Extra Credit Blog

          Over the course of this semester we have had to do several different kinds of assignments. We have had to do poetry writings, reading assignments, fiction writing, writing exercises, and compiled multiple portfolios of our different works. Of all of these assignments that we have had to do, if I had to choose one that had a greater impact on me or my writing practices I would have to say it was the Fiction Portfolio assignment. The fiction portfolio was much more enjoyable to me when compared to the other forms of writing we did, and this is why I think I tried harder, sent more time, and overall, created a better final product in my fiction writing.
          This assignment helped me to expand the limits that I thought existed in my writing abilities. Writing poetry can be fun, however, there is only so much of it that I can take. I was never much of a poetry person. To me, poetry is best when it reads like music, however, not all see it this way. I found it difficult and tedious to write poetry eventually. As for the creative essays, I found it difficult to stay away from fiction writing as I wrote my essays. They should be creative, but not so farfetched that they border on fantasy. The line between the two was so thin that I just got frustrated. However, writing the fiction essays allowed me to use the parts of my imagination that I do not normally access. I learned that there are so many different paths you can take when writing fiction stories. There are limitless boundaries to what you can say or have your characters do or even what they can look like. They could do magical things or just ordinary things surrounded by a magical plot. Knowing that I had that much room to write helped me to get out of my shell and think outside the norms.
          This allowed me to broaden my horizons and take my writing to new heights. I feel like I did some of my best writing and expanded and improved on my rough drafts with the help of my fellow classmates and teacher. The most impactful part of writing fiction was that I could include a lot of my own person tastes in storytelling and I could incorporate my life events to make my writings both personally interesting, and interesting for others. I was able to place so much of myself in the fiction and still tell a story. I drew from other fiction that I enjoyed reading and I used writing techniques that I saw in their writings as well as the writings of those that we read in class.
          Overall, I feel that in writing the fiction portfolio, I wanted to create a better final product and that made me strive to write more in-depth and sophisticated work. This helped me learn ways in which I can improve my writings and ways in which I can learn to work off of other sources of inspiration. I think that it helped me to tap further into my creative side and use that to write papers that I was proud of. They were papers that I did not actually mind writing, and that can make all the difference. I am pleased with what I accomplished with the fiction portfolio because it was a compilation of my favorite stories that I wrote of my favorite genre, and I will try to use what I learned in that process when putting effort in to my future pieces of writing. This is the impact that the fiction portfolio had on me and my writing skills.

          This week, for my blog update, I have been assigned to write about a section in the last part of our Maps To Anywhere novel. In particular, I wanted to write about the section we covered in class and add a few of my own personal thoughts into the discussion. To start off with, this section was called "The House of the Future". The story centers around the main character and his experience with watching his brother fall ill and eventually pass, and the aftershock that was born from his passing.

          In the beginning, the man is talking about this house and what he sees in it. It is a very futuristic house, as the title gives away, and the drive there is when he give detail about the state of mind of his parents. His father is eager to arrive whilst his mother is more or less lethargic and uncaring. After the death of his brother, the mother basically shut down and could not do much in the way of coping or resuming a normal behavioral regimen.

          They arrive at this house and it is there that we find him reminiscing of all the things that he saw his brother go through. He spoke of the times he would come home from a trip away and expect to find his brother completely healed and walking around, entirely healthy. Yet, it was never so. He would arrive to find his brother in his crippled, bedridden state. At one point, he recalls a time when he was younger and learning to swim for the first time. He remembered his brother bringing him out into open water, letting go of him, and encouraging him to paddle his way to him, moving further away though, so as to give the boy more practice. It was such a tiny insignificant moment, and yet it was still important enough to write about alongside of the other gruesome details of his brothers passing. This, to me, seemed like a metaphor for the way he felt about his brother during these times. The sink-or-swim scenario seemed to reflect the way he felt about caring for his sickly sibling. The way he talked about him always moving further and further away, though it was simply to get him to swim further, was a way of saying that he felt he could never get close enough to his brother, for when he did, it was as if he would slip away every time.

          One other thing that I noticed throughout the story is that the author does not ever give much of his own personal feeling about the whole ordeal. He does a lot I the way of showing, as opposed to telling, us what he felt and how saddened he was. The details that were used and the memories that were included helped us to understand what the author felt when he may not have been able to really explain straightforwardly. This could have been his way of coping with a devastating situation that no man could put adequately into words. This was his outlet. There is also another section of the book entitled "Underwater", wherein there is another experience that this boy had in a dream that he was drowning and h e had to watch the life fade from his parents eyes as they drowned. This could be another way of relating what he felt watching his parents suffer in the wake of the horrible tragedy that they experienced in losing a son.

