Character debate

In the character chapter (4), I see that there is this small debate about “character-driven stories,” and “situational-driven stories.” The question is… where do I fall? I thought long and hard about this because I like both points that each author makes, Shelby Foote and Stephen King, that it is either characters that come first or situation that comes first. Even though I feel that characters are the most important parts of a story and are the figures that readers can relate to, I think I have to say that I prefer situation first over character. I like the feeling of knowing the basis of the story and begin to make predictions about what could happen. Now, after thinking about this for awhile, I’m questioning if you can get both character and situation at the same time. If you read on, it describes how there needs to be a point of view. Well, if you have a point of view and a situation, doesn’t that describe both? And wouldn’t that solve all this debate? My short story that I’m writing is in first person POV and I feel like I’m offering my readers the character and the situation all at once, killing two birds with one stone. What do you think??

Hungry Minds

So I was recently watching Ratatouille and the main theme in this film is that "anyone can cook." Well it is kind of ironic that I read this article soon after because the theme here seems to be that "anyone can write." The program they've got running here in New York at this church is a great opportunity for those who attend soup kitchens. Even though a large majority of the people disregard the table every Wednesday for writer's workshop, there are some who really take advantage of this.
I noticed that the author of this article really had some good descriptive detail. Coincidence? Considering that he is in charge of writer's workshop, I'm sure he's got some experience on his belt. The good part of this is that he does this solely as volunteer work! Wouldn't this be a great chance for students to get some hours of volunteer work done? For example, maybe a high school group called "Writer's Workshop" could be formed and then meet every Wednesday at the soup kitchen to aid people off the streets of New York in developing writing skills.
I just wish that the author would have went into more detail about the workshop itself. Instead, it seemed like he rambled on about how the soup kitchen works, the type of people who come eat, and some random stats. I only get a general sense of the writer's workshop and I'm left to assume some things, but overall, I think it is a good offer.

Shaping the Story

Chapter three of Writer's Workshop raises a lot of good points about the plot and story, which are surprisingly (not!), two different things.
What I've noticed that has really helped me in my own writing is the fact that you need to start small. All of the ideas don't just occur overnight. Just like in chapter one when an author started by writing about a wall, another started writing about boys having a snowball fight here in chapter three. I feel that every story begins with something! Whether it is a portrayal of your own life, your environment, or an item sitting in front of you, anything can spark a story worth telling. On page 66, the text reads in capital letters, "YOU CANNOT 'PLOT' A STORY THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW." Basically what I think Koch is trying to say is that you have to put together the pieces and parts before you have a plot. When teachers ask, "who can tell me the plot of this story?" after students read a novel, don't students usually sum it up in about 30 seconds or less? You definitely can't write a story in 30 seconds or less, can you?! If you do, how are students able to summarize that?

Something that I've had trouble with so far in my writing is building a conflict. Since I am such a positive person, it's hard to create any negativity in my story! From my understanding, I just need to make my character want something. And then, in turn, they have to struggle to get what they want, and finally get what they want. Sounds easy! But I'm actually having a difficult time with this because it takes a lot of planning, imagination, and "fitting the pieces together" that is holding me back. But as the text suggests on page 76, "...conflict determines genre. Is this story going to end with a funeral, weddding, or a party, or a soulful stare at a brick wall? Is it going to make us laugh, cry, or cringe, or get mad, or feel awe, or pity, or gentle sadness, or excitement, or what?" I feel that this actually helps me plan some type of conflict in a sense because inevitably that conflict will affect the ending. We'll see! Until then, I must read on...

