I would describe my writing process to be very random while writing my creative non fiction paper. I used the word random because there was never all any set place or any set time. I really enjoy writing in a peaceful environment , this is when I do my best writing but most of the time things don't happen like that. I just go with the flow of things and clear my mind of everything but writing. Picturing every scene in my head and remembering what was all around me and typing them in my phone. My time management could be better but I think I used it wisely. Instead of waiting until the last minute to start my writing , I started it as soon as it was assigned (even tho I didn't turn the whole assignment due to a misunderstanding) I usually type during long car rides and even with the music loud I still manage to be able to clear my head. If I'm not typing in the car I'm laying in my bed typing. You Even though writing straight into my phone sounds like a good method , it was one of my writing processes that didn't really work to well. While using my phone I often lost focus on writing and began to do other things on my phone.
Here I will talk about my writing process during my creative non fiction.
I would describe my writing process to be very random while writing my creative non fiction paper. I used the word random because there was never all any set place or any set time. I really enjoy writing in a peaceful environment , this is when I do my best writing but most of the time things don't happen like that. I just go with the flow of things and clear my mind of everything but writing. Picturing every scene in my head and remembering what was all around me and typing them in my phone. My time management could be better but I think I used it wisely. Instead of waiting until the last minute to start my writing , I started it as soon as it was assigned (even tho I didn't turn the whole assignment due to a misunderstanding) I usually type during long car rides and even with the music loud I still manage to be able to clear my head. If I'm not typing in the car I'm laying in my bed typing. You Even though writing straight into my phone sounds like a good method , it was one of my writing processes that didn't really work to well. While using my phone I often lost focus on writing and began to do other things on my phone.
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Here I will post the opening scene for my creative nonfiction essay .
Love was definitely in the air that Saturday of February 14th, the city was painted red. A loud horn from an angry truck blew at the cars in front of it but no one moved an inch, even though the light shined green. Everyone seemed to be in a rush including me, as I pushed through the crowded sidewalks which a man selling Valentine’s Day roses and bear took up half of it up. I needed flowers but I didn’t stop for them, I didn’t have the time but a crowd of people made the time. Circling around him yelling their orders and waving their money. A woman dressed in all red from head to toe stopped me to complement my red accessories “I love your scarf” she whispered. I replied with a smile but I didn’t have the time to stop and talk. Besides my watch racing past each hour, the temperature felt like it was somewhere between 0 and negative 10. The wind hit my face like a thousand tiny sharp knives, leaving my face completely numb and my fingers not too far from numb making it hard for me to feel the love that was once in the air. During week five or class we focused mostly on showing and telling. This was a short week but I feel like a learned a lot about it. We discussed and read a short story which was pulled from a novel. The story that we read was called “The glass castle” by Jeanette wall. Throughout the story we picked parts that would be showing scenes, telling scenes, or even both. While listening to the story we were told to close our eyes and picture what was happening in the story while the professor read it aloud. This helped me personally with making the decision if a scene was showing or telling. The professor also drew a storyboard on the board helping us visualize the scenes even better. A storyboard is much like a comic book strip. Creating a storyboard is like building blocks that help you with writing your creative non-fiction, allowing you to flow easier. We discussed themes and what the theme was or could be in the glass castle. You can also change a telling scene into a showing scene by simply adding details or dialogue (which is showing). After the glass castle we moved on to “Miracle woman” a reading that was assigned to read and headlight all the showing and telling scenes. We focused on the use of text, subtext, and context a lot during this story. We talked about the timing of a story and how to stay true to the language of the characters with the use of dialogue. Lastly we went over how a creative non-fiction should be written sing one event or theme.
In this blog post I transformed a simple telling scene form within in my blog into a more descriptive showing scene.
