Tracy Kemp
Senior Lecturer, English, IUPUI
I teach an upper-level English course where we learn a lot about the nonfiction world of writing and getting published. We read and chat about nonfiction genres like blogs, website content, brochures, news articles, feature writing, reviews, social media campaigns, and the like. We learn about pitching stories to outlets, being ethical in our writing, researching, interviewing, working with editors, and copyediting. Much of this is reinforced by guest speakers; writers who are writing for a living. Freelancers, technical writers, communication specialists, marketing gurus and the like share their time and wisdom with us in our classroom.
Students enjoy this class for all of the above. The course draws mainly English majors taking the class as their Capstone, but I also get a sprinkling of English Education and Communication Studies majors. Many come to this class not feeling they are actual “writers.” They wonder, and have often been asked, what they will do with an English degree. Most leave calling themselves writers and believing they can use their love of writing and an English degree to make a living.
What they don’t particularly like initially is the requirement to get published to pass the course. Getting published means working with an outlet and having a piece run live in print or online. It does not include creating a personal blog and posting to it. It’s a high bar to hit.
Yet, every student who has taken this course over the four years it’s run – and stuck with it – has gotten published. Their incredible body of work spans writing as a student correspondent for our local repertory theater, using social media campaigns to promote local events and our university’s literary magazine, reviewing movies and video games, and more. Students have gotten published blogging about religion and coffee shops. They’ve produced brochures for churches to promote events and newsletters to promote product lines.
So when we first gathered together in early January, I assumed this semester would be no different. Students would initially stress at the requirement to get published to pass the course, but as we moved forward with our guest speakers, readings, class discussions, and one-on-one conferences, they would realize they, too, could and would get published.
Then the COVID-19 global pandemic hit.
When the university announced plans to go online because of the pandemic about mid-March, three students had been published or lined up projects with clients they could continue with. This was normal for that point in the semester.
With all non-essential businesses virtually shut down, the rest of the students would find it extremely difficult, likely impossible, to land a client who would have the time and the means to work with them on their project.
I could have simply removed the requirement to get published but I didn’t like that option. By then, students had moved beyond the point of stressing about getting published to being excited about getting published. So when one of the students suggested we create a class blog about our experiences, I knew I had a way for the rest of get published.
The blog became so much more.
As my publication class students were working, I decided to offer a blog post as an option for the project my freshmen composition students were doing at the time. Several jumped at the chance. While some didn’t end up having their posts published, four did and theirs are included here also. I’m so proud of all my students who did this but it’s one thing to ask upper-level English and English Education majors to work through several drafts of a piece for publication – they know the drill, after all – it was quite another to expect younger and more inexperienced student writers to do so.
I’m also proud that IUPUI included the blog as part of its Engaged Learning Week Spring 2020 Showcase. The event highlights work done in Capstone courses, internships, undergraduate research and creative activities, honors work, and more. Generally, a live showcase of some of the work is also held on campus, but that component moved online with everything else this semester, of course.
One thing I learned through all this craziness, though I'm not surprised, is that writing through this experience of a global pandemic is helping many students deal with at least some of the stress and anxiety this has brought.
In final reflections for the course, several students talked about the cathartic experience of writing about an event they were struggling to handle, let alone understand. Students who produced the work here were dealing with the stress of going online suddenly. Many had to move home; some had to move home without being able to collect their belongings from campus housing that had shut down while they were out of town on Spring Break or elsewhere.
Students were dealing with sickness and death, losing jobs and relationships, and being quarantined. Some had family or significant others nearby, but others were alone. Those already suffering from anxiety experienced this to levels many can’t understand. On top of that, some had little to no access to therapists to help them.
Working with these amazing students who have written insightful, thoughtful, engaging, and sometimes funny, pieces, certainly helped me emotionally and mentally deal with my own stress of having to quickly convert four face-to-face classes to online while being quarantined myself. I worried I was short changing some and not helping others enough. I learned how much I need the interaction with these and all my students to be the best teacher I can be.
We all needed an outlet and these posts are the outlet.
Enjoy their stories.