Critique of my own writing...

After reading the comments and edits from everyone, I’ve realized a few things about my writing style. The major thing I’ve gathered that I need to improve on is that I do a lot of “telling” and not enough “showing; my characters also lack a certain depth. I think this is because I usually focus on the plot and storyline, instead of the actual descriptions/character development. I myself usually read stories and books with a compelling storyline, so I tend to focus on this element in my own stories also.

Before workshop, I hadn’t even realized that my characters are pretty flat (instead of multifaceted, which would be closer to reality), or that I tend to tell the reader a little too much about what is going on. Like Annie Dillard wrote in her book The Writing Life, I harbor in my eyes a unique kind of appreciation for my writing simply because I wrote it—just like the photographer appreciated the photograph that he had to climb to the top of a mountain to get—and this made me blind to the flaws that my writing contained. I guess the most powerful thing about workshop is that the writer gets to see what others honestly think about their writing, as the writer’s own opinion of their writing is highly biased. The feedback was really helpful, and I really thank everyone for taking the time to help edit/comment on my story to help make it better!

More Annie Dillard...

My only complaint about Annie Dillard is that she is a bit too pessimistic at times, and not too encouraging to the novice writer. She says “Nor does anyone need your manuscript….There are many manuscripts already—worthy ones, most edifying and moving ones, intelligent and powerful ones….Why not shoot yourself, actually, rather than finish one more excellent manuscript on which to gag the world?” Her inchworm metaphor is also reinforcing this point.

Although there is truth in her words, these words might be a little bit too brutal for a naïve writer who has yet to see the harsh reality of life. I think some might misinterpret her words to mean that you shouldn’t write because no one needs your writing—there is no practical use for your manuscript like there is for say a pair of shoes. I don’t think this is what Annie Dillard means. I think she takes it upon herself to tell the inexperienced writer what a harsh world it is—before you can get your story published, you will probably be rejected by tons of publishers—many will not appreciate your writing because good writing isn’t scarce, and competition is fierce. It is not a friendly world the writer seeks to stay alive in. I guess in a way these harsh words help screen away the writers that aren’t really in this because they love writing—the writers that aren’t absolutely determined to succeed—because these writers won’t succeed in the brutal world of writing, so Annie Dillard tells them to forget it and do something useful with their lives.

Hmmm, what started off as a complaint about Dillard actually turned into something that actually helped me see her point of view; I think that’s pretty interesting. I’m not sure if I fully agree with her pessimism though—I encourage everyone to try writing, after all, how could you discover your love/hidden talent for writing if you never try it out first? The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

I Disagreeee!

While I was reading The Writing Life, I realized that I disagree with Annie Dillard on one very significant point: that the writer isn’t in control of his/her story. I definitely feel like the writer is in control of his/her story, and that’s what makes writing so rewarding. Although sometimes it may feel like our story has a mind of its own, ultimately it’s in the writer’s hands to guide the story where the writer sees fit. I see this especially as I’m editing my story from workshop—the places where I let my writing go too “free”, I’m now having to come back and push it/tweak it back in line. It is this power that the writer has that ultimately separates mindless droning/random stream of consciousness from a well-crafted story. This actually reminds me of what I read once about airplanes—apparently airplanes can’t be on route all the time, they sway off the right path, and it’s the pilot’s job to constantly steer the airplane back onto the desired route (I guess it’s the same with driving a car). Although it’s the airplane that is supposedly doing all the work, the pilot is what makes the work of the airplane meaningful. After all, if an airplane simply flew and the pilot didn’t offer any guidance, there wouldn’t be much use in the airplane. So I think the author definitely plays a pivotal role in the writing process, and the author should be aware of this power/responsibility and use it wisely.

Now that I read over this blog post, I feel like the airplane metaphor serves as a better and clearer metaphor than the pregnancy/birth one. J

What I love About Annie Dillard's The Writing Life

I loved all of Annie Dillard’s metaphors—they bring her point across in a vivid way, and I’m seriously envious of the way that she can make metaphors come together so nicely! I had to think for a long time about my metaphor for Assigned Blog Post #7, and I think it might only make sense to some people (others might not get it). Annie Dillard’s metaphors, however, aren’t the least bit forced, and I feel that they are pretty universal—the connections are pretty obvious in her metaphors. What really helps is that she often uses multiple metaphors to drive in the same point—that way, she’s bound to hit on something that the reader can grasp and clearly understand.

Another thing I really admire about her is her eloquence in expressing the metaphor. Her metaphors are concise and powerful—there are no superfluous words that could serve to muddle the meaning. For example my favorite metaphor from her: “How many gifts do we open from which the writer neglected to remove the price tag?” It’s very simply stated and very concise, but it almost instantaneously drove home her point in my mind. There’s that instant where you realize her point, and it’s almost like there’s some sort of telepathy going on—and invisible thread linking together your brain and her brain, and you can only nod and mouth an “Ohhhh”. I thought it was really rewarding to not only read about each metaphor, but actually think and try to figure out the ones that I couldn’t immediately understand, because I liked the moment of epiphany when I finally realized what she was talking about.

