Written Work

"You Beat 'Em Through Skill": A Tattoo Industry Story

Creative Nonfiction Writing, Photography, Publication Design
Adobe InDesign, iPad camera, VSCO
2022

My final project piece "You Beat 'Em Through Skill" for my ENG 391 class: Intro to Creative Writing: Nonfiction received an A for the assignment. However, it also became a required reading piece for ENG 391 in Spring 2023 (as seen highlighted on page 6 in the syllabus below). This was a huge honor because my student piece was included in a list of professional and published works for the course. Professor Delgadillo also invited me to speak to and conduct a Q&A with her students about my piece, my creative process, my revision process, and the final result.

The final project topic was completely open ended. These were the requirements:

"For your final project, you will construct a creative non-fiction story. You will have to conduct primary research. Primary research includes,

• Witnessing, or writing from your own real observations, from your own real interactions with the people you encounter in your subject field
• Interview. In an interview you’re bringing in what’s said for the very first time by an expert or insider. Relaxed conversation with an expert or insider constitutes an interview if you tell them you’re a writer and take notes.
• Archives, or research resources that haven’t been published or processed already
• Photographs
• Testimonials

Along with your final project, you will turn in your personal archive and portfolio which will include anything you have collected through your research project. Pictures, transcriptions of interviews, maps, songs, etc…"

My piece above became a required reading assignment for ENG 391 in Spring 2023 (as seen highlighted on page 6 in the syllabus below). Professor Delgadillo also invited me to speak to and conduct a Q&A with her students about my piece, my creative process, my revision process, and the final result.