Posted on Behalf of Merissa

The author in Caroline/Tennessee faced her dragon by realizing that she was making all the wrong decisions in her relationship and she was continuing the endless cycle of heartache in her relationship. She then made the decision not go back there again and she would rather die instead. Jenny Boully in “I remained very sorry for what I did to the black kitten” faced her dragon by being open and honest with her feelings. She talked about her wrongdoing which is very hard to write about as a writer Lisa Nikolidakis in Landlines talked about the confusion that most teenagers go through in their young years. I believe she faced her dragon by being raw and open in her emotions. This was a very sensitive topic and she was able to talk about that without revealing anything about herself.

I remain sorry for what I did to the little black kitten faces a dragon by confronting guilt in this story. Guilt for getting rid of a kitten that she is always reminded of. She basically has to live with what she did wrong knowing that it is nothing she can do to take it back. Talking about her guilt her help her move forward in life and not looking back at what she had done wrong. The guilt was eating her alive in this story.
Carolina/ Tennessee was probably my favorite one out of the three. She faces the dragon by talking about being in an affair with a married man. Although Ive personally never been in this situation you can tell that it was hard for her to stop. Being the mistress isn't easy at all and it seems like the guy had some type of control over her as if she had to, like answering his calls "I watched the small black letters of your name thrash against my cell phone screen. I watched my finger, in acceptance, slide across the slick glass. How far I was willing to go—back over the Blue Ridge, almost the entire way home." this shows that although she knew it was wrong she just had to accept the call. She needs to learn people only do what you allow them to. This story seems the most relatable, ive heard many stories about this.
Landlines faced the dragons also, too, about guilt about a little girl leading a man on when she knows it isn't right. It seems like she calls him a stalker yet she entertains him and a part of me feels like he turns her on in a weird way towards the ending of this story it seems like she wanted the call to be from Stevie (private call). She played with his mind and although she seems like the victim I think she plays a part in this game as well. She was guilty yet just an innocent little girl.

Extra Credit

All three stories are examples of the author "facing the dragon."  All the stories subject matter are tough subjects for the authors to speak out about without directly saying what they were feeling.  The running theme in these choices of writing is guilt;  in each story the authors write about a great sense of guilt for their actions.

In "Landlines" the author writes about a creep pedophile who stalked and preyed on teenage girls at the mall however the author takes responsibility for the interaction between Stevie the pedophile because the game she would play with her clique of girl friends.  When Stevie then contacts her at her home land-line she overwhelmed with fear and guilt.  I think the topic might have been hard for the author to face but I think the story is more then just her guilt of interacting with Stevie.  I also think the story is the naivety of teenage girls and the pressures adolescents place on each other to be cool.  I think this was expressed a lot in the line, "We didn't want to be virgins, so we feigned a loose coolness about sex, and in those moments when we listened to Stevie describe his always-hard penis, we also looked at one another closely, a who'll-flinch-first test teen girls are terrifyingly good at."

"I remain very sorry for what I did to the little black cat" is very straight forward about the guilt expressed in the story.  The delicate word choices used to describe the innocence of the kitten made the guilt felt by the author so much more powerful.  However, the story is so much more then the unethically thing this girl did to the kitten.  A quickly developing  preteen mimicking what she once saw, but was not supposed to remember, her mother do to the family cat.  The dragon faced here is a flash back of woman recalling unresolved emotions of being a young girl dealing with her once present but now absent mother.

"Carolina/ Tennessee" is the classic remorse, guilt, shame and emptiness felt by being the "other woman" in a married man's affair.  She never writes straight forward that she saddened and ashamed but the details in her actions described reveals the dragon she is really facing by carrying on this affair and I think the last line of the story sums it but very well, " I'm not going to Newport. Instead, I'll sit here until my cigarette ash sinks through my skit, smolders and lights, burns me up under this tree in South Carolina, until I am nothing but char on the bark."

Extra Credit

I feel that all three pieces from Brevity are great examples of "facing their dragons". My favorite was "I Remain Very Sorry For What I Did to the Little Black Cat". I feel like she is confronting what she did to the cat as a child but not trying to make excuses or asking for simpathy. Her use of details is great. The way she describes the cat as something innocent after brung to light what she had done to it as something dark. The last line had me. I love how she brings us to the present and shows us how that cat still haunts her.

