Jessica Mullino "Untitled"

This story is about a girl and her late night/early morning battle with writer’s block. Andy’s predicament is one that almost any student can relate to: a sleepless night spent beating one’s head against a wall, just wanting to finish a simple assignment but feeling unable to do so. I enjoyed some of the samller details sprinkled throughout the piece. One example would be the “sheet-less bed that had fallen victim to a bowl of spaghetti sauce during lunch.” This was a detail that was very concrete and very specific, making it feel like a genuine circumstance. The repeated reminders about what time it was also added to the sense of believability, as checking the clock is a regular habit of procrastinators everywhere. The final paragraph of the story explained the title, “Untitled,” and hinted at the possibility that this was actually an experience of yours for this particular paper.

            While the element of meta-fiction has its own kind of fun associated with it, I did not feel particularly moved by its use in this case. In terms of character development or story arc altogether, I had trouble connecting what was going on to anything larger than a girl writing a paper. Perhaps if there were more inner dialogue or action throughout this would be an okay premise, but as it stands now, it feels a little flat. As I mentioned before, I liked a lot of the details included in this story, so I might suggest trying to elaborate on those and perhaps bring in another dimension of the story through these descriptions. Maybe we could learn about why she is having trouble writing beyond just a blanket statement of “I have ADD.” This was a fun read as it was, but I think a little bit of editing could make it a more impressionable experience.