Here are the guidelines:
- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
Reading this was very nice and refreshing. I felt so much passion from the author and what they were writing about. Sometimes when we think about writing, we usually think of essays, or reports. I think we forget writing can go beyond that, we can do so much with it. It almost reminds me of the way art is. I believe that is why I enjoyed it so much is because writing is another form of art, just the way painting or drawing is. I have had a passion for both so reading this gives me the same feeling as when Im reading someone describing the importance and the benefits of drawing and painting. One quote I loved was " A creative writer not only perceives in images, he must communicate in them, and the reader must read in them"(Stegner, Pg.16). As writers we have to show the viewers the scene we are trying to build. With painting I can paint them the scenery, but with writing I have to use my senses, describe what the trees even look like in the sun, the colors that are in those trees. Green? With a hint of blue and yellow since the way the sun is hitting them. What does the air feel like? With writing we have to convey the image with words! That is why creative writing is so important so we can built that image. This was a very nice reading, and really had my thoughts going about how creative writing is. Creation is very important and I cant wait to learn more how to create and build not just within paintings and sketches, but with my words.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Rangel
I appreciate the more sarcastic tone at the beginning of the passage when it addresses the categorizing of creative writing as a type of writing that is not considered “correct” in the traditional sense as it focuses more on expression rather than a uniform way of passing along information like a textbook. Stegner describes the purpose of creative writing is “to produce in its reader the pleasure of an aesthetic experience… an imaginative reaction or reflection… it attempts to uncover form a meaning…” emphasizing the fact that creative writing is a more free-flowing form of writing and expression. Throughout the text, Stegner also emphasizes the point that having a “mannered style” of writing like a traditional author means that the writer is someone “who doesn't have much to say” and says that a creative writing piece should have a sense of personal involvement. Stegner even goes as far as to compare a “good writer” to a cocked gun that is “not worrying about the caliber of his bullet or the special sound of his report” and saying that “if he is not a little dangerous, both to himself and others, he is not living up to his calling.” Although a little repetitive with his emphasis on “personal touches” and “finding a voice/ style,” it is a nice passage to read as a young writer in school. Knowing that as long as you can tell your writing is your own and you are not trying to sound like another writer, you are off to a good start.
ReplyDeleteBethanee Campos
I think I can speak for most of the class and say that this story was something we all needed to know. We all have our opinions when it come to our own writing. Whether the opinion is a professional or novice. This story was nothing short of a wake up call for most or a nice reminder for others to always look back at your creation, with the help of its very clear stand on being yourself. It’s image on prose, poetry, stories etc. using ones’ ideas and the validation of using practice and endless patience as it ties into communicating meaning and most importantly, in my POV, emotion. To make a writer feel and see what they put in their own work and simultaneously having their attended audience connect to each word is nothing short of a miracle. Finally, it made me see that it’s possible to make something deeply profound but somehow flawed and empty. It invited a place of transition and growth for me, not necessarily fun but necessary. It’s reassuring to know that other people go through a process like this. Just letting yourself be empty and trust the creative process while it knows what it’s doing.
ReplyDeleteZealen Garcia
This reading was inspiring. I once read a quote by someone, who probably wasn’t a writer, that said something to the effect of, “words will never be good vehicles for true human emotions”. I’ve always wanted to counter that and show that words are extremely powerful, and have the strength to transport you to another time in your life, when those emotions were front and center. Sometimes they have the power to make you feel emotions that you’ve never truly experienced. This passage got me in that head space, the head space to provide the reader with “a heightened awareness, a sharpening of feeling, a sense of personal exposure, danger, involvement, enlargement” (Stegner, Pg. 15). The part of the reading that struck me as relate-able was when Stegner commented on teachers of creative writing overpraising someone for showing even the tiniest bit of “flair”. When I first started my English degree, I didn’t think i was the greatest writer in the world, but i definitely thought that had something special. I was pumped up by one professor in particular, who said “you attention to detail, and use of imagery is
ReplyDeleteamazing, it’s really beautiful to read” & i thought to myself, well this confirms it, I’m great. It wasn't until i grew as a writer and went on with my degree that i realized it’s important to set my standards significantly higher than those around me so that, like Stegner said, I’m not “mislead by that standards of others”. I thought this reading was a great way to start off the semester, and get excited about whats to come.