"Landlines" was my second favorite because it was something that I Luke some what relate to. I love the use of words. Like when she says "I stared at the single word on the caller ID, private, and I let it ring and ring as I choked on that word, private,". I felt what she was feeling. I pulled me in just like many other of her words did. She definitely faced her "dragons" in this piece. 

"Carolina/ Tennessee" was great also. I love the power pull between knowing she was doing something wrong but not wanting to give up the pleasure she received. I love the images she describe. Like the black bumblebee on the windshield and the auburn hair woven into the pillowcase. I feel she faces her "dragons" in the end by sitting there letting the cigarette burn out. 

Extra Credit

Chrissy Dente

CNF extra credit

Carolina/Tennessee by Anna B. Sutton is a great example on how authors “face their dragon.” In this piece, the author writes about her love affair with a married man. When you are the “other woman” it’s hard to open up and admit that you are possibly ruining a marriage. The author makes it clear that she feels guilty about the man that she has been sleeping with is married; it’s hard in general to point out the things we are guilty about. This situation can also be shaming and embarrassing for the author, knowing she is used for sexual attention, since the man goes home to his wife instead of her. It’s a lust relationship, which is often frowned upon in society. The author addresses all of these dragons: the lust, the wife, and the guilt. She does so sorrowfully and regretfully. Another dragon she faces is the places they meet up, thanks to their lustful relationship. It’s any place and any time, as long as she has it. To truly face her dragons, she moves away. Distance should cure all. She admits diving into his temptation when he calls her two months later, but she defeats her dragon by not continuing her journey to meet him.

            I really liked this piece because I feel like it can be relatable to some people. It’s a real life situation; people often get caught up in lust and don’t always deal with the consequences, but this author does. I admire that she faced her dragons. By her facing her dragons, all of the aspects of this relationship that are completely wrong, she is able to say goodbye. Facing her dragons allowed her to stop all the problems she avoided. She freed herself from the dragons.

            I Remain Very Sorry for What I Did to That Little Black Kitten also shows the dragon of guilt. The author brings up throwing away the kitten, which seems crude and cruel, and how she feels guilty. She remembers this when her daughter brings it up. By her facing this dragon, she has to face that what she did was wrong, and she cannot change it. She was at a tough age, where image mattered. If only she didn’t care about what others thought and she would not have to live with the guilt. Speaking up about an embarrassing moment of immature guilt can hopefully help her move past this event and not be struck by guilt anymore. 

            Landlines also deals with guilt. I feel like each of this pieces that we read deal with the authors facing an embarrassing moment in their life that they feel guilty about. The author in this piece felt wrong for leading a man on like that at such a young age. Yes, her and her friend knew it was wrong and gross, but continued to lead the man on because it was fun and interesting. The guilt arises when Stevie actually finds the author. How do you tell your parents your stalker is a creepy man you would talk to on the phone at the mall? She felt guilty about her actions and this piece of writing makes her face her dragons. She has to face the fact that she was young and naïve, and made a bad decision. She was also very scared. The author faces the guilt because she feels stupid about the decisions she made as a young girl. 

Extra Credit Blog

I think all three selections from Brevity face their authors' dragons of guilt.  "Landlines" contains other themes as well, and the guilt is more subtle, but I do believe it is there.  Each one is, however, different.

"I Remain Very Sorry For What I Did to the Little Black Kitten" explores themes of responsibility and power, and the guilt associated with a misuse of such.  The speaker is fearless in confronting this dragon.  She does not try to justify what she did, or paper over unpleasant details.  What particularly moved me was the section where she describes the kitten's delicate, vulnerable features.  Because this section is placed after we know that she abandoned the kitten, it takes on extra poignancy.  It was a helpless beautiful thing to whom she did a terrible thing, and she's not afraid to let her readers know that excruciating fact.  I also think she may have used the kitten as a symbol for the way she felt in relation to her parents, but I could be reading too far into it.

