Hello Again bloggers!
This week in English 103 we have studied different tips and tid-bits of making our writing better. I have discovered several new ways of improving, one essay in particular seemed to speak to my writing interest and where I want to go with it. Written by Anne Lamott her essay entitled “Getting Started” is great advice for anyone looking to really delve into their writing talents.
As I had mentioned before about myself, I am actually quite enthusiastic about writing. I want a career in journalism, and eventually one day I would really like to publish a novel. For years now I’ve had an idea of the story I’d like to tell. Yet the challenge is taking so much information and many memories and organizing them into a story easy to understand. Each time I’ve attempted its ended in jumbled ideas and several start over’s. I found Lamott was able to organize the process and in grave detail. She begins in paragraph five by asking questions to spark memories of childhood. Lamott explains how a writer should retrace memory, starting one grade at a time. “You might start by writing down every single thing you can remember from your first few years of school.” (pg 102). Now I haven’t gotten too far with this yet, but by re-looking through photos and yearbooks I’ve gotten a few notes of my past clearly jotted down. It sort of eases the stress of the process for me. Then by paragraph seven she expands into other questions branching from the above mentioned. Such as focusing on big events and holidays during these times. I really enjoy when she says, “Write down all the stuff you swore you’d never tell another soul,” page 103. This factor definitely makes for a juicy story.
The other reason I enjoyed this essay so much is because of the detail she puts into describing the actual writing process. She makes the horribly painful ordeal of staring at a computer screen waiting for words to leave your brain, hilarious. Her diction in general is knowledge because it clearly forms an image. Such as this quote from paragraph 9, “But you hold an imaginary gun to your head and make yourself sit at the desk.” Effective language, gave me a few thoughts of literary suicide. Lamott is also honest in her writing advice, paragraph 11 she talks about how there is no secret creativity code. It sort of me feel a little more confident in my writing to know I’m not the only one that has to muster up creative thoughts. She goes on to explain how persistence and obsession will eventually find the miracle paragraph. After Lamott’s intensely detailed direction on how to organize and express our thoughts she finishes her guidance with a defining sentence. She begins by telling of how your story begins to materialize then says “…you are learning what you aren’t writing, helping you to find out what you are writing.”
All of this sort of boosted my writing ego, I am able to see how to better organize my thoughts before sitting in front of the computer for hours. I enjoyed this essay, I hope all you guys were able to get something out of it too. Anyway, that’s all for now. See everyone soon.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Letter to the Editor, RE: Al Gore
Hello again English 103 bloggers!
Sorry I got to everyone so late, I’ve found week three to be a little bit hectic for me. But I’m writing through it. Anyway, this week our prompt came from page 555 of our textbook. Of which I chose the first prompt, Letter to the Editor:
This letter is in regard to a speech published in your textbook, Exploring Language. “Nobel Lecture on Global Warming” by Al Gore seems to adequately explore the facts in Global Warming. I found it quite interesting that this was a lecture to be featured in the book. Given three years ago when he received a Nobel Prize for his work and influence in world climate change, his words have echoed and have slowly taken effect. We can witness a transition appearing around us.
In his speech Gore seems to first target individuals with effective ways of diction. Then as his speech goes on it seems to slowly gain wider perspective of the issue. He gives examples of today’s damages from climate related natural disasters. Gives note to the thousands of families that had found themselves homeless from natural destruction. Then backing this with solid scientific fact regarding Carbon Dioxide emissions. He eventually explains how his mission has lead him into convincing entire countries to get green, signing emissions treaties and moving toward a cleaner life. Yet with his own country failing to conform, he has become the fore front for the stop to Global Warming. Thus earning him a Nobel Prize.
In order to convey his message Gore illustrated quite colorful word usage. At some points of his speech, I felt the urgency. He explains in paragraph 12 how U.S. Navy researchers have warned that the North Polar Ice Cap could fall off a cliff in as little at seven years. I enjoy how he repeats “Seven years from now,” for effect. This idea is also compatible with ethos, pathos, and logos as we’ve been studying. First he uses logic and fact by a credible source. Then he is using a emotional plea by inferring that our entire species is liable for extinction buy the damage we’ve cause on the earth. He also borrows quotes from many influential people, gaining credibility. My favorite is his reference to a quote by the poet Robert Frost, “Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice. Either would suffice.” So grim and scary, almost forces you to take action. I must admit for me his speech was well written and clearly thought out.
