About the Episode

On this episode, we bring you a story written by Dr. Jane Marks, a conservation ecologist and professor of Aquatic Ecology at Northern Arizona University (NAU). 

Jane came to Writing Class Radio with the goal of making her academic writing more personal. What she didn’t realize is that writing class, specifically writing personal essays, forces the narrator to go deep and ask the question WHY? Why am I writing this? Why does anyone care? Why is this important to me? Why do I care so much about what people think?

Jane’s story is called, Hating Brussel Sprouts Is Not My Biggest Problem. It could have been called The More Things Change, the More Brussels Sprouts Stay the Same. She wrote this essay in First Draft, worked on it in Second Draft, and when Jane felt she had answered the whys, she submitted it to the podcast. 

Jane has been taking classes with Writing Class Radio for almost two years. Until we read her bio, we had no idea what a badass she is. Jane TOTALLY downplays her brilliance! 

Jane Marks was featured as the lead scientist in the PBS documentary, A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek, narrated by actor Ted Danson and she co-produced the video documentary Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest. For more Dr. Jane Marks, go to https://ecoss.nau.edu/team/jane-marks/

Writing Class Radio is hosted by Allison Langer and Andrea Askowitz. Audio production by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski and Aiden Glassey at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music is by Emia.

There’s more writing class on our website including stories we study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $35/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers groups. You have the option to join Allison, Tuesdays 12-1 ET and/or Zorina Frey Wednesdays 7-8pm ET. You’ll write to a prompt and share what you wrote.

Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio. Or sign up HERE for First Draft for a FREE Zoom link.

Click here for a transcript of this episode

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