Posts Tagged Creative Writing

One of my own poems

May 5, 2009 at 3:58 am · Filed under Personal Work ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello everyone, since this is a creative writing blog I figured I was obligated to share at least one of my own pieces. The following is a poem I wrote for my creative writing class last year in response to the prompt, “Write a poem charactarizing a human as an animal.” I would love for you to read it and let me know what you think!

Venom  






Your slim curvaceous body
is sheathed in stunning skin.
With captivating eyes, you lure your prey.
But inside of you, your blood
runs icy through your veins
And when you shed your outer shell,
I see it’s one big flake.
 
You speak with a forked tongue,
but your velvet, coaxing hiss
Entices us to listen to your lies.
Your rumors; your venom,
you see the pain you cause
It appears to fuel your power—
I see that as a guise.
 
You bite the hand that feeds you;
attack even those who follow you
Feed on weaker targets, who won’t put up a fight.
But deep within your heart,
you know you’re not the strongest
You are a mere con artist
with a paralyzing bite.
 
Once I watched your eyes
as you slithered through a field
They locked in upon a harmless, tiny mole.
Your next victim grew larger
in those black, reflective slits
And before she even noticed you,
you swallowed her up whole.
 
Insidious creature, vain and proud,
you claim to have it all,
Yet few others yearn to seize your throne,
For while you slither on the ground
you will never stand tall.
Aside from fleeting followers
you will always hunt alone.
 

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He said, she said

May 4, 2009 at 11:17 pm · Filed under Calls for Response, Writing Tips ·Tagged , , , , ,

In my Writer’s Mind class last semester, my professor went over several things to avoid at all costs while writing. Do not use adverbs; always use the active voice, etc. In many circumstances I agree with these practices.

However, there was one suggestion that my professor made that I am not sure if I agree with. She asserted that when writing dialogue only to use “he said” or “she said” to denote who is speaking. She claimed that most readers just skip over that part and that using stronger verbs like “he shouted” is actually distracting.

I never heard this before, and while I sort of see where her point could make sense I’m not sure that can be said as an absolute. A character saying words and a character whispering them can paint completely different images in a reader’s head. Any opinions on this?

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I love writer’s workshops

May 3, 2009 at 10:43 pm · Filed under Teaching Writing, Writing Tips ·Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Writing Workshop

Writing Workshop

I was first introduced to the writer’s workshop last year in my creative writing class. I cannot believe that I was not exposed to this sooner. When my professor initially described the concept to our class, I was less than thrilled. I don’t know why I had reservations about sharing my work with my fellow classmates when I am eager to eventually share my work with the entire world.

I suppose the reasons for my negative feelings had to do with previous encounters with sharing my work in class. Often, classmates do not really care about your work and do not offer constructive advice. Many people are afraid to say anything negative about other people’s work so they lie and praise errors which makes the process useless.

However, last year I was lucky to be put in a group of people who were equally serious about their writing  and the experience was eye opening. Our process was that we would bring our first draft to the group, another member would read it aloud and discuss its positive and negative points with the group while the author remained silent. Then the author had a chance to make explanations, ask questions, and leave with plenty of productive feedback to further perfect the piece.

I feel that this type of collaboration is extremely beneficial to the writing process and should be utilized whenever writer’s have the chance.

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A blog about blogs

April 28, 2009 at 1:39 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , ,

Here is a site that has a list of the Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs. You can find everything from author’s blogs to editing tips.

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Some interesting creative writing exercises

April 26, 2009 at 8:15 pm · Filed under Writing Tips ·Tagged , , , , , ,

I found a web forum on the Ask MetaFilter website in which one of the users inquired about some valuable writing exercises. Like this person, I feel that creative writing exercises can be a great way to come up with ideas, overcome writer’s block and provide some focus to writing.

 

Here are three exercises that I would definitely like to try:

 

  • Take any piece of your writing, and pick a random spot. At that spot, have two men with guns enter the room. Start writing a new story from that spot.
  • Think of a particularly tense or heated situation that you have experienced and write it from the point of view of the opposite person.
  • Go to a supermarket, pick a person going through the express checkout, and ‘figure out’ why they’re buying what they are, why the need it, and why they’re slightly ashamed to be seen buying it.

