Since then, May has completed one screenplay and is in the process of writing three others.

The first, which he is writing with a Los Angeles screenwriter and an MIT professor, is an action film. However May insists that he cannot reveal more because they are in the process of marketing the script.

The second piece, of which May has written about 60 pages, plays with the societal response to a return to creationism.

May also recently began work on what he calls "a black comedy version of 'Less than Zero,' about a bunch of angry, liberal college kids who do drugs and hate the world."

Although May says that he is often worried about compromising the integrity of his writing for the popular demand of the film market, May says he manages to differentiate screenwriting from his more personal work.

Although May writes several other works besides his screenplays, he says he would never dream of publishing that work, much less sharing it with other people.

"I just write to practice sometimes, to learn about my style and how to refine it," he says. "In the long run you'll feel better about stuff you wrote just for the sake of writing and it will come more naturally to you."

Yet May also acknowledges the similarities between writing for class and writing for an audience.

"When you write a really good essay, you can sense that, but sometimes you have to write an essay because that is what the assignment is...sometimes the assignment is to write something and instead of a grade I will get money."

Although May has been successful in his writing career, he says that negative criticism can still discourage him.

"It has stopped me a lot of time," he says. "I never write poems anymore because one person once said something that I construed as a negative comment and I'll probably never write poetry again."

Brushing Off the Critics

Chiqui O. Matthew '00, who primarily writes poetry and song lyrics but also has worked on screenwriting and short stories, fronts a different response when approached with criticism.

"I take it with a grain of salt--I say, 'hmm, good point, thanks,' but I don't really change my writing for anyone," Matthew says. "Writing is a personal thing, like music. You can't really critique someone's piano style because that's their expression."

Matthew, who reads his poetry at clubs and lounges in the Boston area and on campus, also attributes his failure to receive criticism to his extemporaneous style of writing, what he calls "gushing."