Aisha Teegarden
Prior to reading this essay in regards to creative writing I had no clue how much work and emotion goes into writing. I have honestly never been a fan of having to do any type of writing. Like mentioned throughout the piece, school enhances the “correctness” of writing rather than the essence that one needs to portray within their writing and speaking of experience, this is what makes it a drag for many of us since the early grades in school. However, reading this essay has greatly enlightened me about the true concept of creative writing because I wasn’t sure as to what really expect from this course itself. Acknowledging that it is okay to not be the best writer from one day to another and that it takes more than just talent, to create good writing. Along with talent and hard work one is bound to be successful while looking back to our work along the way. Now that I understand some more the concept of creative writing it seems to me quite more interesting and “do-able”. In my point of view, writing, reading or any task is ALWAYS 10 times easier done when once can relate to what the task may be. The fact that creative writing is obtained and created by the use of figurative language, emotions, meaning, literature language, and point of view, makes the writer so powerful by having the ability to use these to attract their desired reader. But to give their readers the overall and whole image through creative writing, the writer has to possess humbleness for the world itself and their surroundings. By being humane, one can get that across with words and I think that is definitely true.
ReplyDeleteVictoria A. Rodriguez
This reading has made me think about creative writing in a different way. It has made me understand that being a creative person while writing shows imagination. The author makes it clear that being a creative writer shows confidence in yourself because you’re expressing ideas with other people when they read your material. This reading has impacted me to become more expressive with creativity when I write not only in this class, but with my others as well. Something that I strongly agree with in this reading was the author’s mention of most potential writers being omnivorous readers on page 23. The reason I agree with this is because reading the works of other people may help influence style and creativity in young potential writers; it gives people a sense of direction by learning where and how to start writing. Although I did enjoy and like the message behind the reading, there was something that I did not particularly agree with. The author mentions on page 24 that schools will try to impose correctness and have negative approaches with students that may exhaust young writers. I disagree because school is one of the only places where students actually read because of assignments and different projects they are assigned. Students are exposed to many different authors that have different styles, and if anything, it helps build young writers from the ground up.
ReplyDeleteAlec De La Garza
I agree with the author Wallance Segner writing is ar ,in french is call belles lettres (Stegner Pg.11) because when we write we can communicate our feelings, expressions and emotions. In writing we can know the other person without knowing them, we can know if they are a good person or a bad person. Creative writing have to do with the way of thinking and imagination. When a person writes another thing I agree with the author that as creative writers we have examine, question and doubt all the information out there is reliable, we can also the individual from what source he or she find the information and also find reliable source. I find interesting when the author states in the reading that a weapon does not make a warrior or a hunter but a good warrior will have a weapon (Stegner Pg.14). For example a pencil and a paper will not make a creative writer instead a good creative writer will have those supplies and also must be a critical thinker to think outside the box developing our senses to create images and capture them in the reading if a writer does not transmit in the reading it should not be called literature, because the reader when is reading want to see those images capture in the brain that move to another world. Finally, the author mentions that there is a lot of variety with the American Literature because we can see lots of languages and genres (Stegner pg.32).Also lazy people, amateurs, full time workers cannot be creative writers because it time consuming, you must be dedicate to yourself and be a hardworking person in order to be good creative language besides that being a creative writer is fun because it allows you think outside the box to be a critical thinker, crossing boundaries and you also get to know different standpoints.
