite challenging! As well as comforting to realize someone else got it!

Anonymous said...

I've been reading your blog for a while now, and my boyfriend and I were frequent visitors of H4H's blog, but he recently made it unavaliable to the public. Please will you let him know, or Mr. H4H, if you read this, will you make your blog avaliable again to the public? You provided insight to the disordered eating world in a way that noone else has, and it was really helping my boyfriend and myself understand what has been going on and how to help keep our relationship strong through everything.

hungry for hunger said...

oh crap, um, sorry to bogart your blog carrie but to those asking, just send me an email and i'll get back at you with an invite, it'll all make sense once i send you the link

hungry for hunger at hotmail

no spaces...

and thanks for the link, sorry for the ill-timedness of hiding my light under a bushel, as it were...

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About Me

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I'm a science writer, a jewelry design artist, a bookworm, a complete geek, and mom to a wonderful kitty. I am also recovering from a decade-plus battle with anorexia nervosa. I believe that complete recovery is possible, and that the first step along that path is full nutrition.

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Have any questions or comments about this blog? Feel free to email me at carrie@edbites.com



nour·ish: (v); to sustain with food or nutriment; supply with what is necessary for life, health, and growth; to cherish, foster, keep alive; to strengthen, build up, or promote



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