Blog 18

In the future I'd like to publish some books of poetry and perhaps a memoir (no, not the one I did for class) if I have the strength to even finish it. I have plenty of poetry, and have published a book in the past. I want to continue writing poetry and publish another book in the future with visual art as well. My writing in the future will be much better than what I did in this class. I can not write about something I am forced to write about, neither can I stick to a time frame, especially at a time when I have a million other things going on in my life and have no time to write. My writing in the future will be much better and you should all look for my name on the shelf in about four years. Thank you, bye!

Blog 17

I was confused as to what to reflect on and I kept changing my mind. I’m used to reflecting on nature in a more poetic way and I didn’t know just how hard it was for me to put all that reflective/metaphorical thinking into plain English. I did it, but it was very short, and I’m not content at all. Also, I realized that I didn’t know what many of the trees were in the woods in that area. I did some research on that, but didn’t feel one hundred percent confident on what I found.

At the time of those runs through the woods, I always thought about Marannie, since when I got to the beach I would always look across the bay and wonder what she was doing. In my poetry I would always compare my feelings to the natural world…the sun, moon, water, fire, earth, air, etc. I’m used to only making these comparisons in very poetic, metaphorical ways, and I was getting stuck trying to put the feelings/comparisons into plain English. This made me want to change my reflection.

Professor Chandler told me that my essay/story wasn’t a nature essay. I didn’t seem to understand why. I was describing an experience I had with nature; I was describing what was around me…I was quite perplexed, which deterred me from even wanting to rework the essay, having no idea as to what to change or what direction to go in. I decided to research more about the New Jersey shore, and the Natives that lived there centuries ago (since I always thought about the Natives when I was in the woods.) But I still felt stuck because I couldn’t come up with a concrete ‘reflection’. I remember always thinking when I was in the woods, about all the people in past years, decades, centuries etc. who have been in these woods, touched the same ground as I was touching then, have walked on the same beach, looked at the same trees, watched the same sunrises. I researched the natives and found out that it was the Lenape Indians who resided in these woods. It always amazed me that I was in the same woods as they were back then.

I’m used to writing in more detail, but with less reflection and letting my reader take what they want from the piece…but for this writing (and all the essays in the class) I had to do more thinking, which only confused me and actually gave me writers’ block. I figured I’d use both my reflections- my love, and my curiosity/amazement of being in the same atmosphere of natives, but in my head, I still doubted that these two ‘ideas’ were even ‘reflections’ at all. I figured, oh well…and continued writing in that direction.

Blog 16

What’s the most important thing that you learned about writing in this course?
I learned that it takes a lot of patience and revision especially when you’re using reflection and are writing for a certain audience. I definitely need to work on that.

What did I learn about writing one of my papers?
I learned how form affects the message of your story. I definitely need to work on that as well.

Which paper was the hardest to write?
I think they were all hard to write. I never seemed to please Professor Chandler; it just seems as though I am no good at developing an obvious focus.

What do I want to say in my reflective essay?
I am reflecting on my Nature Essay. I’m writing about how difficult it is to get across a message/focus/reflection that is easily understood in your own head, to others.

What don't I want to write about?
I don’t want to write about my Literary Journalism piece because I didn’t put as much time into it and didn’t even bother polishing, therefore there isn’t as much to write about.

Blog 15

How did I start?
I tried thinking of the recent times I’ve been surrounded by nature. I thought about the few times I went camping over the summer, but decided to write about my time in the woods earlier than that- back in June when I used to take jogs through the woods by my parent’s house, since I used to do a lot of thinking during those jogs and would perhaps find something more interesting to focus on.

How did you choose your focus?
It was very hard to choose a focus. I wanted to reflect on the love I had for a certain someone. Being in those woods and sitting on the beach at that time of morning always made me think of love. Professor Chandler though, told me that the essay I turned in wasn’t a ‘nature essay’. I didn’t understand why or how to change it into a ‘nature essay’…so I decided to compare more of how the nature that surrounded me related to my emotions at that time, something I always thought about, but was/is easier for me to write in poem form than in essay/story form. So I decided to stick with my focus and to just make more comparisons as to focus more on the nature.

What did I leave out? What did I change? What did I emphasize?
I decided to leave out some of the details at the beginning of the story, where I was describing my journey getting out of bed and down to the woods. It was too detailed and took away from the experience in the woods/beach. I needed to elaborate on my focus, so I added more comparisons, and emphasized more of my emotions and how I saw it relating to the nature around me. I also added in my amazements of all who have passed through these woods before, since that was something else I always thought about at that time. (That in itself may be another focus, but oh well.)

Where did I get stuck and how did I get unstuck?
I got stuck with understanding how to put all of my comparisons that I usually write very poetically into more detailed, easily-understood, complete sentences. But I tried to think over and over in my head how my emotions related to the natural entities that surrounded me, and tried to change up my language a bit.

What were my major revisions?
My major revisions had more to do with my time on the beach b/c that’s when I do most of my reflecting. I added a lot more to the story which made it longer than it had to be, but oh well…I hate feeling like I have to cut myself short.

How did my life (not on the page) affect my writing process?
My life is really affecting my writing process currently. I am unbelievably stressed out, and one thing keeps happening after the other. When I actually have time to sit down, I can’t think. Also, not being able to write what I want to write about, and not in the style I write, and with a certain time frame actually gives me writers’ block. I am getting frustrated with everything. Usually my writing is a lot better, but I usually write for myself…in my own style…and when life isn’t so complicated.

Where and when did I write my best? What time?
Huummm…I don’t think I can answer that question. Usually the only time I have to write is late at night after work. A lot of the time though, that is when I am too tired and have writers’ block. I can’t concentrate and I’m unbelievably stressed out by the days events. I tell myself I’ll do it tomorrow, and then something always goes wrong, the reason I am so behind. Tonight though, things have slowed down a bit and so I am trying to catch up.

How did I use thinking, talking and writing to develop my paper?
I went back to my poems that I wrote during my time on the beach and tried to decide how to word everything differently to be able to use it in my story. I asked my friends and family if what I was saying made sense to them. My mother was confused as always, but my like-minded friends told me they understood what I was trying to say.

How did I know when I was finished and how did I decide where to start?
I would like to say I have finished, but I want to look over it a few more times. It seems as though I could have two different focuses, and I’m still debating if I should take one what. I decided to start with how those mornings started…waking up in my bed, eating my routine breakfast and heading down to the woods.