Part A:
As a writer, I have improved greatly, especially during the last few months in which I began to read and write much more than I usually did. In terms of genres, I am beginning to write short stories or poems which do not just revolve around love, death, or revenge, I have gained an understanding of how to write about more complex genres such as loss, innocence, faith, and fear. As the number of pieces I write increases, so does the amount of ideas I think of. It is now much easier for me to write a piece based on something random. Compared to the beginning of this semester, it takes a decreased amount of time for me to write about any given subject or idea. If you take a look at any of my recent posts, you will find that not only has my structure improved, the details have also improved in a way that is not so much quantitative, but more so qualitative. Furthermore, my posts are beginning to take on various voices and styles, which are unalike how I used to write before this semester.
Due to NoRedInk I have vastly improved in terms of G.U.M.P.S. My quiz average is above 95%, and the result of this is more than I had expected. I have started to use conjunctive adjectives (THAMOs), subordinating conjunctions (SWABIs), and coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) in daily writing. I obviously haven’t reached perfection in grammar; however, after reading my first and most recent post, I can definitely tell that I have improved.
If I were asked to describe my style of writing, I’d answer that my style of writing is like a director. My style of writing paints what is happening in a scene or moment on to the canvas of your mind. Stylistically, it’s focused on sensory detail and imagery more than anything else. As a mentor, I would give three pieces of advice to future creative writers: One, never…ever skip a day of reading. It’s the most vital tool you need to succeed as a writer. Two, write at least once every two days. As you get older, time gets more precious, but it is absolutely crucial that you write. If you can’t think about a topic, open up a newspaper or a book and write about the first word you see. Three, write in different perspectives, about different topics, and in different genres. Mix it up! This will help you a lot in the future.
My future goal as a writer is to refine my grammar, and continue reading and writing. In simplest terms, that is all. I will work towards maintaining a habit of reading and occasionally writing as much as possible, everyday. ELA is, in my opinion the most important subject because no matter what field you decide to enter, it will always be vital to your success.
Part B:
My blog is undoubtedly very visually appealing, I think we can all agree on that. My blog, for me at least, is a place where I can express my daydreams, nightmares, and ancient tales that my grandfather has told me. I believe that although it may not be the most award-worthy blog, it certainly is a thrilling blog to visit once a while. A few things things that I can improve on in this blog are longer pieces, better explanations, and deeper personal narratives. Also, a couple of the things I’d like to write about are quite emotional, and I think I’d like to challenge myself by writing about them.
Exceptional posts created by fellow students:
- Jed’s Blog http://skyblueskies.edublogs.org/
- Muhammed’s Blog http://think2wice.edublogs.org/
- Kshef’s Blog http://rosesandthorns.edublogs.org/
- Tony’s Blog http://atticsalt.edublogs.org/
- Zain’s Blog http://persistentprocrastinator.edublogs.org/
- Zaid’s Blog http://justdont.edublogs.org/
- Amit’s Blog http://techandturbos.edublogs.org/
A few bloggers whose blogs I have explored:
- Seth Godin https://seths.blog/
- Darren Rowse (Heard about) https://problogger.com/
Part C:
During Creative Writing I have had many “Aha” moments, but there is one special one I would like to discuss. Mr. David Russell is a man living his golden years, and he inspired me to write two pieces, one of which is currently on my blog (https://hiddeninplainsight.edublogs.org/2019/06/07/wherever-the-sea-touches-poem/). I didn’t just learn life lessons from him, I learned how to live life. By that I mean he taught me how to live life so you don’t regret it.
As a reader in the past six-nine months, I have accomplished my goal of reading nine books, which is a decent improvement from last year. Many of these books are from Khaled Hosseini and J.R.R. Tolkein. My plan for the future is to finish some of he books I have started such as The Lord Of The Rings series, and begin books (and poems) from authors such as Marcus Zusak and Edgar Allen Poe.
The best book I have read this semester would undebatably be And The Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini. This book stands out to me a lot, it consists of multiple stories all thoughtfully flowed into one. The genre itself is one of innocence, childhood, love, and identity, depending on exactly which part of the story you are reading. If I had to choose one, I’d say the book revolves around the idea of identity. It’s a gripping novel and because I am familiar with the countries he talks about, it makes the book quite addictive.
It would be an understatement to say that reading has greatly improved my writing in various ways. I have improved and am able to write about more complex ideas and different genres because I have read about those genres. My next step to improve as a writer is the same as the steps I am taking right now. To read numerous, diverse writing pieces.
