Part A: You, the Writer

What have you improved on as a writer?

• I have improved my use of imagery as a writer.
• I have improved my structure of pieces I write since they flow better now.
• I have also improved my vocabulary as a writer since I have been learning a new word every day.

How would you explain your voice? What is stylistic for you?

• I would explain my voice as ¨flowy¨ since I think the rhythm of my writing is nice.
• My style of writing is using lots of imagery to make a view for my readers vivid and clear.

As a mentor writer, what advice would you give to future creative writers?

• Read outside of your comfort zone, it might suck but at least you will gain new perspectives and styles of writing.
• Ask for help when writing, ask others who are better than you to proofread your work.
• Read other’s blogs even if you don’t know them (inspiration will pour into your mind).

Future goals and plans regarding writing?

• Keep on learning new words every day.
• Keep writing entries in my journal every day by getting prompts out of the internet.
• Read every day.
• Keep posting on my blog.

 

Part B: You, the Blogger

What do you think about your blog?

• I like the aesthetic of my blog.
• I´m quite happy with the entries I have on my blog.
• Things I would like to improve on are the GUMPs that I make (I can work on this by doing more exercises on No Red Ink).

Which student blogs impress me the most?

Cindy’s Blog: http://deardream.edublogs.org/

Tina’s Blog: http://breathingpreta.edublogs.org/

Camdyn’s Blog: http://paperhearts.edublogs.org/

Caitlyn’s Blog: http://satelliteinorbit.edublogs.org/

Charles’ Blog: http://charles71.edublogs.org/

Jed’s Blog: http://skyblueskies.edublogs.org/

Jimmy’s Blog: http://pbwithj.edublogs.org/

Kshef’s Blog: http://rosesandthorns.edublogs.org/

Mariam’s Blog: http://exquisitelybeautiful.edublogs.org/

Sadia’s Blog: http://yearningforyugen.edublogs.org/

Tolu’s Blog: http://thelotusleaves.edublogs.org/

Tony’s Blog: http://atticsalt.edublogs.org/

Abhay’s Blog: http://conception.edublogs.org/

Arzoo’s Blog: http://bebeautybright.edublogs.org/

Part C: You, the Student

Discuss an ¨Aha¨ from Creative Writing class:

• When I did the creative writing activity that was meant to explore more about yourself I had an ¨Aha¨ moment from that by seeing what I wrote conveyed how I felt about those things which was very interesting.
• When Sam came in to talk to the class about his life of being a travel guide and the steps he took to reach there was an ¨Aha¨ moment for me because I was inspired by his life and the resourcefulness he had to help him overcome some challenges he had to face. It was amazing to see because of what modern day has made children try to realize is that you can not do much if you don’t go into the scientific/engineer route, and in order to be successful you need to have a job that produces lots of money. Listening to him talk anyone would realize that he is a truly happy person and by that, it became easier to see that whatever I do in life I want to do it in order to make me feel fulfilled and happy about the life I´m leading.

What have you accomplished as a reader? What is your plan to read next?

• The best book that I have read this semester (and the book that has become my new favourite novel) is ¨A House in the Sky¨ by Amanda Lindhout & Sara Corbett. The style of the writing and the tones and voices used were exceptional and the fact that it is a non-fiction novel makes it seem like the book’s words are even more powerful. The novel is about Amanda’s life as a freelance journalist and the steps she took to get there. The main plot of the novel occurs when she travels to Somalia where she is abducted by a militia group of men who kept her for ransom. Why I truly appreciated this book was because of the sincerity of it. With everything going on in the world right now many people blame all Islamic people and hate their nation because of the terrorist and militia groups that reside there. This book does not spread any messages about Islamophobia or hate towards Islamic people whatsoever. Close to the start of the book Amanda even states that everything that they talk about in the news showing Islam is incredibly skewed and that for the most part when she traveled to that part of the world she was met with kindness and peace. Because of the view displayed in this book, I very soon had a bond with it due to the appreciation I felt towards it.
• Reading has also improved my writing. This is because of the varying perspectives of authors and their different styles I came in contact with to then intertwine them with my own writing to make it the best I could.

What are your next steps to improve as a writer?

• To improve with writing I need to keep practicing it so I will write a journal piece each day to strengthen my style, voice, and grammar.
• I will also continue with my No Red Ink to further develop my skills.
• I will read every day and the genres will vary (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, articles, etc.).
• I want to start off with (over the summer break) publishing a new post on my blog every two weeks.

 

Part D: You, the Fan

Writer Seminars (WS):

• I am glad that I chose Marge Piercy for my WS because it helped me see poetry in a new light and I liked the language and themes she used in her pieces. My favourite poems by her would be: ¨To Be of Use,¨ and ¨Colours Passing Through Us.¨ I also considered Warsan Shire because of her spectacular poem ¨Home¨ and the themes she used in her poetry. I also like the poems ¨Dear Moon,¨ and ¨The Unbearable Weight of Staying¨ by Shire.
• I enjoy many genres especially fantasy but I also enjoy adventure and thriller novels.
• Some inspirations I have gotten was through the quotes in the WS and by emulating some I came to really enjoy what I wrote, I even used some as part of an entry for my “Inspiration” page and for one of my posts, “Soul Speak” which you can find right here: https://thenotoriousnefelibata.edublogs.org/2019/04/13/soul-speak/
• I enjoyed the WS for  Khaled Hosseini so I wanted to read more from him but some books that I want to read for their stories are:
  • • • • 1. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
          2. Price of Life by Nigel Brennan
          3. One Day Closer by Lorinda Stewart
          4. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
          5. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
          6. Hamlet by Shakespeare
          7. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly
          8. The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
          9. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

 

Part E: You, the Critic of your work

Piece #1.

This is an anecdote piece called December 24th, 2003 11:59 pm it is the story of how I was adopted and taken to the place I live today in Canada. As soon as I heard the project was going to be an anecdote I knew this was the story I wanted to tell because I feel a deeper connection about this than any other anecdote I could write. My identity was right there in the story and I wanted to be more open about myself through this blog so I knew this would be as good as a start as any. I’ve heard “jokes” before by some people in school saying “you’re actually adopted” as an insult when their friend has done something (for lack of a better word) dumb. I’ve spoken up about it then and I will now. Things like that shouldn’t be thrown around as insults, the same as using words like “gay.” These words are not ammunition for people to disrespect each other because they are in no form offensive to start off with, so people should treat it as such and not contort the image of themselves or these words. For me, this was another way to display my emotions about this topic and to spread my own personal awareness about it.

Piece #2.

This piece I have already talked about earlier on this page it is called Soul Speak and I wrote about it because I liked emulating it due to its flexible structure. I wanted to envelop the writing with the original thought of the quote: something that is good can turn out bad (and vice versa). I really enjoyed that theme since it is realistic and it snaps you back to the truth of the words. My favourite piece was the one I did on rage. I liked that one the best because I really liked how the words exactly mirrored my thoughts and I think it turned out to have the strongest message of the four. I wanted to have a see-saw effect with my words which is also why I used the abstract words of the pieces to be the emotions that I believed were good and those I thought were bad and spread them out. I also enjoyed playing with the structure of my words by bolding some of my words for the guilt piece, colouring the word “hope” in gold, using a heart instead of spelling out love, and capitalizing all the Rs in the rage piece because it brought in more of my emotions for what I was describing. I named it Soul Speak for that reason, by using the emotions everyone felt but truly making them mine in that piece.