Creative Writing Final

1. I've done a number of writing pieces this year. We followed different writing prompts and subjects of inspiration for writing for each of our pieces. For example, the art works of Edward Hopper were a subject of writing during both posting online and journal writing for us. From his painting Soir Bleu, which depicts a clown sitting at a table with two men in a cafe of normally dressed people, I wrote the short story "Never Challenge the Clown" which details a pair of men encountering a gang boss dressed as a clown for Halloween and posted it online. Journal writing included as collecting as many details about the different Hopper paintings we were presented with as possible. We used dreams as inspiration for our writing, with me posting "Musings on Dreams" to answer various questions about dreams, such as whether or not dreams have any meanings. We used holidays to write as well. Halloween was a time when we used spooky first sentence prompts to create stories. Using these writing prompts I posted "Dullahan and the Fire Sprite" which tells the story of a girl dressed as a headless horseman meeting a fire sprite and protecting it from evil spirits on Halloween, and "Beauty is Painful" which is a short horror story describing the narrator's horrific encounter with a vengeful doll. The very beginning of the year featured me describing myself in my posted "I Am Katie" poem, and posting a short story, "The Seahorse Lighter" after being inspired by a lighter with a seahorse on it on the website listing special objects that Mrs. Fraser had us look at. We also used old photos as inspiration to post stories. When I wrote "Snapshot of the 1920s", about a day in the life of a young man spending time with a date and his brothers, I was inspired by an old black and white photograph of three men together, one sitting the others standing. When we were using colors as inspiration, a paint color named was used for my acrostic poem "Periwinkle Charmed"  in which I described a young mother's encounter with her newborn sleeping son. In independent journal writing, I mainly wrote short excerpts of possible stories, such as recording an event in which time freezes for a character in a park. I also used the journal as a way to write an excerpt where a fairy was disgruntled that a human had stolen a small pumpkin of its, after I found a small green plant bulb shaped like a pumpkin on a nature walk our class took. Taylor Denton's funny, inspiring, and sweet comments in many of my posts were something I appreciated very much, and I enjoyed commenting on her pieces as well.

2. In our class, I read many of Taylor Denton's blog posts, and I especially enjoyed her "If I Were in Charge of the World" Poem, because I appreciate her distaste for ignorance and prejudice she writes within it. Her piece of "Finally Fading Away" was very eerie for me, as it chillingly described a person simply ceasing to exist for those around him, and yet still being aware of everything around them. From her narration of that piece, I felt sympathy and horror for the person who had faded from the world, and wondered how such a thing could happen.  I also appreciated Glenda Parson's "In a Wondrous World of Color" because I appreciated her unusual idea of colors being depicted as divided  factions from each other, and the realistic longing of the narrator for wanting a different lot in life, and yet being grateful for not having it worst by being in a worst color area of the world. I also appreciated her haiku of different types of chocolate, because I  found it endearing.  Outside of reading classmate's blogs, I finished two books of the "Skulduggery Pleasant" series, which tells the story of a witty, fire-throwing, detective, sorcerer skeleton. I also read many classics, such as "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre, which I appreciated for the romance depicted within each, the outspoken and awesome heroine that is Jane Eyre, the gorgeous writing style of each, and the interesting depiction of the time period. I began reading "Winter" the final book of the "Lunar Chronicles" which is a twisted fairy-tale and science-fiction series based around a cyborg version of Cinderlla-the mechanic Cinder.

3. I deeply enjoyed setting up my blog. Since I love the color pink, but didn't want something childish I chose a pattern that employs pinks, reds, and oranges in what I thought was an artful presentation for the background. I placed a picture of a cherry blossom tree at the bottom of the page because I think cherry blossoms are beautiful and I appreciate that they mean "new beginnings" in the language of flowers. Since I have a soft spot for baby animals, I placed the daily puppy gadget in a corner of my page, and I posted a list of my favorite reading material below this since I believed it would be appropriate for a blog in which you post creative writing. I came up with the blog name by incorporating my own name, adding in "queen" to sound majestic or ironic, and put in "bookworm" as so much of my writing is inspired and improved upon by reading books. The people who would want to read this post must enjoy fantasy and adventure, as so many of my posts are short stories of those genres. I will probably continue to use this blog in the future, and I will continue posting fantasy short stories, poetry, or brainstormed story ideas on the page. From creating a blog I learned more about gaining feedback from readers, I learned more about personalizing webpages, and I was given a rewarding experience by putting my work out with confidence for others to see.