Part D:
Two things, reading your peer’s work, and reading the work of a professional, such as a teacher or author. These two things, as I have learned, lead to an improvement in writing skills. I have displayed above some of my peers whose work I often read. In terms of professional writing, I have read much more, including pieces from Harper Lee or Ray Bradbury. Reading different pieces, as I have said before, improves your writing skill much more than just one type of genre from one type of author. In my opinion, this is the best way to improve your writing.
Studying a professional writer such as Ray Bradbury has given me different angles to view a certain scenario, for example communism. If you were to tell me to write about this topic, I would certainly write about its dark and restrictive side, but after reading something from Ray Bradbury, it gives me different perspectives to write from. This can help in narrative writing, as well as critical writing.
I was quite happy that the group and I chose Ray Bradbury for our writer’s seminar, because as I said before, I admire his style of writing. If it wasn’t Ray Bradbury, I would most certainly choose Khaled Hosseini because him and I have basically the same last name…Just joking. But seriously, I would certainly choose Mr. Hosseini because he is the author of my all-time favourite book, And The Mountains Echoed. Also, I would choose him because I have never seen an author write a single story with so many perspectives in one book. If you’ve read it, you’ll completely agree with me. He writes about one plot using perspectives from Baba Ayub, Saboor, Uncle Nabi, Pari, and the journalist who interviews Mrs. Wahdati. It’s completely stunning.
An emulation to some work by Mr. Bradbury:
There must be something there, there has to be. We don’t just live a good, fair life for nothing. We don’t just avoid the sins of this mortal life just to rest a meter under the earth’s surface with no sense of consciousness whatsoever. There has to be something after death, some justice, some reconciliation for our doings in the past, unjust life we have just struggled through. Most of us believe in this, hope for this; yet, some us don’t. Most of us want justice for our good deeds, but some of us fear this justice because of our sins. Some of us grasp tightly onto religion because we feel it’s true. Some of us repel away from religion, because we fear it’s true.
Genres in books that have interested me the most in the past couple of months are coming of age type of genres. Ever since the class read the excerpt from Born a Crime – Trevor Noah, I’ve been desperately waiting for my turn in the Library to read it. I learned a lot from professional writers, the main lesson being that you just have to play with ideas and perspectives until you get it right, and the only way you’ll get it right is by reading a variety of books from a variety of authors, once again, to improve your writing skills.
Part E:
First post:
The title for this post, Karamel, doesn’t really have a metaphorical meaning, but that is for a reason. In this post, the protagonist is a little girl, though her age is not specified, you could infer her to be around seven years old. When a child is seven, you can’t tell them that they are the elephant in the room, or that currently outside it’s raining cats and dogs, they’ll take it too literally. And that is just what I wanted to capture. The innocence of a little girl, straight off the bat shown in the title.
This post is about a girl and a moment in her life where her innocence faces reality.
Specifically, I had no intended audience, but I guess it’s purpose was to attract kids my age who have or had gone through difficult times in their childhood. This was intended to reassure them that it would all be okay. Khaled Hosseini. Khaled Hosseini inspired this piece 100%, I read fifty or so pages of his book, and then right after, wrote this piece. I have made many style decisions, but the most obvious one, as you could probably tell, was the repetition of the phrase: And with that, father left. This was also used as foreshadowing, as you may already have guessed. This was one of very few pieces in which I encountered absolutely no epiphanies or issues, I just wrote, re-read, and clicked publish.
Second Post:
The title for this post, Wherever The Sea Touches, is a sort of tribute to the passion for travelling my dear friend Mr. David Russell had and still continues to have.
This poem is for the one and only, Mr. Russell, outlining his passion for travelling the world.
My purpose was to incorporate the life lessons he gave me during my visit, into a poem that describes his love for travel. This piece was also aimed towards my classmates, especially the ones I met Mr. Russell with. I wanted them to see how I personally viewed the visit. Mr. Russell was the complete inspiration for this writing piece, as well as another piece that I have yet to post on the blog. Some style decisions I had made were to repeat the phrase, which is also the title, to present the extent of impact of his kindness and respect. The epiphany I had encountered while writing this piece was the fact that I had to put all the material and thoughts he had given me, into a concise poem. Also, some lines had not seemed very respectful towards Mr. Russell if he was reading them to himself, only if someone else read it to him. This was because they would have seemed sarcastic. I had no other option but to remove the sentences completely. 
Final Thoughts:
I will not hesitate whatsoever to take Creative Writing next year because it has been the reason behind why my writing has improved, as well as my own personal thoughts. This class has made me read, and as a person, my character has become greater due to the fact that I have been exposed to new, unique, and extraordinary philosophies. I am grateful for this.
