Journal Entries:
Journal 1: Raymond Carter’s “Cathedral” was really well written. I really enjoyed so much about this piece. It left me wondering about a lot of things, while also painting such a clear picture of what was happening within the pages. In the few short pages we were understand the depth and background of each character, and understand the importance of these characters. While I had some trouble following the beginning explanation of the story before Robert arrived to their house, explaining the wife and how the women met Robert, I was able to grasp the depth of the story. I also really liked how the ending left us with so much to think about. Did the husband ever understand the blind man? Did he ever realize the impact the blind man left on him, and the impact he had left on his wife’s life? I think overall this story leaves a lot to think about, and really leaves the reader wanting more. While the point of these shorter stories is to leave us wondering, it really did a good job creating this aura of questions and thinking that will be left with it. Overall, I really liked this story. I think the writing style really sucked you in, and created such a vivid and completely picture of what was going on within these few moments with these characters.
Journal 2: What really stuck out to me were the first two paragraphs. As someone who spent lots of time with friends and family within the confines of a pediatric ward of a hospital, that really stuck out to me. When my sister was there for 2 months, we never really saw anyone who was there to help them, in an educational or creative way, or at least I never saw them. My sister did her school work that I would pick up for her but there was never anyone there to assist them in that type of way. She would spend so much time reading books, or watching something on the television to experience something other than the walls of the hospital. My best friend was the same way, while she spent a little over a year in and out of the hospital, she was always reading, writing, creating or watching something to be able to “meet new people.” I think having someone who is there to add to that creativity and to get those kids to think about something else is really important, and very beneficial. And it can create a positive coping mechanism for them to embrace their situation and to be able to feel a sense of normalcy in such an unnatural situation. I also really liked the idea of creating characters based off of people you know, and people stored away in your memory. That really gives such dimension and understanding to the characters, because you are basing them and their actions after something that is real. I think the best characters that I have created are the ones who are based upon someone I know, or even have a hint of who I am in them. Overall, I think that this section of the text really shows us what a good character really adds to the story and how much more we want to root for them or read more about what happens to them. If they are stagnant and only one sided, there isn’t really much else that we would want to learn from them.
Journal 3: What stuck out to me the most in Chapter 3 was the idea of all of the background information. As a writer, you want to create the best well-rounded version of a character, and want to be able to give the readers the most information about this character, what they are like, what they like to do, and give a deep understanding and connection to them. While this makes sense as the writer, because you want them to understand the character in the way you do, in the end it becomes boring to those that are reading. Being able to keep important bits of information and give detail about the character without bogging down the story is really important. And being okay with taking out pieces of the characters background and mundane activities that don’t pertain to the plot is important. I think that a good plot has to do with how a character is set up, and how that internal and external conflict is resolved in every situation, or in the case of multiple novels how it can be set up for the next story to pick up on. As I read through this chapter I can see how some texts bored me, and how I wasn’t invested. And it seems to all stem from the lack of removal of those mundane actives. It becomes boring to hear about every meal they ate, every thought they had, every activity that they did that has no correlation to the essential conflict in the story. Being able to see that this is happening in your work, and rework the ideas is the best way to create an enticing and eventful plot line.
Journal 4: “Camp Emeline” was a really well written story. I really liked the description in this story. It created such good imagery and understanding of what was going on with the main character. The author created such a descriptive visual about the internal and external moments that were going on within those few days with the main character. It really showed who the character was, and what her purpose was within this story. There was so much complexity and depth to this character, and in this short amount of time there was so much that we learned about this character and how we were given so much to digest about her. We had such little time with the character and yet we were able to see so much into her mind and her character and who she is. Being able to see the change within her, and within the story, gave so much to the story. The way that this story was written was really well done. There was so much detail and information being given to us, yet all of it seemed completely needed and helped move the story along. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and how it was written. Being able to connect with the characters, understanding them and feeling them within the few short pages was done really well. It left you wanting more, but also understanding that the future of these people is completely left ip in the air, and for your own interpretation.
Journal 5: Chapter 4 of our book talked all about point of view and perspective of a story. What I really liked about this chapter was how intentional point of view has to be. And how each story has the specific point of view, or narrator, that fits that idea of the story. Being able to hear the story from a specific character creates an emotional response from the readers, while also leaving them wanting more. Wanting to know what each other character was going through or how they were feeling when these events happened. For me specifically, I realized subconsciously I pick the point of view of the character or characters that I will get the most reaction out of the audience. And being able to use this as a craft element in a story going forward is really important. Having that expression by a character be intentionally, whether it be a multiple view or unreliable or objective, is what creates he best stories.
Journal 6: Chapter 5 of our book was about description. What I really liked and took away from this section was the idea of using words to show the readers what is going on. Instead of telling them the character did this and this and this, you can create more flow within the story. Giving such a vivid understanding of what that character is doing, perceiving, or thinking. The hardest thing for me when it comes to creative writing is the description, I feel as if I have too much or not enough. And being able to see what happens with characters is extremely important to the plot and having your readers care about what happens to the character. Being able to read about how to create these descriptive scenes and how to engage a reader in situations that might not be all action filled is important. This chapter really showed the ideas that are needed to create a story that is so detail rich that you feel as if you are living within the pages of the story.
Journal 7: “Annunciation” was a very interesting story. There was a lot about it that really stuck with me, in terms of plot and characters. But the craft aspect that I really thought was unique was the lack of communication. In stories you normally see characters talking one another in quotations and seeing the narrator react to those words. But in this story everything was done in such a descriptive manner. Everything was embedded within the text and description of the story. At first I was not entirely sure that I enjoyed the way it was written, I kept feeling like I was getting confused with what was going on and who was talking about what. But as the story progressed it really stuck out to me that this style of writing really made sense. It was showing everything the narrator was going through, in the style of perception of the past. Having the story be in this style, of reflection of your past and who you were and what you were doing, was very informative for the plot. It added a lot of depth to the main character and showed how in-tune she was with everything around her. There was so much that was learned about her, her life and those that made a lasting impact on her being written this way. I have never read, or remember reading, a story set up quite like this one. But overall I really enjoyed what it added to the story and how much it gave the story in terms of depth and understanding.
Journal 8: Chapter 6 talks all about dialogue. This section really helped me understand how to create a narration and conversation within the pages of the story. The examples that were given in this section really showed how good dialogue can make a story even better while bad dialogue really takes away from the story that is going on. I really liked how you are able to see different aspects of dialogues and what conversations do to a story line. It shapes the way a story is perceived, it shows what the characters are going through and lets you get into the characters and who they are. I think that after reading this, being able to create the proper amount of space between dialogue and narration is really important. Knowing now how to make that and making it an aspect of the craft of your story is really important.
Journal 9: Chapter 7 was about setting and pacing. This chapter really helped me understand how to make the setting of a story make place while still adding something to the plot line. Being able to create the right setting and pacing to help move the plot along is important. When it come to pacing, in short stories, it is really hard for me. Being able to have a pacing that flows properly and moves the right way really captivates the readers. In my writing, I normally do a longer novel style writing, and now switching the gear towards a short story being able to make the pacing fit the story I want to convey is the hardest aspect for me. After reading this section I can use these elements to make sure my pacing fits and really helps convey the story in the best way is something that I want to be able to take away from this section.