Assigned Blog Post #7

I view writing as a pretty spontaneous process. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I don’t plan my stories out in advance—I only write when I feel inspired or when I feel a strong emotion. My metaphor is that it’s like pregnancy and giving birth.

Yeah, I know, it sounds weird but allow me to explain: it’s like pregnancy in that in the beginning you have all these ideals of what its going to be like—you have an image of the “perfect child”, you think you know what your “ideal family” will look like. Except the parallel with a story is that you get this gush of enthusiasm and you think, “my story will change someone’s day for the better”or “my story will change someone’s views about a particular subject”—but the reality (to be discovered a long time later) may be different from these wild dreams (same with pregnancy). And then comes 9 hard months when the mother has to deal with morning sickness, back pain, and all sorts of struggles—this is like the writer sticking to writing the story, even when he/she bumps into writers block, even when he/she loses hope in their story. These hard months all lead up to the big thing—birth/publishing your story. This is when your efforts truly come into fruition, and you see whether or not your results have been worth it (hopefully they have).

This was what my writing journey was like—at first it was a gust of emotion that spurred me to start typing away at my keyboard. Then I sort of neglected my story for a bit because it wasn’t really going anywhere, but then I decided to pick it back up and struggle through it and keep at it until I was finished and satisfied with the story. Then I unveiled it during workshop and everyone else got to read my story, and I received feedback that let me know whether or not my original goals were accomplished through my story.

Reflections on Workshop

I feel like the workshops were fun (reading other people’s stories and commenting), but also quite confusing when you get all the comments back for your own story. I feel like although some comments did help, a lot of the comments were pretty contradictory—some people liked this, others liked that, this style appealed to a few, that style appeals to some, etc. It’s like a tug of war, and I’m often torn between which side I want to please.

However, the workshop comments also opened a lot of doors for me—choices that I hadn’t seen before were suggested, whether having to do with the plot, or stylistic choices. For instance, a lot of people suggested that I put in a flashback into my story. I hadn’t considered this, and I feel like this could enhance my story, so I am willing to give it a try.

Overall, the workshop comments were pretty helpful, because sometimes things that I thought were straightforward and logical actually didn’t make sense to another person. It’s definitely important for these types of things to be pointed out, and workshop is the best way. And workshop was definitely not as intimidating as I had originally thought it to be. Everyone was really nice, respectful, and encouraging—and I gleaned a lot from the discussion.

Metaphor...

“To find a honey tree, first catch a bee….Carry the bee to a nearby open spot—the best an elevated one—release it, and watch where it goes. Keep your eyes on it as long as you can see it, and hie you to that last known place. Wait there until you see another bee; catch it, release it, and watch. Bee after bee will lead toward the honey tree, until you see the final bee enter the tree….So a book leads its writer.”

This metaphor from Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life took me a while to understand. I had to read over it a few times before I figured an interpretation that made sense. I decided that I agreed with Dillard—my interpretation is that a writer must write a bit of the story and stop (release the “bee”) and see where the story is leading. Then the writer can continue on writing the story, and after a bit stop and look where the story is leading. Annie Dillard is suggesting that the book leads its writer, which I kind of agree with—the more into your story you write, the more the story forges a path by itself. As I was writing my story, I was constantly making decisions, and each decision narrowed the possibilities for the next part of the story (like a funnel—I’m not sure if this metaphor makes sense to any of you). I never ever plan my stories out in advance--usually I go with the flow and just see where the story leads. Once the time comes, a natural ending seems to just present itself. Is this the case with you guys? Because a lot of the time, when I plan things out, I end up revising the ending anyways, simply because my story deviated from the original path I had planned out for it.

The Writing Life...Editing is a Merciless Process

“Several delusions weaken the writer’s resolve to throw away work. If he has read his pages too often, those pages will have a necessary quality, the ring of the inevitable, like poetry known by heart; they will perfectly answer their own familiar rhythms. He will retain them….Sometimes the writer leaves his early chapters in place from gratitude; he cannot contemplate them or read them without feeling again the blessed relief that exalted him when the words first appeared—relief that he was writing anything at all. That beginning served to get him where he was going, after all; surely the reader needs it, too, as groundwork.” – Annie Dillard in The Writing Life.

I feel like this paragraph describes perfectly the way I feel now that I’m going back and editing my story. I’m hesitant to delete anything because I do feel a relieving sense of familiarity when I look back upon the words that I wrote before. I feel like each word, each phrase is so much a part of my story that I really don’t want to change it. However, Annie Dillard definitely advocates for mercilessly editing a story—“How many books do we read from which the writer lacked courage to tie off the umbilical cord? How many gifts do we open from which the writer neglected to remove the price tag? Is it pertinent, is it courteous, for us to learn what it cost the writer personally?” These metaphors really hit home for me, especially the one about removing the price tag on presents—I think Annie Dillard strikes a good point here that sometimes what we the author think is necessary to keep in the story may not be necessary for the reader, and may instead be distractingly superfluous. I will keep these words in mind as I struggle with editing my story and deciding what to keep and what to delete.

