What did you learn in this course? I learned the real definition of creative non fiction. As well as different styles of writing and prompts.
About the form of CNF? Segmented form
What did you learn about how to write CNF? Tell the truth to your best ability and do not make up anything!
About where to publish/find publishing venues for your creative writing? There are many places on the internet to find venues for the writing that you like.
Did you change anything /try anything different in your writing process? Please describe.I tried to be more descriptive and add a lot more images and concentrate on one focus
Which class assignments/class experiences helped you learn whatever you learned? The readings in the book, assignments for the two essays and writing prompts in class.
What do you wish the course spent more time on?What do you wish we'd spent less time on? We spent the right amount of time on everything!
Right pace/schedule? Yes
Coherence of material? Perfect
Workload => Too much, too little, just right? What would you change? It was just right, no changes for the course!
Cover material appropriate to course goals? Yes
Enough feedback for grades? Definitely!!! I always received a response with tons of feedback which helped me out a lot with revising my essay
Which form of feedback was most helpful? The feedback for my essay on divorce and on my car had excellent feedback which helped me to revise them and choose them for my final essay!
Which did you enjoy most? I enjoyed our writing prompts and discussions in class
Any which you felt was unproductive?> Not at all , everything we did in this course taught me something to add or take away from my writing to help improve it.
What would you do more of? Nothing
What would you do less of? Blogging
Did you feel the grading system was fair? Yes
Did the grades/grading system contribute to learning?Yes
I thought this course was taught very well and i was engaged the entire time. I enjoyed the writing prompts and discussions, the pace was just right and our prompts for our essays were enjoyable to write. I never felt like i was overloaded or not doing enough work. I really enjoyed this course!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Final Draft
I bought it from Locandro Motors, it is a 2000 red Chevrolet Cavalier, and I was so excited! Like everyone the day u buy your first car is one of the greatest feelings you encounter throughout our life. I remember searching for cars all day long and I finally settled on a white cavalier but right before I settled for that, which I didn’t really like I stopped at one more place. That is where I spotted my red lady bug, but there was one problem, this car was about a thousand dollars over what I had to spend. Thus I told the car salesman that I was deciding between this one and a white one down the street at another lot, and the white car was a thousand dollars cheaper. Within seconds he said I’ll drop the price and you can have it, I was thrilled. I also felt in high spirits because I was only seventeen and I bargained with the car salesman into giving it to me for a thousand dollars cheaper. That was done with a little manipulation when I told him I would just have to buy the one at the other lot and sure enough he caved in like I planned he would, so I felt I got a great deal, and believe me I did. This car is a trooper because after all I still am driving it. The experiences you encounter with your car correlates to the identity of owning a car and experiences and situations you encounter with your car.
The next morning I was anxious to clean the entire thing, inside and out. Considering it was a used car and I am a little obsessive about cleanliness I wanted to really give my new car a good cleaning. I brought the car to the car wash and I took wipes and wiped down the dashboard, seats, radio, basically everything inside the car. I also added new mats, a new radio, air fresheners, and little decorations to personalize my car. The inside of the car was in great condition, but I was surprised and annoyed when I found an old French fry in the middle counsel. I remember the guy at the auto shop told me a lady owned the car before I bought it. So in my head when I found the fry I still remember thinking, “what a pig she was”, how could she do that, it’s disgusting, when really I was just disgusted that I had to clean it up. After I cleaned the inside I brought it through the car wash so the outside would get cleaned too. I felt much better and now I was even more excited because don’t we all love our things when there all cleaned up.
About a month after I had my license my friends and I drove to jersey garden mall. We were on the turnpike and my one friend yelled GO that’s the exit and I quit switched lanes, and yes a car hit me right in the rear. Luckily the other driver and I were on the same page, nothing was done to either one of our cars really, maybe a small scratch so we said goodbye, and went on our jolly way. I was not calling the police a month after I got my license especially because I didn’t know whose fault it was and I kind of thought it was mine., and if it was my insurance would have skyrocketed and as for him I never knew his story but I’m guessing he didn’t want the cops involved for his own reasons. Although this is where I experienced what a back seat driver was and how dangerous it can be to listen to them. I know now that I shouldn’t have listened to her but then I was inexperienced so I tried to make the turn causing my first minor accident.