ReplyDeleteOscar Alberto Jacome Serrano
After reading this selection, I feel as if I see writing in an even bigger and better perspective. When you think of the term “writing”, some may think of taking a lot of time from your day to sit and just write your life away. Others may think of boring, given topics that are mandatory to write about such as assigned essays or projects. What this selection is trying to explain is that writing is just way more than any of that. It’s one’s thoughts, it could be one’s beliefs, or dreams. It could be anything the composer was feeling or thinking or witnessing and many of us do not see it like that. By reading somebody’s work, we get a look at the way their mind way work, kind of like having the power of mind-reading. When Stegner states, “It begins in the senses, it is done with words, its end is communicated insight” (Stegner, Pg. 15), he is basically stating the cycle that someone’s work goes through. A piece is written, whatever it may be, a fiction piece, a bibliography, or even their diary. It is jotted down, on a paper, white board, or laptop. Lastly, it is published for all to see and is talked and talked about for years to come. Some might relate, and some might not like it. Whatever the case may be, writing could possibly give the closure that some may be in search of or they might have just found their new favorite story. I hope to one day make people connect to pieces of mine for I have a feeling that Stegner is going to grow on me due to “Creative Writing”.
ReplyDeleteClarissa Partida
Wallace Stegner seems to have a very defined idea of what Creative Writing is, which automatically sells him as an experienced one. I really connected to what he said about creative writing being rooted imaginative recreation or imitation - because its true. Art imitates life, and writing or typing your thoughts in a recreation of humanity in many ways allows us to deal with the parts we are too frightened to deal with in real life.
ReplyDeleteI also really appreciate that Stegner never really rambles about a good writer’s skills deriving from elegant sentences or big words, but he maintains his focus on artistic expression - having something to say and those words stabbing through the page, handing the world a part of you. Of course his writing can still come across to some people as annoyingly formal but he makes a strong case either way.
The way he describes “tones of voice” palpable through writing an individual’s fingerprints on page 21 is completely accurate in my book. With such differing personalities between one person to the next it can be tough to think that we can convey those differences through a series of words.
Luis A. Garza
After reading this selection, I have a better understanding of the different ways people feel towards writing and why they enjoy doing it or how it makes them feel, those are some of the reasons as to why I enjoyed it. When I was younger I loved writing essays in class and I remember that a lot of the times we were assigned “creative writing” where we had to come up with s story of an unforgettable day, or a sad day etc. and we always had the option of making it fiction or non-fiction and I would always exaggerate in my stories. A lot of us would always end it with “and then I woke up.” Being able to express yourself with writing is very important and I know it means a lot to some people.
ReplyDeleteWhen the author, Wallace Stegner used a simile to compare a good writer and a gun it really put things into perspective for me. A lot of the times people are scared to say certain things because they are afraid what others might think or they don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. When in reality you should write what you want to write, what makes you happy, and what makes you feel something. This part really reminded me of the show Gossip Girl because one of the main characters is a writer and he writes a book and it gets published. But before it got published he was scared of going through with it because he used his friends as inspiration and he was scared that they would be offended or he would hurt their feelings, but at the end of the day they should be happy for him because he was able to publish a book.
In page 24 the author talks about the different methods of writing, especially in school because teachers expect a certain format, certain punctuation and a certain language to be used.
The last sentence, “it is for creative, and creativity implies both talent and hard work.” Is something that I think a lot of people don’t realize. I think people feel like it is something easy, or something that anyone can do because they think “how hard can it be, its just writing” but in reality it’s hard because you have to write something that people will be interested in, something that inspires you, and something that you can be proud of.
-Cecilia Cantu
This reading blew my mind in so many ways. Most of the things Stegner was writing about in this reading I can relate. I want to talk about two points that really stood out to me and I felt were inspiring. First, the exact definition of writing when Stegner says “we need only define. Creative writing means imaginative writing, writing as an art.” I’m no different from anyone and I get self-conscious about what I write at times. Sometimes I feel my work isn’t good enough, and other times I feel great joy in my work. Stegner meaning of his words really brings me hope and realization that there is no wrong or right way to attack creative writing. I feel he was very uplifting in the freedom that we should take as writers and not to be afraid to explore and be different with our words. Second, Stegner talks about the prayer that should be made by anyone hoping to be writer. This prayer took how I felt and put it into words perfectly. It talks about teaching love, humbleness, respect of different human emotions, and finding the right words, so your words do not get overlooked and forgotten. This was very touching and inspiring to see. I love writing and I want to be creative and make an impact with my words, so when others read they will respect and have an idea of where I am coming from. This reading has brought ease to my mind and has brought my creative juices to the for front. It is very different from “standard academic writing” that focuses more on grammar. This is what I feel writing should be about to reach creative communication in a different level meant to inspire. This was refreshing to read in the first week of class!
