Exploring an Under-the-Radar Gem: Laramie, Wyoming

Mimicking the Cliched Travel Article

One good writing exercise is the imitation exercise: find an article in a magazine and mimic its style on a different topic. Recently, I came across a city profile in a popular travel magazine and decided to use it as the starting point for my essay. The author of the original piece works in the restaurant industry and is a judge on one of television's well-known cooking programs. The article didn't provide too many concrete details nor did it make a compelling case to visit the city. But if you're a star in the culinary world I guess that gives you authority to write in a well-distributed publication, even if you don't say a whole lot.

As I read over what I wrote, I will say I have succeed in mimicking the flowery language found in the original piece. I can't say I have created a journalistic masterpiece, but it was a fun and easy exercise. At some point, I will rewrite this story with more concrete detail and less travel-writing fluff.

Braided Essay - Antelope & Gymnastics

In my writing class last week, one of our exercises was the braided essay. We were instructed to pick a wild animal and an experience we are proud of. We were then given four minutes to weave these two seemingly distinct things into a playful essay that connected them. Many of us found the topics we choose were connected even if we didn't know it at the time. I chose antelope and gymnastics, and had so much fun with the exercise that I decided to expand upon it here. 

Concluding the Bozeman Development Series

Photos & Five Questions to Consider

Wow! My series of posts on Bozeman development has caused quite a stir. Thanks to re-posting by the Save Bozeman group, my most recent piece (http://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2017/09/bozeman-touring-midtown.html) quickly skyrocketed to a top-three spot on my most popular posts list.

My intent was not to take a stance about development. Rather, I aimed to get people to take a realistic look at what’s going on in Bozeman by taking a walk around. While some might think Bozeman is being“ruined” or getting “too fancy,” examples of everything from ramshackle to ordinary are out there. Bozeman is still a lively mountain town retaining a distinct character, and things are far from being ruined.

I’ll conclude my series with a few thoughts to ponder and several photos to enjoy.

This is Bozeman: Touring Midtown

As downtown and the west side of Bozeman continue to develop at an alarming place, development in other parts of the city is slow to flourish. Thus is the case with Bozeman’s latest urban revival area known as Midtown. Talk of revitalization has been in the works for years, but things are progressing slowly. In this post, we'll take a look at plans for Midtown and take a short tour of the district and the surrounding area.

(6.29.2020 - Midtown update
What's gone? What's going up? Click here: https://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2020/06/midtown-update.html)

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