When we were first assigned this project, I was a little confused. I found it hard to understand how we could incorporate different materials and sources while still keeping "one voice." After talking it through with Laila and Kira, my group mates, I began to understand and got excited. We chose the theme of independence to stay away from the major theme of love that runs throughout Jane Eyre but still keep an important idea. We then split up to find our evidence and quotes that we would then group together to make into one flowing idea.
For me, finding the quotes within Jane Eyre was the most restricting. I knew that the idea of independence was everywhere, but it was hard to find fifteen different passage that expressed it. Some passages worked within the story, but if they were pulled out of context they wouldn't make sense. Eventually, though, we found each of our passages. I felt the same way about finding quotes from other sources within the curriculum. I felt very limited, and it took some time to find passages that would work. We did find these as well, but it wasn't as easy as I would have expected.
I enjoyed finding outside elements much more because I felt more free. After thinking about this, I realized that when it comes to bringing different elements into one idea, I enjoy freedom. Usually I'm okay with restrictions, because it helps me know what the teacher wants, but for this kind of project I liked having a wide range of elements to choose from. I believe it allowed me to be more creative with this project and share my knowledge from many different places, not just what we studied in English. It was easier coming up with connections from outside the English curriculum because they were the ideas that came quick and naturally to me, the ideas that popped up into my head when someone said "independence," instead of being forced or looked for. I do believe that it's good for me to find connections in everything, but I had more difficulty with this project when I was told where to look for these connections.
I like the fact that I was comfortable with the free aspect of this assignment. Usually the open-ended part of assignments makes me nervous, so it was a nice change to feel confident in my ideas. I wish I had an easier time understanding this assignment originally, though, because if it had been individual I would've had difficulty. In the end I really liked this assignment. It definitely brought together many different elements and ideas that I never thought could've been brought together.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Metacognition: Short Story Writing
Writing my short story was a fun yet frustrating process. It gave me the opportunity to be free and creative with my writing, but it involved changing my story many times to make it just right. In the end, I know that the changes were for the better.
I began with an idea which, I admit, was pretty unrealistic. But I liked it, so I went with it. After receiving feedback from Mr. Allen, I realized that my plot was so unrealistic to the point where the reader would have a hard time enjoying the story because it would sound ridiculous. I then reread my story, or the story fragment I had written at the time, and kept the parts that I believed were good enough to be rewritten.
I then took those parts, my main character's poor relationship with his wife being my main "pressure," and twisted them around so the story would be slightly different and more believable, but I didn't have to change it completely. I was much happier with this story and thought I would definitely be successful. I was wrong. In this story, the main character's wife died. In my feedback, Mr. Allen commented that her death sounded forced and I should somehow tweak it. I was frustrated with this, that was the biggest push on my main character and I was proud of it, but I knew that he was probably right. I just believed I had a good idea going for me.
I talked to my mom about my story and tossed some ideas around with her. I realized that I had had the idea of the wife dying stuck in my head and it was hard to imagine anything else happening, so it was good to have a fresh mind help me with new ideas and scenarios. We had the idea of the wife going into a coma instead. That way, my story would be more dramatic and pressure would still be put on my main character, but the wife didn't die, so it wouldn't be as much of a stretch.
From doing this project, I learned that if I get an idea in my head for writing, it gets stuck there. I have difficulty seeing my story go any other way, so if I need to change my story, I have to get inspiration from somewhere else. That doesn't mean I take the idea from someone or something, but I may get a flash of inspiration from an outside source. I wish I wasn't like that, though. It makes writing much more difficult because I get stuck in one section of my imagination, as opposed to imagining all different things and choosing my best idea. I like the fact that after taking a break, looking at something else, and coming back, I usually have a more open mind. And although that's an extra step I'd like to take, it's worth it in the long run.
I began with an idea which, I admit, was pretty unrealistic. But I liked it, so I went with it. After receiving feedback from Mr. Allen, I realized that my plot was so unrealistic to the point where the reader would have a hard time enjoying the story because it would sound ridiculous. I then reread my story, or the story fragment I had written at the time, and kept the parts that I believed were good enough to be rewritten.
