Writing the Echoes

A Preface: I wrote this "writer as reader" review of Joan Didion's work for a Massey University Creative Nonfiction assignment. If you are at all interested in writing nonficion; be it blogging, travel writing, journalism or essays of any kind, I cannot recommend this paper enough. I have never been more stretched, challenged, inspired, encouraged or taken more enjoyment from a course, and I believe that this brief training will be useful for the rest of my life. Understanding a little about writing, and writing fairly fluently are not great hurdles, but in the days of text speak and auto-correct, I find myself cringing more often than not at the general misuse of language (not that I am perfect) and hope to stabilise my own prose so that when it comes to educating others in these matters, I am confident in my own knowledge and ability. Perhaps I want to change the cliche to "those who can do, teach." I don't know. What I do know is that from time to time, I like to write things down and occasionally I like to share what I write, and you will find out why in the essay below.