READ – enjoyment, calming, therapeutic, gain better knowledge and vocabulary, it can be educating.
WRITE – express feelings, provide an escape, enjoyment, calming, therapeutic, educating in some sense, to challenge oneself.
I noticed there is a few similarities between the two as the same reasons appear on both lists. Reading and writing are connected and it’s not necessarily correct to divide them into their own category. You could be reading something which inspires you to write you’re own piece of work.
Although reading and writing are both equally beneficial to self development. Ion my opinion, I believe writing can more powerful especially if you’re journalling. For the people who struggle to talk about their feelings and emotions, writing them down in a journal can help to ease the load more. Reading can powerful in its own way as you can detach from reality and delve deep into the words.
“He pushed the cart and both he and the boy carried knapsacks. In the knapsacks were essential things in case they had to abandon the cart and make a run for it. Clamped to the handle of the cart was a chrome motorcycle mirror that he used to watch the road behind them. He shifted the pack higher on his shoulders and looked out over the wasted country. The road was empty. Below in the little valley the still grey serpentine of a river. Motionless and precise. Along the shore a burden of dead reeds. Are you okay? He said. The boy nodded. They set out along the backtop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each the other’s world entire.” – McCarthy, 2006, p.4
Exercise 1
First person narrator:
I pushed the cart and both my boy and I carried knapsacks. In the knapsacks were essential things incase we had to abandon the cart and make a run for it. Clamped to the handle of the cart was a chrome motorcycle mirror that we used to watch the road behind us. I shifted my pack higher on my shoulders and looked out over the wasted country…
Second person narrator:
You pushed the cart and you and your boy carried knapsacks. In the knapsacks were essential things incase you had to abandon the cart and make a run for it. Clamped to the handle of the cart was a chrome motorcycle mirror that you used to watch the road behind you. You shifted your pack higher on your shoulders and looked out over the wasted country…
If McCarthy had chosen the third person limited point of view, think about the difference between telling this storyfrom the boy’s POV or the mans.
The difference between the third person and the boy’s POV is, i think there would be a stronger emotional response from the boy as he’s a young age and everything seems scary at that age. However, the narrative may not have as much detail coming from a child.
What impact does changing the narrative angle have on the story? Why do you think McCarthy decided to use an omniscient narrator?
The story definitely takes on different aspects when using different narratives. First person narrator draws the audience in more, it makes you feel like you’re there on scene. Second person narrator feels more distant. I think he used an omniscient narrator because it makes it more gripping, more exciting and keeps the audience interested.
Exercise 2
I think not giving the man and the boy a name stops the viewers getting attached to the character but that doesn’t mean that we don’t care about them. They still have human characteristics. I think it leaves the viewers intrigued and wanting to find out more. We can tell there may be some trouble because they have all their belongings and essentials that they need; which implies they might be trying to survive something. The words “wasted country” and “grey serpentine of a river” suggests that some kind of disaster has happened. It sounds like it could have been an apocalypse or the end of a war? They are alone and scared which also implies some kind of disaster, like they are running away from something. They’re on a journey with everything they own, they could be going to a safe place. The road is mentioned a few times in the extract; this could emphasise the struggle that the man and the boy are going through. By McCarthy not punctuating the speech symbolises the loneliness. It shows that they aren’t very important. The use of these words “serpentine of the river” and “gunmetal light” implies that there could have been a war that they are running from.
The Herefordshire Landscape by Elizabeth Barrett Browning – purely evokes a sense of place. The use of descriptive writing emphasises the countryside ie. “hills, vales, woods, netted in a silver mist”. Repetition also helps to emphasise this ie. “cottage-chimneys” “cottage-gardens”.
Slough by John Betjeman – makes a social comment about progress or place. It sounds like he is talking about war and the destruction of Slough which is obviously negative comments ie. “come friendly bombs and fall on Slough” and “come, bombs and blow to smithereens”. Also repetition of the word “tinned” exaggerates the sense of feeling trapped.
The Lost Land by Eavan Boland – speaks about place in relation to identity and exile. Seems to be physical loss of land “saying all the names I know for a lost land: Ireland. Absence. Daughter” this also implies the emotional loss through the word daughter.
Exercise 2
I found a poem called “The Letter A” and pointed out what poetic devices were used:
In the extract by Darren Sardelli, he uses devices such as rhythm and alliteration to make the poem more exciting.
Experimenting with my own:
I just got a new puppy,
took her for a walk by the lake,
she got a little bit muddy,
then chased after a huge snake.
