Saturday, January 28, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Why this topic?: Creating Zero
Creating an internet persona for Writing for Interactive Media presented a unique opportunity for me to explore my online writing style. I considered several different projects before settling on the character of Zero, a homeless cat who finds himself in a life-changing circumstance.
My decision to create a blog and Twitter from the point of view of a cat expands upon my prior experience. Many of my internet outlets—my blog, Twitter, Facebook, my internships—have allowed me to create an online presence. In the aforementioned projects, I present myself in my voice. However, I have two additional projects in which I assume the voice of a house cat.
The first is a Facebook account I created in 2007 for my own sidekick, a five year old Tortoiseshell cat whose name I will withhold for the purposes of anonymity. I mostly use the account to post photos of her, and she makes the occasional comment about feline-related topics.
The second is a blog I created for my employer, a local humane society. We have a real live spokescat with a large Facebook fan base. I expanded on this endeavor by creating a blog in his voice. He discusses important topics and events that relate to the organization. It has been a very positive experience.
Although I considered branching out and exploring other voices for this class, I decided to stick with my current theme, continuing to develop my feline persona. It’s amazing how influential other species can be online. (Check out this article on how talking cats help the SPCA.) Wanting to experiment a bit with creative writing—which I never get to explore—I decided to create the character of Zero. My plan is to tell his story over the course of the next seven weeks. Happy reading!
My decision to create a blog and Twitter from the point of view of a cat expands upon my prior experience. Many of my internet outlets—my blog, Twitter, Facebook, my internships—have allowed me to create an online presence. In the aforementioned projects, I present myself in my voice. However, I have two additional projects in which I assume the voice of a house cat.
The first is a Facebook account I created in 2007 for my own sidekick, a five year old Tortoiseshell cat whose name I will withhold for the purposes of anonymity. I mostly use the account to post photos of her, and she makes the occasional comment about feline-related topics.
The second is a blog I created for my employer, a local humane society. We have a real live spokescat with a large Facebook fan base. I expanded on this endeavor by creating a blog in his voice. He discusses important topics and events that relate to the organization. It has been a very positive experience.
Although I considered branching out and exploring other voices for this class, I decided to stick with my current theme, continuing to develop my feline persona. It’s amazing how influential other species can be online. (Check out this article on how talking cats help the SPCA.) Wanting to experiment a bit with creative writing—which I never get to explore—I decided to create the character of Zero. My plan is to tell his story over the course of the next seven weeks. Happy reading!
About the author: A Biosketch
Zero’s narrator grew up in Connecticut, but spent six years living elsewhere. She spent four years studying philosophy, music, psychology, gender issues, and a myriad of other topics at small liberal arts colleges. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2007. After spending her college years in Santa Fe, New Mexico and midcoast Maine, and galavanting around western Massachusetts during the two years following, she ran out of money and moved back in with her parents in Connecticut.
When she’s not playing or listening to live music, the author enjoys writing, baking delicious vegan food, and photographing her cat. Her unhealthy obsession with felines is exacerbated through her rewarding employment with a local humane society, where she has worked for nearly four years. She loves this meaningful and important work despite its inability to pay a useful wage.
In September 2011, the author enrolled in the Interactive Media program at Quinnipiac University. This blog is a direct result of one of her courses at the University. She hopes to complete the program in 2013 and then find a job that pays the rent (which will allow her to adopt several more felines). She will likely always devote her free time to local animal organizations, as that is her passion.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
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