"Landlines" seemed a little less coherent to me, but still very powerful.  It explores the themes of budding sexuality and violation, and the subtle feelings of guilt both can awaken.  Although it is not explicitly stated, I do get the sense that the speaker feels as if her indulgence of Stevie's prank calls led to her harassment.  Yes, Stevie is the one in the wrong, the one sexually harassing a young girl, but the speaker feels as if she has invited it.  From what I have seen on TV programs and read, that is often a common reaction to such a violation.  The author of "Landlines" also faces a dragon of fear and trauma.  It is obvious to the reader that these events terrified her and left a scar on her adolescence, but the author rips open those old wounds for her readers with stunning bravery.

"Carolina/Tennessee" is different from the other stories because it deals with the guilt related to decisions and actions taken as an adult, when society tends to think people should know better.  The other stories deal with childhood and adolescence, and for that reason readers may be more lenient with their judgment.  Everyone did stupid or regrettable things as a child.  The author of "Carolina/Tennessee" faces not only her own dragon of guilt over the affair, but the dragon of public rejection and embarrassment.  To boldly put such a story on display to the whole reading community is an action worthy of respect.        

essay 3 workshop

You don’t appreciate your home until you go somewhere completely foreign. Literally, foreign. Italy was one of the best trips of my life; I’d go back in a heartbeat, but a difficult language, a different culture, can be extremely overwhelming. Staying with my aunt in the northern town known as Trieste, was a great experience. I got to learn what it’s like living in an Italian household and learned about where my family came from. Of course the food was one for the books.

Everyday we did something different, whether we went to the beach, which was man made and concrete, or a castle of park.I surprisingly fit right in with my blonde hair and green eyes. Since my family lives so up north, the fairer complexion and light hair was common. Until I spoke, I was just another person. Once I spoke though, I was treated completely different. They either tried to scam me because I was American or they were rude. When shopping one day I actually had a sales lady roll her eyes at me trying to speak italian. I understand it was more difficult for me to fit in because we weren't in a tourist area. But with a grandmother who spoke both English and Italian at the same time and an aunt who didn't speak English at all, it was lonely at some points.

One a beautiful day we went to go visit the local castle, Castello Miramare.Yeah, you heard me right, the local castle. I’ve always seen pictures growing up and now i was actually going. I couldn't contain my excitement and next to the castle was an old and beautiful church where the pictures do not do it justice. As we dressed for the hot summer day, I didn’t think twice that wearing shorts would be an issue. I wanted to be comfortable in the 85 degree weather.

The castle was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It was pearl white and had the old rustic look and feel. The gardens were my favorite. I've never seen such vibrant colors, even the trees and grass were the most perfect colors. The castle was also along the crystal blue ocean. It started out a great day. The communication barriers did not matter between me and my aunt and no one cared that I was American. The church was our next stop and I was even more excited.

The church was done past the castle, still along the ocean. The Trieste Cathedral was something I grew dreaming about going too. This was my grandparent’s church, and despite being built in the 6th century, it was still breathtaking. It had high ceils covered in paintings and large ancient chandeliers. large pillars lined the aisles and you could just stare for hours looking at each tiny detail it took to make this church as beautiful as it was.  

essay 2 workshop

Chrissy Dente

CNF Essay 2

            Some people are lucky to live with the best parents in the world; I was lucky enough to live with the best grandmother in the world. Mom-mom was my right hand lady, we were always buddies; I was her babe. She moved in when I was in second grade and my home was not complete without her. She wore the typical grandma sweaters, with kittens and holiday themes and even in her 70’s, she still didn’t have her ears pierced. But I’ll be dammed if you ever saw her not wearing clip on earrings, and ill be damned if you ever heard her complain that they hurt.

            Mom-mom was a widow. My grandfather died before I was even born, and she moved in so we could all take care of each other. She watched us kids while my mom worked, and my mom cooked, cleaned, and did her laundry for her. It was a team effort. She always had her hair and make up done. Her hairdressers even came to the funeral, that’s how much time she spent at the beauty salon. Her frosted blonde hair was always curled and puffy, with lots of hairspray. She was sassy and loved her Dr. Phil. God; she never missed an episode. I can hear her now saying, “I cant believe these people,” as she listened to their stories. It amazes me how much I miss her.

            When I was younger, she would come tuck me in and sit on the end of my bed. She would sit for a while, watch some TV with me and sometimes it would bother me so much because I couldn’t move my legs around to get comfortable. I also knew that she made sure I would go to sleep and not read or watch more TV.  Before she would leave she would stand up, pat my back and slowly walk out. She had a hip replacement and walking was difficult for her. As much as it bothered my 11-year-old self, I’d do anything to have her sit on the end of my bed one more time and watch her slowly and carefully walk out.