Another lucky incident was a block away from my house. Yes its true in the blink of an eye, right around the block from your house, it happens. I stopped at a stop sign and there was a lady right in front of me and I looked down for a second and went to go, thinking she had already went and a very little bump it was. Although when she got out of the car I did as well, and I saw she had two kids in her car and a baby. I was petrified especially when I heard the baby crying. I remember praying please don’t let there be something wrong, I hope just the little bump scared him/her or the person in the car yelled when they got hit and made that baby cry , please don’t let there be anything wrong with the baby and there wasn’t. Once again there was nothing on her car so she said what is the point should we call the cops and I said nope, there’s no damage and the baby’s okay I’m going to be on my way. That I knew would have totally been my fault, I hit her from the back but since there was no damage I was clear. I experienced the true saying of do not take your eyes off the road for even a second.
A couple years went by and the lady bug and I were extra careful. That is for only a time of course because don’t we all have accidents us more then others I thought, but she is a trooper. Well it was a Sunday afternoon and it was cold and snowy so my friends and I decided to go the bar and watch football. On the way home I was driving and again right around the block from my house, I stepped on my brakes to stop and they locked and the lady buy slid into a curb. Boy did I not know that this was going to take a little bit of a toll on her. As I drove home my car was shaking like never before and the next day, Monday, I had class. That morning I drove to school and it was the most aggravating ride of my life. It takes me about twenty five minutes to get to school but not on this day. When I hit the curb I messed up my alignment on my car, so since it was off it shook uncontrollably the entire time. I can describe that holding my wheel was like holding a jackhammer, so my hands were killing me by the end of the ride. And on top of that I could not go over 45 mph so I drove all the way in the left lane hazards on all the way to school. It normally takes me about twenty minutes to get to school; this time was double if not longer. I laugh about it now but at the time I was not so happy. I made sure that my step father fixed the car that day because I could not take another trip like that; I suffered the one day that was it. With this accident I learned something knew as well, which was to be extra careful when it is snowing and don’t drive as you normally would.
I can conclude that this car got beat up but it is still going. It never gave me one problem mechanically and we always made out in our minor incidents. And even after this last story we are still okay. I was driving to my first day of sophomore field in a school about twenty minutes from my house. I was about to turn onto the road where the school is located and as I went to make a left hand turn, a guy smacked right into the passenger side of my car. My body flew up a little, I felt my rear lift off the seat, my head hit my side panel and my leg hit the side of my door. The guy was going pretty fast because he hit my car so hard that he forced me to make my turn, my car almost doing a three sixty. When the car finally stopped which seemed like forever, I was in shock. The feeling was traumatizing for me and for the lady bug. I pulled into the gas station right next to me and I got out of my car, honestly I wanted to cry. My entire passenger side was pushed in and the car that hit me had a scratch of red paint on the front bumper. Technically I believe it was NOT my fault, he hit me I was already making my turn. But the laws of New Jersey speak for this, he had the right away and I was turning so I am at fault.
Unfortunately my insurance for my car only has liability and does not cover collision. The man, the owner of the gas station who saw the whole thing, and I agreed there was no reason for a police report because he had no damage and it was my fault. I could not afford another car and it would cost about two thousand dollars to fix my car. Logically I thought I had this car for about five years, I brought it for four thousand, it is not worth it to get it fixed, and that would be a waste of money because the car is not even worth that now. Thus I said I will b graduating in about a year and then I can buy myself a car once I’m done with school and can work full time, but for the time being I am going to drive this. It still runs great and has no problems really. I don’t use or need that door to open I’m the driver .The only problem is my passengers because if they want to come in they must use my door and climb over into the seat. The door has not opened since the accident and is stuck and I don’t want to open it because I’m afraid it wont shut and then ill really be screwed. In particular this experience showed me that sometimes you have to suck things up and just deal with it, accept the things you can’t change.
I realized the car is just as perfect as it was when I brought it. I don’t have a problem getting in; I have a door that opens. Why should I stress the fact about my passenger side door, I don’t really need it, it still does the job of getting me where I need to go. Yes my friends rarely have me drive because boy is it an annoyance for them having to climb in and out , but its an annoyance for me as well because when I pick them up I have to get out let them in and when I drop them off I have to get out to let them out. Yet it’s still safe and the seatbelt works, the door is just handicapped. And anyway who ever heard of buying a car for their passengers! My red lady bug has been through it all with me and has never let me down, she is a real trooper. And to be honest when the time does come I don’t think any brand new car could ever replace the experiences we’ve encountered together. Car ownership is a big part of our lives; we spend a lot of time in our cars and depend on them tremendously to go about our daily lives.
