Creativity and Its Many Manifestations

While growing up, I always thought I wasn't a very creative person. I couldn't paint, draw, or do things in a unique way. I always did things by the book. I used to love playing with LEGOs or the more obscure K'NEX when I was a kid. I would build huge replicas of things, and whatnot. However, I always followed the books piece by piece. It would bother me more than anything when somebody would ignore the instructions and build something different.

Many people would look at my way of doing things and say I was not a creative child. I believe that creativity is a word that has a very broad definition. A musician who composes a musical masterpiece is most certainly creative. But is the artist who takes parts of those masterpieces and converts them into something different and unique to them not creative as well?

Lately I have invested much of my time playing a computer game called Minecraft with my friends. If you've never heard of it, starting a game creates a randomly generated, infinitely large world composed of billions of blocks. You can collect these blocks, mine to get more rare metals and minerals, and even craft tools out of them. With the blocks you collect, you can create almost anything you and your friends can come up with. I have built a castle with a lava mote, a house on stilts in the sky with a trapdoor that drops you into the lake below, and even a sky scraping lighthouse made entirely of glass.

Playing Minecraft has revealed hidden creative talents in millions of people. I believe that many people are extremely creative, but they have no idea because of the generalized definitions of the word "creative". Creativity is extremely important for writing, and I think that everyone in our class is creative just because of the many examples of papers I have read.

What do you think?

How to start this paper!

Well i don't know about anyone else in the class, but i am having trouble figuring out how to start this paper. I know what my topic is and have some really good sources but do i start with my story on the topic, or do i jump straight into what research i've done? Is anyone else having trouble starting their papers off in the right direction and feeling good about where they've started? I am going to introduce my topic and give a slight background on it and how i can relate before i go into my research. This will give the reader some background so i don't just jump right into the research part of the paper.

What do you all think about this idea? And if you don't like it how do you suggest i start my paper? How are you starting yours?

Am I a Full Time Loser?

So in class, we all listened to the career women talk about our future. Even though I am in college I really wasn't thinking about it. After she left I honestly was kind of freaked out. I have no idea what I want to be in life. My major is business but I don't know what I want to do in it. I could see my self as a CEO of a corporation or an owner of a sports agency. But I cannot see myself working at a boring desk job. I don't think i could ever do it. Now this career center lady has me worrying about my future and I have no idea what to do. I have no general basis so it seems difficult to ask for help at the career center. To me, it is just crazy how old we actually are because I do not feel like a college kid. I don't feel like that in four years I will be looking for a job to support myself. I still feel like a kid. I still goof off sometimes and have a lot of fun. I know I obviously am mature, but the real world scares me.  I just don't want to mess up and work at Burger King or Wendy's forever.

Is anyone else feeling like I do? Is there thought process about the future/career freaking anyone out?  Or they just no idea why they are in their major?

Aliens in English

Social outcasts are the greatest tool a writer can use to convey their message. When we read something, we want to hear the things we all think, but are scared to say. The best books I have ever written have been about taboo subjects and often controversial topics. Rant by Chuck Palahniuk is about a serial killer but is written in the perspective of the people who knew him best. The most intriguing parts of the book were when characters talked about his ex habits, his inner thoughts, and the way he behaved with others. What makes these interesting is how the author makes the killer seem eerily similar to the reader. The idea that we may be able to identify in some part with a psychotic killer makes the reader reexamine themselves.


Coincidentally, one of the topics I put up to be voted on my paper in class was about serial killers, and it received an almost unanimous vote. This made me think that maybe people want to read on these subjects. Maybe people want to relate to these outcasts of socially acceptable behavior. I think this is because these outcasts are able to say and do things without fear of guilt. They sling slurs at those they hate, and attack those who wrong them. I think we all identify slightly with their anger, and we can all feel alienated from the world at times. I believe we long for their freedom, but without the cost of our sanity. It is a fine line to walk, and there are few who have the privilege to meander across it without fear of retaliation.

