I enjoy reading Ann Patches’ “True and Beauty’; it made me think about how precisely the characters were; it made me wonder why she chose Lucy and the narrator’s path, like how Lucy’s facial features. It was hard for me to imagine a person with missing features on the face as I’m not used to it, but it made me think about my writing and how I should be with details. A question I had was why the narrator so into Lucy and wants to be Lucy’s friend like, how she talks about her as if she is a stalker that to hide yet wants to be noticed. Another question I had why Ann Patchett made similarities with the narrator and Lucy. Lucy’s behavior didn’t shock me but, how Ann Patchett was detailed about Lucy’s personal life was uncomfortable. I like reading the story already because there is a message behind it.
About
Professor: Jessica Penner
Email: creative.writing.citytech@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM. I’ll be available through Zoom and will send an invitation via email that you should keep all semester. Try to join my meeting at the start of the hour, not at the end—since I may be talking to other students or have another appointment after the hour is up. If those times don’t work with your schedule, we can schedule a different time. This means you’ll have to schedule an appointment in advance. I suggest you have multiple times in mind, since your schedule may not mesh with mine!
Another spin on “missing features”, I thought it was interesting how some names were censored to the first initial. I think that’s a great way to distinguish “unimportant” characters from one another without excluding them entirely from the story. Of course, you’re then limited to around 26 characters you can censor without clarifying which “B” you’re talking about. It’s definitely a technique I’m stealing for my own writing in the future though, it helped to narrow the story down to the main characters without seeming like a vacuum.