The next morning I was anxious to clean the entire thing, inside and out. Considering it was a used car and I am a little obsessive about cleanliness I wanted to really give my new car a good cleaning. I brought the car to the car wash and I took wipes and wiped down the dashboard, seats, radio, basically everything inside the car. I also added new mats, a new radio, air fresheners, and little decorations to personalize my car. The inside of the car was in great condition, but I was surprised and annoyed when I found an old French fry in the middle counsel. I remember the guy at the auto shop told me a lady owned the car before I bought it. So in my head when I found the fry I still remember thinking, “what a pig she was”, how could she do that, it’s disgusting, when really I was just disgusted that I had to clean it up. After I cleaned the inside I brought it through the car wash so the outside would get cleaned too. I felt much better and now I was even more excited because don’t we all love our things when there all cleaned up.
About a month after I had my license my friends and I drove to jersey garden mall. We were on the turnpike and my one friend yelled GO that’s the exit and I quit switched lanes, and yes a car hit me right in the rear. Luckily the other driver and I were on the same page, nothing was done to either one of our cars really, maybe a small scratch so we said goodbye, and went on our jolly way. I was not calling the police a month after I got my license especially because I didn’t know whose fault it was and I kind of thought it was mine., and if it was my insurance would have skyrocketed and as for him I never knew his story but I’m guessing he didn’t want the cops involved for his own reasons. Although this is where I experienced what a back seat driver was and how dangerous it can be to listen to them. I know now that I shouldn’t have listened to her but then I was inexperienced so I tried to make the turn causing my first minor accident.
Another lucky incident was a block away from my house. Yes its true in the blink of an eye, right around the block from your house, it happens. I stopped at a stop sign and there was a lady right in front of me and I looked down for a second and went to go, thinking she had already went and a very little bump it was. Although when she got out of the car I did as well, and I saw she had two kids in her car and a baby. I was petrified especially when I heard the baby crying. I remember praying please don’t let there be something wrong, I hope just the little bump scared him/her or the person in the car yelled when they got hit and made that baby cry , please don’t let there be anything wrong with the baby and there wasn’t. Once again there was nothing on her car so she said what is the point should we call the cops and I said nope, there’s no damage and the baby’s okay I’m going to be on my way. That I knew would have totally been my fault, I hit her from the back but since there was no damage I was clear. I experienced the true saying of do not take your eyes off the road for even a second.
A couple years went by and the lady bug and I were extra careful. That is for only a time of course because don’t we all have accidents us more then others I thought, but she is a trooper. Well it was a Sunday afternoon and it was cold and snowy so my friends and I decided to go the bar and watch football. On the way home I was driving and again right around the block from my house, I stepped on my brakes to stop and they locked and the lady buy slid into a curb. Boy did I not know that this was going to take a little bit of a toll on her. As I drove home my car was shaking like never before and the next day, Monday, I had class. That morning I drove to school and it was the most aggravating ride of my life. It takes me about twenty five minutes to get to school but not on this day. When I hit the curb I messed up my alignment on my car, so since it was off it shook uncontrollably the entire time. I can describe that holding my wheel was like holding a jackhammer, so my hands were killing me by the end of the ride. And on top of that I could not go over 45 mph so I drove all the way in the left lane hazards on all the way to school. It normally takes me about twenty minutes to get to school; this time was double if not longer. I laugh about it now but at the time I was not so happy. I made sure that my step father fixed the car that day because I could not take another trip like that; I suffered the one day that was it. With this accident I learned something knew as well, which was to be extra careful when it is snowing and don’t drive as you normally would.
I can conclude that this car got beat up but it is still going. It never gave me one problem mechanically and we always made out in our minor incidents. And even after this last story we are still okay. I was driving to my first day of sophomore field in a school about twenty minutes from my house. I was about to turn onto the road where the school is located and as I went to make a left hand turn, a guy smacked right into the passenger side of my car. My body flew up a little, I felt my rear lift off the seat, my head hit my side panel and my leg hit the side of my door. The guy was going pretty fast because he hit my car so hard that he forced me to make my turn, my car almost doing a three sixty. When the car finally stopped which seemed like forever, I was in shock. The feeling was traumatizing for me and for the lady bug. I pulled into the gas station right next to me and I got out of my car, honestly I wanted to cry. My entire passenger side was pushed in and the car that hit me had a scratch of red paint on the front bumper. Technically I believe it was NOT my fault, he hit me I was already making my turn. But the laws of New Jersey speak for this, he had the right away and I was turning so I am at fault.
