Mixed Feelings

I recently (as in this October's issue) was published in the Ensign. Years ago I was a journalist for the Deseret News in SLC, so it shouldn't be such a big deal to see my name in print. And, after all, it wasn't a several page article - it was just a small piece on service. So today in Sunday School, the Gospel Doctrine teacher told the class that my article was in the Ensign and they should all read it. Again, not a big deal, right? Right. Except that I went home and reread it and was horified at the many changes I should have made.

I suppose that's the thing about being a writer (just bestowing myself that lofty title gives me pause): there is always something you would change, fix or say differently once you see it in print.

I had a professor at the University of Utah, where I did my undergraduate work in Mass Communication with an emphasis in journalism, who drank hard and lived hard. He idolized Hunter Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), if that tells you anything. One evening, I was in a small group at a local eatery with this particular professor and he asked us how we thought we should write. I piped up, "The way we speak." He said, "No. You should write the way you wished you spoke."

That advice has stuck with me lo these 18 years and I try to keep it in mind when I write. Now I just wish I spoke better....