 

Visit the website for many more ideas!

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Creative Writing Exercises for the Elementary Classroom

April 18, 2009 at 9:05 pm · Filed under Teaching Writing ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Frustrated Student taken from Google Images

Frustrated Student taken from Google Images

There are a myriad of students in the modern education system that dislike and try to avoid writing. According to Regina G. Richards in her article Why Students Avoid Writing, reasons for children’s disdain for writing include that it is tedious and takes too long, they struggle with the grammar and mechanics of writing, they have difficulty expressing their ideas in words, they struggle with a learning disorder, or they are simply never happy with their writing products.

Fun and interesting activities can be incorporated into the classroom to spark students’ interest in writing. The following are some examples compiled using Busy Teacher’s Cafe and Traci’s Creative Writing Activities.

Picture Prompt – Distribute pictures to the students from a coloring book with no words. Have them color the page, and write a story about them. Laminate the students’ work to create a class picture book.

Story Lists Create word lists that correspond with a topic. Allow students to pick a topic and have them use the word list to create a story.

Paragraph Order Take a paragraph, cut it into sentence strips and put the strips in an envelope. Instruct students to put the strips in an order that makes sense.

Show and Tell Instead of bringing an object to class and telling about it, students write a detailed paper describing their item and why it is significant to them.

Jumble Story Provide a list of characters, settings, and situations and have students pick one from each list and create a story using those elements.

Scavenger Hunt Host a scavenger hunt over the course of a week in which students are provided with a list of things and instead of bringing them in, they must describe how they found the items in writing.

Embellish and Ad Take an advertisement from the classified ads and ask students to write a story about the person who placed the ad, the object that they are selling, and why they are selling it.

Confess a Secret Have students invent a character who possesses a secret and roleplay as that character by writing a series of journal entries.

Memoir Have students recall a significant place or event from their childhood and describe it in writing.

Found Treasures Take a bunch of odds and ends and place them into brown paper lunch bags and distribute them to students. The students must pretend this is random treasure they found and write about the person who collected the objects, how he found them, and why they are important.

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How to Beat Writer’s Block

April 16, 2009 at 3:49 pm · Filed under Writing Tips ·Tagged , , , ,

Image taken from Google Images

Image taken from Google Images

Writer’s block is the dreaded arch nemesis that plagues most creative writers at some point in their careers. It a condition that causes frustration as the writer feels incapable of generating appropriate ideas to include in his writing, or he simply cannot convert his ideas into written word. About.com features an article by Ginny Wiehardt entitled Top Ten Tips for Beating Your Writers Block. These are her suggestions:

 

  1. Implement a writing schedule – Set aside a daily time to write and stick to it whether or not “good” ideas are coming to you.
  2. Don’t be too hard on yourself – “Turn the critical brain off.” Being too critical of yourself will further hinder your creativity.
  3. Think of writing as a regular job and less of an art - It is easier to allow yourself to write if you think of it as physical work; put letters and words together on the page.
  4. Take some time off if you’ve finished a project - Give your mind a chance to rest. Let new ideas formulate and gather more life experiences.
  5. Set deadlines and keep them - Pretend you have to have your piece in by a certain time. It adds motivation. If you can’t do this on your own, join a writer’s workshop class or find a person to exchange work with,
  6. Examine deep-seated issues behind your writer’s block - Freewrite about your anxiety and try to figure out exactly what is hindering you. Read books on the subject or even opt to see a counselor.
  7. Work on more than one project at a time - If you have options on what to work on, you are less likely to get bored and more likely to have ideas for at least one of your projects.
  8. Try writing exercises - You can find a number of exercises online that may be able to spark your creative flare.
  9. Re-consider your writing space - Perhaps you need a writing space that has better lighting or is more comfortable. Experiment to see what suits you.
  10. Remember why you started writing in the first place - When you identify a purpose you create more incentive to write. Try to connect with the joy that you have once felt while writing.

To read more in-depth descriptions visit the full article.

The following is a youtube video in which author Alex Hutchins explores the concept of writer’s block, how it is caused, and how to avoid it.

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