They didn't but we did....

The first time I can ever remember deciding that writing was something that really interested me was after reading a short story by Stuart Dybek entitled "We Did'nt" The writing in the story was sensational. He was able to tell so much about the characters through conveying their surroundings. It was truly amazing to me. I was equally excited when I became privy to The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. Her writing style was pure finesse and she was able to capture so much detail and incorporate symbolism, and metaphors and employed so many writing techniques all within a short span of a couple of pages and it all worked. I can only dream that my writing kinks begin to smooth out and my work becomes so definitive. Writing saved my life many times when i was younger. I kept a journal(women keep diarys) that helped me to work through some pretty gruesome stuff in my life. Writing has always allowed me to gain perspective by being able to escape my part in the drama of my life allowing me to step back and veiw it objectively. I am sure that the writer and writing that saved my life was the Waker Journal circa 85.

Fiction: There is a hint of Truth in Every Lie

Writers are limited by their own experiences. We express and convey emotions through having a genuine connection with the characters we portray in the story. There has to be some form of attachment to avoid psuedo sensationalism. The reader must feel a sense of reliability in the author in order to move the story forward with some sense of authentification. The beauty of fiction is the ability to be able to draw on not only your own life experiences, but those of others. An author may have never been in trouble with the law, however he or she may have watched an episode or two of cops, or been privy to conversations with someone immersed in the criminal element. The point is even in fiction authors need to forge a connection with the character they hope to convey to an audience. Sometimes an authors information is unreliable, therefore it is necessary to research and delve deep into the mind state of the character you hope to project. Fiction is bitter-sweet; a ying and yang of emotional distress for an author. First, the author must fully understand the character they hope to portray and then you have to figure out a way to convey that emotional connection to an audience. The magic of fiction is the removal of boundaries, yet the curse of fiction is making it believable. I hope to learn how to convey the sense of a genuine story. I hope to harness that believability in my writing.

Prompt me...I'm going in

I read some of the writing prompts and many appeared that they might actually help, however some just appear to be enforcing what I always knew. Pen to the pad-- I think that is the easiest prompt there is. Sometimes its not about mood, amount of light in the room, revision of someone else's work, or big beautiful words. It is and always will be about the writer and what inspires him or her. Writing poetry is a personal affliction, a pointy prickly thorn that pierces the skin and forces the writer to bleed their soul onto paper. Poetry is emotional and exposure. The more vulnerable you allow yourself to be, the more connected the reader will become and your poetry will have achieved its ultimate goal, which is to convey emotion to the reader. I attempted to write in the dark. I attempted to rearrange someone else's work, but nothing was more effective to me than connecting with a memory. Prompts are nice....they just should not be accepted as the cure all for writers block. I suggest a quiet room, a pencil, and a memory.....that's all.

Inadequately equipped

James Joyce, who am I to critique this author. I have been reading the dead and I will admit his style of writing is subtle and powerful. He is able to create a party without actually having to say that there is a party going on. Once again I must admit to being inadequately equipped for the job at hand. I am neither a fan or a disbeliever in the works of James Joyce. Perhaps, through the things taught to me in this class I will formulate some sort of opinion.