Change of Mind: Details Matter

Recent activities and discussions in class have shown me how much thought actually goes into creative writing, whether a short story or a movie. I never thought that it was easy or came right to you, but the discussions in class and the process of writing a short story have shown me that there's a lot more to it then coming up with a good plot line; the little details in the writing matter a lot.

Reading "Stone Boy" and discussing it afterwards helped me pick out the details in writing. I remember when I first read "Stone Boy" at home before any discussion, I really liked it but only saw the main plot or the top layer. The next day, we discussed it in class and it opened my eyes to how much more detail and ideas you can get from the story if you look deeper into the writing. I never would've noticed how uncomfortable the main character was having control over his older brother or exactly how much pressure was being put upon him if we didn't talk about it. I am currently reading The Constant Princess by myself for some extra reading, and these discussions have helped me pick up so much more from the book.

The process of story writing has also helped me appreciate the technique of word usage and little details much more. Mr. Allen said that verbs can be powerful if you use the right one, and I've found that this is definitely true. One word can say so much, and if you can pick up on that while reading a story, it will tell you so much more about what is going on that any amount of dialogue can.

We watched a clip of the movie "Apocalypse Now" in class, and the discussion of the film technique introduced me to how much you can learn from the small details that most people wouldn't pay attention to. We touched on the noises in the background and the gun underneath the main characters pillow; things that I normally wouldn't think much of. The discussion showed me how much these little things mean and how much you can learn about the character just from the placement of his gun. A couple weeks ago I was watching "Cool Hand Luke" with my dad and I remember saying, "My English teacher is getting into my head!" I noticed the acts of repetition or the hidden messages in the movie that I wouldn't have noticed before and it drove me crazy! I admit, at first I wanted to write off what we learned in class and assume I would never use it in my everyday life, but I did, and I loved it. It made the film mean so much more by finding these little details. I had to admit to myself that details do matter, whether writing or reading a story, and they'll bring so much more to the story than you would've thought.