ashleyjwilson's profile

I am twenty-nine years old. Female. All I’ve ever wanted to be is a writer, though sometimes you realize your goals in strange ways. That is, I’m a writer, but I find it difficult to find time to write what I want to write, and instead spend long hours writing what I have to write: responses to technical Requests for Proposal. You see, it pays the bills. Furthermore, after writing about Robots and file servers and HL7 interfaces all day, my attempts at creative writing can come across as rather . . . technical.

One day, I will get where I need to be. I will re-tap my creative keg and binge, binge, binge. Major creative bender, coming one day. Hold your breath.

For what it’s worth, I have a BA in Creative Writing, a BA in Profession…

I am twenty-nine years old. Female. All I’ve ever wanted to be is a writer, though sometimes you realize your goals in strange ways. That is, I’m a writer, but I find it difficult to find time to write what I want to write, and instead spend long hours writing what I have to write: responses to technical Requests for Proposal. You see, it pays the bills. Furthermore, after writing about Robots and file servers and HL7 interfaces all day, my attempts at creative writing can come across as rather . . . technical.

One day, I will get where I need to be. I will re-tap my creative keg and binge, binge, binge. Major creative bender, coming one day. Hold your breath.

For what it’s worth, I have a BA in Creative Writing, a BA in Professional Writing, and a MA in Professional Writing. Carnegie Mellon, while not as well known for its writing programs as its science and business programs, is a phenomenal place to learn to write.

Of particular value to their educational offerings is a class called Style. It is one of the writing program’s fundamental courses, and I’ve never met anyone who didn’t loathe every minute spent in class (despite our pretty hot instructor, who also had an indescribably self-absorbed air about him) or on assignments. I also don’t know anyone who will say they didn’t learn their most valuable tools and lessons there. Recommended reading: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, by Joseph Williams. I HATED this book. Abhored every word of it. That said, it is unequivocally the most useful tool I’ve ever had. Buy it, struggle through it, then forget about it. Months later, revise your prose. You’ll find yourself applying the guidelines and improving your writing exponentially. I did not, however, apply the guidelines to this profile. I’m aware that it’s wordy and imprecise.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321095170/102-6117729-1417751?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance

And by the way, I can’t spell for shit. Urbis should have a spell checker to help me avoid mistrust of my reviews.

And lastly, not to toot my own horn (or use a bad cliche), I am the best editor I know. People will vouch for me, and I’m happy to offer my sentence-by-sentence services free of charge to anyone with a thick skin who asks. Leave a comment on any of my writings if you’re interested—we’ll hook up offline.