Creative Writing: A Journey

Through this Creative Writing course, I was able to establish critical vocabulary necessary for the craft of Creative Writing by learning different forms of poetry. For example, the Chant Poem was something I had never before been familiar with. At first, I was overcomplicating the assignment by trying to come up with the most unique and out-there topics. But I decided that I could achieve meaningful material through every day simple concepts. My Chant poem is entitled, “The Alarm”. It starts the way that most of my days begin, with an alarm clock. The chant “get out of bed” echoes the thoughts I have every morning as I wake up at 8 am after going to sleep very late due to my restaurant job. There was something deep about the struggle that I portrayed in the poem as my mind provided the simple command to “get out of bed” while my body fought against my will to rise. Additionally, the vocabulary centered around descriptive language has always been a challenge for me. I would always force metaphorical descriptive language in order to sound more like a writer, when sometimes the descriptive language is more fitting in a literal sense. For example, instead of overcomplicating my language, I could simply describe what is around. My Free Verse poem, “Cuckoo” about my late grandmother was good practice in critical vocabulary because I was challenged with how to accurately portray the woman she was. In one line I wrote, “I was too preoccupied watching her twirl up her hair and apply the heat of the blow dryer to feather it out and away from her face. It always entered the round brush wiry and frizzy. And once It was released it was thin and smooth and shiny

As it lightly fell against her shoulders.” At first, I was desperately trying to sound descriptive, until I decided to just be descriptive. I tried to remember the mechanics of her movements and repeat them onto the page.

The writing process itself is different than how I imagined it before taking this course. For example, my non-fiction personal essay, “The Silence” was a doozy when it comes to writing and re-writing. I changed the topic of focus multiple times, trying to pick a topic that would reflect emotion and wit at the same time. Originally, I was going to write about my experience moving to New York and pursuing musical theatre, but I found it to be a little too cliché and too easy of a topic. Which is why my first draft ended up being about my ex-boyfriend and our relationship. I chose this topic because it was not something I had ever written about before, and I thought it would be interesting to dive into something that affected me personally in a not so positive way. Once I finished my first draft and posted it on my discussion board, I was surprised to see the same feedback from each of my peers. They all expressed a desire for more dialogue between my Ex and me. They said that this would help them to understand the nature of our relationship and make the characters seem more real. I hadn’t even thought about dialogue. This was a huge help and even after I presented my draft to the class, I heard the same feedback from them, and the professor. It really put into perspective how you can perceive your work one way and your reader can see it in a completely different way. Especially when it comes to real stories, because you have the memories and the answers to questions already in your mind. But your reader is starting out with none of that. After I added some dialogue, I felt like the story was complete. This is why I value the ability to share in a safe and non-judgmental environment. It can really shape a final draft into something great. Before I revised, I didn’t have a scrap of dialogue because I wasn’t sure I could properly portray Victors voice. But I added in one line in particular that I think truly shaped the story, when Victor said, “We are going to fall in love” it captured his confidence and level of emotion that I believe was missing.

I loved how much was shared between all of my peers in class. Every time I was able to listen to a presentation of someone’s story it filled my mind with thoughts of my own. The non-fiction essays were such a treat. I cherish the vulnerability of my classmates and the bravery it takes to stand up in front of everyone and share real-life experiences. There was one story in particular that I actually haven’t stopped thinking about since. One of my classmates shared a story about a childhood friend that passed away. The poetic language he used set the scene in such an immaculate way and his own emotion and vulnerability made me cry. I have actually thought about it a lot and would love to read it again. It was such a special moment and I hope he writes a book someday. The non-fiction essays were by far the most moving to hear aloud and to share aloud.

The experimentation done through poetry, prose and non-fiction through my own original writing was crucial for me. I absolutely love prose and I feel like I was able to use that technique when writing my fiction short story. I really tried to tell the story in a way that was comfortable to say out loud. That’s why I always read my work aloud to myself when writing it. When I presented “More Than I Should” to the class I was so nervous. It felt like reading a page out of my own personal diary. But afterwards everyone was so supportive, and it was wild to hear my classmates and professor say their names out loud. It was like an out of body experience. My fictional short story was my favorite project of the semester for many reasons. Ever since I was young, I have been writing about the two characters’ that I wrote of in, “More Than I Should.” Throughout my life I have always kept these characters in my heart. Their ages, appearances and stories have changed throughout the years; however, they are the same people that I have been imagining and writing about for 20 years or so. Johnathan and Lilly, the two main characters’ have been a part of my deepest imagination, but I have never shared them with anyone, so it was priceless to have the opportunity to introduce them to my class

I definitely am a sucker for fantasy and romance, and I like to write about fictional characters’ that aren’t myself, but I can see through their eyes. That is why I was most excited about my Haiku, a poem about a young girl in the renaissance era getting ready for her day of being courted by young men. Still, part of me felt really embarrassed to share this because it is a little nerdy and I have a hard time letting strangers see who I am and the things that I like. But I soon found that by presenting the material I had written and becoming accustomed to sharing, that I really enjoyed it. It was like a welcomed test of my own bravery.

The very first time we were meant to present our poems in class came as a shock for me. Admittedly, I did not know that I would have to present that day, and my poems were not up to par with what I would feel comfortable presenting in front of my peers. I had written my poems but only with the impression that they would not be shared. For some reason, my name was skipped on that first day of presentations, so I had the useful opportunity to reevaluate my work. It was like receiving a second chance by fate. Since then, it was always something I looked forward to. However, I tried to take this famous quote by Alen Ginsberg into consideration while writing, “To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.”