Exercise 3
Close reading of Dylan Thomas’ poem called Fern Hill.
When first reading the poem, i felt like it gave off a positive mood as most of the words that have been used are very positive. It looks like he is talking about the past. Beautiful things he has come across when he was younger. Whereas when I listened to the poem, it gave off a different emotion. It sounded like something you would hear in church, it’s almost quite theatrical.
I think the poem has a few poetic devices. The main one that stands out for me i believe is personification. He talks about ‘time’ as if its a person: “time let me hail and climb golden in the heydays of his eyes”. He uses a similie: “happy as the grass was green”. and he also repeatedly uses alliteration: “house high hay” “tuneful turning”. There isn’t really a rhythm in this poem, it doesn’t flow well. To me I think, rhythm has a huge impact on the poem as I think it makes it more exciting.
The most recent thing i’ve read is Hazel Smith’s ‘Creative Writing and New Media’. Although it’s not a story or novel, I believe it still has elements from Aristotle’s list. I’d say this piece of text has thought, it has a theme of creative writing and the new media combined. I believe it also has elements of diction as it portrays the expression of meaning.
Exercise 1
Toy Story is one of my favourite childhood movies that used to watch over and over so I have chosen this to apply The Hero’s Journey to it.
We are introduced to the ordinary world where Woody and the other toys come alive when Andy isn’t around. Woody is Andy’s favourite toy and the “leader” to the others. The toys then receives a call to adventure when Buzz Lightyear is brought into the picture and Woody gets jealous as he thinks Buzz will become the new favourite. Woody’s refusal of the call is he feels replaced and “accidentally” pushes Buzz out the window. There is no meeting with the mentor however, Little Bo Peep tells him to not let Buzz get to him. Woody has to face crossing the first threshold when him and Buzz have to work together to get back to Andy.
They are faced with tests, allies and enemies when they lose Andy, come across alien toys then are captured by Sid and Scud, the dog. Their approach to the inmost cave is when Sid takes Woody and Buzz to his bedroom. The ordeal is Sid torturing Woody and Buzz but in order to escape Sid and his dog, they had to gain each others trust to get the reward of escaping.
Woody and Buzz chase after the removal lorry on the road back to Andy’s house. They soon realise their resurrection is they have a true friendship and return with the elixir back home safe as new friends.
If language as a sign system is based on arbitrariness of this kind then it follows that language isn’t a reflection of the world and of experience but a system that stands quite separate from it.
Barry, 1995, p.42
Textual Revolution
It all began with oral storytelling around 10,000 years ago. The arrival of the written word meant that a story could now continue to exist even if there was no one left to tell it. The first textual revolt happened in the fifteenth century with the invention of the printing press. The tradition of shared oral storytelling began to decline as private reading became more accessible.
Exercise 1
What happens to a story when you take it from its source,make it permanent in print and disseminate it to a wider audience?
There are positives and negatives when you do this with a story. It could become more accessible to a wide variety of people and the story becomes well known. However, it could have negatives such as once the story has been published, it’s out of their hands and anyone could use and abuse it. It’s no longer just the artists piece of work, it’s everyone to read and enjoy.
Write a list of implications arising from the printing press. For example, think about who has control/authority over the text, the meaning of the text and the relationship between the source of the text and its recipient.
copyright issues – who owns the work once its been made permanent
educations resources – the printing press can distribute learning resources for educational purposes
I’ve struggled with this section as i’m very new to the creative writing side of things.
Research
Consider the implications of the digital revolution for creative writing.
it can be productive to mediate between page and screen pg.103
the screen replaces the page which makes creative writing more visually exciting
algorithmic constraints
D.Howe and J.Cayley’s “the Readers Project” – algorithmically selecting words from prior text to generate new text, its evolving itself.
Exercise 2
Last 24 hours:
I was asked to write a list of everything i’ve heard, seen, written or read and when it comes down to it, you don’t realise how many things you pick up in a day and its very hard to note down everything.
‘cant walk around fire and expect not to sweat’ from a song i heard
written in my gratitude journal
been told my little sister in law nearly strangled my pup by accident
listened to radio 1
read emails and text messages
Information is soaked up into our brains every minute of the day when we look at our phones or the tv or listen to the radio. It’s how you decide to take and use this information. Personally, I feel that something only sticks in my head when I’m really interested in it.
I would only consider certain things to be art such as the lyrics to a song or writing in my journal. I wouldn’t say the other things could be considered as art because these are things you do everyday.
A Journey Through a Creative Arts Degree 