PART A: You, the Writer

• What was your writing identity prior to the course?

Before this course, my writing identity fell under that of a hobbyist. Writing was just a pastime. I enjoyed it a lot but there was this hollowness to my passion for writing, where bold themes were unvisited and I followed nonexistent rules. And after some time, I got bored with saving my work to an unpublicized document, where it would fall towards forgotten and the bottom of the document’s list. I made writing my personal character trait, the kind of trait that your parents boast about to everyone when they’re talking about you. But if I had to show these people why my parents were so proud, well, they would think as well as I thought that I had yet to live up to what had been said about me.

• What is your writing identity now?

My writing identity now completes a great amount of my overall identity. I’ve discovered this vast passion for writing that I always knew was there, that I just couldn’t ever extract from my enclosure. But now, I can say that I have a superpower. And that is the ambitious nature of cerebration that consumes my mind when I write. I’ve come to know this ambition through Creative Writing. And now, I exercise this power through blogging.

• Reflect on your development as a writer.

When I look back on my journey through Creative Writing, I see a progression not only in the rhythm of my development as a writer, but also as a human being. I am far more outgoing and care a whole lot less of what people think. I use to censored my sentences to utter simplicity and avoid writing on personal terms. But the very things I denied to voice were the very things that people wanted to hear. I’ve learned that my writing doesn’t have to be pure, and it doesn’t have to follow the rules. I can right about anything and everything. The writer holds the power to create, and it lies in the writer’s discretion for what comes next. We prize literature because of writers who live by no rules. Writing is beautiful no matter what.

I find it’s so much easier to grasp wonderful ideas and I noticed that perspective is a key element of creative writing. I love introducing my perspectives on certain matters through writing because I usually have a lot to say about things. I was never very good at poetry, especially rhyming. I know that when writing poetry, you aren’t required to rhyme, but I love the way the piece sounds when verses rhyme. After the poetry unit in CWR, I found that I in fact am capable of writing poetry, and especially making it rhyme. I’ve always enjoyed writing descriptions of random things. Detail and structure are now a strong suit of mine so my descriptions have improved greatly, but I could always be even more detailed. My horizons for stylistic writing have expanded, so now I can write about anything and it won’t be as difficult as it was to stray from my commonplace in writing.

• How would you explain your voice? What is stylistic of you?

My style of writing falls under description. Whenever I write something without instruction, it becomes a piece that may describe a feeling, a setting, etc. The noticeable composition of my sentences is one or two “big” words accompanied by the rest of the sentence being simple. My voice ranges between formal or poetic. I enjoy writing poetically because the way I view a poetic voice is one that will enhance a simple subject in a complex way.

• As a mentor writer, what advice would you give to future creative writers?

My advice is the same as that of most published writers, so as most published writers would say, you should be reading and writing as much as you can. Keep notebooks at your bedside, notebooks in your carryon’s, and notebooks in your bathroom; anywhere you might have a sudden burst of inspiration. Also, don’t try so hard in the beginning stages of a piece. It’s a slow process of arranging-and then rearranging-ideas, but this process can wait until after you’ve “puked out” all of the ideas onto a page. This way is a lot more simple and effective. Always keep writing as a consistent practice. I recommend blogging! It keeps you exercising your creativity until your inner writer is soon an outer genius.

• Future goals and plans regarding writing?

My prime goal is to write and publish my book, “The Sunflower Project “. The idea of it was given to me through a dream. It had a plot twist and everything, simply meant for words and paper. I began writing a while ago, but I wish to start new after taking this course because of how much I’ve learned and how much my writing has matured. I plan to keep blogging and entering contests with Polar Expressions due to my wonderful experience with them. I will look for ways to publicize my writing beyond the blog, or I might even just settle for a simple blog post in hopes that I may inspire future creative writers.

 

Part B: You, the Blogger 

• Reflect on your development as a blogger.

Blogging is how I exercise my passion for writing. Exercise always has a positive effect on your body in physical manners, but this way of exercising has a positive effect on your mind and soul. Blogging is addicting. It gives you this refined satisfaction once you publish a work as a post, and I believe it’s because you’ve created something that bares value in both quantity and quality. A blog with more activity is far more exciting than one with none. When I post something, as of now it is usually an assignment. But when this course comes to an end, the only difference it will make for me as a blogger is that I just won’t be following a checklist.

• How would you critique your blog?

When I customized my blog, I wanted it to offer its peers a glimpse of the identity of its creator. The color scheme of the blog is turquoise because, predictably, that is my favourite color. Also, turquoise has this enigmatic nature to it so that when I’m reading posts, the pigment emits this warmth and somehow welcomes you to the words etched over it. I don’t know if it makes other viewers feel this way but at least it’s aesthetically pleasing. As for visuals, I pick my pictures very carefully. They can’t be too abstruse that readers won’t understand how they relate to the according passage, and they cannot take away from the theme of my blog. My blog is very fantastical, showing my love for fantasy with a hint of darkness dedicated to my love for dystopian subjects. For the most important part of a blog, my posts can range from extreme ecstasy, to attempted comedy-because I am not that funny-to disturbing horror, and finally, to utter melancholy. I have felt all of these at some point, and it makes for great writing.