Unfortunately my insurance for my car only has liability and does not cover collision. The man, the owner of the gas station who saw the whole thing, and I agreed there was no reason for a police report because he had no damage and it was my fault. I could not afford another car and it would cost about two thousand dollars to fix my car. Logically I thought I had this car for about five years, I brought it for four thousand, it is not worth it to get it fixed, and that would be a waste of money because the car is not even worth that now. Thus I said I will b graduating in about a year and then I can buy myself a car once I’m done with school and can work full time, but for the time being I am going to drive this. It still runs great and has no problems really. I don’t use or need that door to open I’m the driver .The only problem is my passengers because if they want to come in they must use my door and climb over into the seat. The door has not opened since the accident and is stuck and I don’t want to open it because I’m afraid it wont shut and then ill really be screwed. In particular this experience showed me that sometimes you have to suck things up and just deal with it, accept the things you can’t change.
I realized the car is just as perfect as it was when I brought it. I don’t have a problem getting in; I have a door that opens. Why should I stress the fact about my passenger side door, I don’t really need it, it still does the job of getting me where I need to go. Yes my friends rarely have me drive because boy is it an annoyance for them having to climb in and out , but its an annoyance for me as well because when I pick them up I have to get out let them in and when I drop them off I have to get out to let them out. Yet it’s still safe and the seatbelt works, the door is just handicapped. And anyway who ever heard of buying a car for their passengers! My red lady bug has been through it all with me and has never let me down, she is a real trooper. And to be honest when the time does come I don’t think any brand new car could ever replace the experiences we’ve encountered together. Car ownership is a big part of our lives; we spend a lot of time in our cars and depend on them tremendously to go about our daily lives.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Publication Presentation
Fourth Genre Publication
Fourth Genre is a literary journal that explores the boundaries of contemporary creative literary nonfiction. This publication welcomes numerous works, ranging from personal essays including nature, environmental, and travel essays as well as memoirs to literary journalism and personal criticism. The editors invite works that are lyrical, self-interrogative, meditative, and reflective, as well as expository, analytical, exploratory, or whimsical (unusual). They encourage submissions across the entire spectrum of the fourth genre. The journal encourages a writer-to reader conversation, one that explores the markers and boundaries of literary creative nonfiction. Fourth Genre also features interviews with famous nonfiction writers, tutorial discussions of topical genre issues, mini-essays by selected photographers and visual artists, letters from readers, reviews and capsule summaries of current books.
Two issues are published annually by Michigan State University Press, one in the spring and one in the fall. General submissions are accepted between August 15 and November 30 only. It costs twenty six dollars for the year if you’re a student. For the manuscript requirements you must see the abridged style guide format, and the essay must be typed, double-spaced, on one side of 8.5" x 11" paper. You must include a cover letter (one page limit): name, address, phone number, email address, title of piece, and approximate word count .Do not send disks or electronics files. Multiple submissions not accepted from individual authors (non-contest submissions only). Simultaneous submissions require immediate notification to Fourth Genre if accepted elsewhere. The word limit is six thousand words. If the submissions do not meet the requirements listed above the piece will be recycled and not read
I read three sample essays, which included, Mammalian by Nedra Rogers, I’m just getting to the disturbing part by, Steven Church, and A History with Trees by, Marie Ostarello. The essays for this publication were very descriptive and detailed. Each of the three essays held so much detail I felt like I was actually there in their stories. Also they were written in segmented form, where each writer spoke of the past, future, and present discussing different aspects about their main focus. Coincidentally, all three stories that I read reflected back to nature in some aspect. Each essay was ten pages at minimum.
Fourth Genre is a literary journal that explores the boundaries of contemporary creative literary nonfiction. This publication welcomes numerous works, ranging from personal essays including nature, environmental, and travel essays as well as memoirs to literary journalism and personal criticism. The editors invite works that are lyrical, self-interrogative, meditative, and reflective, as well as expository, analytical, exploratory, or whimsical (unusual). They encourage submissions across the entire spectrum of the fourth genre. The journal encourages a writer-to reader conversation, one that explores the markers and boundaries of literary creative nonfiction. Fourth Genre also features interviews with famous nonfiction writers, tutorial discussions of topical genre issues, mini-essays by selected photographers and visual artists, letters from readers, reviews and capsule summaries of current books.
