Manicuring the Self: Creative Writing in the Age of Social Media

In the article “Manicuring the Self: Creative Writing in the Age of Social Media” (2013) author Robert Pfeiffer analyzes the beneficial and detrimental connections between emerging writers and social networking sites. Pfeiffer structures the article to discuss the preexisting lack of certainty that young writers have in their abilities to write before gradually moving on to discuss how social media has seemingly given these young writers the self-assurance they need to tell their own stories through creative writing while also recognizing the naive optimism that social media has also given these writers as there is now a lack of differentiation between stories that are actually worth writing and stories that are insignificant. Pfeiffer puts this into perspective by using his own personal experience with social media and his observations of his recent students, both of which are able to help demonstrate the benefits and drawbacks of social media's ability to persuade people that almost everything they post is significant and valuable. Pfeiffer's primary goal in writing this article is to inform readers about how social media has unquestionably influenced young writers' willingness to be open and honest in their writings, while also advising readers about the need for greater caution because the social media-fueled confidence has made it common for people to overvalue little nuances in their writing.

  

  Initially, I expected Robert Pfeiffer’s essay about creative writing in the context of social media to be a derivative attack on social media with an unoriginal technophobic message. However, Pfeiffer managed to magnanimously point out the benefits and drawbacks of social media’s effect on writers. The essay explored points both for and against social media’s impact on writers through a dissection of its author's own Facebook post. I was pleasantly surprised because this showed Pfeiffer was a user of social media, making his assessment more valuable. Social media is too often criticized by people who barely use it. By providing context, the author strengthened his arguments by objectively reviewing his own social media process. Hence adopting and normalizing centrism in a radicalized society.

    Robert Pfeiffer addresses the misguided message that social media presents through public expression. The writer explicitly demonstrates how younger individuals feel obligated to share their stories, and their writings, in a forceful manner rather than a genuine, thoughtful expression. When writing, there need to be precise steps and strategy that helps strengthen the idea being conveyed in an attempt for it to be purposeful. For example, on page 149 he writes “The first characteristic is “documentable subject matter chosen from the real world as opposed to ‘invented’ from the writer’s mind” (xiii).” Peiffer further supports the additional usage of research is vital in the creative nonfiction process. Peiffer writes, “The second is “exhaustive research” (xiii-xiv) …my students often ask, “but if it’s from your life, how come you need to do research?” The answer is, “you don’t always.”, …he takes the reader from the experience of attending the Maine Lobster Festival and somehow drops them into the deepest philosophical waters of the morality and ethics of our food culture.” He does imply the positive aspect of social media, in that it helps encourage the creative process for writers, although it does not help express one’s own non-fictional story of life. Social media serves as a comfort tool in seeking welcomeness and worthiness, in lack of emotional control, or even just expression. Pfeiffer conveys that non-fictional writings are the only stories one knows, being that it is the true definition of themselves and their perspective on life. So in only having it, misinterprets the actual skill level and precision of craft. Writers are not as good as they deem themselves and this is the main misconception portrayed through social media and personal stories of non-fictional writings. His writing brings importance to the action in which life should be lived rather than how life is shared through technology. With time, authentic stories will eventually come to life and serve their meaningful purposes. 

    Works Cited

Pfeiffer, Robert. "Manicuring the Self: Creative Writing in the Age of Social Media." Guide to First Year Writing at Clayton State University Tenth Edition, October 2013, Connections_10th_Ed - English Composition I Section 90 Summer Semester 2023 CO (usg.edu). Accessed 09 June 2023.

Raj, Kapil. “Leveraging Social CRM to Engage Your Target Audience.” Capillary Tech.com, 08 May 2019, Leveraging Social CRM To Engage Your Target Audience CapillaryTech. Accessed 09 June 2023.