I then took those parts, my main character's poor relationship with his wife being my main "pressure," and twisted them around so the story would be slightly different and more believable, but I didn't have to change it completely. I was much happier with this story and thought I would definitely be successful. I was wrong. In this story, the main character's wife died. In my feedback, Mr. Allen commented that her death sounded forced and I should somehow tweak it. I was frustrated with this, that was the biggest push on my main character and I was proud of it, but I knew that he was probably right. I just believed I had a good idea going for me.
I talked to my mom about my story and tossed some ideas around with her. I realized that I had had the idea of the wife dying stuck in my head and it was hard to imagine anything else happening, so it was good to have a fresh mind help me with new ideas and scenarios. We had the idea of the wife going into a coma instead. That way, my story would be more dramatic and pressure would still be put on my main character, but the wife didn't die, so it wouldn't be as much of a stretch.
From doing this project, I learned that if I get an idea in my head for writing, it gets stuck there. I have difficulty seeing my story go any other way, so if I need to change my story, I have to get inspiration from somewhere else. That doesn't mean I take the idea from someone or something, but I may get a flash of inspiration from an outside source. I wish I wasn't like that, though. It makes writing much more difficult because I get stuck in one section of my imagination, as opposed to imagining all different things and choosing my best idea. I like the fact that after taking a break, looking at something else, and coming back, I usually have a more open mind. And although that's an extra step I'd like to take, it's worth it in the long run.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Best of Today: Europe is in Darkness
Today in class, we had a discussion on Heart of Darkness. There were many good points, but the idea that got my attention the most was one from Anna B. She pointed out that although Africa, and specifically the Congo, and always referred to as the "darkness," when Marlow returns to Europe he believes the people living there to be the ones in the dark. It's the complete opposite of how you'd think it would be.
Africa has always been looked at as being behind other civilizations and therefore unenlightened whereas Europe has always been a leading power and described specifically as enlightened. That's why this idea is so intriguing. When Marlow first returns to Europe, he says, "I had no particular desire to enlighten them, but I had some difficulty in restraining myself from laughing in their faces so full of stupid importance" (Page 71). Because Marlow has been to the end of the world and back, he realizes how in the dark the average person is. They are filled with "stupid importance" and believe that only their own lives and little worlds matter. They're the ones who need their eyes to be opened, no the natives in the Congo.
This also made me think a lot about the present day. Many people are still like this; they get sucked into their own little worlds and ignore everything that doesn't have anything to do with them. I admit, I do this on occasion as well. It's hard to focus and learn about something that you feel as no relevance to you. It's important to do this, though. I believe it helps you become a more rounded person because you are knowledgeable about many things all over the world. If a war is going on, you should know more than just who it's between. Although it may seem like it's not effecting you, it indirectly is. It's effecting trade patterns, economies, people's lives, and many more. That's the same as what was happening in Heart of Darkness. No one knew what was going on in the Congo, and no one cared. They didn't understand that everything has some relevance to you, whether it's direct or indirect.
By acknowledging this, I am now able to open my mind to other situations going on in other parts of the world. I tried to do this before, but Anna's comment opened my eyes to how in the dark many people are. If you don't understand that the whole world is connect, then you are truly in the dark.
Africa has always been looked at as being behind other civilizations and therefore unenlightened whereas Europe has always been a leading power and described specifically as enlightened. That's why this idea is so intriguing. When Marlow first returns to Europe, he says, "I had no particular desire to enlighten them, but I had some difficulty in restraining myself from laughing in their faces so full of stupid importance" (Page 71). Because Marlow has been to the end of the world and back, he realizes how in the dark the average person is. They are filled with "stupid importance" and believe that only their own lives and little worlds matter. They're the ones who need their eyes to be opened, no the natives in the Congo.
This also made me think a lot about the present day. Many people are still like this; they get sucked into their own little worlds and ignore everything that doesn't have anything to do with them. I admit, I do this on occasion as well. It's hard to focus and learn about something that you feel as no relevance to you. It's important to do this, though. I believe it helps you become a more rounded person because you are knowledgeable about many things all over the world. If a war is going on, you should know more than just who it's between. Although it may seem like it's not effecting you, it indirectly is. It's effecting trade patterns, economies, people's lives, and many more. That's the same as what was happening in Heart of Darkness. No one knew what was going on in the Congo, and no one cared. They didn't understand that everything has some relevance to you, whether it's direct or indirect.