          Perhaps he wrote this story more to tell his brother's story than to tell his own. Perhaps he was trying to help others relate to his experience or to relate with others. Everyone experiences hardship and when we do, we want to know that others understand what we are going through and that we do not have to go through it alone. I think that The House of the Future symbolizes a better place that only time can get you to. It is a light at the end of the tunnel where a happier life awaits and even through the darkest of times, like the sickness of a loved one, that light will always give you hope.

 

3/19/15 Fiction Portfolio Summary

          I have come to find that, in writing fiction, I can incorporate much more of myself
into my writing. This week, I wanted to talk about my writing process in creating a fiction
portfolio, and what I learned in my writing process.
          Obviously I can draw from personal experience when doing any type of
writing, however; I find that there are certain views or events that you can put into a
fiction writing that would seem out of place in poetry or be deemed laughable if put in a
non­fiction piece. Fiction leaves room for fantasy and with that, you open your mind up
to see things from a different perspective. How can I make this more fun? How can I
add a bit of magic to my writing? Do I want this character to be like me, or do I want to
make up all of his characteristics? These were a few of the things that I found myself
thinking of when doing these fiction assignments.
          Another thing that I learned, which was most helpful, was that I should never be
afraid to share my work with someone else. Feedback is essential to creating a
masterful writing. Writing from a single point of view is very one-­sided, where another
perspective can give insight into what a broader spectrum of readers will enjoy. I tried to
take the feedback that I was given and write new sections and add new details that I
thought would appeal to more people, rather than just myself. Even if I get negative
feedback, which is bound to make me feel less than spectacular, I know that I can take
that and add more to my writing, ultimately making it better. 
          Part of my writing process included finding a starting point. This could be anything
from a character, to a setting, to some event that happened. After that, I would decide if I
wanted this to be realistic or just kind of fun a silly. I am not much a fan of the fantasy,
but just knowing that I had the option led my mind to wander to places it usually would
not have and I was able to add more detail and fun into my writing. After that I would just
start writing. I would pause occasionally to reread what I had so far and decide if I was
going in the right direction. If not, I would consider revising. If so, I would simply continue
to write. I noticed that I incorporated music into my fiction quite often. Putting something
that I personally love into my writing gives it a little bit extra personality and helps me
connect to it on a higher level.
          The last thing that I learned was that the first draft is rarely perfect. Sometimes I
want to write and not revise. This is a bad idea because I found myself missing words
and spelling. In addition to spelling and grammar errors, I also found places where more
detail could fit, or where I seemed to run on a bit. In the end, the revision took a lot of
extra time, but it bettered my writing, and it was worth the extra time spent. To sum things up, I learned to look at things from a new perspective, consider
others point of views, openly share my writings, and always check for errors. Overall,
the fiction writing was very enjoyable.

Blog update (03/05/15)

          Hello again! This week I chose to write about the fiction story that we discussed for a bit in class, and tell a little about what I took from it, and why I chose to write about it. The story that we read was called "The Falling Girl". This story was about a girl who apparently fell from her roof top, whether voluntarily or not, I cannot say for sure, thought the connotation surely suggests the former. Upon falling, this girl seems to take in her surroundings and notice all of the people, places, buildings, and scenery that fill her view. The colors that are attributed to her clothing and surroundings are described as "glowing" or "bright", and, as I understand it, many people who decide to take their own lives develop a sort of peace-of-mind about their decision. Perhaps this is paying homage to that? The beauty in the colors might reflect the beauty that she finds in death. But this is just one possibility.
          On her way down, she passes many people who are of higher status, socio-economic class, and wealth than she is. These people seem to absentmindedly shrug off the fact that she is falling, almost as if it is something they see often. It is as if they could care less that this girl is falling from a building and will soon hit the ground in what will surely be a bloody mess. Alas, they seem to be almost eager for that end to come. The connotation suggests that these people take pleasure in watching the less fortunate fall, literally or figuratively. On the flip side, it seems that this falling girl revels in the thought of these rich people falling as well. This is all strictly speculation based off of my own assumption that the "falling" in and of itself if a negative thing, almost in relation to death.
          Another thing that I noticed was a certain guilt that seemed to arise within the falling girl. At one point, she passes a bystander who asks "where are you going?", and to this she replies simply "please do not make me say...". To me, this also suggests a hint of suicidal imagery. The girl has jumped from her building and feels guilt over the thought of the people she may have hurt in doing so, or the thought that she has given up on her life. Of course, these are strictly guesses.
          This is a story of fiction, so I have to take into consideration that this girl is simply a magical being who can more or less fly, and that is my she has the time and ability to speak to all of these by standers as she falls. She seems it take in so much around her as she falls, where I would think one would have nothing but the thought of the hard cement below them on their mind. Still, she seems to remain calm, almost contemplative. It is as if she uses this time to reflect on her true thought about her life and the lives of those around her. Do these people care if she is falling? Would they join her? At one point there is another girl falling, and time seems to change as this girl falls at a different rate of speed than her. This seems to reflect how quickly some lives can move in comparison to others, and how different the paths of ones lives can be.
          My final thoughts upon reading this story were about myself, and what I would think of if I were falling through the air. Would I find time to think of where my life has gone? Would I judge others for what they have done, or be bitter that they took pleasure in my downfall? Why would I be falling in the first place? These are all of the things that I took from this story, and these are the reasons that I was drawn to this story.