4. My journal was something I kept often in class, or in times of leisure when I was not currently working on a different project. Within it are short excerpts of stories I created, venting about issues I was upset about, poetry I thought of suddenly, and class assignments like the colored mandala and magazine collages. It also contains many beginnings of blog posts like the "Famous First and Last Lines", where I wrote a short one-shot about a jealous wife using the first line of "Pride and Prejudice" and the last line of "To the Lighthouse." I talked about my thoughts on God, paintings we were shown in class, and objects I found around the school as well, and the things I was thankful for. I would want my friends, family, and loved ones to read my journal

because I know they would entertained or touched by what I wrote. I will continue to journal, and I will certainly be writing my own feelings and story ideas in the future.

5. The first thing she noticed was the cap. A cold, grey, thing, off her canister of coffee. However, the odd thing she noticed, was the drips of coffee on its side, refusing motion like they had frozen there despite the sweltering weather. Her head pounded with every secession of blood circulated by her heart. The girl leaped to her feet and spun around to survey silent surroundings. The man there on the other park bench was paused mid-sneeze. His face was contorted humorously. However, nothing was humorous about the situation. Birds were suspended in air like Christmas ornaments without strings. With dread the girl forced herself to check the old-fashioned watch on her wrist. Both of the timepiece's hands were frozen.

"Oh no. It's begun." The girl murmured, as if not to disturb the world's peace.
Time had stopped.

-I wrote this piece after a friend of mine overseas sent me a cool picture of her canister lid full of coffee reflecting the sun and trees above it. She said she had a title for the picture "Time in a Bottlecap" and as a result I began thinking about a scenario in which time really was captured as if it was in a bottle cap, but the person who noticed it only did so after noticing the canister lid.

6. “Alice, leave me, you know I have business in the Layers below.” Arianna growled, inwardly shivering at the fate of those who tried to wander in the Veil longer than they should.

“You could take me with you.” Alice cooed sweetly. Arianna shook her head, while her dark eyes flashed with a warning. When Alice took a step closer, she quickly drew the blade of blue shimmering metal from her boot. For a moment Alice’s face morphed into a glittering mask of furious hatred before being replaced with the same fake grin that had been there before.

“Well, you don’t have to be so mean about it! I wouldn’t be that much of a bother!” The young woman sighed as she vanished within the dark again, fading just as she had appeared.

 Taking a privately shaky breath, Arianna sheathed her blade, and continued walking through the dark.

She felt the tightness of her stress leave her skull when the warm light fell on her face. Arianna had done this many times before but that did nothing to lessen the relief she always felt upon surfacing inside or outside the veil. It was always the traversing that was the most terrifying part, but now that she was within the soul she sought, at least the dangers of the Veil were past.

7.  In the future, I intend to continue writing short stories for my own enjoyment and to entertain others, and I may attempt to create a fictional novel some day. I would love to write creatively for a traveling guide or a traveler's magazine as I enjoy recording my interesting experiences. I get the chance to escape from reality through creative writing, as in a story, you have no obligations to meet, no restrictions on yourself, because you can choose what you want to occur next. From creative writing, I gain the ability to entertain readers when they laugh at my stories, or touch them emotionally if I make them unsettled or sad. I also gain the ability to create something from creative writing, as nobody else has written these words exactly as I have before. I enjoy all of these things from creative writing, and I enjoy that through creative writing I can gain an outlet for my emotions or record my personal experiences for future remembrance.

8. To everybody I've had the pleasure of being in this class with:

Never let anything stop you from being yourself and expressing yourself as you are. Never deny the beauty of your own self and talents. You are a wonderful writer and a wonderful person and it would be a shame not to show the world that. If you choose to continue writing creatively, your ideas will be interesting and inspiring for others to read, as a connection through writing is something everyone can attain. I wish you good fortune, happiness, laughter, and powerful friendships now and for all time, and I'm glad to know that whatever you will be, you'll be a good one.