It’s almost done, but really the adventure has only just begun.

So, here I am about to finish my “composing self” project.
Wow, this went by quickly. Maybe I just don’t have a very good grip on the passing of time, but it feels as if this project started only a few weeks ago, rather than months ago.
I don’t think I’d really change any of the tasks I assigned myself. I gained something from each of them.
Have I learned as much from this experience as I expected to? Absolutely, maybe even more so. I learned how to present truths to compose a certain image of self – and that the “self” composed can be a self other than the writer. As someone who primarily writes fiction, I feel like composing a self is similar to creating a character for a story – only, more authentic and with a solid base in reality.
I’ve learned that fact is not the same thing as truth.
I’ve learned that writing can be a process of discovering truths and uncovering lies, if you want it to be.
I’ve learn that as a reader, I latch onto stories that are told with vivid scenes and imagery, and that as a writer, that’s a technique I’d like to improve.
I’ve discovered that as a writer, deadlines really help me (otherwise, I’d never get anything done but a poem here and there).
I’ve found that as a writer, I have trouble smoothing integrating research into my pieces. Good to know, definitely something to work on.
I’ve learned that the most memorable stories are those that reveal struggles, especially those that the subject of the story is trying to overcome. I don’t want to read about, or write about how easy life is. That holds no weight for me.
I’ve learned that it’s easier to write a fictional story very loosely based on my life, than a nonfictional story about myself. Maybe I’d rather readers connect with my characters than know about me. It’s a little frightening to write about something without the layer of fiction between myself and the reader. Fiction is my protection, in a way.
The immersion journalism was especially effective for me. Actually doing things and then writing about them really helped motivate me. My immersion experience in particular taught me something about composing a self – it is completely within my power to change how I present myself to the world, and it’s not as difficult as I had expected. And the change in my actions did affect how others reacted to me – or at least, how I perceived their reactions.
The interview taught me a lot about seeing things from a different perspective. I think this is essential for a writer – no, for a human being. Empathy is vital.
Something I couldn’t have foreseen learning is that writing in of itself is often a solitary activity – but writing, being a writer, is not necessarily about being alone and isolated. Writing is about drawing from the act of living, including interaction with others (after all, humans are social creatures). Writing is about creating something that others can read and relate to and learn from. I’m not saying that writing isn’t about self-discovery (it often is for me), or that you can’t write just for yourself (I love to!), or that you need to rely on others for happiness and to define yourself, but: writing is also about taking from life experience, and giving what you’ve obtained to others.
At least, that’s how I’m starting to see it.