The Perfectionist Writer

By Sarah Moore

            The moment my college professor instructed us to grab partners for a short interviews, my first instinct was to turn to the girl behind me whose syllabus I’d been sharing. Evidently, she was my best friend, in the same Front Range Community College class as me. I was confident I could predict her answers in the interview, but looking over the questions, I found that I was curious as to what her thoughts on English would be, a question I never thought to ask on my own.

I started with the usual, asking Nora Hixson whether she preferred technical or creative writing.

            “I definitely prefer creative writing, because I journal and write poetry a bit.  Actually,” Nora chuckled, “when I was younger I tried writing about six different novels. I had so many plot ideas that I could never just do one.”

            This being new information, I continued excitedly, asking who her favorite instructors were that might’ve encouraged her writing.

            “Well, the worst was Mr. Opal, my tenth grade English teacher. He was so disorganized, and only assigned group projects!” She laughed. “However, by far the best was Ms. Kaufman, a teacher I had in seventh and eighth grade. She was excellent at feedback and critiques. I learned a lot from her,” Nora explained.

I wanted to continue with this train of thought, but I remembered there were questions to follow: “Do you know how to use Word, social networking, or the campus library? And do you own a computer?” I asked.

“I own a chromebook, but I’m not very good. I tend to break things or make it freeze,” she looked down at the desk embarrassingly, laughing. “I know Microsoft Word, email is good, and of course social networking too. As far as Front Range goes, I am completely new.”

I nodded in agreement. Finally, as class neared its end, I combined the last important questions, eager to know their answers.

“What writing goals have you set for yourself in this class, and do you foresee possible problems? What often gives you trouble with writing?”

Photo credit: Sarah Moore, 2015

“My goal is to master how to narrow in on one topic, because I tend to choose ideas that are too broad and get points off for clarity. As far as problems go, I worry a little bit on how to balance my time, what with being an intensive dancer and a perfectionist when it comes to writing,” Nora laughed.

I laughed with her, having seen this perfectionist side at school as well. Suddenly, I remembered her comment about when she’d attempted to write books, so I asked: “Would you ever pursue English?”

“Not particularly, I think I’m more likely to take the dance route. I did consider being an author once, but I’m not sure I’m good enough.”