We read the book Maps to Anywhere in class and I would have to say my favorite portion of that book would be the horseradish section. It talks about the mixture of pleasure with pain, for example, when you eat horseradish. It has a sting and a bite to it when you eat it, yet you still eat it because you enjoy its flavor. This is true about so many things. For another example, I am slightly lactose intolerant but I still really like to eat cheese and drink milk. It only affects me if I have too much, but before that point it is so worth it.
Writing my essays is not very challenging, but they are difficult because it is hard to add in the detail with the content you want. The Whats a Word Worth essay was fun because I enjoyed writing about my word Color. However, it is difficult to come up with so many personal and scholarly subjects on one word from my own lifetime.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Week of 3/17/15 Anthony Cooper
This week I had to work on my fiction packet for class. I chose to do my one story that I have been working on and attempting to develop for a few weeks now. The hardest part about writing fiction for me is coming up with details, and visual details especially, that help bring out more action and more entertainment for the reader. So one thing I will continue working on while writing is my use of detail and how to make it better.
This week we also were supposed to read some of the Maps to Anywhere book by Bernard Cooper. One story I enjoyed was Atlantis. The title itself makes you think its going to be about the wonderful lost city of Atlantis, but it is not. It is about a barber shop and the mysterious of the barber pole and the experience of being at the barbers. What I enjoyed about this story was the incredible detail put into describing everything. The hair, the wind, and even the barber pole itself were all incredibly detailed and gave much more action and attention to the things he described.
This week we also were supposed to read some of the Maps to Anywhere book by Bernard Cooper. One story I enjoyed was Atlantis. The title itself makes you think its going to be about the wonderful lost city of Atlantis, but it is not. It is about a barber shop and the mysterious of the barber pole and the experience of being at the barbers. What I enjoyed about this story was the incredible detail put into describing everything. The hair, the wind, and even the barber pole itself were all incredibly detailed and gave much more action and attention to the things he described.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Week of 3/10/2015
To begin this post I would like to talk about my story I am writing for class. The story is about a soldier, or knight, in a fantasy world. He is part of an army that protects the kingdom of Thuria. This story is based from the assignment of making a character based on 4 traits without mentioning what the traits were. My soldier(still thinking of a name) is supposed to be courageous, humble, and selfless. However, he is also very shy around others. Especially women. The story is about him becoming one of the most famous knights in the kingdom, due to his amazing talent with a blade, but also because no one has ever really gotten to know who he truly is. Some people call him Silent Justice, or they say his personality is like the calm before the storm while his fighting his the actual storm. I will continue working on this story because this sort of genre I really enjoy.
A story we read in class was called Night Women. We discussed it very heavily in class on Tuesday and there were some things that really stood out to me while reading it. You definitely get the idea she is some sort of prostitute, and people in class made points on how she might be a high end one due to mentioning having clients. Also, noticing how certain words were italicized meaning there was some other hidden meaning behind the word. The story was also intriguing because it was talking about how the mom noticed her son growing up and how he was beginning to go through puberty and experiencing things that she wishes he wouldn't.
A story we read in class was called Night Women. We discussed it very heavily in class on Tuesday and there were some things that really stood out to me while reading it. You definitely get the idea she is some sort of prostitute, and people in class made points on how she might be a high end one due to mentioning having clients. Also, noticing how certain words were italicized meaning there was some other hidden meaning behind the word. The story was also intriguing because it was talking about how the mom noticed her son growing up and how he was beginning to go through puberty and experiencing things that she wishes he wouldn't.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Post for week of 3/3/2015
To start off this post I would like to mention that I was not in class on Tuesday due to the weather conditions. I was trying to work on my fiction stories but it was difficult to get further with creative influence due to no peer reviews like the ones that were going on Tuesday in class. I did type up my rough drafts of my two stories to bring to class.
My first story is based off the assignment where we had to create a character that has 4 specific characteristics and we had to show them throughout the story without saying what they were. My story is about a knight who is very humble, courageous, and selfless. However, he is also very shy. He goes out to save a woman in need, but when he succeeds in saving her, he does not know what to do with the attention he is now receiving from her and others.
My second story is based off the assignment where we had to explain a place without giving its name. My story is rather short but I think its obvious what it is once you read it and have been here at this time of day before. My story talks about Krispy Kreme Donuts when the red sign is on letting everyone know that they are making fresh donuts and you can go in and get one for free.
My first story is based off the assignment where we had to create a character that has 4 specific characteristics and we had to show them throughout the story without saying what they were. My story is about a knight who is very humble, courageous, and selfless. However, he is also very shy. He goes out to save a woman in need, but when he succeeds in saving her, he does not know what to do with the attention he is now receiving from her and others.
My second story is based off the assignment where we had to explain a place without giving its name. My story is rather short but I think its obvious what it is once you read it and have been here at this time of day before. My story talks about Krispy Kreme Donuts when the red sign is on letting everyone know that they are making fresh donuts and you can go in and get one for free.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Post for week of 2/17/2015
The first story I read in the packet was the story Taking the Baby to the Liquor Store. After discussing it in class I believed it to be a sort of comedy story. When I first read it though, I did not tell it was a comedy, but I thought it was more serious. The lines where it stated the narrator and his baby were drinking together did show some sense of comedy that I must have read right over.
