Nick Mamatas is an accomplished author, who recounts his days as a term paper writer. According to him, it was a way to make ends meet while working on his independent works, that of which eventually lead him to the prominence, or success if one will, that he has today. According to Mamatas, "Thanks to the First Amendment, it’s protected speech, right up there with neo-Nazi rallies, tobacco company press releases, and those "9/11 Was An Inside Job" bumper stickers." He recalls the instances that made him laugh, and the necessity of doing so. As he states, "The secret to the gig is to amuse yourself. I have to, really, as most paper topics are deadly boring." Additionally, he described other parts of his successful process for paper writing, including the ability to fill pages. For instance, he describes a time when he finished a paper that his peer could not by, "ending paragraphs with the last word on a whole line in order to fill up space."
The article, THE TERM PAPER ARTIST by Nick Mamatas is really a slice out of the autobiography of any writer. In it, he identifies the main struggles of any writer, the ability to generate income by one's profession. He begins his article in the setting of a party, stating, "One great way to briefly turn the conversation toward myself at a party is to answer the question, "So, what do you do?" with, I'm a writer." This implies his accruement of wealth, even to a small degree. Even if it doesn't to everyone, it implies that he isn't homeless (as some writers practically are). Then, he essentially flashes back to his days as a freelance writer. He goes about chronicling his experience as a term paper writer, with both its good points and bad. His recounting of money and the ability to pay the bills comes up more than once. For instance, he describes, "boiling the 1000-page New Testament Theology by Donald Guthrie into a 30-page précis over the course of a weekend for a quick $600." Through his telling of his own time period of writing papers for money, he alludes to the fact that it is not an example of unordinary circumstance, but rather a happening that can be considered even to be a uniting occurrence between authors. Ultimately, I feel that he seeks to reveal the struggle that almost all writers encounter through his own clever and at least outwardly humorous recounting of his own experience.
The article, THE TERM PAPER ARTIST by Nick Mamatas is really a slice out of the autobiography of any writer. In it, he identifies the main struggles of any writer, the ability to generate income by one's profession. He begins his article in the setting of a party, stating, "One great way to briefly turn the conversation toward myself at a party is to answer the question, "So, what do you do?" with, I'm a writer." This implies his accruement of wealth, even to a small degree. Even if it doesn't to everyone, it implies that he isn't homeless (as some writers practically are). Then, he essentially flashes back to his days as a freelance writer. He goes about chronicling his experience as a term paper writer, with both its good points and bad. His recounting of money and the ability to pay the bills comes up more than once. For instance, he describes, "boiling the 1000-page New Testament Theology by Donald Guthrie into a 30-page précis over the course of a weekend for a quick $600." Through his telling of his own time period of writing papers for money, he alludes to the fact that it is not an example of unordinary circumstance, but rather a happening that can be considered even to be a uniting occurrence between authors. Ultimately, I feel that he seeks to reveal the struggle that almost all writers encounter through his own clever and at least outwardly humorous recounting of his own experience.
This whole thing flows really well! I really enjoyed your summary more than the article itself, great job! You also provide some awesome insight to the financial standings of Nick Mamatas. However, it seems as if you are fond of Mamatas, and since I know you, I know you're not. Perhaps some clarification on that front would be beneficial. Overall, a really awesome job!
ReplyDeleteThis explication is extremely well written. You did a very good job at summarizing excatly what Mamatas' article is about. It is very descriptive, insightful, and educational. It allowed me to view the article in a completely different way. I never would have thought about Nick Mamatas' financial situation. I agree with you completely that his goal was to reveal the struggle that all writers face at least once. That is a very good point. However, I also think there was more then just one single message in this article. Good Job!
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