            After she passed away, I realized how much I missed seeing her white Buick waiting to pick me up from school. Ever since second grade, she picked me up from school. From elementary school, to middle school, to even freshmen year of high school, you can bet Mom-mom would be waiting her in car, with a newspaper and a snack, at least thirty minutes before I was let out of school. She was easily the first one there everyday. I would get so embarrassed though because she would drive so slowly. Even the crossing guards would be annoyed because of how slowly she would drive. Years ago, I went to the doctors with her. We were on the Black Horse Pike, a fast road, and she was going 35 MPH. I was so stressed. Cars were honking and passing and even at 13 or 14, I knew she needed to go faster before she killed us. I finally said, “Mom-mom you have to go faster!” She got so sassy she yelled, “Do you want to drive?!” I couldn’t help but laugh. She always got offensive over the littlest things. Still this day I can still giggle about that story, despite the stressful driving situation.

            Mom-mom spent all day home alone as my parents worked and my sister and I went to school. She was lonely and my pet dog, Cody, who was a Jack Russell Terrier, became her best friend. Cody turned into “Chody” because he was overweight from all the snacks he shared with Mom-mom. They would sit on the couch together, with Dr. Phil on of course, and they would share crackers, cheese, and the occasional Oreo. As I got older and no longer needed rides home from school or cheerleading, she and Cody would wait by the door. I couldn’t turn the key in the hole without hearing “Hi Chris!” within a matter of seconds. After a long day, it became exhausting to hear that and get bombarded with questions as soon as you walked in.  As exhausting as it was then, I would love to see her waiting there and answer all her questions she had ready to ask.

            She loved me more than anything; I loved her too, of course. But like we all know, as we get older, we become too busy for family and are too focused on friends, school, and sports. The summer before Mom-mom passed I was lucky enough to go to Italy to visit family with my other grandmother. Since the day I landed back home all Mom-mom wanted to see were the pictures from Italy; she died in December and she never saw the pictures.

            If I could go back to my sixteen-year-old self, I’d smack myself. All Mom-mom wanted was to see the pictures from my trip but I was always “too busy.” Seeing those pictures probably would have made Mom-mom a lot happier. At this moment in her life, she was suffering from severe depression. Her and her significant other separated after 10 years, my mom, her daughter, was just diagnosed with breast cancer, and Mom-mom felt like a burden to everyone, even though she was not even close to being one. As the depression continued, Mom-mom started to let go. She started to lose it and her loneliness showed. I was still a sixteen-year-old who went about her life, ignoring her fading grandmother. I was selfish; did I know better? Yes. Did I realize what I was doing? No. If it were today, Mom-mom would have seen the Italy pictures a hundred times. There would not be an ounce of attitude in my voice when I said “Hi Mom-mom” when she bombarded me at the door after school. If I could change anything in my life, it would be my final months with her.

            I know many people don’t see my situation as a big deal. So what, you didn’t show your grand mom pictures from your trip. The situation was so much more than that. We went about our lives as Mom-mom sat in a depression. She started to forget to take her medicine and a month later she passed away in the hospital from heart failure. It was too late to save her. I’ve felt guilty ever since. If only I paid more attention and knocked off my teenager attitude. If only we all stopped our busy lives to give Mom-mom what she needed. Mom-mom knew I loved her more than anything, I know that, but I feel as though I let her down. I know it’s too late but if I could change it I would. I let her know that every night in my prayers.

Posted on Behalf of Merissa

As i'm getting further along in my writing I have noticed that now i'm thinking more about the quality of my writing and that is helping me to more confidence in writing a good story or essay. I noticed that regular writing has helped me to develop my ability to write critically and to have more structure in my writing. one of my weakness is not con

Blog 10

I've noticed that as a writer, my growth is in areas that were inconsistent, telling vs showing, and keeping my writing creative. My first paper lacked all of that and my second paper, in my opinion, compensated for it for the most part. I really learned what showing meant -- make the readers feel as if they are in the scene. Like reading a book, you want to be put in that alternate universe. I'm starting to really understand that concept and I think that's showing at least a little throughout my writing.
There are still plenty of places for me to grow though since I'm new to creative non fiction writing... some ways in which I will learn about the more I write.