By acknowledging this, I am now able to open my mind to other situations going on in other parts of the world. I tried to do this before, but Anna's comment opened my eyes to how in the dark many people are. If you don't understand that the whole world is connect, then you are truly in the dark.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Blogging Around
One blog post I responded to was Stephanie's "Get Organized." I chose this entry because I thought it was extremely interesting that she went to New York to perform and because she had good organization methods.
I'm so impressed that you went to New York for a concert! You may have mentioned this before, but I seem to have forgotten. Very cool. Anyways, I think it's so smart that you get everything all set up beforehand. I have the tendency to put things off until last minute and find myself scrambling around trying to find everything I need. I really need to start preparing sooner because, like you, I'm generally a nervous person and if I'm running around until the last minute, I generally feel like I'm missing something. Most nights I try to pack my backpack for school the next day, but if I forgot, the next day I'm constantly freaking out that I forgot something. I think preparing ahead of time is a good habit to have.
The other blog post I responded to was Nish's "The Poetic Walls." I chose this because I saw that he struggled in the same way I did when it came to writing poetry and I enjoyed reading how he responded to these struggles.
I had the exact same problem. At first, my poem was, as you said, just the skeleton of one, and I had a hard time finding the words to make it a real poem. I knew what I wanted to say but I had difficulty expressing it in a poetic way. It wasn't until Mr. Allen pointed out that I need to focus on the scene and the moment I'm in more. I pictured the woods I was in more thoroughly and started to write something that sounded more poetic. But I also hit that second brick wall. I put everything in that I could and Mr. Allen still asked for more. I, unfortunately, couldn't take a walk in the woods to help my thought process but instead walked away from the poem, did something else, and came back with a fresh mind.
I'm so impressed that you went to New York for a concert! You may have mentioned this before, but I seem to have forgotten. Very cool. Anyways, I think it's so smart that you get everything all set up beforehand. I have the tendency to put things off until last minute and find myself scrambling around trying to find everything I need. I really need to start preparing sooner because, like you, I'm generally a nervous person and if I'm running around until the last minute, I generally feel like I'm missing something. Most nights I try to pack my backpack for school the next day, but if I forgot, the next day I'm constantly freaking out that I forgot something. I think preparing ahead of time is a good habit to have.
The other blog post I responded to was Nish's "The Poetic Walls." I chose this because I saw that he struggled in the same way I did when it came to writing poetry and I enjoyed reading how he responded to these struggles.
I had the exact same problem. At first, my poem was, as you said, just the skeleton of one, and I had a hard time finding the words to make it a real poem. I knew what I wanted to say but I had difficulty expressing it in a poetic way. It wasn't until Mr. Allen pointed out that I need to focus on the scene and the moment I'm in more. I pictured the woods I was in more thoroughly and started to write something that sounded more poetic. But I also hit that second brick wall. I put everything in that I could and Mr. Allen still asked for more. I, unfortunately, couldn't take a walk in the woods to help my thought process but instead walked away from the poem, did something else, and came back with a fresh mind.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Metacognition: Poetry
I will be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of writing poetry. I love reading it, for the most part, but I find the writing process to be long and difficult when you are trying to stay away from the clichés. What helped me somewhat stay away from that was when we were assigned to think of random moments in our lives that meant something to us, but we don't exactly know why.
This part came generally easy to me. The first things that came to my head were pretty random, but a few of the moments were obvious and, well, cliché; Christmas eve, Thanksgiving dinners, my sisters leaving for college, all of the moments that you would expect to stick in someone's mind. I finally settled on when my ex-boyfriend and I walked through the woods together. Nothing exciting happened (so no one get any ideas), but it was special and I felt as though writing a poem about it would allow me to dive deeper into why this stuck.
When I wrote my first draft, my ex-boyfriend and I were more recently broken up than we are now, so I had many more emotions that came easily to me as I wrote the poem. Looking back, though, I realize that I left most of those out of the poem. My poem was pure detail and story, it had no feeling showing through it even though there was a lot behind it.
In the second draft, I allowed more emotions to show but still subconsciously held back. I kept getting feedback to dive deeper into what happened between the two people in the poem, but I was afraid to for reasons that will remain unsaid. When we got our poems back again and were told to rewrite them a third and final time, I'll admit I got angry. I was told again to go deeper into their problem and this time I was consciously holding back. This anger let my emotions finally break through and go onto my paper. He wanted to go deeper into the problem? Fine. Here it is. And let me say, it was amazing. I hated doing it so much. I hated having to connect with what was bothering me and find a way to make it sound "pretty." But it worked. It got the feelings out of me. The situation still upsets me, but it's nice to know that I finally got it off my chest and into writing.