The point I'm trying to make is that a writer can use these outcasts to make wild, but possible true, accusations without fear of being scrutinized. The killer in Rant hated the suppressive control of the government, so he targeted people who represent this repression. The author was trying to make a point about these types of government, but needed the help of the killer to make it pungent. He also couldnt just come out and say he hated it, because he may be scrutinized for his views. By putting his views into the mind of someone who says and does things with out fear of retaliation, he allows his true opinions to be heard. (Keep in mind the fact that he does a fantastic job of making the killer relatable.)

Using the social outcast as a tool is something every writer can make use of in a creative piece. If you want proof, look fr yourself-- some of the most powerful and thought-provoking pieces of prose are made so by the use of someone who is alienated by the world, but yet can still be related to by the reader.

Paper #2 vs Paper #1

When I was writing my second paper I could not help but notice how much easier and more enjoyable this paper was opposed to our last one. Writing the first paper was a rather difficult task for me. As you remember we wrote about our previous experiences with reading or writing. Since I did not really care for English that much, it was rather difficult to write for me. I honestly just did my work for English and moved on with my life. Overall, writing the first paper was a rather frustrating experience for me.

However, writing the second paper was another story. Writing about a life changing event led to me having many experiences to choose from. In fact, I’m having a hard time fitting my paper within the seven page limit. This paper’s topic made this writing experience so much easier than the first one. Not to mention I actually enjoy writing this paper. It brings back many great memories and reminds me how far I progressed as a young man.

What do you guys think? Which paper was easier to write for you? Which paper was more enjoyable to write? Or maybe you just hated both?

How I Feel About This Section of ENC1101!!!!!!!!

As some of you may know, I have trouble writing in general. I usually miss a word or have bad sentence structure. I think this class is definitely a start of I can improve my writing on my own. I think the workshop groups do help a lot because you are getting help from different viewpoints and people who have variety of experiences that you may or may not have had yet. I also I think our teacher is very "down-to-earth" (I actually properly used a hyphen properly). She knows what we're going through and knows how to teach the lessons in very chilled manner. I never thought that I would be calling our teacher by her first name. College is so different from high school in the way English gets taught (or at least in this class/university).

I enjoy that we as a class bring something different to class. For example, Ryan being so obsessed with Fight Club, and Connor with his interesting ideas (i.e. turning the chairs around today in class). It is also great that we can meet different people that our not in our major. I find this a great way to be able to network with people in the future (you never know who will reappear in your life).

So in general, I am enjoying the class. I hope I can make some really nice friendships in this class. Although, I do think our teacher is can be critical. But I know she has to be so that we can become better writers.

Yet Another Movie 'Based On a True Story'

Last week I went and saw the movie Dolphin Tail. As the previews ended and the movie began that famous disclaimer popped up on the screen. ‘This film is based on a true story.’ Since I used to live in the town this film was made and I knew the real story I decided I would see how much was made up by Hollywood. I’m sure you guys are not surprised to find out that an unbelievable amount of events weren’t true.

When we talked about how these kinds of movies made us feel or think everyone felt the same way; betrayed. Some people even said that the hope and motivation that a movie would give someone would be completely ruined when they found out it wasn’t real. I believe that this can be very true. But I think it depends on what parts are actually true and what are not.

In Dolphin Tail the main character was a dolphin named Winter. She was found on the beach after getting her tail caught in the line of a crab trap. When they took her to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which was the Clearwater Marine Hospital in the movie, they had to amputate her tail because of how infected it was. Everyone believed that she wouldn’t survive. Dolphins need their tail to swim and stay above water to breathe. Winter somehow taught herself to swim without it. Unfortunately the way she swam, which was a side to side motion like a snake, was really messing up her spine. They came up with the crazy idea to make her a prosthetic tail. The amazing thing was it actually worked. She learned how to swim like a normal dolphin again.

People who have prosthetics themselves or just recently lost a limb are and will be motivated by this story; regardless of its complete truthfulness. Psychologically, people feel a lot better about their situation when they see someone (or something) else succeed with the exact same circumstances. It gives them a sense of comfort and helps them understand that everything will work out for the best. Even though the majority of the movie is made up, except for the actual story of Winter, people are still motivated by that alone.

Workshop groups: Helpful or not?