Telling: I hit the gym and do whatever my crazy trainer has prepared for me. Showing: I rushed out the house bragging my ten ton gym over my shoulder. My heart was pounding I could feel it in my stomach. Heart beating as fast as a bird in flight (which is 1000 beats per minute) as I sprint to the bus stop. I met the bus at the stop but it hardly waited and the strong smell of fuel followed it as it came to stop. When I arrived at the gym and opened the door another smell hit me, one that I don’t think I would ever get used to. A mixture of different body odors. As quick as the smell hit me so did my trainer, “WARM UP FOR TODAY IS FOUR EASY MILES AND 10 WIND SPRINTS”. It always amazed me how frequently he used the word “easy”, when he has yet to prove how easy it really is. So we finally started our websites and I was pretty excited. We learned how to make our website, which should have a basic home page, a about me page, contact me page, an assignment page, and a blog page. Everyone had to have these pages but other than that there was endless themes and colors you could use in order to personalize your webpage. It was a bit confusing but once the professor went over it a few times, it was simple. Another thing that was introduced to the class was; Showing and telling; providing the class with a chart on the board explaining it all. Showing is basically a visual picture. Showing scenes are descriptive, figurative, and literary. It also appeals to your senses, creating a scene for action with movement and dialogue. Which also has text, subtext, and context within it. Telling on the other hand provides background information. This could come as a reflection or foreshadowing. When I went home I was super hype to edit and work on my website. I ended up spending a few long hours on the editing process. Changing from theme to theme and getting myself familiar with the weebly site. After endless hours on the computer I ended up in my pop’s music studio (gold city productions) Besides that my week was pretty chill and I was happy that I didn’t have to look forward to have school the following week until Thursday and plus valentine’s day was Saturday !!! I met with my professional seamstress for the first time and I love her and her husband, I just can’t wait to learn more about the art of clothes making. It was like I was meant to meet her and her wonderful husband, I thank god for them. I scheduled my first few classes the following Monday through Wednesday because school was closed. Only the lord knows how much I need this break. Have you ever been in a place that you are so familiar with that if the lights went out you would still know your way around? That’s how I feel about my familiar place. This place is where I can come to relax after a long day. Even though I can come here to relax and clear my mind alone doesn’t always mean that it’s peaceful. At time it can get crazy, with traffic contently running in and out. I’m going to describe this as the many moods of my bedroom. When my room is in a good mood it is a clean, neat, and a very organized place but the moods can change in a second. On the other hand when my room is in a bad mood everything about it feels different. Clothes, shoes and a shaggy white dog are laying all over the floor. At this point my room is unbearable and almost impossible for me to walk in. When I open the curtains allowing the light to shine in it shows the true beauty. Another mood is what I call the studio mood. This out of all the mood is my favorite. A singer sewing machine sits on a crowed table overlooked by a tall lamp. Mountains of different texture fabrics lay on the floor, they are all black and the only contrast is a white shaggy dog that accompanies them. In this mode my room is peaceful and my hands are at work with only the sounds of the sewing machine.
This might sound crazy but just below a familiar place is a strange place. My basement is a familiar place but at the same time very strange. Just from a switch of a light on to off it becomes a strange place, a whole different place. It is an outcast from every room in my house. It’s all just behind a finished door in the kitchen which leads down into this place. Old wooden stairs lead down into the darkness. The smell of old fills the air even before you start walking down the stairs. It’s always so cold, which always makes me feel unwelcomed. The floor is made of cement which also isn’t very welcoming. Storage bins are stacked all along the walls. An old wooden and metal table is nailed to the cement floor. The table looks creepy maybe used by a killer in a scary movie. The wall are also cement with only a small window carved into them. I can’t forgot about the long dark hall that leads to the backdoor. If it was up to me I would never go back there but the washer and dryer are sitting there lonely. The old wooden door doesn’t open, it swallow shut from the weather. I can’t remember the last time we used it. There is a window on the door bigger than the window in the actual basement. Sunlight peeks in during the day but at night there is nothing but total darkness. Unless of course you turn on the light and everything becomes so familiar. In class we talked about how to use symbols. Using symbols when you’re talking about something, for example the professor used a clock to symbolize time. We use metaphors a lot in life and we don’t even realize it. We also discussed the readings that were assigned for homework in class. Going over each author’s story and talking about ways that they relate to