Week Thirteen Blog Entry

This week we focused on reflecting on how words are important and how they work in the everyday world. We discussed why we use words and whether or not they are important. We also got into our individual journal groups to finish working on our literary journals and working out all of the kinks. Getting the Journal ready has been a challenge and has required hard work, but it is worth it.

This week I am working on revising all of my work for the portfolio that is due the last day of class. Working on revising all of my work has not been easy. To truly revise, you have to try very hard to make your work better and better. It is time consuming but it is really teaching me about how to look at my work with a critical eye and trying to better my own writing style. Overall, the creativity used in looking at your poems and short stories in a different way is good practice for future writing.

Overall, I have learned so much this semester from this A190 class. It has really taught me how to access the best part of my creative self. I have learned how to write, how to look at writing and how to revise and edit work as well. I can honestly say that I have developed very valuable skills that I will use later on in other English classes and in life. I have definitely been exposed to many different writers and types of writing that has influenced and been a part of my own personal writing style.

Week 11, i Think

Creating a literary journal has thus far been an okay process. Our group seems to be very laid back, and we all work well together. We have spaced out the work, and are working on editing right now. Coming up with a title and cover art has been fun. I really think our end product will look really nice.

Overall, I do like being creative, just not in a writing sense. I took a painting and ceramics class in high school, and I really enjoyed those. I love paintings and I especially love the art museum in Chicago. I enjoyed learning how to make my own ceramic pieces, I prefer to create with my hands, as opposed to writing. I do appreciate poets (most of them). And in all honesty, I like the cliche writing. I like cliche love stories, heartbreak poems, sad poems about losing somebody you love. The poems that start getting so abstract and hard to understand, I really don't like those. It is like, what is the point of writing those outrageous poems, if the common person can not understand it.

Week 12

This week we focused mainly on working on our group literary journals. We finalized who is doing what and decided to wait on our journal name until we decide what pieces of work we want for our journal. That is for the circles that is. The circles have about four main people in charge, who were specifically assigned to do the bio page, title page, table of contents page and a person who will decide the order of how the poems will go. As for the rest of us, we all will edit our authors work and decide Monday what pieces we want. I'm really enjoying how my group is working and getting along together. It also gives us a opportunity to get to know each others personalities as well. On Wednesday we did a in class writing activity that I thought was interesting. We were all given a sense and to quickly write about our sense in a 2 to 3 line sentence based of a scarecrow picture. It was something different and creative but I didn't like how fast we had to come up with our lines. Since I'm not that creative I prefer slow group work where we each read our own pieces then the group nicely criticize. Those kinds of exercises helps me notice things I normally wouldn't think of.

As each week passes we are to keep revising our works. It's been quite challenging to keep up with the revisions along with the blogs and class journals, but the 15 and 22 ways to revise has helped me alot. It's been hard to determine which work I think is good enough to revise four times for our final portfolio but I think I have came down to which piece I want. I'm excited to see the outcome of the class journals and can't wait to proceed working on them Monday!

Week 12 Post

With the end of the semester right around the corner, this week has involved working on both the group journal and our individual portfolios. Both Monday and Wednesday's classes included group work. My group, the circle group (we haven't picked a name yet), have decided to print a hard-copy for our journal. We have also deligated our roles and have all agreed to handle the duties for one of person from Square Lit Journal's group; which include revisions and one-on-one interactions.

Working on my portfolio has proven to be quite demanding. The professor mentioned something in class on Wednesday and I feel as though it really applies to me. So often, writer's feel as though their original draft is somewhat absolute. In order to properly revise, one would have to "eliminate their gems." As I work on my revisions, I am finding it quite difficult to fulling modify it. I keep getting to points where I need either completely cut out the parts that I am so convinced are solid or keep them, despite them being too concrete, etc.

Despite demanding, I am enjoying working on both the Lit Journals and Portfolios. Even though I am not persueing a degree that will use my improved ability to write poetry, I will be able to use the methods of revision in the years to come. I look forward to continueing our journals/portfolios and am excited to see how they will turn out.

Week 12

This week we focused on revision and our literary journals. Our groups assembled and finalized our submission guidelines, assigned roles, and talked about the asthetic of our journal. We created a timeline and set goals for completion. In class on Wednesday we did writing revision exercises. We performed a writing chain where each person wrote 2-3 lines which were themed with a particular sense which was preassigned.

I'm very excited about the Lit Candles literary journal. I have some really great people on my team. Everyone is engaged with their particular role in the process and open to ideas. I'm happy that we decided to accept a variety of generes because I think it will make our journal more diverse and interesting, it will have a little something for everyone. I can't wait to see the art and more visual things that we will use. The writing/revision exercise on Wednesday were not very helpful in my opinion. I struggle with fast, off the cuff writing exercises, it is just not how my brain works. Generally I just put anything down because of the pressure and it has no meaning or relevance and makes me feel frustrated. When I write at home it takes me a very long time but I get there just the same.

I'm thinking about the revision process and how it changes my ideas about writing and the creative process. Clearly writing is a very fluid art and words are a dime a dozen. Sometimes I do get attached to my "pets" and will try to rewrite around them. I feel like at this stage I'm really pleased with my first or second drafts (poems) because I spend so much time writing them in the first place I tend to feel like I've gotten it pretty close to right. However, my short stories can use quite a bit of revision, I'm just not certain in which direction to take them.

