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.