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Written Words and Wishful Thinking
At the beginning of the year, I referred to my writing as “organized chaos.” Although I love showing off my eccentric side, I wanted my writing to sound less chaotic and more academic. However, I have always associated academic writing with being boring. Thankfully the blog format has helped me find duality and has turned me into a creative academic writer. Ironically, in my first weekly writing, I said I was “concerned about the blog format,” given that it has now become one of my favorite parts of this course. I also want to continue blogging after this class ends because it is a great way to practice writing and…
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Children: The Backbone of Letter Writing
Although Expistilorary Explorations have been fascinating, the historical letters can be very depressing. Working with the illustrated letters this week was refreshing because it showcased them as an art form. In The Day the Crayons Quit, letters are used as a storytelling device for the crayons to share their opinions on their child’s coloring skills. The story was adorable and a great way to introduce children to letters and their use as a form of peaceful protesting. I used to babysit for my next-store neighbors, and I remember reading the book to him and then getting a fountain of questions thrown at me: Are my crayons going to quit? Are…
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The Circle of Crafting a Thesis
There is nothing more stressful than trying to draft the perfect thesis. It’s crazy that so much pressure is put on just one sentence, and most of the time, I don’t honestly know what my thesis is until I finish a paper. I usually start with a great idea, but it takes me writing the paper to realize what I am trying to prove. Yes, I could hypothetically write the paper first and decide on the thesis after, but so often, teachers ask for the thesis first, and doing things in reverse order will only make things more complicated for me. So I have often questioned: what is the perfect…
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Dear Callie (aka an open letter to my calendar)
Whenever I am confused, Callie is the first thing I turn to. Callie always knows what is next and how to guide me about my day. Callie reminds me when it is time to leave, wake up, and go to sleep. I live based on its command. I spent many hours staring at Callie, looking at it for answers, so I decided to make it pretty. I created a color key to understand Callie without even reading the words I had written down. It worked for a while until I started joining clubs, and then I hit a problem. There weren’t enough colors. I tried placing Callie in different locations:…
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Takeaways by a Young Writer
This week we read a series of letters written to young authors giving them advice about how to write their books, get published, etc. As a young writer myself, some points stuck with me, and I feel I will utilize in the future should I choose to go further with the book I am currently working on. So here are my top five takeaways from Letters to a Young Writer 5. Reading Time: The best time to read is at the beginning of a project, and then the amount you read should decrease as you reach the climax. This allows you to make sure the conclusion is all your own.…
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Solving my problems with Mind Mapping
One of the problems I constantly run into when doing assignments is that I feel like I have no good ideas. I end up staring at a blank google doc for over an hour just trying to come up with the perfect idea that is well thought-out and has significant proof. Even once I do have an idea, I have to worry about the possibility of me changing plans halfway through a paper. I once tried just making a bulleted list of all my ideas before I started and then just free-write, but that ended horribly with me having enough ideas for a book and the most hectic free writing…
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Why Songs Are Like Letters (Bear With Me Here)
When looking at the last letters of the Holocaust, there are some main similarities: most people will try to reassure their loved ones of their safety and positivity. However, this meant that most people didn’t get a “last goodbye”. This left me extremely upset, and as I began to look through the letters, I searched for anything that would ease my mind. In the first of my two letters, the mother says something I found to be extremely significant: “Do you still remember the songs? I also sing them.” This was precisely the heartfelt thing I was looking for. On my drive up to college, one of the most important…
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Weekly Writing #1
My Writing Process If asked to describe my writing process, I would call it organized chaos. I am an intelligent person who is reasonably organized, has exciting ideas, and can typically articulate my point intelligently. However, when it comes to articulating other people’s points, I tend to fall short. During this class, I hope to gain the skills needed to better back up my claims and apply these skills towards research papers and argumentative essays. This being said I would like to keep my creative way of brainstorming using my theater orientated mind and my expansive knowledge of shows as a backdrop for my writing style, and my way of…