Blog 9

As much as I liked the 4 people group my workshop was initially, I really appreciated the whole class being in on your constructive criticism. I had a lot of helpful opinions as well as compliments that my piece was very different, interesting and relatable. It gave me a lot of confidence that my writing is heading in better directions. Again, it was helpful hearing other people's feedbacks towards each others work. Like I've said, I'm not good at giving constructive criticism. For the most part, I feel my writing is at the same level as my classmates so it's not easy for me to pick at their writing and give them areas that could use improvement. However, listening to everybody else's input towards others gave me ideas that could help me grow as a writer as well and I think will help me for future peer reviews. I've learned that I need to continue working on my showing rather than constantly telling. I could not do showing for some parts so I was told to just not include those certain parts or else the consistency of my paper would be thrown off. Overall, the workshopping was really effective.

#10

Coming into the curse I wasn't aware of what Creative Nonfiction was. I thought it was an academic paper written creatively. Now that I have learned about CNF I enjoy writing it. I still prefer fiction papers but CNF is my second favorite. I like that CNF is based on true events but written in a way to keep the readers attention. Its used in different forms, for instance blogs and journalism but is all the same. I'm walking away from this class with a new understanding of writing. I've learned how to show more and tell less and use details to make my writing stronger. I Feel that I still need to grow on  my thinking process. It's hard for me to think of topics to write about because I'm so use to being told what to write. I feel with practice I can over come this obstacle.

blog #10

I have definitely improved in writing CNF since the beginning of this course especially with opening up about my life. I have learned how to open up about the right things that will move a story along, rather then just putting all my thought on paper as if it were a diary. I have also learned that using your own way of describing a situation rather then using cliche words or phrases, really makes the story your own. I have learned the importance of explaining a moment with specifics because not doing so will not allow the reader to feel that moment just as you did and it will be nothing more than words on a paper for them. I see that in my drafts I am vague. However, I am now able to recognize this and fix it. I am now working on making the ordinary into extraordinary by trying to relate those specific moments to a bigger picture or idea.

Blog #10

Throughout this course, I definitely have grown as a writer. I am more open to different writing styles and opening up about different stories. I'm used to writing academic papers, which is comfortable for me because its either right or wrong. Opening up about real life experiences was a challenge for me and I have definitely become more comfortable. Where I need to grow is how I approach telling my stories. I wish to be more creative in my writing styles and be more confident in my writing. It's definitely improved since the beginning of the semester and I hope to continue growing.

Blog 10

During this course, I have learned a lot about Creative Non-Fiction, and I have corrected a lot of my personal misconceptions.  I came into the class thinking that creative non-fiction included all of the science and medical history books that I enjoy reading during my leisure time.  Now, after having read solid examples of CNF from both my classmates and professional authors, I can see that some of these science books are not CNF, although some are.  I also thought that I could come in here and bang out some glorified research papers with a couple pretty words and metaphors thrown in; in fact, I was looking forward to it.  It made me realize that my own amassing and expression of strange nature knowledge was just another mode of avoidance/escape, similar to my fiction writing.  I feel that my skill for writing fiction evolved out of a necessity for ignoring or altering my own reality.   After talking with a friend and fellow writer who is just awesome with CNF, I learned that I had to be more sincere and vulnerable with my CNF essays in order to be successful.  I took her advice in my second essay and was met with a great response.  It was not easy, though.  I hate "facing the dragon" of my mother's death and my true feelings about many other topics, including how vicious my inner critic can be.  I see now, though, that sincerity is the element that links all great personal essays together.  I still feel that I need to work on "looking directly into the sun," though.  It goes against every one of my gut feelings about writing.

Another element of CNF with which I feel I have improved is form and structure.  I have learned the proper implementation of the segmented essay structure, and by emulating some of my favorite Latin American authors, I was able to find fun, effective forms for the segments.  For example, the first segment in my second essay uses a technique gleaned from Gabriel García Márquez’s short story, "Dialogue with the Mirror," and the cyclical form of the first segment in my third essay borrows a technique from Julio Cortázar’s "Continuity of the Parks."  The fun and excitement of using these techniques made dealing with my emotions much easier.