Week 12

This past week we have discussed with our groups what we want our literary journals to be like. Themes, asthetics, artwork, submission guidelines, anything, and every thing. Then we divided up all of the poems that were turned into us.

I've been trying to revise my poems and short stories but I like them the way they are already! But I'm going to try, it's difficult though. Truthfully I haven't gotten around to revising but I try and keep my writings with me everywhere I go so whenever a spare moment comes up or inspiration strikes I've got them with me.

I do believe creativity helps the human spirit thrive. If we didn't have creativity where would be as the human race? What would we be doing? Even the cavemen had cave paintings! If we didn't have creativity we'd be mute unemotional nonsensical people wandering around Earth just eating weeds and killing random animals. Creativity is a necessity. It warms our hearts and inspires everything we do. Even the simplest most mundane things are someone's creativity and that inspires them to do something wonderful. Creativity keeps people moving, it is the food to our souls.

Creativity (Week 12)

This week we met again in out literary journal groups. Things are finally beginning to make a little more sense and ultimately our ideas are getting organized. Since we had to form these groups, it is helping me to understand what all the work is that goes into constructing a literary journal, which is a lot of prep and a lot of decision making. I am so indecisive so it is probably a good thing that I am not chief editor.

Creativity is not necessarily a need for the human spirit to thrive, but I do think that being creative facilitates a happier individual. Being creative allows a person to let loose and allow their feelings to be put out there in a type of medium that communicates their feelings. Some other forms of creativity that I partake in, besides writing for this class, is sketching. I love to sketch and draw because it just puts me into higher spirits.

I agree with Marvin’s sentiment and I really liked reading this quote about writing. Poetry is the oldest and longest lasting genre (even though there is little to no value in it) because anyone can do it and anyone has the ability to learn to do it well through practice. For years it has been used to help people communicate their views and feelings and so it has lasted over the years. When Marvin says “necessary”, I think she means it’s natural. I believe that Marvin thinks that writing poetry is natural because it is expressing your-self. It is allowing your thoughts to flow onto paper and thoughts are both inevitable and innate.

Week 12 Blog

We turned in our first draft to the other group and continued working on revision. The more we revise in class, I understand how each piece reads a whole lot better. Others’ reviewing my work has really helped give me new ideas. I feel I have improved significantly, especially from the activities that we do in class. Rewriting one of our pieces just from memory was an activity that I really enjoyed. Trying to remember the entire poem without looking at the original copy gave me new ideas.

The revision process requires concentration; a piece can always be edited. I have always thought that first drafts were always one’s best, but recently I have learned that a first draft isn’t always a person’s best. One’s work should be revised at least a couple of times. Creative writing comes to us overtime; the environment which we live in creates different opinions and provokes emotion that each person handles differently. Simply going outdoors can give one several creative ideas. I believe that the creative process is definitely essential for the human spirit to thrive. One can practice creativity without even knowing it; the way a person thinks about certain things in their life gives them the ability to be creative. This allows a person both new ideas and opens up different views of the world.

I disagree with Martin’s statement mostly because writing is one of the most important characteristics one can have. Many jobs, everyday activities, and even forms of communication require reading and writing. Although there are very many different forms of writing, many authors write not only to release their emotions, but to share their emotions. Hearing about others’ experiences and tragedies strike peoples’ interest, but reading about these experiences gives one the ability to be more sympathetic. Considering the fact that people enjoy these types of things, writing can become a way of living. Creativity comes to us naturally. It is just the way that we use this creativity that creates an interesting life.

Blog Entry #12

On Monday, our group was sorting out the roles of each individual and adding the finishing to the submission guidelines. The name of our literary journal was also chosen that day.
I found it interesting that I did not have a whole lot of poems to chosen from to submit the other group. I had to convert some of my flash fiction stories back into poems, which I found quite amusing. It was quite difficult to cut down on words and making seem like a poem again. I had to made some modifications to all the poems, it somewhat changed the original direction that I was aiming for but it still works. Overall I enjoyed it since I have not had a chance to work on a poem lately.
I agree with Marvin, going the poetry route as a career choice is not viewed as normal. When most people think about going into a career field, for the most part, it is for the money and personal interest. While poetry can encourage many to consider it as a possibility, most are discouraged by the market value. I believe it is one of the oldest and longest lasting genres because the wording, the meaning, and the illusions brought up by well written poem can reach people’s hearts. That sensation can motivate others to practice the art of poetry. I also believe it has survived so long because it’s a way to express yourself in an indirect way, masking your feelings behind words. I believe Marvin means by “necessary” as a way to rebel against the norms many people have about the concept of poetry and attempt to change views.

week 12

Workshopping and revising each other's work in class has made me look at a piece of work in a completely different way. When other student's read their poems or short stories aloud in class, they all seem wonderful and perfect just the way they are, until I actually have a hard copy of the writings itself. Being able to visually and mentally see what is being read aloud, doesn't necessarily mean I find many mistakes, and areas for improvement; sometimes there are only positive, uplifting things to say to my fellow classmates, which is a good thing! I most definitely think that it makes us use the creative process in a completely different way, but also, a very useful kind of way. The way I look at it, is it's an opportunity for others to go on a limb with their writing, slightly changing it, or tremendously changing it, which as most author's don't like, it can sometimes make it so much more powerful and enjoyable for the reader.