Most Helpful

Reflecting on this class, I felt that the thing that was the most helpful to me was actually reading the short stories from Scribner’s Anthology and discussing them in class. I really enjoy reading, and it was awesome that I could do something I loved for a grade. What made it really helpful, however, was the fact that I was exposed to so many different styles—some I didn’t even know existed/worked (for instance, Lorrie Moore’s and Donald Barthelme’s very unique styles). Usually when I read on my own, I choose genres and styles that I am already familiar with and what I already like—but this made me read some things that perhaps I wouldn’t choose from the shelf of the library on my own. It made me realize that good writing can come in all forms and styles—(who knew that a story written entirely in second person could be so captivating?!)—and it inspired me to try out different styles when writing in the future.

Also, the in-class discussion helped me see what different writers were good at, what elements make a great story, and what made each writer unique. I really enjoyed the discussion and seeing what people had to say about a particular author.

From the discussions, I actually learned a lot that helped me improve my writing—like brainstorming the story arc, learning about the importance of details/descriptions, finding conflict and a resolution, etc.

Workshop Over :(

I really enjoyed workshop. It was extremely fun to see what kinds of stories people could come up with—everyone had a different style, and I feel like our stories revealed a certain aspect of each of our personalities. The stories that some people wrote really surprised me (in a good way) because I hadn’t seen that aspect of them before, whereas some stories made perfect sense considering what I knew about the author. Either way, I enjoyed seeing what everyone could come up with, and I was extremely impressed with what each person brought to the table.

It’s true that some styles appealed more to me than others, but I could definitely say honestly that there was not one story that I didn’t enjoy reading. All the stories had their strengths, and I learned something from each story—whether it was a new word that I’d never used before, or an especially striking description.

My inbox definitely feels empty without the much anticipated workshop story emails. I think it would be fun to take another course like this in college, even though I’m not majoring in English or anything.

WDYL Day 1

The first day of “Who Do You Love” presentations was great! It really made me want to read stories by each of the authors. Some of the presentations even completely changed my perception of the author—like Donald Barthelme. I didn’t really like “Robert Kennedy Saved from Drowning” because I didn’t get it at all, but Claire’s presentation made me want to read “Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby”. The excerpt she read to the class was great, and the absurdity of Donald Barthelme’s writing was really humorous. (I can’t seem to find it online though, so I’m a bit sad).

 One thing that I really took from the presentations is what Alex shared about Tim O’Brien—how he looked to capture a particular feeling/emotion (instead of an actual specific event) in his writing. This was especially struck a chord in me because that’s exactly what I want my writing to do (…even though actually doing that is a whole other story…). Sometimes I have all these emotions, and I think that I can’t possibly be alone in feeling like this, so it’d be a lovely thing to put on paper. However, to write stories that actually elicit all the right emotions in the reader requires a lot of skill. I’ll keep working on that. J

Sex/Murder Debate

My stance in the Sex/Murder debate is that it depends on the particular author’s style and whether or not they can pull it off. If the writer can blend it in seamlessly with the rest of their story and it comes across as natural and not forced, sex/murder scenes can be great for adding a bit of excitement into a story.

I actually went and looked up the sex scene in The Godfather book and I thought it was a bit too graphic for my liking—so authors have to keep in mind who their audience is. I know The Godfather probably wasn’t written for teenagers, it’s probably more like adult fiction.

One sex scene that I thought was really well done was the sex scene in the book Memoirs of a Geisha. It came off as really funny (to me at least), and this made sense when considering that the narrator was a young girl then, and that we are seeing it through her eyes. She likened the event to a rat and rolls of fabric, and it was just a really ridiculous metaphor, so ridiculous it was funny. The author definitely intended it to be funny, so employing the exaggerated metaphor was very effective.

Writing for Workshop...

I wrote my story for workshop one night when I was feeling particularly “emo” over the fact that I feel my parents really don’t understand me sometimes—typical teenage drama. I managed to blow that up into a whole dramatic letter about being abused by one’s parental units, I’m not even sure how that happened. All I know is my fingers were rapidly tapping at my keyboard, and before I knew it, the letter had formed (the letter Astara gets from her mother). I didn’t even plan on it being my workshop story. It was simply a way for me to express my emo-ness, for lack of a better term. After I finished the letter and the first bit of the story, I sort of just abandoned it in the “My Documents” folder.

Then like a month later, my workshop date was looming ever so closely…and I really didn’t have any inspiration for a new story, so I opened up the story I had began and read it over. I sort of liked it, so I decided to continue it and see where it leads. I really like the fact that I had written the story spontaneously though--I think it enhances the content of the story.

And fyi, the description about Kenny and how freaking gorgeous he is was also in another separate story that I started but never finished…but I really really liked the description so I put it in my story.