each other. We talked about how a lot of English professors don’t take the time to grade papers at the level that they should. Instead they use surface level grading which only corrects any grammar problems, run and sentences and things of that nature. This form of grading doesn’t help he student excel in anyway at becoming a better writer. Generate, revising, and editing are all different things. Revising is adding paragraphs and editing is simply cleaning up your paper. You should always know the purpose, audience, development, and genre of what you’re writing. If you don’t, then writing will always be a challenge unless you know what your purpose is. When writing create first then critique because you are your first audience and always stay on TOP of your writing. T-Think O-On P-Paper I’m not much of a drinker but I figured I would have a few drinks with a few authors. The bar was packed with alcoholics but we managed to find an empty table. The smell of beer filled the air and the table was sticky. We sat down and the first row was ordered. Dominique: I just don’t understand how you guys enjoy writing, every time that I go to write I just don’t know where to start. Carloyn: You see, I can’t switch from life mode to writer mode. Usually it take me three days to get into the writer mode. Three days of quiet non-life mode, lot of coffee and no interruptions. Dominique: Coffee? I don’t really enjoy coffee but I understand where you’re coming from but what if I don’t have the time to wait three whole days to get into a writers mode? Anne interrupted Anne: First I try to breathe, because I’m either sitting there panting like a lapdog or I’m unintentionally making slow asthmatic death rattles. So I just sit there for a minute, breathing slowly, quietly. Dominique: Okay Carloyn: Yes, writing is like meditation or going into an ESP trance, or prayer. Like dreaming. Dominique: That’s a good way of thinking about it I guess, but I just always find myself struggling to find things to write about … Ray: Don’t think about it just write word down, in quickness is truth. The faster you blurt the more swiftly you write, the more honest you are. Anne added Anne: The right words and sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time. Dominique: That sounds a lot like what I do Ray. I like to brainstorm and just get all my thoughts onto paper and worry about the rest later. Even after I brainstorm I find it hard to start on what I’m doing. Anne: Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it. Dominique: I just need to take it easy, just breathe and take it bird by bird instead of getting frustrated with it. Anne: We all often feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose end up being the most natural and fluid. Dominique: That’s good to know that I’m not the only one. Dominique and Anne walks away from the table and heads to the bar for another round. Dominique: I often feel overwhelmed when writing my first draft. I just feel like a put too much time into it in order for it to be great but it never is. So I waste so much time and still have to make major revisions. Anne: don’t worry about it Dominique. The first draft is a child’s draft , where you let it all pour out and then let It romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later. Ray and carloyn sat at the table Overall I would say that this week was overwhelming, not in this class so much but my other classes. I feel like this class is taking longer to start then my others (that’s not necessary a bad thing). Maybe it’s the school closing and the class cancellations that make it seem this way. Between both my home life and my school life everything is just all over the place. I think I need to learn more about time management and how you use it wisely. I’m planning to attend a career and counseling workshop on overcoming procrastination but it’s not until April, which is bad news. Time to me is one of the most important things in life because you can’t ever get it back but yet I wasted it so often. The endless assignments and exams in my other classes STRESS IS BECOMING A HUGE FACTOR. Luckily there’s a workshop available for dealing with stress in college.
If you’re a dccc student interested in attending any workshops below I have listed a few that you might like: Getting organized for the semester Academic Advising: Charting a path to graduation Thursday, January 27, 2015 Tuesday, March 3, 2015 11:05am-12pm 11:05am-12pm Room: 2185 Room: 1325 Mental health 101 Sex, Relationships, and violence Thursday, March 5, 2015 Thursday, March 12, 2015 11:05am-12pm 11:05am-12pm Room: 2185 Room: 2185 When I get home I don’t open my school bag instead I grab a bag Im more familiar with, my gym bag and head back out the door. I was tired from a long school week but that never stopped me. I hit the gym and do whatever my crazy trainer had prepared for me. On Monday it’s never bad but as the week goes on I find it harder to build energy for my workouts. This week was hard period because I struggled to make time for all my plans, now that school was added. I had a sewing lesson that I forgot all about but I still had time to make it on time. I knew that maybe I should’ve skipped this one and studied for my business quiz the following day but I went anyway. I got lucky this time because I passed my quiz with an 48/50 and I make some pretty dope pants at during my 2 hour sewing lesson This is my first blog post about a song that best defines me and that fit my identity. The song that I picked is All things go by Nicki Minaj.