As the days go on, and the end of the semester is getting near, I would say that most of my creativity currently comes from trying to choreograph my own dance for my Middle Eastern Dance final. Not only do I have to strategize my own dance, I also have to keep a creative, unique mind, so that it's my own, and not similar to anyone else's dance, which so far, has been extremely tricky! It can certainly influence my writing, because dancing always puts me in a calm, relaxing mood, causing my mind to think about things I normally wouldn't take the time to think about, or really focus on throughout the day, and for me, those are the best things to write about!

For the most part, I agree with Marvin's statement. Writing is such a beautiful thing, where one piece can melt my heart, and that same exact piece, another person might read it and want to rip it up. No one makes money off writing because, for the most part, it's for us, the authors. Writing about memories, tragedies, or even what happened the day before, only the author really knows what they are trying to say. Another reason why writing is such a beautiful thing, is because even if the reader thinks the story or poem means something completely different from what the author meant it to mean, it can still be very powerful to one and also very enjoyable!

Week Twelve Blog Entry

I definitely believe the creative process is essential for the human spirit and mind to thrive. To practice creativity is to allow that part of your brain to open up to new things which will allow great new ideas to come to you that otherwise wouldn’t have. I believe it’s very important and it’s not easy either to access your creativity, especially when you are not used to tapping into it.

I mostly disagree with Marvin’s opinion because I do believe that people want you to write. I am one of those people that want other people to write and to create. The part about not making money on it probably has something to do with whether or not you really want to make money. For example, if all you want to do is get your feelings out or write crappy poetry, than you probably won’t make much of a living on it. But I believe that if you want to make it big and important, you can. You just have to put in that effort and get your stuff out there and I believe that you can make money from it.

As far as the necessity of writing poetry, I do think that it is one of the most unique ways to express oneself and that no matter the amount of money that can be made from it; people will always want to read it and to obtain it. It works and speaks to most humans and it almost seems like a natural way to express feelings and that is why I believe it is so necessary to the human spirit.

Week 12

So, the revision process is both really awesome sometimes, and other times it can be really frustrating. One thing I hated seeing was a work of mine transforming into something worse, and having to figure out how it got that way. But that might just be me thinking that the first was the best. Thankfully, I was able to get past this with some of my poems. In fact, the exercise we did in class, when we had to rewrite it from memory, helped me a lot. I got a few more ideas to kind of inject into the poem.

I can't imagine trying to live my life without writing or other forms of creativity. Listening to music has had such a bug impact on my life that trying to go on without that makes me shudder. It would be empty. Unhappy. And losing that ability to vent my feelings at times, or try to bring smiles or tears to others, is just heartbreaking to me. Without it, communicating ideas would just fall flat. Some of the greatest (and even some of the worst) things that have happened in history wouldn't have happened. I just-I think you need it. It's like breathing.

I agree with the sentiment to an extent. While you can't get rich (with a few exceptions) you won't have to live in a gutter either. From what I've heard and with some experience from others, I've found that writers are able to earn themselves a stable living so long as they are able to manage their finances. Abilities can be turned into a way of life-it's usually money smarts (or lack-thereof) that winds up screwing anyone over. As for why-it's because someone out there wants to read it, listen to it, experience it. It's an experience, is a great way to say it. And the person writing does it because it gives them a chance to share their experiences, give their own little bits of insight. Giving another person an experience-making them cry with your words, or smile and laugh, or nod and stop with silent awe-that's a power a lot of writers appreciate. Not only that, but creativity is such a big part of the world. It's how they solve problems and gain an edge.

Week 12

Week 12 Revision Process

The revision process has opened up a lot of different ideas that I previous wouldn't have come to realize in ordinary circumstances.  With others viewing my work, they reveal things that may be trite or if phrases or sentences are awkwardly written.  Also giving advice and constructive criticism to help modify that which needs it.  I haven't had many avenues, of late, to be creative other than this class.  My other classes are mainly science and math.  I've always had random thoughts pop into my head such as jokes or idiosyncrasies that I notice throughout the day that pretty much go by the way side unless I blurt them out at the time of conception.  Humans should be and need to be creative, that's how our society advances and figures out solutions to problems and fine tunes common sense.  If creativity wasn't a human gift we would still be banging sticks together and grunting in a forest trying to figure out what that ball in the sky keeps rising and falling.  I don't agree with Mr. Marvin either.  Poetry doesn't have to be just in written form in stanzas and filed away somewhere.  Poetry is music of any type, opera, certain movies, musicals, plays, interpretive dance, and the list can go on forever.  Money can be made doing just about anything, maybe Mr. Marvin's maniacal, misleading mantras make more motivated men millions....

Week Eleven Blog Entry

This week we started out finishing up the literary journal presentations and then went straight into workshop on Wednesday. This workshop was very different from the last one. The first one I was in a very talkative group but the second group was very quiet and workshop was not as helpful. The feedback on paper was helpful, but there was no discussion so it was much harder to deduce my fellow group member’s feelings about my piece of writing.

This week made me concentrate and think more about my revision process and what revising means to me overall. It is not always the easiest thing to do, but once you get the hang of revising your own work, it starts to get a little easier every time you do it. I also started to think about the class literary journals and what exactly I would like them to look like and contain. The creative juices were seriously flowing and I am seriously considering submitting some work into the IUSB Analecta for this year.

