Revisiting Lori Jakiela

I expected Lori Jakiela to be as unpredictable as some of the elements in her memoir--boisterous and wild--but she was personable and composed. Her talk with our non-fiction class was informative, intriguing, and entertaining as she admitted that she was "slow", a term that she used to refer to herself in Miss New York has Everything. She also admitted being anal through out the writing process as it is important for her to "make a mess" first and then hone the piece to a specific meaning or audience.

And now, I realize that "worrying about audience" can be a part of the writing process, but that each piece (after it is written) can be rewritten for a specific audience. I feel like I knew this already and just needed to hear someone else say it. I am aware that I don't allow myself to just write and make a mess: sometimes I want every word and sentence to be perfect. I focus so hard on this that I don't really write, which leads to frustration as I never say what I want to. Another part of this perfection, is thinking about audience and in doing so everything has to be perfect.

"Make a mess!" Lori Jakiela signed in my copy of her memoir and even though I never let myself just write (without trying to control every aspect of the process), I will try. Allowing myself this luxury of writing pieces without worry, is a new concept. However, I hope to edit well enough so that my readers don't suffer through the mess. Ah! I still worry about audience.