Discuss an “Aha” from Creative Writing class.

The importance of perspectives in writing and how they can affect the story. I found through emulation that I could be writing about the same topic but make it my own by adding a different perspective to the piece. My favourite examples are in my poems My Girl and My Golden Boy that talk about people with mental illness in the perspective of someone who cares for them. I found that I like to work with voices that are not usually heard- like the voice of the elderly and how they age.  Although I may not have personal experience with some of the issues I write about, I try to do research to try to understand it so that my work is authentic.

I also learned a lot of skills to improve my GUMPS like proper punctuation and how to space paragraphs so that the reader will stay engaged.

What have you accomplished as a reader? What is your plan to read next?

I’ve accomplished a lot with reading this semester. I wasn’t a big reader before, but I really found my flow and the genre that I loved and just kept reading.

I think my favourite book to read this semester was hands down The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. This book is utterly heartbreaking. I couldn’t put it down, and the only time that I did was because I was too sad to read anymore for the day. I discovered the perspectives of slaves in America during the transatlantic slave trade. The book took me on a psychological journey that left me breathless after every page. I want to read more books like this in the future because I find them amazing.

Reading is crucial to help improve your writing. You’re exposing yourself to other author’s voice and style that can be emulated from. You are also able to draw inspiration from their work and discover different ideas and stories for the future. Because I am not the strongest writer yet, I use emulation to write a lot of my pieces to try to find my own voice through theirs. If I hadn’t exposed myself to so many different authors, I have no doubt that my writing would not have improved as drastically as it has.

What have you accomplished as a writer? What is your plan to write next?

I feel like I finally understand who I am as a writer and what kind of topics that I like to write about. I feel more comfortable with my writing abilities and if what I write about is ‘good enough.’ In the future, I want to widen the variety of topics I talk about and how I write. I want to try writing more short stories and less poetry.

Will you take Creative Writing again? Why? Why not?

I definitely will! This course really opened my eyes to the possibilities for a future of writing confidently. I will take it next year not only to help me write my diplomas (that’s scary to think about) and because I feel like it’s a place that you don’t have to fear being judged because everyone is so understanding.

What are your next steps to improve as a writer?

• Read for at least 30 minutes a day
• Try to read more challenging books
• Write for at least ten minutes a day
• Continue to emulate from works that I like