I didn't care for this writing process at all, but looking back, I know that it was good for me and I thoroughly appreciate it now.
This part came generally easy to me. The first things that came to my head were pretty random, but a few of the moments were obvious and, well, cliché; Christmas eve, Thanksgiving dinners, my sisters leaving for college, all of the moments that you would expect to stick in someone's mind. I finally settled on when my ex-boyfriend and I walked through the woods together. Nothing exciting happened (so no one get any ideas), but it was special and I felt as though writing a poem about it would allow me to dive deeper into why this stuck.
When I wrote my first draft, my ex-boyfriend and I were more recently broken up than we are now, so I had many more emotions that came easily to me as I wrote the poem. Looking back, though, I realize that I left most of those out of the poem. My poem was pure detail and story, it had no feeling showing through it even though there was a lot behind it.
In the second draft, I allowed more emotions to show but still subconsciously held back. I kept getting feedback to dive deeper into what happened between the two people in the poem, but I was afraid to for reasons that will remain unsaid. When we got our poems back again and were told to rewrite them a third and final time, I'll admit I got angry. I was told again to go deeper into their problem and this time I was consciously holding back. This anger let my emotions finally break through and go onto my paper. He wanted to go deeper into the problem? Fine. Here it is. And let me say, it was amazing. I hated doing it so much. I hated having to connect with what was bothering me and find a way to make it sound "pretty." But it worked. It got the feelings out of me. The situation still upsets me, but it's nice to know that I finally got it off my chest and into writing.
I didn't care for this writing process at all, but looking back, I know that it was good for me and I thoroughly appreciate it now.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Get Orgainzed
To "get organized," I am cleaning my room. My clothes need to be hung up in my closet, books need to be put away, and some stuff needs to be thrown out. I am doing this by myself.
I haven't started cleaning yet, and I keep finding excuses not to do it. I get distracted by Facebook, music, or my phone. It's just a daunting task that I'd rather not be doing, so I find myself doing other things. I know that once I finally clean it, though, I'll feel much better.
I'm about halfway through cleaning my room and I cannot focus for the life of me. I keep finding different reasons to stop; I think of a random question for my mom, my cat walks in the room and I have to pet her, I want to skip the song that comes on, etc. I am just so bored.
I finally finished cleaning my room and I feel extremely accomplished. Even though it took much longer than it should've, I still got it clean and it looks amazing. I feel much less overwhelmed now.
Before I cleaned my room, my mind was very scattered. When I would look for something, I had to look at the floor because I would just leave random things there. Now I know where to look and my mind feels much more at ease.
After this project and analyzing my thought process, I found that I avoid doing something that I don't want to do as much as I can. I kept making excuses to put it off, even during the cleaning process. I realized that I do this with homework as well. If there's something I don't want to do, I put it off until the last minute, and that is a very bad habit to have. I'm now trying to change my mindset and realize that the sooner I do something that I don't want to do, the sooner it's over with and I can move on to more enjoyable things.
I haven't started cleaning yet, and I keep finding excuses not to do it. I get distracted by Facebook, music, or my phone. It's just a daunting task that I'd rather not be doing, so I find myself doing other things. I know that once I finally clean it, though, I'll feel much better.
I'm about halfway through cleaning my room and I cannot focus for the life of me. I keep finding different reasons to stop; I think of a random question for my mom, my cat walks in the room and I have to pet her, I want to skip the song that comes on, etc. I am just so bored.
I finally finished cleaning my room and I feel extremely accomplished. Even though it took much longer than it should've, I still got it clean and it looks amazing. I feel much less overwhelmed now.
Before I cleaned my room, my mind was very scattered. When I would look for something, I had to look at the floor because I would just leave random things there. Now I know where to look and my mind feels much more at ease.
After this project and analyzing my thought process, I found that I avoid doing something that I don't want to do as much as I can. I kept making excuses to put it off, even during the cleaning process. I realized that I do this with homework as well. If there's something I don't want to do, I put it off until the last minute, and that is a very bad habit to have. I'm now trying to change my mindset and realize that the sooner I do something that I don't want to do, the sooner it's over with and I can move on to more enjoyable things.
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