Inspiration seems to be coming very easy to me right now. I think it’s because I am keeping in mind what some famous person once said about “You should write what you know.” I tend to try to make my poems and short stories as close to real experiences and stories that I have heard or experienced in real life. I tend to write a lot about my parents. I think they led very interesting lives growing up and they have so many fascinating stories that I love to use those as good material for writing in this class. I definitely have no shortage of inspiration.

Week 11

This week we finished our individual presentations on literary journals. Then, we divided into groups to workshop a piece of work for our portfolio or journal submissons. We ended by breaking into our Circle/Square groups to begin planning our group project Literary Journals. Our homework consisted on revising our works for our journal/portfolio submissions.

I thought that my journal presentation went very well. I was prepared and felt comfortable with my topic. It seemed like it took much longer than I expected. I hadn't practiced my presentation out loud or tried to time it in any way so I expected it to be very short. The workshop experience was new and more enjoyable than I had thought it would be. I'm continually amazed at how good the pieces from my classmates are. I read a lot of their work and think, "that could be a piece I just pulled out of an actual literary journal". I hate to sound like I think I go to school with a group of substandard intellectuals, that is not the case. In reality I just have such a respect for writers and a well constructed finished product that I believe it is some magical gift that only a few people get in life. It is really great to see that writing is more something you practice or an art form that you refine you refine your talents for.

I think that saying creativity is necessary for the human spirit to thrive is a bit of an over exagerated statement. The human spirit can thrive on very little, just look at a few third world countries for proof. Currently I work between 75 and 85 hours a week in addition to attending class and doing homework so I have no time for outside creativity, yet I thrive. Would life seem more fulfilling and enjoyable with a little creativity in my life, definitely. But I don't really suffer without it. I know that this is the season of purpose in my life and that this too shall pass. Creativity is more like the icing on a delicious cake than the flour that binds the batter.

Week 11 Blog

This week began with the remaining presentations from the lit journals. They took a little longer than I expected, but I really enjoyed listening to everyone’s presentation. I found it interesting how many of the submission guidelines were so similar. I was impressed with my journal. Many of the pieces had a lot in common. Each piece I read kept me interested and I wanted to read more and more! This project/presentation really helped me compare several pieces. I believe I can compare similarities and differences between many pieces much better.

The class also got to work shop again, which was my first time doing the exercise (since I was absent the previous class). At first, I found participating a bit difficult, but as the exercise continued I found it easier. I like reading others’ pieces and getting feedback on my own work is also beneficial. I am looking forward to more work shop days. I feel that the feedback I receive will help me with the portfolio. I am also excited to be creating our own lit journals. Each group seems to be having fun creating the rules for submissions and all of the required guidelines. I cannot wait until we exchange our work with the other group. This will be interesting!

Basic Assignment 2

* What has the revision or journal editing process revealed to you about creativity? or the creative process?

*Do you think creativity is necessary for the human spirit to thrive? What are some other forms of creativity you partake in besides writing for this class? How do (or don't)  those creative endeavors influence your writing?

* In all likelihood poetry and fiction is not the way to become a millionaire or as poet Cate Marvin says, No one wants you to write, which is why you can’t make any money doing it, and frankly what I like about poetry is that you can’t make any money doing it. It’s the one thing that’s not a commodity. It’s a big f*ck you to the rest of the world, really, you know? It’s the most crazy, beautiful, extravagant, and necessary thing to do.
— Cate Marvin, featured in From the Fishouse.

a) do you agree or disagree with the Marvin's sentiment?
b) why, if there's no market value in poetry, is it one of the oldest and longest lasting genres?
c) what could Marvin mean by "necessary"?

Week 11

This week the class finished up presentations and we began working in our groups for the literary journal project.  Our group, lit journal square, has fourteen members and so far we are working to get everyone in a spot so we can began getting all the ducks in a row to get the journal completed on time.  We got all of the spots ready and split up but we are having some difficulty getting everyone picking spots, so today we will probably be working on that aspect and go forward from there.  After that is complete we just need to get the submissions from the other group and we will be in great shape.  I set up an email for submissions by the other group and everyone in my group has access to that address.  We also has been making great progress in our forum, a lot of people have gotten involved and it looks very promising.  We have some awesome ideas for the bio portion.  This should get pretty interesting.  The most intensive part will be working with the other group on editing their works, and how far this editing should go.  Also picking the pieces to create an overall theme.  This is definitely a group project hat everyone needs to be held accountable and everyone needs to perform.

Week 11

This week we wrapped up our literary journal presentations and started on our own journal. We also had another workshop day. Im really enjoying the workshopping. It not only gives me some things to work on in my own writing, but it is also like having a private reading by others in the class of their pieces. It's interesting to see everyone else's interpretations of the assignments and to see what the other creative minds in the classroom created.

I'm excited to get started on the journal project. I think this is a really neat idea and it gives an insight not only to the writing process but also to the editing side of events. Coming up with submission requirements and hearing everyone's ideas about what we should include or how we should organize the journal is a lot of fun. The whole project is going to be a great melding of minds not only from the pieces we receive but also from within our group about how to proceed and publish. I'm a co-editor unless their are objections within the group today and I'm excited about getting to take part and help out in every phase of the project. I just think it's going to be a great ebb and flow of creativity.

