Preface to Set Apart Stories

William Wordsworth wrote Preface to Lyrical Ballads as an introduction to a compilation of poems that he and Samuel Taylor Coleridge had written. In this Preface, Wordsworth creates the purpose of the poet, i.e. his purpose in writing poetry. He establishes himself as a writer with a purpose, a confident writer who can stand by a certain set of ideals and convictions. I wish to do the same. In my Honors Thesis, I am creating my own compilation of short stories that I have written while in college, along with a critical analysis of my work. Through complete original works, including a few imitations of famous authors, and an analysis of my personal writer's statement, emulating Wordsworth's Preface, I will display my purpose in writing. My results are the stories I will submit, and my conclusion in my analysis is that I want Christ to be at the center of everything I write. I want to be a Christian writer, not just a Christian who writes, as my role model Francine Rivers has said.