Now that we've all gotten through our first paper, we're on to the next and on to different workshop groups. I found my last group to be super helpful and really verbal about what I should do with my paper. I felt comfortable with them but now, we're all in smaller groups so we can pinpoint errors even more and have more freedom to talk. Being in a new group for me, can sometimes be a little on the awkward side. Here you are, reading your classmates(who you know nothing about) paper and telling them what they need to fix and what they need more of. You try your best to not sound harsh but then in workshop groups, come off as being harsh. I think while commenting our peers papers, we need to sound supportive but yet helpful of what they have written. It's always weird telling people you don't really know what to write but I think focusing on the good in the paper but also giving suggestions as of what to fix, can really go a long way.

Then there's the other side of workshop groups. "What if my group doesn't give me any input?" I think what's really helping this time around, is writing down questions you have about your essay at the end and having your group members answer it. I know it's really helped me with the essay we're writing now. I don't want to sit here and give you solutions because I really don't know a good solution for people like that. I'm not an English teacher, but I think writing down questions at the end of your paper is a good start.

How about you?

Do any of you have the problem of getting no input? Can you think of any solutions to fix the problem? Or do you feel like you're the one that can't give any input?

How we are raised

Reading Brambles by W. Brian Overcast got me thinking about my own family. Overcast talked about his nuclear family and the divorce of his parents. The piece made me think about how the way you are raised and the personality of your parents really influences your own personality. I love my mother and she would do anything for my sister and I, but she tends to get mad too easily. She sometimes freaks over little things and I always tell myself I don’t want to be like that. Even though I am learning from her faults I still have moments where I act like her. Spending most of your time around someone makes it hard not to mimic some of their actions.

My dad grew up in an abusive family. Even though he is not abusive towards us it is really hard for him to be emotional with my sister and I. Being the first child it really affected our relationship when I was younger. It wasn’t until a few years ago that my dad and I became close. My dad never had a loving family growing up and it shows in some of the choices he makes. I feel fortunate that both my parents raised me so I could learn from each of their flaws and strengths.

Luckily I was raised with parents who taught me to be respectful and act properly. I am amazed when I see how some kids my age act. Obviously its not all the parents fault, but you have to question how the kids were raised. If kids are not taught how to be respectful you can not solely blame them for being disrespectful. I also believe though that you can learn a lot from observing your peers. This is where the saying you are who you hang around comes into play. I don't think this means that you become just like them, but they do influence you. You either pick up on their positive attributes or learn from their flaws. The sad part is some people our negatively influenced by their friends and begin making the wrong choices.

Your Way is Not Always Best.

I decided to respond to this quote

One man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best.

Jane Austen

I think that this quote applies not only to this class with writing our papers but also to life in general. We are all biased. This is why it is so hard to take negative criticism. Our way is the only way we know how to perform. It is hard to step out of our comfort zones, but it can be done.

It is a personal insult when your paper is ripped apart. I know personally that I have handed in papers before that I thought were master pieces and gotten them back with red ink marks everywhere. I think that this really lowers the writer’s confidence because they feel that they did not do a good job. I really like how we have been taught to point out the positive aspects of the paper in this class that way the writer can see that their paper is not hopeless.

I think we need to all try to see others perspectives. I know that this is challenging sometimes because it is human nature to think that your way is the right way. Some of us are worse then others but it is important to not think that you are right all the time. Not only is it annoying but it keeps you from growing and learning. If I never listened to all the tips that my teachers gave me to help me improve, I would not be here today. There would be no improvements and school would be pointless.

Being stubborn is a quality that many people share. I come from a family of extremely stubborn people. We all want our way all the time. Normally, we compromise and come together to make decisions but we have to remember that sometimes we are wrong. Being wrong is never a bad thing though because the best way to learn is by making mistakes.

Common-place to Unique

Even though we have already gone into some detail about Donald Murray's "Trying on the Essay", I would also like to touch on the subject. The subject I found most interesting was the section entitled The Common World. Donald explained that the writer and reader are in a "common world" of shared thoughts, experiences, ideas etc. After a while the shared aspects turn into common-place aspects and fade into the background. Then the writer observes the normal, everyday aspects and by writing and working through their jumbled thoughts they form a new image. By doing so the writer discovers something new either about what was observed or about themselves. By exposing ones thoughts about something as common as say a moth, then the reader has the ability to see the common moth as something more than just a moth. The other day, there was some uproar in class over Annie Dillard's "Transfiguration." I think that it does not really matter if you did or not like it, all that matters is whether or not you took something from it. I find it amazing how the whole process interlocks and works together to develop and inspire one another. Or how something so ordinary can turn into something distinct and even insightful, it just depends on how we interpret it.

