Part A: You, the Writer
I really felt like this year I have definitely seen the progress I have made in my writing through the three years I have taken this course. In general I just feel more confident as a writer and have grown out of that fear and self-consciousness that I used to feel going into an essay or position paper. I no longer feel that insecurity and I largely credit that to this course and the constant feedback and practice it offers. This year I started reading more horror books and I feel like that impacted my voice as it took on a darker tone and as I explored darker themes- a post on my blog that reflects this is my poem “In the Garden” https://aliza152.edublogs.org/2019/04/10/326/. I tried to create more depth in my writing by using enjambment and other literary devices such as metaphors to really bring home the message I was trying to convey in a specific piece. I feel like I still need to work on my descriptions in my writing as they can come off as awkward or poorly worded sometimes and that is one thing I want to continue to work on. I feel that the structure of my writing is something that has been more developed as I have taken this course, and I’m really proud of how I have improved in that aspect because if you read any of my grade 10 writing it was really chopping and had no flow.
Part B: You, the Blogger
My blogging skills have improved significantly since grade 10 I cringe every time I see it not only with the way it’s laid out but also with how it doesn’t reflect the person I am now. I’m really happy with my current blog although I have thought about changing the name don’t really know what to change it too. This year I was really impressed with Jed’s blog (who wasn’t?) because I never really saw him as a writer but was surprised with the amount of talent he has. Another blogger I was happy to see again the class was Kemi because I was such a fan of hers in grade 10. Last but not least I loved Kayla’s blog because I feel like I have seen that she has gone though not only as a writer but also as a person and her blog is a reflection of that. I really liked the following the Harriet blog because it exposed me to new writers and styles which really inspired me to implement new style and structure into my writing. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/browse
Part C: You, the Student
I feel like I had a lot of “Aha” moments this year but most of them stemmed from the presenters or guest we would have at our class. I am a person who can literally get inspiration out of anything when it comes to writing and having people like Jade and Chris come over sparked a lot of inspiration for me. My poem “Cage of Flesh and bone” originally was inspired by an emulation I had written from Jade’s presentation. As for me as a reader, I have always been a strong reader but I feel like if it wasn’t for the reading ladders I would have kicked reading to the back of my priorities which isn’t good, I truly believe that if you want to write you have to read. The reading ladders have held me accountable for my reading and they have really made a difference on my reading goals. This year I got exposed to a number of authors and books that impacted my writing; some of them being H.P Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe. I think I’m going to try to keep up with my reading ladder even after I leave this class because I think it’s a good habit to have that keeps you on track with reading and can impact your writing at the same time.
Part D: You, the Fan
For my Writers Seminar this year I did H.P Lovecraft and I’m honestly so surprised by the impact this writer made on me. Not only did it influence me to explore horror as a genre in both reading and writing, it also drove me to look outside of my comfort zone for new authors that I haven’t explored before. One thing that I learned from reading Lovecraft is how to incorporate fear into your writing; fear doesn’t have to be a supernatural but it could also be the human condition. You can see this in the short story piece I wrote called The Missing Children of Greenwich; it was inspired by the collection of Lovecraft’s short stories I was reading at the time. You can see elements of his writing (like cosmic horror) that I tried to emulate into my own work. https://aliza152.edublogs.org/2019/02/16/the-missing-children-of-greenwich/
As for other inspirations I really enjoyed the guest presenters as I feel that they exposed me to new ideas or themes that I could add to me writing and I always came out of those presentations with something new I learned. I really enjoyed Chris Metc and Jade the most as they are both very talented writers and they were a real inspiration for me.
Part E: YOU, the critic of your work
I distinctly writing this piece; I was studying for my social diploma and I was feeling very overwhelmed with the amount of work I had to do. I remember just feeling desperate to get everything done so I could go to sleep, and I felt so overwhelmed that I didn’t know what to do with myself so I pulled out the notes app on my phone and began to write down what I felt in that moment. This poem was the outcome of that and I guess that I thought it was good enough to post on my blog. The main theme in this poem is stress and how it takes a toll on you body and soul; its supposed to depict how I felt in the moment I wrote, and at the same time I was hoping that I wasn’t alone in feeling this way. I guess that’s why I posted it; to get my feelings out so I could let go of that weight and also to share with others who might be feeling the same way. I tried to play with enjambment in this piece to better convey my feelings and I’m really happy with how that turned out. The poem is just literally a jumble of my thoughts so there isn’t really any other style or structure to it which is something that adds to the feeling and mood of the piece.
This piece is a personal anecdote about a little stuffed Barney plush I had as a kid. I got inspired to write this piece from the Christopher Robin movie; it got me thinking about some of my own childhood memories specifically the memories I had with this toy. I tried to express the sense of innocents with specific imagery that aimed to create a sense of nostalgia in the reader. My purpose for this piece was to create an image of sorts that the reader could hold on to and relate to themselves; our childhoods are such an integral part of our lives and I wanted to highlight that in my writing. I really hated writing anecdotes before this piece but this got me to realize that I just had to add my own twist to them. I feel that I could have made this piece a bit more longer and added more about the connection I had with this toy and what happened to him after I grew up.