My blog is well composed, but it will always need improvement. I think that is what blogs are about. They portray your rate of development in both blogging and writing, and your pieces are improving by the post. There is an edit button. There is always an edit button, even after you’ve published a work. People expect you to improve, so the option to edit stays with your work after it is made public. And honestly, I’ve pressed that edit button over 50 times after publishing.

• What will you do with your blog after this course?

This course coming to an end is completely devastating to me, but to honour my expanded knowledge of writing and to honour the creation of this blog, I will continue blogging. This blog stands as a reminder for me to keep writing in order to keep improving my writing skills. Blogging is a great foundation for a thriving writer.

• Which student blogs will you continue to follow?

I will continue to follow Ayat’s “Mundi Scribendi“, Aemon’s “A Different Universe“, Faith’s “Mellifluous“, and the class blog “The Hunni Writers 3” because everyone in our class this semester is an amazing writer and that blog is an overall flawless source of inspiration!

• What professional bloggers have you explored?

I haven’t explored any yet, but if our class blog counts then that is one.

 

Part C: You, the Student

• Discuss an “Aha” from Creative Writing class

It surprised me how much the small discussions that Mrs. Hunnisett always insists we have within our small groups helps because they shine light upon the things you may have misinterpreted pertaining to what we are discussing. There are enough perspectives to better understand something to its fullest. Every time I went “aha” was every time someone shared their opinion.

I went “aha” for a lot of Sarah Kay’s spoken words. For instance, when she said, “There is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away”, or when we read that poem of hers called “Hands” and I realized how precious our hands are.

When we would go to the river, I went “aha” to the idea of writing on rocks. Aemon, Ayat, and myself had a great idea to bunch up as much rocks as we could, written with inspirational and day-making quotes, and make a big display in hopes that it would catch the attention of a passerby and make them smile. The rocks were a huge success! Also, on the way to the river, I spotted locks hanging off the barbed peepholes of the bridge and went “aha” to the idea of imitating Paris’ lock bridge of promise.

Creative Writing was a class full of “oohs” and “ahs” and especially “ahas”!

• What have you accomplished as a reader? What is your plan to read next?

I honestly haven’t accomplished much as a reader. Much of my time was spent creating rather than witnessing. The best book I read this semester is one the one that I am currently reading by the title,  “Thirteen Reasons Why“. It has an extraordinary plotline and I can sense a plot-twisted ending.

Though I haven’t done it much, I am aware that reading improves your writing. It improves it in the way that when your brain processes literature, it processes detail and structure and vocabulary all at once. Reading influences the way in which you write. Reading also introduces you to new worlds with new plots and new endings. It presents possibility.

I plan to read Sarah Kay’s “No Matter the Wreckage“, Malorie Blackman’s “Noughts and Crosses“, and many more honorable mentions on my Reading Ladder page.

• What have you accomplished as a writer? What is your PLAN to write next?

I have accomplished a lot as a writer. As previously mentioned, I am far more bold and unrestrained with my writing. I use to think I would get judged by readers if I swore in my writing or wrote about stranger topics, but that’s what makes readers curious.

I plan to work on my book and keep blogging next.

• Will you take Creative Writing again? Why? Why not?

That is a definite yes! It’s the entire class and seeing others’ writing that makes me want to come back. The environment of a class like Creative Writing contributes to you bettering yourself as a writer. Whenever you hear a great piece of work, it makes you want to improve your own. Everyone is required to share something of theirs in that class so in time, everyone becomes comfortable with their peers and sharing.

I always feel relaxed yet energized when I enter and leave Creative Writing class.

 

Part D: You, the Fan

• How has studying published authors changed/improved your writing? What craft decisions have improved your final piece?

YOUR WRITERS SEMINAR

The writer I chose was Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, and many others. I chose this author because she has a unique and unvisited way of writing. She writes in genres that target teenage and young adult audiences as a lot of her books are based on teenage struggles; mental illnesses, drug addiction, etc.. I learned from her to keep notebooks everywhere I go and that writing can be anything you want it to be. Not ot to mention that most of the advice I gave in Part A of this exam comes from Ellen Hopkins’s very words of wisdom. I wrote an emulation of Ellen Hopkin’s “Did You Ever“. The link is featured below…

Link: https://ashz.edublogs.org/2015/11/02/did-you-ever/

ANOTHER WRITER SEMINAR

Some authors I am inspired by are the ones who created the world’s most successful books; Harry Potter by J.K Rowling, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and many, many more. I learned the certain things that target certain audiences and how popular dystopian fiction is, and frankly, I learned how much teenagers love doomed romances and corrupted societies. All of the books listed above aren’t all books I’ve read, but I definitely do intend to read books that are like these, genre wise and especially plot wise. Check out what I plan to read next on my reading ladder:

Link: https://ashz.edublogs.org/reading-ladder/

 

