I was a little nervous when I arrived for the first class of the semester. I really had no clue what was going to happen, what we were going to be doing.
I think I started enjoying myself when we began reading the Dust and Fire pieces. I realized I've been kinda of limited when it comes to critiquing pieces. I've only done that in classes like Writing Fiction and Non-Fiction. I was nice to read pieces from women of different ages and from different places. In a way, it was very similar to a workshop class.
As for New Voices, I felt my experience in this was very similar to Dust and Fire but different because we were going through the same process but adjusting our view of the subject matter and the writing styles. It remind me so much of high school and all the writing projects we did.
This class, like other workshop classes, has shown me what editors and publishers want when looking for a piece of writing. I saw the other end of the spectrum. I think this will definitely change my view of my writing. I feel like I may write more to an audience now. I might work on figuring out who I want my audience to be.
I do think I will work on getting my writing published. Even though it is intimidating, because publishers and editors in the real world are harsher in their decisions (I would assume) then we were in our decisions. I will have a tough struggle to get much published, but I'm willing to try.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
"Accident, Mass. Ave." by Jill McDonough
I really liked this poem for two reasons: one, distance the reader experiences while reading this piece; and two, the emotions that come with the ending.
The first reason is the distance I felt as the reader, literally and figuratively. I haven't been in a situation like this before and the piece puts us front and center on the scene. We are the driver whose truck has just been hit. We are the driver who is yelling at the woman for backing into the tire.
The other distance is obviously from the setting. Boston is much different from Bemidji, Minnesota. I have a feeling that if this were to happen to someone here, it might not be the same situation.
Another thing I noticed that may have put the reader back a ways is the fact that I personally felt it was a male narrator, and I assumed that it was a personal experience from the writer's past. However the writer is female which put the piece in a different perspective for me.
Another thing I liked about the piece was the ending and how the two drivers come together and forgive each other. Through the piece we get the argument between the two, and there is some distance between them and then they forgive each other and we get this different emotion from the piece. there's a hostile feeling throughout the piece and then we get this happier feeling. The two women hug and they laugh about the whole situation.
The first reason is the distance I felt as the reader, literally and figuratively. I haven't been in a situation like this before and the piece puts us front and center on the scene. We are the driver whose truck has just been hit. We are the driver who is yelling at the woman for backing into the tire.
The other distance is obviously from the setting. Boston is much different from Bemidji, Minnesota. I have a feeling that if this were to happen to someone here, it might not be the same situation.
Another thing I noticed that may have put the reader back a ways is the fact that I personally felt it was a male narrator, and I assumed that it was a personal experience from the writer's past. However the writer is female which put the piece in a different perspective for me.
Another thing I liked about the piece was the ending and how the two drivers come together and forgive each other. Through the piece we get the argument between the two, and there is some distance between them and then they forgive each other and we get this different emotion from the piece. there's a hostile feeling throughout the piece and then we get this happier feeling. The two women hug and they laugh about the whole situation.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
New Voices Editing Experience
I felt that editing New Voices was very similar to editing Dust and Fire but I had to keep reminding myself that these were high school students and female adults. I had to constantly remind myself that the writing would not be as refined as the previous pieces we had read.
I felt it was easier to decide what pieces were written well enough to be include in the anthology. There were some that obviously need more work before inclusion and others were very well written for a high school level writer. It seemed hard for the prose group to pick final pieces and the prizes for prose.
I did feel a need to be gentle on these students and give some leniency when deciding what pieces could be included. I felt I needed to be kind to the high schoolers, because I imagined myself back in school and how I didn't want to be told no on a piece of my work. But I eventually realized that I will never know who these students are that will not have their pieces included. I felt I could be a little more harsh on my decisions.
It was fun reading these pieces and seeing what they find important to write about. I remember myself in high school and writing about similar things because that was the only world I knew.
After this experience, I realize now how much I and my writing has grown since high school. I appreciate how much I've been pushed to continue my writing.
I felt it was easier to decide what pieces were written well enough to be include in the anthology. There were some that obviously need more work before inclusion and others were very well written for a high school level writer. It seemed hard for the prose group to pick final pieces and the prizes for prose.
I did feel a need to be gentle on these students and give some leniency when deciding what pieces could be included. I felt I needed to be kind to the high schoolers, because I imagined myself back in school and how I didn't want to be told no on a piece of my work. But I eventually realized that I will never know who these students are that will not have their pieces included. I felt I could be a little more harsh on my decisions.
It was fun reading these pieces and seeing what they find important to write about. I remember myself in high school and writing about similar things because that was the only world I knew.
After this experience, I realize now how much I and my writing has grown since high school. I appreciate how much I've been pushed to continue my writing.
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