ReplyDeleteGilbert Sanchez
Reading “Creative Writing,” by Wallace Stegner is refreshing and allows us to understand the language that a writer inserts into their work. As a writer, you are to take risks or be “dangerous” in order to be a “good” writer. It is a reminder that writing is a form of art and requires just as much care and discipline as a ballerina does for a performance. Being a writer means to put your best foot forward and allow yourself to be completely indulged in your work. There are no rules as long as you have passion for your work and that you believe in it. Stegner talks about being, “… priest and sacrifice.” (Stegner, p. 13) A writer is like Hannah Montana… you want to be the best of both worlds. Yet try not to be something that you are not as a writer. I see this as being your true self in your work and allowing yourself to explore your inner-beauty that some of us are still trying to find like myself. Overall, a creative writer or just being a creative is having humility and to be humble throughout the whole creative process. This reading opened my eyes to what it means to be a creative writer.
ReplyDeleteKrista Olivarez
I have one thing against this writer. Why, when referencing a writer, does Sterling give the male pronoun as if only males can be writers? I do not know if he cares or not, but I noticed this as I was finishing the reading. An example is from page 29 or slide 16 of the pdf “Again, there is no rule for the student except that HE should read…” I am not a fan of automatically using a pronoun, so I’ll usually reference people as they? It can be complex and that is why Sterling opted for a male persona for his writing? Was he writing about himself or using himself as an example?
ReplyDeleteReading this short chapter opened my eyes to the possibility of the inclusion of chaos in my writings. I’ve always been taught standard writing procedures and to never deviate unless instructed to. The world of creative writing is as confusing to me as an English poem is to a non-English speaker.
I believe that I do not add enough depth to my writings. I will do a clear-cut layout, for the most part, but I am hoping to challenge myself to try new things. To include chaos in a mind full of obscurities both excites and frightens me.
Jonathon Morin
By all accounts, this is a rather well put together academic text. All of the advice given is excellent. I particularly like his advice for new writers. Many of his opinions are difficult to disagree with and he does an excellent job illuminating many of the less widely known portions of creative writing. However, at times the text begins to stray into the extremely subjective. Most all of the chapter’s material after page 24 is well put together critical analytics, but before this page, a huge chunk of the material is dedicated to extremely specific characteristics, which the author believes are fundamental parts of being a creative writer. In doing so, he excludes a notable measure of very notable authorship. The author is very certain of himself while addressing these. At one point he goes so far as to say, that creative writers do not deal in chains of reason rather. Rather, he says this is the domain of the philosopher. It is strange, that a creative writer, such as the author, would dedicate large portions of the chapter to the same kind of reasoning. However, it would be strange to approach the text of a creative writer without expecting some artistic liberties.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Hinkle
The reading was very mind opening for me. I think creative writing is being able to all of your thoughts and emotions; letting it all out. I think anyone can be a writer, but not everyone can let all of their thoughts and imagination into a story or poem. I have read novels where I do not really feel the story, I feel lost throughout it. I think that that is when creative writing kicks in. you have to engage your readers. Just how it is mentioned in the reading on page 16, “ No one without acute senses and the willingness to use them should pretend to literature, because without senses he cannot create images and images are his only means of making his reader hear and feel and see.” I think being a creative writer takes time and patience. It is “not a job for amateurs.. it implies both talent and hard work.” This reading motivated me to become a better writer. I hope to fully expand my creativity into my writings. I feel like I have yet to know what I am capable of writing. I am excited to see what this course has to offers us as writers.
ReplyDelete-Mayra Zarazua