Re: the post and discussion earlier this week about what genre to write in. Here's someone who switched genres midstream (no pun intended) and obviously wrote her passion. Look where it got her. (from Friday's New York Times.)

"Courtney Hunt, the writer and director of the film [Frozen River] will also be walking the carpet, nominated for her original screenplay. Ms. Hunt spent a great deal of time on a Mohawk Indian reservation and came up with a narrative that was rendered first as a poem, then as a short film and finally as a feature. To get the movie made, she ground out independent financing of less than $1 million, found talent willing to work for nearly nothing and shot it quickly. (There are scenarios in which she could win, by the way.) "  NYT (2/13/09) 

FYI

My article on the steps for writing a personal essay is in this month’s issue of The Writer Magazine.  Most of the article appeared on this blog last fall. You can find it in separate steps under “Personal Essays”.