About+Me

Hello! I'm Mary-Kathryn and this is my web portfolio! Here are some quick facts about me:
 * I'm a senior at South Granville
 * I'll be attending Elon next year, where I'll major in either Communications or Business.
 * I love the outdoors! I hike often and I love to rock climb indoors or out.
 * I love cats (as pictured) as well as dogs.
 * I'm a movie fanatic, I really enjoy the Coen Brothers (that's a given), Ridley Scott, and anything by Lucas, among others.
 * I love to read. My favorite book is Les Miserables.

Introduction to my writing: As someone who reads often other writers have had a big influence on my writing. I think it's natural to pick up things, diction, the way things are described, and on the style. I read a pretty diverse aray of authors but there are definitely a select few that have had a more profound influence on me. These writers are Hugo, Krakauer, and Cohen. From Hugo I picked up on the most valuable lesson I think, and one I still struggle with most. Hugo's descriptions are vigorous, he goes to great lengths to paint a picture to the reader. In the Hunchback of Norte Dame there is an entire chapter devoted to a lengthy description of the church, in Les Miserables Hugo never get's lazy when fleshing out his characters. I had to grit my teether though the description of Notre Dame and at times felt annoyed by Hugo's long character descriptions, but in the end those details are what made his writing so magical for me. Those two novels are the ones I revisit most, rereading my favorite scenes and images. His characters are the most personable, the ones I relate to most out of any author I have ever read. My connection to his writing lies in his skilled descriptions and full characters. I think of him sometimes when I get lazy of a description, and how much his writing means to me because he wasn't lazy. His writing has also affected how I flesh out my characters, revealing physical attributes slowly, focusing more attention on their deep attributes. Hugo has had a profound influence on my writing and is still an inspiration and model. Another favorite novel of mine is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. This was the first piece of non-fiction I have ever truly connected with. I loved Krakauer's full focus on the characterization of Chris McCandless, revealing him in small, enticing bits. When reading the book I felt I knew McCandless and Krakauer. This has been a great model of characterization for me. From Krakauer I learned characterization doesn't just lie in vivid descriptions but in trying to understand the character. A character is fully fleshed out when you delve into their motivations, their habits, their soul. I try to think of Krakauers wonderful characterization of McCandless when I write. Loose Girl by Kerry Cohen is another novel I have learned much from. Loose girl possesses terse, direct diction, something that I was unfamiliar with in writing until I read this book. Cohen is forward and short with her sentences, giving bits of vivid description. While this sounds boring, it made the tale and her writing all the more powerful for me. Cohen is the opposite of Hugo, but I learned from her too. From Cohen I saw the value of terse diction. Terse diction makes a point strongly, leaving the reader struck when the subject matter is of high intensity. There is value in learning how to do that. I have explored with this style in my writing and really enjoy it when I'm writing about my own past experiences or highly emotional subjects. To me, it emphasizes the point in it's simplicity. Her writing has been an influence on me.