How lucky are you?

I figured I'd blog about something other than the class work...

So this weekend, I was headed to Orlando for a rugby game against UCF. I had left on Friday and about an hour into the drive, my friend and I ran into some rain and wind. I slowed down, a little. A gust took my car into a small puddle and I lost hydroplaned. My car took a hard left and slid perpendicular with traffic. We had turned 180 degree by the time we hit the median and continued to spin for another 180 before finally stopping a foot shy of the opposite side. My door literally opened into the rumble strip of the oncoming traffic. You could imagine I was a little freaked out. I stepped out of my car and did a spot check for any damage. I got back in the car, made sure my passengers were okay, and then went down the road. My car started to shake and my tire pressure light came on once I hit 55mph. Of course I'm thinking to myself What now? as I pulled over to the shoulder. So I checked my tire pressures and changed the one that was the lowest. Then I found the nearest walmart in hopes that they would see my car. When I pulled up, they were about to close, but I explained my situation and the agreed to help me out. They balanced out my pressures and tightened the lugs my wheels. Seeing nothing wrong with the suspension or frame, they sent me on my way. Thankfully, I made it home safe and the car ran flawlessly.

While all of this was happening, I just felt like this was the worst possible situation. Looking back though, I was extremely lucky. There were no cars near me. And if I had lost control 100 yards earlier, I would have slammed into some trees. 100 yards later, I would have been stopped by a bridge and then possibly t-boned by oncoming traffic. Heck, I could have spun all the way across the median. I had arrived at walmart with 15 minutes to spare before their automotive center closed, and their workers stayed after to ensure my car was okay for the drive. The only damage that came out of this ordeal is in the picture above. That's it. Just a broken mirror.

So I guess my question for the readers would be, have any of you ever had a similar reality check where the result could have been exponentially worse? And if not, how would you have reacted in this situation?

FACEBOOK GROUP?!

hey guys, i made an ENC1101 facebook group. heres the link to it!
http://www.facebook.com/groups/126140640824661/
not sure if i did everything correctly because it did say that its a closed group. lemme know if i need to make it an open group or what cause im pretty much clueless with anything to do with a computer... haha

This is Juan Paz's blog (his account wouldn't let him post)

I decided to respond to the following literary quote:

“What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote.”- E. M. Forster

As I read this quote I was able to relate it to a lot of what we have been doing in class lately. In this quote E.M Forster describes “Great literature” as something that can basically change the reader into feeling like the author. I absolutely agree with this guy! To me, this quote means a reader can actually feel the same emotions as the author when reading his work. If you’re reading something happy your attitude will definitively be different than if you were reading something depressing. I think that when you write something, your ultimate goal is to connect with your audience. If you can achieve this than people understand what you are writing about and can actually see it from your point of view. Connecting to your audience is very important because it gives your writing a purpose. If you were to write something which no one could relate to then your purpose is lost. For example, say you were writing about an issue and how important this issue is etc. if you can’t make your audience see what you’re seeing then they’re not going to understand your point of view and possibly disagree with you on that issue.

This is Michael Roman's post (his account didn't let him post) so comment here!

The Primary Reason

So we all had to read Donald Murray’s “Trying on the Essay,” and something that caught my eye was his part about finding a context. He talks about the primary reason we write and read is to see what Robert Frost said was “a momentary stay against confusion.” I agree with this. I write to organize my thoughts and I read to understand what someone wrote. Murray also explained that we write to discover meaning, not necessarily the meaning, but a meaning. We all interpret the meaning of a story differently and there is normally no correct answer. As I write the essay that is due that we are all doing, I think about all of these things. I think about why I am writing and how to not make it confusing. This is so that readers can interpret my ideas in a way that they understand them. So as I write my shifting point essay, I think about a meaning. Murray also says that a reason he writes personal essays is to “discover how much I know that I didn’t know I knew.” It is pretty great when I read what I wrote and find out that I know a lot more than I actually did. Basically, this article helped me a lot in figuring out what reasons I am writing for and Murray had great points in how to write a great personal essay.