Crestwood High School

Hello! I just wanted to tell you all about my experience so far at Crestwood High School, home of the RED DEVILS! I am really liking it so far. In the spring I will be teaching Honors 10 English, 3English 10 classes, 2 of which are partnered up with the special ed teacher, and U.S. 12 Literature. For my unit, which is Nov. 2-13, I will be teaching a regular English 10 class about personal narratives. I actually have a lot of fun things planned, which I will share later after I test them out. This week is homecoming week and also spirit week. I was told that the students aren't very school-spirited, but WOW! Being an outsider and walking through those hallways during spirit week has me amazed. The hallways are SO DECKED OUT! In one hallway, I believe it is the sophomore hallway, they have it decorated so it looks like a crime scene. There are yellow caution "ropes," whatever they are called, everywhere. On the floor they have a shape of a body outlined in white tape, as if a murder or something took place... It's so cool! I wish I would have brought my camera to take some pictures. The other hallways are decent, but I really liked the sophomore hallway. Tonight is their homecoming bonfire and they actually do this thing I've never heard of! A local automotive collision business donates a wrecked car and then the students buy tickets to use a sledge hammer and destroy it more. Crazy! Have you ever seen such a thing? Because of the delay in getting placed, I had a halt in creating my visual essay. I finally finished it! Check it out. I didn't have enough time in the video to incorporate what students do for fun...In brief, they live in a SMALL town which is approx. 1.41 square miles long! Therefore, the students go to other cities such as Streetsboro and Aurora to do things. They live somewhat close to Geauga Lake and close to Hiram College. Not much to do!

The Writing Life

Chapter 2 of Writer's Workshop is titled "The Writing Life." Perfect because it is a catchy title for this blog post.

In this chapter, Koch points out several elements a writer needs to consider when producing "art." It is everything from memories to what we see in our day to day lives. The point that I really like that Koch made was that reading and writing work hand in hand. He quotes Stephen King--"...If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. Reading is the creative center of a writer's life" (39). Further, Eudora Welty said, "Indeed, learning to write may be part of learning to read" (40). These quotes can be interpreted in a number of ways, but I think the main point both King and Welty are trying to make is that when you're a reader developing the senses of characters, plots, conflicts, etc., of stories, you are kind of trained to reproduce these things with your own imaginative abilities.

The only problem with reading and writing is...drumroll please...FINDING TIME. How many of us make excuses for finding the time to keep up with reading AND writing?? I have to admit, I've only got two pages written for my short story. Even though, supposidily, "writer's block doesn't really exist," I feel like I am stuck! I've taken over a week off of writing--thinking, dreaming, and envisioning where I can take my story, but it is so tough! Initially I thought I was going to go one route, but now I feel like it is totally stupid and I can't ramble on and on about it. I'm trying to find my imaginary skills deep inside me. I know they are there! I've got to put aside the TV time, the naps, AND FACEBOOK! and really try to focus. Just like chapter 2 mentions, my future readers "aren't going to give a damn whether it took me thirty minutes or one year" (45), all that matters is the story is well thought out!

Beginning of Writer's Workshop

Whew. Let me just start off by saying that writing a story is tough! Not only is it time consuming, it requires a lot of imagination and skill. I give credit to all the authors out there!
So reading this book, "The Modern Library: Writer's Workshop," I feel a little more inspired. I have read the first chapter--it basically encourages writers to get started, pick up the notebook and write, NOW. The major thing that I agree with is that good storylines come from childhood memory. Flannery O'Connor (one of my favorite authors), said that "anyone who survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life" (13). I totally agree! When I began to brainstorm ideas for writing, I took the advice of this book and wrote down MANY childhood memories. I seriously wrote on the front and back of a piece of paper! Even though I had so many ideas, I ended up taking a totally different route, but it was a lot of fun to think back to my childhood anyway (and will probably come in handy next time for story ideas). It is kind of like how Flannery O'Connor wrote "Good Country People," which by the way, if you haven't read it, read it--I loved it! She had a girl character with a wooden leg and a bible salesman meet, and suddenly decided at the last minute, the bible salesman would steal her leg! That made me chuckle outloud because this is probably so typical of all writers. A story with all of its elements doesn't just come at once, they come in spurts!

There are a lot of quotes from various authors in this chapter that give some good advice and interesting comments. One thing that I really liked was how Kurt Vonnegut said: "When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away--even if it's only a glass of water." He was trying to tell his students that stories have characters who want something, but face trouble (conflict) to attain what they want, and go through a series of events until they get what they want. What a great way to put it!

I totally agree with the fact that our memories stink when it comes to ideas--especially in writing. It is always good to get your ideas on paper. Don't try to remember it later! Have you ever had a REALLY good dream at night and told yourself that you will remember it in the morning, only to wake up and totally forget? Point proven.

So far, I really find this book helpful. It's really hard for me to keep up with the reading madness of this semester, but I am loving this book. I'm on to chapter two... !



^^A sneak peak of "Good Country People." I'm telling you, read it because of course, this clip isn't the same or nearly as good!