"Writers in Conversation" Lecture

Tonight I went to the lecture given by Amy Weldon and Rachel Faldet in Olin 102. These two Luther English professors meet every couple weeks to read and critique each others writing projects. At the lecture tonight, they each read bits of the projects they are currently working on.

Amy Weldon presented first and read a twenty minute excerpt of a novel she's working on. Her writing style was incredibly descriptive -- I could picture every detail of what she was explaining. I believe her novel has great potential and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see it in bookstores in a few years. 

Rachel Faldet's style was very different from that of Amy Weldon's. Professor Faldet wrote short stories/essays instead of a novel (like Weldon). Her first essay was a reflection of camping when she was younger. It was written with a colloquial tone. She used a lot of humor, which was obvious by the laughter it produced in the audience. The second essay she read was still a work-in-progress. It is about her husband's dead sister. Professor Faldet had never met her sister-in-law before, so it's a very hard piece to write. I was very impressed by her writing and expect to see it published in many magazines, journals, etc.

The thing I was most impressed with is how these two professors have time to write and work toward a goal of publication. I give them so much credit for all the work they do. I hope I will be able to balance my teaching career with a serious hobby like these professors showed me was possible.