Week Eleven Post

Continuing further into the semester and drawing near the submission date of our literary journal, our focus this week involved finishing group-presentations and joining with our groups to discuss details.
Overall I enjoyed the group-presentations. I feel as though every student found at least one detail to which they either liked/hated something in their journal with a certain extent of emotion. I know that I enjoyed how the author's in my detail used great imagery and specific, concrete wording that related clever, fictional themes to real-life events.
Breaking into our groups, we discuss introductory details involved in our literary journals. As a whole, my group decided to do a paper-back journal of fictional stories/poems. A member of our group has access to a printing-press via work and has volunteered to be the editor-in-chief. We are bring in title suggestions with a related photo on Monday.

Week 11

Were getting closer and closer to our final project! This week we finished up the presentations, which I was the last to present and found it way easier than I thought it would be. I enjoyed listening and learning about the others journals as well as mine, which helped us understand all the different ways journals can be set up, along with its guidlines. We are continuing to revise our own poems for the class journal and just started getting into our seperate groups for the seperate journals. The class was split up into random groups; the cirlcles and squares, and went over the basic details for this project. For the 14th each group needs to have the basic guid lines and instructions on what their journal is going to require. I unfortunatly had to miss class Wednesday because I've been really sick, so I'm not sure what is exactly going on with my group but I will find out tomorrow and hopefully be involved in some way! Although I think the circles (my group) have decided to accept mostly poems because we're not to fond of the short stories.

I'm glad we have moved on to the final project because I enjoy working in big groups. We can learn from each other and see all the creative works we each have. I'm sort of getting tired of revising our own poems though, because mine aren't good to begin with so I dont want to revise them and put dumb poems in the journal haha I'm running out of poems! It should be interesting and fun once we have the whole journal together and I love that it will be online for anyone to see it and submit to it! Pretty sweet.

week 11

This week was very similar to last week. We listened to presentations and then spent more time workshopping. The only assignment for this week was to revise a piece of our own writings, either a short story or a poem, and bring it to class for workshop day. We were given a list of thirty-seven ways to revise, and only had to chose one, changing it slightly. I like having workshop days with classmates; I think it's a great way of editing and revising.

Monday we finished up the class presentations on literary journals or magazines. The presentations finished early, so we started discussing what our next big assignment was, a literary journal for us to do. We were assigned into two different groups, and as we separated we discussed some of the main things we want to include in our own literary journal. I am actually excited for this assignment, because not only will it help us by editing our peers writings, but also how to set up our own journal for others to subscribe too! The homework for the weekend, and what I still have yet to do, is to revise a poem for our lit journals.

This week has greatly inspired me to learn more about literary journals. Even though we had to give presentations over one specific lit journal we choose, actually having to make one of our own with a group of other students has made me learn even more! Being inspired to complete a literary journal is very exciting for me, and gives the class more time to work together. Being creative also comes into role when it comes to this project. One has to not only make it artistic, but also diverse. It has to be appealing to others, and enjoyable for the reader.

Week 11

This week we were to do workshop in class, however, my car broke down and I was busy getting a new one and wasn't able to make it to class. Frustrating, because I feel SO far behind. We are to continue to revise our pieces of work. And revising them 3 times just seeems like a lot right now. To be completely honest I don't care about what I write, and I don't take what I write seriously, so it is really hard for me to care about what I am doing in this class, but I still want a good grade so here I go...Revising work is not a fun task for me. I have no desire to do any creative writing again. In fact creative writing is, and always has been, the least interesting thing in school that I am asked to do. I am just counting down the days till the end of this class.

I am so sick of revising pieces. I don't think my work is good to begin with, and then I have to revise it 3 more times, and make them that much worse. This class just is not fun for me anymore. I have struggled finding inspiration. I keep struggling coming up with something interesting or writing something someone might care about. Sometimes I wonder what the point of it all is anymore.

Making a literary journal just seems like, silly. The fact that we are actually going to make our own seems strange. We aren't going to make any new issues, it will be printed once. Then never be looked at again. In fact, I will probably throw my Indiana Review literary journal away as soon as this class ends. The artistic process of it all is great for some people, just not me..

Week 11

This week, we focused again on workshopping and actually started working on the lit journals. I'm thinking Lulu will probably be easiest: it's cheap to print out copies, easy to use, and the final product won't be very expensive. Other than that, I can't even really think of any ideas--a PDF would maybe work, but it seems like it's just one step below Lulu, where you can put stuff on display as an ebook anyway.

The workshopping has gone well so far, though I find myself thinking it would probably be better if, as a class, we'd had more experience with reading/writing before moving onto workshopping (so there would be more vocabulary, background, and influence to bring to the critque, and familiarity with what writing actually is). Either way, the results have been decent so far; I'm glad people seem to be enjoying the process quite a bit.

This week, I finished reading Haruki Murakami's "1Q84" (which was extremely good), and also read a novel by Mary Renault called "The Mask of Apollo". I'm really glad we're doing the lit journals mostly in-class, because this is the last free time I'm going to have for an extremely long time--next week, I've got three papers (two of them involving research) to start, and a huge amount of work for my Japanese class.

It snowed for the first time a few days ago. I feel sorry for all the people on Wall Street.