Part E: You, the Critic of your work

• A Short Story

Link: https://ashz.edublogs.org/2016/01/17/attempted-comedy/

(Q1) The title of this piece is “Possibility; My Greatest Fear“. The significance of the title is that it emphasizes the climax and would most likely make the reader wonder how so this is true. (Q2) This character may have issues, but she is right when it comes to anything being possible. (Q3) The purpose of this piece was to humor readers with a paranoid main character, a ridiculous series of traits to this character, and an ending that leaves the readers in ridiculing amazement. I aimed for an audience of mature readers so they would understand the humility of the given circumstances. (Q4) The plot was influenced by a character in the phenomenal novel by Daniel Handler (penname; Lemony Snicket) by the title “Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events“. This character, named Aunt Josephine, is a very fearful human being. She is the archetypical character with the irrational fears. (Q5) This story is somewhat structured in the form of a list. But this is what makes it humorous, because the measures the character takes in the story in order to feel secure are listed one after the other in order to keep a persistence of comedy building up, enough to make readers laugh. (Q6) I tried to make the story sound more like a story, with and actual conflict that would be resolved in the end. But in the end, I settled for this short description because it still did the job of a story and intrigued me when I posed as a reader and read it over. (Q7) I decided the climax was the part in the story that brought readers to understand why possibility is the antagonist’s greatest fear.

•  A Poem

Link: https://ashz.edublogs.org/2016/01/17/a-poem/

(Q1) The title of this piece is “The Rose“. The significance of the title is that I thought it would somehow make the object of a rose sound grand if I named the piece quite literally what it is and saying “The” before rose and not “A”. Saying “The” before rose emphasizes the existence of a rose, as opposed to saying “A” which objectifies it. (Q2) This poem enhances the composition, beauty, and symbolism of a rose in twenty-five short, rhyming stanzas. (Q3) The purpose of this work was to portray the rose to readers through vivid description in a poem. (Q4) The piece was influenced by my book. It’s a romance novel and the rose is used commonly in literature to symbolize love. (Q5) I decided to rhyme after the second stanza, then I went back and altered the first stanza to coordinate with the rest of the poem. I compared the rose and the stem to certain things in order to create a visual in the reader’s mind. For example, in (stanza 1, line 4) “your radiant diadem”, I compare the rose to a crown because it crowns the stem in a way. In (stanza 2, line 2) “a haven between two thorns”, I state that the space between two thorns is a haven because it is safe and you may hold the rose from that part of the stem. (Q6) I couldn’t find a rhyme for stem in the first stanza, so I experimented with mayhem, gem, condemn, them, until I finally came across diadem and it fit into the poem perfectly! (Q7) I may insert this poem into my book, maybe the backside summary or somewhere in the story.

• A Non-fiction

Link: https://ashz.edublogs.org/narrative/

(Q1) The title is just “Narrative” because that is exactly what it is. There is not really any significance to the title. (Q2) This disorganized narrative of my childhood walks you through some of my least foggiest, most craziest memories. (Q3) The purpose of the narrative was to fulfill an assignment we were given in CWR class. (Q4) Some of my happiest memories are what influenced this narrative. (Q5) I made it disorganized to resemble the nature of my childhood. For example in the line, “My older sister and I shared a single bedroom in that house, with cotton candy-pink painted walls. My older sister killed our first pet fish with a spoon; the first criminal act I witnessed, and my first loss for that matter”. After a line, the next line is a jump into a completely different memory. (Q6) I had trouble with putting the sentences together into one passage. I wanted for the line that came previous to the next line to relate to the next line in some way. For example, in “We buried the fish in the backyard. Speaking of the backyard, that backyard bore the most significant aesthetic to my childhood; the colorful, handmade  swing set my dad built”, I related the two sentences by making them both have at least one thing in common; the backyard. This didn’t work out so well with everything else in the piece. (Q7) This isn’t one of my best works, I mostly just pieced together a mess of events in order to complete an assignment that I had no ideas for.

• A free-choice

Link: https://ashz.edublogs.org/2016/01/10/289/

(Q1) The title of this piece is “On Purity“. As the title suggests, I wrote the poem on a skewed perception of purity. (Q2) A rhythmic piece on what one may critically say to a girl as she grows up. (Q3) The purpose for creating this poem is that the topic of “purity” obtains many different opinions and I attempted to put many of the stereotypically known ones into a poem. (Q4) This was a very random poem. I sometimes start writing random things, and this was one of them. I don’t exactly know what influenced it. (Q5) I rhymed it because it was a possibility and everything still fit together pretty well, no awkward stanzas of forced rhyme. The poem starts out with slightly longer lines, and the lines grow shorter as the poem descends. I felt that the piece was rather a description than a poem in some places because the line “But I don’t believe that means I am inexperienced-I’ve done things” was a complete sentence and poems are not generally structured in this way. (Q6) When I finished writing the poem, I thought that the rhythm wavered drastically as I read it through, too drastically that it sounded messy and weird. But I liked the message that the poem offered, so I let it be. (Q7) The poem may not relate to all girls personally, but they will probably get what is being said.