The second story I read was Wallet. This story was easily distinguishable as a comedy to me. The beginning the man talks about how he was robbed and how he wants to get back at thieves. So instead of getting assistance from the cops, he makes a pseudo wallet and acts like an old man needing help. This causes a thief to try and take his wallet, but the thief is stopped by the store clerks. This story was funny because it shows some silly actions that a father and son do in order to try and get even with a thief.
The third story I read was called Ungulated. It is a story about a woman named Stella trying to keep a deer out of her garden, or yard. This story is different since it doesn't really delve into the characters so much as the plot. It mentions that the deer wants to get into the yard in order to eat the food, but the woman doesn't want that so she builds a fence. In the end it mentions how they are both determined to accomplish their goals.
The second story I read was Wallet. This story was easily distinguishable as a comedy to me. The beginning the man talks about how he was robbed and how he wants to get back at thieves. So instead of getting assistance from the cops, he makes a pseudo wallet and acts like an old man needing help. This causes a thief to try and take his wallet, but the thief is stopped by the store clerks. This story was funny because it shows some silly actions that a father and son do in order to try and get even with a thief.
The third story I read was called Ungulated. It is a story about a woman named Stella trying to keep a deer out of her garden, or yard. This story is different since it doesn't really delve into the characters so much as the plot. It mentions that the deer wants to get into the yard in order to eat the food, but the woman doesn't want that so she builds a fence. In the end it mentions how they are both determined to accomplish their goals.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Post for Week of 2/10/2015
In the book Writing Down the Bones one chapter that really made me think was the chapter titled Baking a Cake. In this chapter it talks about how stories are like cakes. You can have all the ingredients to make it, but without that heat, or energy, it wont get very far. You have to put time into it and a lot of thought in order to really bring out what it best in your story. You need to look at all the little details of the story, just like how all the little details on a cake is what can make them so unique.
Another chapter that got me to think was the chapter titled The Action of a Sentence. This chapter is more about helping you put in the extra details or just different words to really bring out the full potential in your sentences. It gives more creativity, imagination, and uniqueness to every sentence. The chapter gives a little exercise where you put down verbs in a list and nouns in a list. Then you pick one random noun and one random verb and put them together to help make creative versions of your sentences. This helps to keep the story or poem from sounding expressionless or monotone.
The chapter Don't Marry the Fly was also one that caught my attention. It talks about how you can have your obsessions and you need to let yourself indulge on that obsession, however you shouldn't let that obsession take over your entire life. You can love the fly, and you can talk about the fly, but you should never marry the fly.
Another chapter that got me to think was the chapter titled The Action of a Sentence. This chapter is more about helping you put in the extra details or just different words to really bring out the full potential in your sentences. It gives more creativity, imagination, and uniqueness to every sentence. The chapter gives a little exercise where you put down verbs in a list and nouns in a list. Then you pick one random noun and one random verb and put them together to help make creative versions of your sentences. This helps to keep the story or poem from sounding expressionless or monotone.
The chapter Don't Marry the Fly was also one that caught my attention. It talks about how you can have your obsessions and you need to let yourself indulge on that obsession, however you shouldn't let that obsession take over your entire life. You can love the fly, and you can talk about the fly, but you should never marry the fly.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Post for 2/3/2015
In class we talked more about the Tocqueville book and poem. The main poem was confusing at first but now is starting to make more sense. I am not fond of how it seems to be a compilation of stories mashed together. I interpret this poem to be somewhat of a comparison of countries. Or even a look at the mind of a war veteran.
The PowerPoint 3 poem was the most confusing of all to read. I don't like how it is in simple powerpoint format, yet its showing such complex language. While reading through it however, I found that it seems to be a large comparison on peoples thoughts while going through these different matrixes. The grief matrix, consolation matrix, reverence matrix, etc.
In class we were to bring in poems and receive advice and give advice on how to improve out poems. My main poem I enjoyed the most was an imitation poem of Langston Hughes, "Preference". Instead of being from the point of view of a man, its from the point of view from a woman. She talks about wanting a young energetic man, instead of in the original when the man wants an obedient and carefree older woman.
The PowerPoint 3 poem was the most confusing of all to read. I don't like how it is in simple powerpoint format, yet its showing such complex language. While reading through it however, I found that it seems to be a large comparison on peoples thoughts while going through these different matrixes. The grief matrix, consolation matrix, reverence matrix, etc.
In class we were to bring in poems and receive advice and give advice on how to improve out poems. My main poem I enjoyed the most was an imitation poem of Langston Hughes, "Preference". Instead of being from the point of view of a man, its from the point of view from a woman. She talks about wanting a young energetic man, instead of in the original when the man wants an obedient and carefree older woman.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)