Critical Refection: Bins, Black Bags and Bitching

My column this week was about an experience of living of halls. I thought that this would be an appropriate experience to write about because the majority of people who read this blog and who would be reading Diary of a Winchester Lady are university students, and so would probably be able to relate to the story.

At first I was concerned that writing the piece would be disrespectful to the girl involved in the argument, however as my column is purely social commentary of my experiences, I decided that there was no reason not to include this experience. I also chose this topic because I thought that I would be able to make it humorous.

I chose the title Bins, Black Bags and Bitching because the repetition of the explosive consonant 'B' creates a harsh sound when being read, which prepares the reader for the conflict in the piece. I also wanted to use a list of three because it is a commonly used literary devise.

I started the piece described how I was 'waiting silently...ready to pounce.' I thought that this would work well because I tried to make it sound as if I was a predator stalking my prey, and that this would get the attention of the reader who would then want to know what/who I was waiting for.

I wanted my description of the girl to fit with the theme of predator/prey. To do this I used words such as 'elegant' and 'easily startled'. I described how she 'scrambled to find her keys.' The use of the word 'scrambled' has connotations of panic and added to the intensity of the situation. I did not immediately reveal to the reader what I had been waiting for her for because I wanted to keep their attention so that they would want to read on to find out what the problem was. The statement 'she knew exactly what I wanted' makes the reader question whether they, too, will actually learn what I wanted.

I decided to include a flashback in this piece as a stalling mechanism before revealing what the reader wants to know. The flashback I chose is one which was relevant to the piece because it was about being polite to people when you really want to be rude. I decided to use this because I thought it was something that the reader would be able to relate to.

When I came to actually explaining what the issue had been I decided that I did not want to go into too much detail because this would be boring to read, and would be somewhat of an anticlimax to the piece! I decided to mention my annoyance at the misuse of the apostrophe because I thought that it would be something that the reader would be bound to have an opinion on, whether it annoyed them too, or whether they are someone who is annoyed by the apostrophe rules.

Ultimately I was pleased with the piece and hope was pleased to write something more light hearted and humorous in contrast to the seriousness of my column last week.