Blog update (03/12/15)

          Hello! This week I have chosen to write about the story we discussed I class called "Night Women". The basis of this story revolves around a single woman, raising a child, and partaking in certain "late night activities" with her clientele I order to make a living. Right at the start, the story begins talking about how much this woman loves her child. Throughout the story we see her taking precautions in order to prevent him from finding out that she is actually a call-girl, of sorts. If the boy does wake up, (as she and him sleep I the same room due to financial difficulties and limited living space) she would tell him that it was her father who came back to visit but will soon be going away again.
          The men, whom she calls her "suitors" are not strangers. She seems to know details about them such as that they are doctors, or if they are married. At least she is not exposing her child to a potentially dangerous situation, so that is good. However, some of these men are married, and that seems to go against the norms and values that we, in America, hold dear. One would think that she would feel guilt, and from certain passages in the text, I think that she might. One line reads "I could see the faces of their wives I the beads of sweat that dripped down their foreheads..." and to me, this implies that she sees the wives' faces out of guilt for sleeping with the husbands.
          Other parts of the text refer to times when these men would bring the child gifts, such as sound machines that would block the noise of the adult-themed events that were transpiring just a few feet from him. The mother kept a sheet up between their living spaces, so as not to allow the child to know what she is doing. Do these men bring gifts purely so the child does not know what they are doing, or do they start to actually view him as a child-figure?
          One other subject of my contemplation was whether or not this mother could find alternate means of income. Sure, she may make adequate income performing sex acts on rich men, but could she find a more appropriate, non-degrading job that would make her son proud? One passage explains that she does not envy those women that have to sew for hours, and then undo what they have created so as to create more hours of work for themselves. She finds this to be a waste of time. For her, the shame of having to lower herself to prostitution, essentially, is better than spending hours doing tedious hard-labor just to barely scrape by. It is almost as if she has accepted her social role and her status as it has developed and lives her life the only way she knows now. She does understand that she cannot lie to her child forever, but, for now at least, things seem to be working.
          The author is from the country of Haiti, where, I understand, this sort of thing is common. Perhaps this is a political statement meant to show the degradation that women go through just to make it through the day for their families. Perhaps it is a personal experience story, or the story of a friend of the author. My personal thoughts, to end my post, are that there are always better ways of helping your family than selling your body, but at the end of the day, you do what you must to get by. It is a sad but harsh truth.