Blog Entry #11

This week, we had our second workshop day. After all the groups were done with the workshop, we got into a circle with our literary journal group. The meet’s main focus was the admission guidelines and how many people should occupy a specific job role.
I had some trouble revising one of my previous poems; for the most part I could not keep it a short enough for it to be considered a poem. After a while of experimenting I just gave up on my attempt to keep it a poem and wrote a flash fiction. Looking at my previous poems, I noticed that can elaborate on it and just convert all of them into flash fiction. I found myself writing only about darkness, love, or betrayal themes. I tried to change the theme of some of my previous work and I feel it isn’t as powerful as the original. I also noticed that I struggled more as well to come up with the proper wording for it too.
As I realized that writing about different themes, other than the ones I used to, are more difficult for me I decided practice writing in a different theme like joy and happiness. I did this on my free time and a few poems a day. I did this for three day and then tried to revise my poems. It was like describing something that I couldn’t even see for myself. After a while of trying out different word combinations and imaging it in my mind; it came to me as naturally as my previous poems.

Work-Shopping and Lit Groups (Week 11)

This week we worked on work-shopping again. Since we had previously done work-shopping in another class, this time it was a lot easier to jump right in and start helping with others revisions. In my small group we talked about how we cannot imagine revising a piece three different times. We definitely think that this will prove to be a bit of a challenge, but am hoping that the finish protect reflects mastery in the poems aesthetics. We also began to meet in our literary groups, which is proving to be a lot more work then I would have imagined constructing a lit journal would be, but a lot of work does go into it all!

From this week’s work- shopping, I was reminded of the idea of en media res, which I think I will use to partially revise one of my poems. This idea of starting in the middle of a story at the beginning of the poem, I think will add a lot of depth to the poem by allowing the reader to instantly become engaged in the work and start it “in the middle of things”. In addition to this, reading the other people’s poetry allowed me to see that there are so many different ways to create and write poetry and that the subject matter is not in any way restricted, covering a vast array of different subject matters.

After this week, I am beginning to realize the true extent of the artistic process when it comes to poetry and fictional work. Coming up and brainstorming subject ideas, seems the easiest. Then from there pre-writing by a free-write, characterization chart, or beginning to just construct a poem. After the initial poem is written, the revisions on it can begin. From our work-shopping in class, it seems as though through editing and having other people read the work before or after a few revisions can really help the poet zero in on how they can improve their work. Other readers, can point out flawed thinking or confusing ideas or images in their poem and help to eventually better the poem to its full extent.

Week 11

Hitting the blog early, because I'll be busy all weekend. Anyway, we got to see the last of the presentations this week, which was nice. There were so many different ones, so it was funny to see that their rules of submissions were all so similar. We've also started to talk about out own literary journals, and I'm both excited and apprehensive about it. Time will tell how it will turn out, but there are quite a few hardworking and naturally leader like people that are helping the group along. I'm really grateful to them for that, because I usually have trouble with group projects. I just hope I'll be able to make some useful suggestions and not feel useless.

We got to workshop again as well, and I'm loving it more and more each time we do it. It's fun looking over others' work and having them look over you own work as well. Getting this much feedback is pretty awesome, and it makes me feel a bit more prepared for the portfolio coming up. I'm looking forward to even more workshop days, and the journal projects might make that easier since we'll have to look at more work and help edit (and vice versa).

And helping people revise and edit is helping with my own revision and editing. I'm getting better and picking out some of my wordy phrasing, and replacing it with better, stronger words. I'm also getting better at finding inconstences, like it's day in one paragraph, but suddenly night in the following paragraph. Overall, I think I've improved quite a bit.

Week 10

This passed week in class we had some interesting new activities in which we delved.  On Monday the majority of the class presented the literary journal that each student researched.  I chose the Adroit Journal, but it had come to my attention that it had been chosen (although misspelled) by another student so I prepared another just in case.  Everything worked out just fine, however, and I was able to present the Adroit, and we all lived happily ever after.  I thought it was fun to see how each student got to look for their own journal and present it to the class, each journal reflected on the personality of the student that picked it, in that way each presentation was unique.
On Wednesday, students were put into groups of five and each student in the group was to bring copies of the first revision of a piece of work from class for the other students to critique and help to mold into a more weel rounded work.  It was a very productive event, I received a ton of feedback and will be able to adjust my work accordingly to shape it for my portfolio.  This is a completely new process for me as far as my personal work goes.  I've never done this type of revision and I think that it is a good idea for novice writers to perform because they are getting feedback from a potential audience and that perspective can be used on works later in a career or in other classes.  Knowing what the audience craves isn't just an innate gift, it is something developed with many, many peer reviews and is something that can be achieved by a multitude of people.

Week 10

This past week's presentations were really interesting. I thought it was interesting to hear about all the guideline requirements and to look a the ones from the journal I reviewed, "New Letters", because most of the journals were so specific in what kind of writing they were looking for. The editors for "New Letters" had so many comments about pieces that they wouldn't consider for the their journal and why. Everything from what kind of language was considered in poor taste to what kind of content was acceptable. Going in to researching my own journal and listening to everyone else talk about theirs I thought their would be a lot more openness to what was permissible and what wouldn't be considered for publication.