I was pleased to see Al Gore’s speech, because it needs to be reminded and not forgotten. Even if some don’t feel Global Warming is an issue, Gore’s speech can be viewed in a personal way. He speaks of consumption and dependence, in this case, on product that emits CO2 into the atmosphere. Yet even this issue could be solved if each and everyone of us cut our bad habits in half. Things as simple as turning the lights off when you leave a room or turning the faucet off when you brush your teeth. I feel Gore was only trying to take an individuals change and ripple it through communities. Urge the human race to merge toward a better more self sufficient life.
Sorry I got to everyone so late, I’ve found week three to be a little bit hectic for me. But I’m writing through it. Anyway, this week our prompt came from page 555 of our textbook. Of which I chose the first prompt, Letter to the Editor:
This letter is in regard to a speech published in your textbook, Exploring Language. “Nobel Lecture on Global Warming” by Al Gore seems to adequately explore the facts in Global Warming. I found it quite interesting that this was a lecture to be featured in the book. Given three years ago when he received a Nobel Prize for his work and influence in world climate change, his words have echoed and have slowly taken effect. We can witness a transition appearing around us.
In his speech Gore seems to first target individuals with effective ways of diction. Then as his speech goes on it seems to slowly gain wider perspective of the issue. He gives examples of today’s damages from climate related natural disasters. Gives note to the thousands of families that had found themselves homeless from natural destruction. Then backing this with solid scientific fact regarding Carbon Dioxide emissions. He eventually explains how his mission has lead him into convincing entire countries to get green, signing emissions treaties and moving toward a cleaner life. Yet with his own country failing to conform, he has become the fore front for the stop to Global Warming. Thus earning him a Nobel Prize.
In order to convey his message Gore illustrated quite colorful word usage. At some points of his speech, I felt the urgency. He explains in paragraph 12 how U.S. Navy researchers have warned that the North Polar Ice Cap could fall off a cliff in as little at seven years. I enjoy how he repeats “Seven years from now,” for effect. This idea is also compatible with ethos, pathos, and logos as we’ve been studying. First he uses logic and fact by a credible source. Then he is using a emotional plea by inferring that our entire species is liable for extinction buy the damage we’ve cause on the earth. He also borrows quotes from many influential people, gaining credibility. My favorite is his reference to a quote by the poet Robert Frost, “Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice. Either would suffice.” So grim and scary, almost forces you to take action. I must admit for me his speech was well written and clearly thought out.
I was pleased to see Al Gore’s speech, because it needs to be reminded and not forgotten. Even if some don’t feel Global Warming is an issue, Gore’s speech can be viewed in a personal way. He speaks of consumption and dependence, in this case, on product that emits CO2 into the atmosphere. Yet even this issue could be solved if each and everyone of us cut our bad habits in half. Things as simple as turning the lights off when you leave a room or turning the faucet off when you brush your teeth. I feel Gore was only trying to take an individuals change and ripple it through communities. Urge the human race to merge toward a better more self sufficient life.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
What?!
Hello all my English 103 friends! I hope all is well in blog town. So this week has been mostly about language. Epiphany, knowledge and even failure in how language effects people. For my entry, I want to talk about a communication barrier I had as a child that has stuck with me to adult. Yet dealing with it in my youth has made it easier for me to live and learn with.
When I was about six years old, I had an ear infection that got so bad my eardrum burst and I had to go into surgery. They tried to fixed the damaged eardrum yet the doctors said I would experience hearing loss. Though it didn’t turn out that way, I suppose “hearing loss” is was optimistic words, because afterwards I was almost completely deaf in my left ear. Needless to say “what” became a large part of conversation, I constantly needed people to repeat themselves. The most embarrassing part as a kid was when someone told me a secret in my bad ear, I had no clue what they said. As a kid that kind of thing is weird and different, I may as well have had cooties. I found it really hard to adjust to the world when I could only kind of hear it. I would feel dumb when people would laugh at the way I said things, or even when people would give up trying to tell me things because the didn’t want to repeat themselves a million times.
