Laura's Discussion of Imitations

In Issue 27 of Brevity, the mini-essays provided offered a broad scope of writing technique to research. Most of the technique of the writing depends on the structured design that the essayist chooses. In Issue 27, these were shown in simple vignettes, chapter format, and abstract paragraph form. These formats are best divided according to writing style and are placed into two main categories: standard essays and abstract essays. For both styles, there are specific similarities in style. There is more emphasis on telling the reader rather than showing the reader and more succinct use of character- there is simply less room for stories that are not direct parts of plot and less room for description of characters. Some of the particular similarities represented in each essay also include irony and the use of title. The title offers a glimpse into the story that the writer may not have had room to tell. This can dictate the tone of the piece and answer questions that are left unaddressed in the writing. For instance, in my standard essay, Bolivar, I used to title to tell the location of the beach that I am describing. I also used the title to tell more about the devastation that is described by citing a place that was destroyed in Hurricane Ike.

The standard essays are most like the essays published in Creative Nonfiction. These are usually done in paragraph style with a simple narrative and a chronological storyline. The classification of the piece is primarily determined by the writing style. Simple, straightforward narrative with an ‘easy to follow’ plot are implications of standard form. If these essays venture into any other format than paragraph style, they will typically use vignettes or chapters. Of the styles to choose from, this is the simplest to imitate because it is constructed mostly like the traditional essay but with more focus on direct imagery. For the standard essay that I designed, I chose to use vignettes with a chronological story told over time. My language was simple and straightforward. While I used imagery quite a bit, the images were in direct relation to the plot, rather than drawing from other, more abstract experiences.

The abstract style of essay fits less nicely into the Creative Nonfiction and makes Brevity into more of its own genre. This is done by short quips of narration and by allowing the imagination of the reader to fill in the gaps of the story that a traditional essay provides. These essays are designed in many ways. Some in short prose, others in a vignette style and others in chapter or chronological style. At first glance these appear to be the innovative pieces, the pieces that stretch the genre to its supposed limit. Because of the scattered train of thought and the disconnectedness between the subject and the prose, this style seems especially hard to imitate. However, under more severe examination, this abstract style is clearly not as innovative as it appears to be. The simplest reason behind this lies in the abstract model being as often published as the standard model. If this were the sample of innovation in the issue, there would be far too many examples for this to be pioneering text. The most important of the findings to focus on here was the use of imagery and the shortness of verse. These can also be divided into chapters or vignettes, but typically focus on a different subject matter per chapter or vignette.
In order to imitate this type of text, I had to channel my inner poet rather than my inner essayist. I chose to use a simple form for the writing, to showcase the free verse and disconnect in the writing.

In keeping with the essence of Brevity, it was necessary to create a spot to channel the writing and the imitations. Brevity is more than a simple publication, but an experience for writers and curiosity. We decided to put this into an actual website (blog) to showcase our work and imitate the community that is the Brevity population.