My favorite part of class so far has been the workshop day we had on Wednesday. I didn't know how I felt about all the pieces we just sort of whipped through and set to the side during the first half of the semester. It all felt like a sloppy blur to me without any real consequence or time being assigned to any piece. Once we got to sit down and read our piece though and hear some constructively critical comments about them I really felt a lot better about what I had done even if the piece wasn't where I wanted it to be yet. Also going into the workshop day I had been nervous about reading my piece but coming out of it I was so glad we had that day and that I got some feedback about what I had written and how others perceived it.

Week ten post

Breaking apart from the normal structure of reading and recreating short fiction stories and/or poems, this week involved quite a bit of self-guided research. For my literary journal presentation, I chose the online journal, "Strange Horizon." I read all the poetry and short-fiction for the most current issue and was intrigued by how many fundamental components, or aesthetics, I saw in place. Every piece of work I read used an off-the-wall representation to illustrate conflict resolution. For example, David C. Kopaski-Merkel's poem depicted his passing year and struggles of providing for his family, thru a representation of the life of a crow, who is experiencing vertigo and wisteria.

Another aesthetic that I noticed in every piece of work found in the "Strange Horizon," was every author's use of concrete, specific words to elicit vivid imagery. I really enjoyed this aspect of the journal and found it to be very creative. For example, author G.O. Clark depicted life's end (death) as the deathly fly that calls to you in a tiny, pleading voice while hovering all the while. I really like the imagery left in my mind; not only in this poem, but in every piece of work I read.

In addition to the literary journal presentation, this week involved our first workshop. I found workshop to be extremely helpful. As difficult as it was to not defend myself during the discussion on my poem, it proved to be extremely useful, as others showed me what abstractions were in my work. Having written it and spent time on my poem, I knew what I was trying to accomplish with each line. Acquiring others' perspective on my poem helped me to see what modifications needed to be made in order for unbiased reading to follow with my imagery. I look forward to more workshop days, in hopes that the result will be 5 complete pieces of poetry/flash fiction.

Week 10

This week we began our two to three minute presentations on our chosen literary journals. We did not have time to get through all of the class so we will contine the presentations next Monday. We had a workshop day. We were to bring in five copies of a new or revised copy of a flash fiction story or poem we have written so that our classmates could read it and give constructive critisms to help create a better piece.

I did not present my literary journal yet this week, there was not time. I just sat back and listened to my classmates present their journals. They all did a really good job. They had very well though out presentations. I was impressed by the variety of presentation styles and the varied information that each person found important to stress about their particular journal. Some of the journals seemed like they had strange themes or niche audiences, others seemed like very successful journals with large mainstream followings. I am excited about the revision process and the feedback of my classmates. It is very difficult to have any kind of perspective when reading ones own work. I happen to think that everyting I write is borderline terrible, and I think that specific suggestions from readers might help me to improve my work as opposed to just trashing it.

Reading the online journals and experiencing the revision process has made me think about how the reader affects a piece of work. Does a writer write for themself or do they write for the reader? It is a very important distinction. If a writer wrote only for themself then revision would not be terribly important and there would be no need to have outside input. Once the writer was happy with a piece it would be finished, and probably only occasionally published. A writer who wants their work to be seen and published has to write with a reader in mind. They have to understand what message or immage they are trying to convey with their work and be open to feedback. As a writer I may think that I've conveyed my image successfully however, a reader may feel confused or get an entirely different perception of the work than I intended.

Literary journal: Week 9

This week we researched literary journals both online and print. We chose one that we liked and prepared a 2-3 minute presentation for the class. We discussed themes and trends in the literary journals by comparing 5 poems from IR and writing an essay on the similarities and differences they each contained. In class we did a workshop & feedback exercise as a class where we read two poems and gave constructive criticism to the author.

I enjoyed the homework this week. Reading the poems in IR and comparing them for similarities and differences was a good way to make my brain start thinking about the asthetics of a literary journal. It had not yet occured to me that there was any specific system or design to a literary journal. I'd just assumed that if the editors liked it and it was well written it was printed. While searching through the online literary journals I looked for one with writing that appealed to me. I chose Two Hawks Literary Journal which is produced by Antioch University and edited by writers who are enrolled in the BA in Liberal Studies creative writing concentration. I read through the entire journal and truely enjoyed all of the work. I plan to continue reading the journal for pleasure and creative writing clues.

While viewing my selection of literary journal for my presentation I began thinking about different forms of media and how they can work in combination with creative writing. For instance Two Hawks Quarterly accepts experimental video or mixed media submissions. These videos use written media as a jumping off point from which they combine some form of visual imagry to produce a stronger or more forceful message. It seems to be the basis of commercials and infomercials on television. Combining a well written message and visual cues provide the brain with a more lasting image.

Week 10

This week was such an enjoyable week! Monday, we got half way through our presentations over our literary journals/magazines, which we will be continuing with tomorrow during class. I really enjoyed the literary journal activity we had to perform, especially because it was my first time being introduced to them. After researching my own, and listening to my classmates speeches, I learned a great deal of information. On Wednesday, we had a workshop day for our first poem or short short, which will then be revised again for our final portfolios.

Workshop days are a great way to receive both positive and negative feedback from our peers. For Wednesday's workshop we were to pick one of our previous graded writings, and choose one specific way to revise it off a list of ways to revise. After splitting up into groups, depending on when our birthday was, we each read our work aloud to the others in our group while the others silently took notes, and focused on the workshop guidelines. After that, one by one we would tell each other what thoughts and ideas we had jotted down. I think it really helps to get feedback from my own classmates, that it is from teachers all the time. My only concern with revising my own work so many times, is that sometimes I feel it makes it worse than it already was. After so much revising to one piece of work, it can completely change the writing.