Eventually it came to the point that my elementary school refused to enroll me without a hearing aid. Not easily affordable by my parents, I had to figure out a way to get by without it. I would catch myself staring at the kid next to me so my good ear would be pointed toward the teacher. So I stopped talking, nodded a lot, and learned how to read lips. I got pretty good at it and was finally able to hold a conversation without feeling stupid or crazy. Yet even reading lips gave me a habit of pronouncing words incorrectly, I remember getting ambulance wrong several time on spelling tests because I couldn’t say it right, therefore sounding it out didn’t work. Though I have figured out how to deal with my lack of hearing as an adult, I still have instances were it becomes a communication difficulty. In high school I wrote a short story and used a scene were someone is in a car looking out the “rear-view” mirror. Well I had no clue that’s what it was called, sounds ridiculous but people say it so fast I never understood how to say the word. Anyway I spelt rear view-rervue. I can laugh about it now but for a teacher to correct me I felt pretty stupid then. It’s never easy to deal with the loss of one of your senses, but oddly enough it has made me a great listener and self learner.
In our Exploring Language text we do have an example of Helen Keller and her struggle with being deaf and blind. Yet for me the author I most closely relate to on this subject is Malcolm X. A man who created a prison education for himself. I relate because, granted I wasn’t in jail, but I was metaphorically imprisoned. I went from being a normal kid to being thrown into a world I couldn’t hear. Like being stuck in a foreign country and not speaking the language. On page 66 paragraph 7 he says “ It was because of my letters that I happened to stumble upon starting to acquire some kind of a home made education.” This sticks in my mind because I also gave myself a knowledge from reading lips, books and honing in anything I could hear. Though certain things take a little extra effort or accommodation, in the long run my language difficulty has benefited from observation.
Well that's-that for now. I'll be harrassing everyone's blogs soon :)
Vanessa!!!
When I was about six years old, I had an ear infection that got so bad my eardrum burst and I had to go into surgery. They tried to fixed the damaged eardrum yet the doctors said I would experience hearing loss. Though it didn’t turn out that way, I suppose “hearing loss” is was optimistic words, because afterwards I was almost completely deaf in my left ear. Needless to say “what” became a large part of conversation, I constantly needed people to repeat themselves. The most embarrassing part as a kid was when someone told me a secret in my bad ear, I had no clue what they said. As a kid that kind of thing is weird and different, I may as well have had cooties. I found it really hard to adjust to the world when I could only kind of hear it. I would feel dumb when people would laugh at the way I said things, or even when people would give up trying to tell me things because the didn’t want to repeat themselves a million times.
Eventually it came to the point that my elementary school refused to enroll me without a hearing aid. Not easily affordable by my parents, I had to figure out a way to get by without it. I would catch myself staring at the kid next to me so my good ear would be pointed toward the teacher. So I stopped talking, nodded a lot, and learned how to read lips. I got pretty good at it and was finally able to hold a conversation without feeling stupid or crazy. Yet even reading lips gave me a habit of pronouncing words incorrectly, I remember getting ambulance wrong several time on spelling tests because I couldn’t say it right, therefore sounding it out didn’t work. Though I have figured out how to deal with my lack of hearing as an adult, I still have instances were it becomes a communication difficulty. In high school I wrote a short story and used a scene were someone is in a car looking out the “rear-view” mirror. Well I had no clue that’s what it was called, sounds ridiculous but people say it so fast I never understood how to say the word. Anyway I spelt rear view-rervue. I can laugh about it now but for a teacher to correct me I felt pretty stupid then. It’s never easy to deal with the loss of one of your senses, but oddly enough it has made me a great listener and self learner.
In our Exploring Language text we do have an example of Helen Keller and her struggle with being deaf and blind. Yet for me the author I most closely relate to on this subject is Malcolm X. A man who created a prison education for himself. I relate because, granted I wasn’t in jail, but I was metaphorically imprisoned. I went from being a normal kid to being thrown into a world I couldn’t hear. Like being stuck in a foreign country and not speaking the language. On page 66 paragraph 7 he says “ It was because of my letters that I happened to stumble upon starting to acquire some kind of a home made education.” This sticks in my mind because I also gave myself a knowledge from reading lips, books and honing in anything I could hear. Though certain things take a little extra effort or accommodation, in the long run my language difficulty has benefited from observation.
Well that's-that for now. I'll be harrassing everyone's blogs soon :)
Vanessa!!!
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