Here is a little background information about the artist: Born on December 8, 1982 in Saint James, Trinidad Onika Tanja Maraj also known as Nicki Minaj is an American rapper, a singer, and a songwriter. She also is one of the judges a show that many people are familiar with American Idol. This song is from one of many of her albums out, which also happens to be the latest called “The Pinkprint”. Lyrics: Yo, I had to reinvent, I put the V in vent I put the heat in vents, man I been competin' since I look beyond what people sayin', and I see intent Then I just sit back and decipher, what they really meant Cherish these nights, cherish these people Life is a movie, but there will never be a sequel And I'm good with that, as long as I'm peaceful As long as 7 years from now, I'm taking my daughter to preschool Cherish these days, man do they go quick Just yesterday, I swear it was o' six Ten years ago, that's when you proposed I look down, yes I suppose All things go, all things go All things go, all things go I feel one minute, yeah we got it then it's gone While we keep waiting for a moment to live for So can't nobody ever tell me that I'm wrong Cause I'mma ride I'm with you still the night is young We keep goin', we go, we go, we go We wake back up and do it all again We know, we know, say fuck the world, we ridin' 'til the end When all is said and done, look at what we've become I just want you to know that I did it for you I lost my little cousin to a senseless act of violence His sister said, he wanted to stay with me, but I didn't invite him Why didn't he ask, or am I just buggin'? Cause since I got fame, they don't act the same Even though they know, that I love 'em Family ties, broken before me, niggas tryna kill him, he ain't even call me And that's the reflection of me, yes I get it, I get it, it was all me I pop a pill and remember the look in his eyes, the last day he saw me All things go, all things go All things go, all things go I feel one minute, yeah we got it then it's gone While we keep waiting for a moment to live for So can't nobody ever tell me that I'm wrong Cause I'mma ride I'm with you still the night is young We keep goin', we go, we go, we go We wake back up and do it all again We know, we know, say fuck the world, we ridin' 'til the end When all is said and done, look at what we've become I just want you to know that I did it for you Let me make this clear I'm not difficult, I'm just about my business I'm not into fake industry parties, and fake agendas Rock with people for how they make me feel not what they give me Even the ones that hurt me the most, I still show forgiveness I love my mother more than life itself, and that's a fact I'd give it all, if somehow, I could just rekindle that She never understands, why I'm so overprotective The more I work, the more I feel like, somehow they're neglected I want 'Caiah to go to college, just to say "We did it!" My child with Aaron, would've been sixteen, any minute So in some ways I feel like 'Caiah, is the both of them It's like he's 'Caiah's little angel, looking over him And I know Jelani will always love me, and I'll always love him And I'm just his little sister not Nicki Minaj when I'm around him Yeah we did it, let's leave this imprint Just finished writing, this is the Pinkprint All things go, all things go All things go, all things go ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Yo, I had to reinvent, I put the V in vent I put the heat in vents, man I been competin' since” I feel like I have to reinvent myself so much between school and all my other hobbies. For example I had to reinvent myself as a student because I started to fall off from my school work from the time I first began college until now. I put the heat in vents by cooling down and being more focused which not only made me a better student but a better person overall. “Cherish these nights, cherish these people Life is a movie, but there will never be a sequel And I'm good with that, as long as I'm peaceful As long as 7 years from now, I'm taking my daughter to preschool Cherish these days, man do they go quick” Love this verse because I don’t take anything for granted, life is too short. At the end of the day I want to be successful but success without family and peacefulness is nothing. That’s why I cherish each day and live each day like it’s my last. “All things go, all things go All things go, all things go I feel one minute, yeah we got it then it's gone While we keep waiting for a moment to live for All things go, all things go” This is my favorite part of the song because it’s basically saying that all things come to an end and time waits for no one. I always seem to wait around for the right time and for the moment that’s just right but I never know when it will come or if it ever actually will come. Time doesn’t wait for me to figure out when that is, it just goes on with or without me. “We keep goin', we go, we go, we go we wake back up and do it all again we know, we know, say fuck the world, we ridin' 'til the end” Even though this song seems like it’s sad by saying all things will come to an end, I think this bar really relates to me as a person. I wake up every morning knowing that one day I will pass on but I still work hard toward my goals during the given 24 hours of each day. Forget everything else, I’m never going to stop chasing my dreams. “Let me make this clear I'm not difficult, I'm just about my business I'm not into fake industry parties, and fake agendas Rock with people for how they make me feel not what they give me” People always thought I was a mean person just because I’m about my business and I guess that reflects off me as being mean. I never was a people person nor a party animal but I’m always welling to be around people that are close to me. That to me is much better than being at a party surrounded with a bunch of fake friends. “Even the ones that hurt me the most, I still show forgiveness” I’m a very forgiving person and I don’t hold grudges. “I love my mother more than life itself, and that's a fact I'd give it all, if somehow, I could just rekindle that She never understands, why I'm so overprotective The more I work, the more I feel like, somehow they're neglected” I love my mother so much but our relationship is very rocky. I want to give so much to her and my family that’s why I work so hard to reach my goals but no one understands. I wish I could rekindle out relationship but I know it’s going to take time because right now she just doesn’t see what I’m trying to do for her. I am very over protective about my family which they also see as a bad trait. The fact that I want to be successful makes it hard for me to spend time with family because of the amount of time I spend working toward my future. |
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