To Write Or To Write About?

Writing fiction allows the writer to be creative. You can chose your own characters, their story, the context, setting, scene, everything. As long as it makes sense. What is difficult about making it work is making it interesting. You need to write to engage your audience. Also you need to think of your own symbolism, and your own thematic elements. What do you what your reader to take from this experience? There is a ton of thought that goes in to writing a story and it can be very frustrating for the reader.

Writing about fiction can be just as frustrating. Having to go in to the context, background, and theme can sometimes be difficult. In writing about “A Hand in the Grave” I found it hard to find outside sources to back up the ideas that I had when interpreting the story.

Also, in writing about fiction there is the problem about the “right” interpretation. Yes, a story is open to interpretation, but there are so many issues with that as well. If you are writing about your own interpretation, or ideas regarding a piece of fiction, there has to be sufficient evidence to back it up.

I liked going into the story and re-reading it. Honestly, every time I read it I learned something new. I had written my entire essay, when I realized at the end they did not even need the body. After reading that it completely changed my perception of the characters and interpretation of the story. It was exciting for me to go back and try to find the clues that lead up to it, and trying to a put a new spin on things.

So peeling the onion can sometimes be fun. Or sometimes it can make you cry.

SEX

What enhanced my study of myth in creating a myth is trying to make it all make sense. Everything that means something has to mean something for a reason. All the components had to fit to ensure that the reason for the outcome made sense. Although it was a fun assignment, it was difficult to think of what to write about. After learning about all the types of myths I felt it would be fun to explain a modern situation but in an ancient sort of context. I really wanted to engage my audience. What makes the audience pay attention? What makes them think? What is possibly unexplained and could be mythical? Something with sex. Sex is everywhere because people like it. People love reading about it, talking about it, watching it, doing it, just everything about it. You can be guaranteed an enthralled audience when there is sex involved. So there is my creative, sexy, process.

I think that applying this assignment to the classroom is a great idea. Not only does it give students a chance to be creative, but it also has them thinking about all the components that go into a myth and how to identify the different myths. Obviously the sex thing would not work in a classroom, but perhaps something to do with girls, boys and the cooties.

By the way have you ever really thought about cooties? How did they come about? Who invented the cootie shot? What were the symptoms? Is it a giant conspiracy concocted by adults to keep boys and girls away from each other until they were mature? Can a concerned parent find out more about it on WebMD if their child comes crying relating a story about how she/he gave her/him the cooties?

Something to think about.

Poetry vs. Writing About Poetry

Poetry is very interesting because there are rules and structure, but poetry also gives you the chance to not adhere to any rules or structure. Unless you are setting out to write a Shakespearian sonnet, where rhyme and iambic pentameter are important, there is no reason to have to follow any rules. Poetry also depends on who is reading it, because one person can find it brilliant while another find it horrible. I think that poetry should matter to the person writing it. If you are satisfied with what you have written then that is what is important.
Writing about poetry is a completely different thing. If the poem follows a structure of some sort then it is easy to begin there. For example you can tell it is a sonnet if the last two liens are a rhyming couplet. However, things get a little bit tricky if the poet has created their own style and format. How do you then write about that? Then it is important to see if the poet has created their own patterns, like every other word rhyming, or perhaps it is set up is a certain way to appeal visually. Then it is important to look at the content. Perhaps there is a theme or idea within the content. Sometimes the poet capitalizes certain words, or makes a conscious choice to not use punctuation. In writing about poetry you have to be in tuned to these little details, because a poet is very careful about every little thing in their poem.

Introduction to The Sneaky Indian

Hello All,

My name is Roshni Jehangir Dastur. I am Indian. The kind with the red dot, from over the seas, east Indian to be more specific. I am Zoroastrian. Yes, I know so many of you are scratching your heads or falling out of your seat. No we are not extinct. I am a living relic. My kind is dying out. We are originally from Iran but then were persecuted by the Muslims and a small band of us traveled to India where we are better known there as Parsis. I come from a line of high priests, my last name means high priest. It is kind of cool.

I work at Mar Vista Park as a Camp Counselor during the summer but during the year I am the decorations coordinator at the park. This past winter I got to be director of their Winter Camp and it really had me rethinking being a teacher. Yes, I would love to teach, and I come from a teaching family so it was natural I go into teaching as well. However, I am actively pursuing a career as a Recreations Coordinator in the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation system because it gives me a chance to really be creative. On the other hand I don't get awesome time off to travel as I would teaching. I love kids and I can not wait to either be a teacher or a rec coordinator, but I have strongly decided against procreating myself. I like giving the kids back at the end of the day and being able to go home to my cat, Bubbles, and a nice vodka tonic. Working with kids is great and truly rewarding, having kids is a whole other game. There are just too many reasons not too. One major one, you can't eat sushi.

Let me enlighten you on my relationship with Rachel Erinn Bobrosky. We met here at CSUN in a beginning English class with Professor Athey. Our friendship was forged on a mutual love for many things including, Harry Potter, hating people, being judgmental, and future aspirations of being traffic controllers. Also we found out we had a lot in common; both our parents are teachers, and we were both first year transfer students with the same requirements that we needed to accomplish. We both compliment each other really well in school. I do our scheduling and make sure we have everything in on time in order to get out of this institution within four years, and Rachel makes sure we get all the classwork done. She is the worst Jew I know, but I would not like her any other way.

I am obsessed with The Office and Absolutely Fabulous. My life is based around these two shows and I really pray every night before I go to bed for the writers strike to end promptly so The Office can come back into my life.

A fear I have about teaching is just walking in and completely going blank and not know what to do or how to handle anything. Or not being able to reach any of the kids. Or realize that I am completely uncool, and I have become a bitter old teacher like all the other bitter old teachers in the lunch room.

For now I bid you adieu. I have rambled on long enough and it is time to post this sucker. Thats what she said.