Two issues are published annually by Michigan State University Press, one in the spring and one in the fall. General submissions are accepted between August 15 and November 30 only. It costs twenty six dollars for the year if you’re a student. For the manuscript requirements you must see the abridged style guide format, and the essay must be typed, double-spaced, on one side of 8.5" x 11" paper. You must include a cover letter (one page limit): name, address, phone number, email address, title of piece, and approximate word count .Do not send disks or electronics files. Multiple submissions not accepted from individual authors (non-contest submissions only). Simultaneous submissions require immediate notification to Fourth Genre if accepted elsewhere. The word limit is six thousand words. If the submissions do not meet the requirements listed above the piece will be recycled and not read
I read three sample essays, which included, Mammalian by Nedra Rogers, I’m just getting to the disturbing part by, Steven Church, and A History with Trees by, Marie Ostarello. The essays for this publication were very descriptive and detailed. Each of the three essays held so much detail I felt like I was actually there in their stories. Also they were written in segmented form, where each writer spoke of the past, future, and present discussing different aspects about their main focus. Coincidentally, all three stories that I read reflected back to nature in some aspect. Each essay was ten pages at minimum.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Revision
Reimagine your piece -
I would like to add more images and statements into my essay. I also would like to revise some of the stories a little bit because I don't think I'm clear on the purpose of each story. Each story represents a certain aspect of owning a car. The part where i describe cleaning my car, is because it was a used a car and now that I am the new owner i wanted to clean the car to my liking ( aspect of buying a used car). I also would like to talk about the things i added that the lady didn't have before me, new mats, a new radio, air fresheners etc to now personalize my car. Another story was when my friends and I drove to the mall, this story had a lot to do with backseat drivers. I know now that i shouldn't have listened to her but then i was inexperienced so i tried to make the turn and I caused a very minor accident. The third story is where i talk about taking my eyes off the road for a second and here i would like to explain more how i assumed she was going to go and that was not the case. I would like to go into more detail about the risk of taking your eyes off the road and how that accident could have been a lot more severe. I would like to add another story about the couple burn holes i have on the interior roof of my car. This story will develop another aspect to my main focus which is car identity. I could have avoided this by not allowing anyone to smoke in my car but because I did and everyone is subject to imperfection, a few friends hit their cigarette and made a burn hole, including myself. This brings up the point of subjecting your car to damage because it is an object and trusting others. Another story is the risk of driving when the road conditions are bad and again i took that risk and the next day i paid for it. In this story i think i added enough detail when i describe the condition of my car the next day when i drove it to school. My last story is about the accident that caused a lot of damage to my car. In this specific story i would like to add a lot more images. I faintly talk about the actual accident and here I would like to describe the actual accident and what happened to me and my car when i got hit. My body lifted up and my leg hit the side of my car and my head hit the upper paneling and i felt my whole body get jumbled and my car got hit so hard it pushed my car to make the turn by the force of the other car. Thus for the last story I am going to add more images to make the meaning have more of a purpose. I am going to add more images and description to my stories to devlop a better focus for my paper.
I would like to add more images and statements into my essay. I also would like to revise some of the stories a little bit because I don't think I'm clear on the purpose of each story. Each story represents a certain aspect of owning a car. The part where i describe cleaning my car, is because it was a used a car and now that I am the new owner i wanted to clean the car to my liking ( aspect of buying a used car). I also would like to talk about the things i added that the lady didn't have before me, new mats, a new radio, air fresheners etc to now personalize my car. Another story was when my friends and I drove to the mall, this story had a lot to do with backseat drivers. I know now that i shouldn't have listened to her but then i was inexperienced so i tried to make the turn and I caused a very minor accident. The third story is where i talk about taking my eyes off the road for a second and here i would like to explain more how i assumed she was going to go and that was not the case. I would like to go into more detail about the risk of taking your eyes off the road and how that accident could have been a lot more severe. I would like to add another story about the couple burn holes i have on the interior roof of my car. This story will develop another aspect to my main focus which is car identity. I could have avoided this by not allowing anyone to smoke in my car but because I did and everyone is subject to imperfection, a few friends hit their cigarette and made a burn hole, including myself. This brings up the point of subjecting your car to damage because it is an object and trusting others. Another story is the risk of driving when the road conditions are bad and again i took that risk and the next day i paid for it. In this story i think i added enough detail when i describe the condition of my car the next day when i drove it to school. My last story is about the accident that caused a lot of damage to my car. In this specific story i would like to add a lot more images. I faintly talk about the actual accident and here I would like to describe the actual accident and what happened to me and my car when i got hit. My body lifted up and my leg hit the side of my car and my head hit the upper paneling and i felt my whole body get jumbled and my car got hit so hard it pushed my car to make the turn by the force of the other car. Thus for the last story I am going to add more images to make the meaning have more of a purpose. I am going to add more images and description to my stories to devlop a better focus for my paper.
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