Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Master the Art of Sassiness



Hello fellow writing tutors and other internet users,

So I'm supposed to write a blog about tutoring, mentoring, or writing. I decided that I was going to write about the heartfelt relationships I have created through tutoring. Then I went to a person whom I highly respect, and I asked her for her opinion. She DEMOLISHED the idea (kindly of course…just in case she is reading this).

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTjg2jNl3fydq_265JpXusY9hjkFVbE3j_jFR9W0yUw50DLtuyzPQ


 Anyway, I felt her implying that I was not a heartfelt person…which  is kind of true. I am not sincere in any possible way. I actually have this expression on my face most of the time.


https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQG3HgqH_Mc2GA7YcZ0S2FN8Pu6fVheuFL0sasDt31LJZByvgpbrg

 

Again, I digress.  Long story short, this person advised me to channel my sassiness and teach some poor, innocent souls how to  write sassily (God, I love that word).
I swear, I was going to slap her silly, but then I thought about it… I remembered an eHow page.  You see, I search some of the weirdest things. At one point I read an article on “How to breath” (it’s in and out by the way), which led me to search “How to be sassy.” Let me warn you, DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS! ( I hope you have some common sense) I made this tragic mistake while writing this. A mighty fine girl named Kateri shouted “Are you reading an article on “How to be sassy?”” in the middle of the Writing Center.  I will not describe the looks I received because that would be publicly humiliating.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTk1cYknofcO_62hYmKvZGXR0vbvYV0usoK5Bv3ydn4gWcjha4hhw

So now let’s get to the actual purpose of this blog. Let’s get to writing with sassiness! ( Is  my excitement exuding from the computer?)  I am by the way, a much better source than eHow. Don’t believe me? Read at your own risk).
 So the main thing is to create a distinct voice and style:
 You have to be conversational with your writing. Needless to say, don’t be sassy while writing a formal paper, but for college essays and other creative types of writing, channel your inner sassiness. You also need to create your own spicy (yes, I am of the minority who still says spicy), sassy style.
 You see how I use a lot of parenthesis? It may get annoying after a while, and your teachers might hate it if you don’t use them correctly. ( I love how I’m saying this with the upmost certainty that I am using the perfectly- I am by the way; I’m a humble writing tutor). If parentheses aren’t your thing, manipulate other types of punctuation or syntax.  Use dashes, colons, parenthesis, or other punctuations that you wouldn’t normally use. Capitalize words that you want to emphasize.  You also want to create  conversational, create a cheeky, witty, or cocky tone.
How can you do that?
Play with sentence length. Short sentences can pack a punch or give a punch line. Use complex sentences to convey a dramatic tone. Just make sure that you don’t make your sentences to be of the same length. That makes for a monotonous and extremely boring piece of writing.

So I gave you some tips, but I can’t give you a step by step procedure on how to be sassy. It doesn’t work that way, God knows how EHow managed to do that. The best advice I can give you is to read books written by sassy authors (Joan Didion is a good one) , or watch and read satire pieces. Satire often times includes sassiness. Observing experts on sassiness, and watching them incorporate in to their writing will give you ideas on how to incorporate it in your writing.

Here is a book that includes some examples and tips on sassy writing. I haven’t read it yet, because honestly, do you think I need help being sassy? ( Once again, I am displaying my humble nature). Honestly though, I will be reading it soon.

That’s it. I hope you were able to absorb some sassiness. Hopefully, you'll be able to say:



  If you have any more questions or want to show off your sassiness, email me!



4 comments:

  1. I'm so honored to be mentioned in Aya's blog post. It's something I'll carry with me my whole life.

    Was that sassy enough for you?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was there to witness both of the events described (the demolition of the idea and kateri calling out at Aya in class). This is so great and I'm glad you wrote about being sassy instead of friendships. Stay sassy Aya!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Before I read the name of the person who wrote this blog, I guessed with every certainty that it was Aya. AND IT WAS! Shocker. Only my dear friend, Aya, will write such a wonderful blog about sassiness. I could just imagine the scene in your classroom and how funny it must have been. Love all the pictures by the way. I will come to you for some advice on sassiness soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw your sassy side for the first time in the book review you wrote about Bird by Bird in which you TORE IT APART with sass, even though you knew that the teacher who would be grading/reading the review (me) LOVES the book :)

    Ms. G

    ReplyDelete