Week 3-Ecclesiastes

          Hello, again!
          Today I want to talk about the poem that I most recently read in my creative writing class. The title is Ecclesiastes. Interestingly enough, his was a book in the bible all about wisdom and how it is passed down from person to person, and whom you must look to in order to find said wisdom. The poem is made up of several pairs of lines, mostly single sentences. in the first line, there is a "rule" that the author states. To me, this rule reflects the authors' view on society, or rather, the way that he sees how society works. This is how he sees society's moral and legal absolutes. Society has both social mores and social folkways that govern how society functions, and how people behave within their given culture. That said, the "rule" would represent the law or more/folkway in itself, and the "trick" seems to represent the way that we manipulate others into feeling or acting a certain way.
           One line reads "The rule is to make them feel that they've come late, the trick is that you're willing to make exceptions." this says to me that he author views being late as an unacceptable, or otherwise frowned-upon behavior. This is the more that we perpetuate. The trick, being making exceptions, is all about making a person feel special. You make them feel like they are set apart from everyone else by allowing them to be late and, in doing so, you instill a sense of gratitude, or debt in that person. This makes them more susceptible to you and your will because they may feel as though they owe you something for making the exception for them. You allow them to feel like they can get away with technically unacceptable behaviors, at least for this one time, and you give them a false sense of being indebted to you.
           Another line reads "The trick is that you're willing to help them, the rule is to sound like you're doing them a favor." This especially sounds to me like there are hints of manipulation. Once again, after helping someone out, you, being a self-serving human-being, try to instill a sense of debt in this person you help. If they feel like they owe you, they are inclined to return the favor. Little things like that can warped our perception of any given event in immeasurable ways. The author seems to view the world from a narcissistic point of view, as if he sees the world for what it truly is an anyone who does not notice this is simply a fool. It is as if he has some insight into how to manipulate those around him because he knows how to turn any situation in his favor.  He sees all actions as having a more selfish ulterior motive. Any choice we may make, any help we may administer, or compliments we may give can always benefit our own selves in some way. We try to get something out of any situation by disguising our actions as selfless. By the same token, the ulterior may not always be as petty as others. One line reads "The rule is to assume that their(a child) parents abused them, the trick is to sound like the one teacher they loved." In his case, the motive of being like the teacher that they loved would be to gain their confidence and trust so that you may find out what happened to them. It may be for their benefit, but you are also trying to get something from them as well.
           A fellow classmate brought up a very interesting counterargument to my observations. She read this poem and interpreted it as someone with wisdom, perhaps someone of significant age or status, passing down wisdom through the words. If there is a rule, then there may be a correct way of handling it. To her, it was as if the author had a lot of life experience, and was simply passing on his knowledge to someone less wise than himself. I think that could be a valid opinion. Either way, Poetry is always open to interpretation, and this poem caught my eye because of the different viewpoints that could arise from it. well that is all I have for this update. As always, thank you for reading!

Blog Update #2- Poetry

           Hello again! thank you for reading. once again I am going to update on my progress is this Creative Writing class. our homework for this week was to blog about anything that we have done in class thus far. well I chose to post about some more of the poetry we have read. In class on Tuesday, we looked at some poems in our poetry packet. There were some by poets from America, some by poets from foreign countries, very few by anyone I have ever heard of. There was one from Emily Dickinson, whom I personally enjoy. the poem that I chose, however, did not stand out because I knew it, it stood out because it appeared to have undertones of racism.
           The one poem that stood out to me was entitled "Parade". When reading it at first, It didn't exactly stand out. "Seven ladies and seventeen gentlemen at the Elks' Club Lounge planning and planning a parade." The initial response I hade was that it would be uninteresting and boring, something about a parade or party that wouldn't really appeal to me. The rest of the first stanza did nothing to reinforce this feeling, as it talked about a band in the parade and a Grand Marshall in his fancy suit. The second stanza is what caught my attention. The very first line of the second stanza read "Motorcycle cops, white, will speed it out of sight" and I thought, wait......are the motorcycles white, or are the cops white? and if the cops are white, why is that important...? then I read on. "If they can, solid black cant be right."
           This is where I started to think that this poem was about racism. It seemed ironic that the poem was called "Parade", a fun and enjoyable celebration, but there were subtle undertones of racism that followed. The cops were white, and they were trying to keep the African Americans out of the crowd. Next it read "I never knew that many negroes were on earth, did you?". One person was talking to another, and the other replied "I never knew!". That confirmed my suspicions. The poem ends with many shouts of "PARADE!" and one person saying "a chance to let the whole world see, the old black me." The ending got me thing about racism and how the world was just a few decades ago. Racism was a huge thing, what with segregation and women's rights. The fact that there were seventeen men and only seven women planning the parade shows hints of sexism. but among all else, the prominence of racism was staggering. Obviously the man in the poem was furious that everyone around him was having fun and celebrating, all the while there were people wondering why there were so many "negroes" around.
           That being said, I think that a poem like this, unfortunately, is not so far off in todays world. This world has come so far in terms of ridding the world of racism and segregation, but there are still cases of it everywhere. who knows, maybe there will never be a perfect world where racism does not exist, and where women are considered equal to men, but this poem showed me a lot about how black people were viewed in older times, and why they must still feel like they are being suppressed. it is easy for white people to celebrate and have fun, ignorant to the oppressions around them, however, for African Americans, they feel it every day-wondering if the next person they walk beside will being hoping not to be seen with them due to their skin color, something they were born with, something they have no say in, and no control over. Hopefully in the future, this problem will not be so prominent, and perhaps we can rid the world of racism altogether. Until then, I will try not to be blind to the comments a racist innuendos around me and maybe that will be enough to make a difference.