After really focusing on revision this week, I have realized that when trying to revise an already good piece of writing, it certainly takes creativity and thinking outside the box to find places needed for improvement or change in any way. Showing creativeness in short shorts, and especially poems can always improve the piece, and make it more enjoyable for the reader. Keeping an open mind before reading every piece of work can definitely make adding creativity much easier on the reviser.

Week Ten Blog Entry

This week was focused on preparing and presenting our literary journals and then on Wednesday we did workshop which was extremely helpful. For the workshop, we had to pick a poem or a short short and revise it, make multiple copies and we had a workshop in class that was very insightful and helpful to the revision process.

This week I very much enjoyed not only listening to the many presentations on literary journals but also the workshop process. Overall, this week was very fun and at the same time, I learned a lot. The workshop was fascinating. It was great to see other people’s perspectives when reading your work and not being able to take part in the conversation was very difficult. But I learned so much about how to revise my work, what really stood out to other people, and the parts that needed more work. I also got great insight into how a literary journal works which will help tremendously when we are all working on our class literary journal.

This week I definitely have to comment on the creativity seen when we did the workshops. It was really great to see what other people write about and the reasons behind it. It was also very awesome to see how they use creativity to tell the story they want to tell. Some of the poems I read in workshop were very good and they moved me. Sometimes they made me sad and sometimes they blew me away, and I think that was one of the best parts of the workshop process. We were all so excited and positive and helpful. It really made me wish that I could have a little workshop group every time I write something. It would certainly be helpful.

Week 10 Blog

Week 10 Blog Entry

This week has been very interesting.  The lit journal presentations began on Monday, which were very well done.  I haven’t presented yet, but the one I chose is The Laurel Journal. In my opinion, many people seemed to enjoy their journal. I too, really enjoyed my literary journal. I found that many of the pieces I have read have a lot of similarities, as well as differences. I am excited to hear the remaining presentations next class.

The class also began work shopping, which unfortunately, I was absent for. I am a bit nervous to have my work revised by others, but it should be beneficial. I am sure the feedback everyone receives will help give them new ideas. Others’ opinions and ideas can really help improve a person’s work in the areas needed. I understand that revising your own work and having others revise along with you are very different. While revising one’s own work, a person may accidentally skip over some of their own mistakes. This is because the person writing the piece has a full understanding of their work, while others reading the piece for the first time, may see spelling errors and other mistakes rather clearly. Other people’s grammar errors tend to stand out, which is why it is important for one to have their work revised. Not only can simple spelling and grammar errors be improved, but those revising your work may have an idea that could possibly help you develop another.

I am ready to work shop. As of right now, I am revising some of my own pieces, which is a bit difficult. Maybe some of my classmates could give me some feedback to help me develop new ideas in my writing. Work shop here we come!

week 10

This week again we were focusing mostly on lit-journals and workshopping. The presentations were interesting especially to see how people responded to the journals they'd chosen--I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people liked the journals they'd chosen (as opposed to the other day where we passed out stories and no one liked the ones they'd been given). Personally, I enjoyed doing the research and reading through the journal I'm going to present.

I'm having some trouble with revision, but hopefully I'll be able to just work around it. (The problem is I made quite a few changes to most of my pieces already without recording them, and I'm having trouble doing anything else since I feel the majority of them are already "crystallized", to the point where I'm having difficult either adding or taking away words.) I like the impetus to revision, and it's always good to emphasize that a lot of the time work won't come out right on the first draft.

Sort of unrelated, I just finished reading Haruki Murakami's 1Q84--which, for some reason, is one of the best selling books in the world right now. This is sort of weird to me as I'd always thought Murakami was more of an obscure author. (A few years ago no one had heard of him, and he had a very different kind of reputation.)

Work- Shopping

This week we discussed some of the different literary journals that have been created. There seems to be a variety of literary journals that contain many images, ideas, and themes that help create its aesthetic. In addition to being introduced to the journals, we began work-shopping and met for the first time in small groups to workshop. It was a great experience that helped spur ideas and generate great insight!

After work-shopping this week and being made to read “22 Revision Ideas”, a lot of different ways to revise my work are starting to take hold in my mind. I really enjoyed work-shopping this week. It has been by far my favorite thing we’ve done in class this semester because it helped generate and produce great insight into my work. I also really enjoyed seeing what other people have been working on and producing. It seems as though we have some really great poets out there. I loved all the different themes and writings that people came up with and decided to share. Also, I feel like in critiquing others people work, it helped me realize some of the mistakes I’ve made in my own writing or ideas that I could use. For example, purposeful enjambment that helps intensify or reinforce the poem. When I go back to revise my poetry, I hope to use some of the ideas that were talked about in our small group.

Writing has always been something that I have enjoyed doing on a regular basis. I love language and how it can be used to covey meaning and articulate thoughts for other people to grasp. In thinking about the different ways that we can connect with other people, writing seems to be most intimate. Not only is a person able to read and visual your work in words, but also those words can be verbalized and shared. By reading another author’s work, the reader is able to in some ways enter the mind of the writer and gain entry into their mode and see their feeling. This allows us to connect not only with their work in ideas, but with their writing design to provide stimulation.