This blog was written by mentee Gabi Palermo who was inspired to never stop writing by craft talk speakers Nazuk Kochhar and Lakin Starling at our Politics, Philanthropy & Persuasive Writing Workshop.
Sitting in the Girls Write Now office on a cold Saturday afternoon in November, I was really looking forward to the day’s persuasive writing workshop. I was most excited because two young, smart, and talented freelance writers were our craft talk speakers. Nazuk Kochhar and Lakin Starling had the jobs I have always envisioned myself having: writing about music. I knew that there were people who obviously wrote about music, but I had never actually met people who had my dream job!
The genre of this workshop was persuasive writing. At first, I was a bit confused as to how writing about music could be considered persuasive writing. As Nazuk and Lakin began to explain what their jobs consisted of, I began to realize that writing about music was all about persuasive writing. Standing confidently and proudly at the front of the room, Nazuk and Lakin both explained how writing about music was so much more than just describing the sound of an album or song.
Nazuk described one specific article she wrote about Lil Uzi Vert in which persuasive writing was essential. When Lil Uzi Vert released his most recent album, she not only had to describe and go into depth about the sound of the album, she also had to convince readers to actually take time out of their day to listen to the album. Lakin used persuasive writing as a way to merge culture, politics, and music into one. She spoke about an article she wrote that really sparked my interest because she was writing in a way that I had always dreamed of writing. Lakin’s article was about the rapper Meek Mill and how his arrest represented a larger issue in the justice system. Lakin was not only writing about music; she was showing how music has a larger impact on our society. She stated that she not only used her knowledge on music to write this article, she also used her knowledge about larger social issues in order to convince people to change their opinion on this issue. Many people do not realize just how powerful music can be in our society. After listening to Nazuk and Lakin speak, I realized that I can use my knowledge about music as a way to truly get what I want.
After the craft talk, I went to go personally speak with Nazuk and Lakin. Talking to them was like talking to the older sisters I never had. We spent most of our time talking about music, but they did give me some really valuable advice. Nazuk told me to, “Never stop writing.” Lakin and Nauzk both told me that if there was an album or artist that I liked, I should keep writing about it. “You can make so many connections if you keep writing,” Lakin said. Their advice was really valuable because I sometimes I don’t write because I feel like my work is not good enough. As women, we tend to not write because we want our work to be perfect. Nazuk and Lakin’s advice is simple, but important. Listening to them made me realize that in order to get what I want and get where I want in this world, I must keep writing.