"Based on a true story"... what do you think about that?

So another debate we had Tuesday in class was about what we think when we see the words “ based on a true story” or “memoir” on a TV show, movie, book, etc. Some of us believed showing this in a movie looked like a joke. Maybe to get people’s attention or make people believe something is real wen it really might not be. Some thought that seeing this totally changed our mood about the movie or book and made us connect with it more because we can relate to these “real” people. Like someone mentioned, Paranormal Activity says it is based off of a true story. This might frighten someone so much they never want to see nighttime ever again. Someone else might see this as a joke, “how could this possibly have happened to a real family?”

It is all a matter of opinion how we see these things. When I see “based off of a true story,” like on The Blind Side, it does affect me and make me more emotional towards the film since it is in my mind that this has really happened. Some people it might not affect at all and they might just find the movie or book to be entertaining. Like we discussed about Patricia Hampl’s writing, is it really lying or is it just a way of making something more entertaining by bending the truth?

Personally I believe that in things such as memoirs and biographies, of course we should only be given the complete truth, even if it is a little boring. If someone is trying to reach out to others and give them advice, why would you want to lie to everyone and give them false information or help that possibly won’t work? On the other hand, when creating stories or movies based off of a real life event, it would be much more acceptable to exaggerate the true story a tiny bit in order to add a little more flare and entertainment to the piece. If someone is creating a story just for the fact of providing entertainment to others and just using their own lives as inspiration, I believe the author can change and exaggerate whatever they want because they are not trying to tell a real story, they are just trying to write for fun and for the enjoyment of others.

Either way, it is all up to the individual to read and interpret what they believe the story or movie means to them and how it affects them. What if you were not told it was based off of a true story until after you read the book or saw the movie? How would you be affected then? Would it be the same or completely different throughout the story?

Memory and Imagination

The story that Patricia Hampl wrote got me thinking about how we tell our own personal stories to others. After she was done telling her story about her first piano lesson she admitted to the audience that the truth was a little stretched. Who can blame her, it was during her childhood. Also the more details a writer has the more interesting the story can be. At first I wasn't a fan of this kind of writing because I thought she was giving her readers a false impression of what her first piano lesson was like. Then I realized that all of us have done this.

When we tell a story to our friends we exaggerate the truth as much as possible. It makes what was once a boring story a much more interesting and exciting one. I've noticed this when my friends tell stories about what we did over the weekend to my other friends. Since I was with them I actually knew what really happened. The story that they tell says otherwise. Instead of chiming in and saying that's not exactly how it happened I let them tell their story anyway. We aren't lying to our other friends, only stretching the truth to make our weekend sound a little bit better. Like Hampl, we have all stretched the truth at least one point in our lives to make it sound more interesting.

"What is 'good writing'?"

“What is ‘good writing’?” Well, this could have numerous answers. We all have our own individual preferences on what we believe is “good writing” and what is not so good. In class when we got into groups we saw that we had some similar thoughts on what aspects made something “good writing” and which one’s we believed to be some of the most important ones. Of course we all thought our own ideas were the best, but then we had to come to an agreement in our groups on the top two which was tough enough. Then as a whole class deciding which options were greatest wasn’t so easy either.

As Mrs. Ahmed showed us, there are authors out there that don’t fit some rules that make writing “good.” It is all up to us what we enjoy reading and what we do not. Maybe one person thinks this bad writing is excellent writing. Just because someone absolutely loves a book or a piece of literature, doesn’t necessarily mean we will love it just as much as they do, or at all.

One of my old English teachers told us our next book we were to read was “awesome and really interesting.” Well that definitely was not the case to us students. The Fountainhead was the name of the book, and it by no means was “awesome and really interesting.” Books are sometimes written for specific audiences, so maybe we were the wrong audience to be reading that book. This could be a reason we did not think the book was “good writing” and had no interest in it. How we view books is all a matter of opinion among each individual person, not everyone as a whole or just a list of facts about writing authors must follow.