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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
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- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
I enjoyed reading Wallace Stegner's "Creative Writing." From what I read, he seemed very passionate toward the use of creative writing and what the style entailed. His idea of creative writing is that writers should be able to make readers use all five senses of their body. He provides various examples from authors ranging from Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain to Stephen Dedalus, describing the way each author's writing methods. For example, Robert Frost depicts his style of writing by comparing it to a "piece of ice put on a hot stove...that must ride on its own melting," writing, gradually, will become something new simply by following its natural flow. Stegner states that the best way to find one's writing style is to describe purely "whatever is before the eyes," similar to the method used by Hemingway. He claims that writers should be able to captivate their audience with their creativity. However, I do not agree that creativity implies talent or hard work because I do not believe that talent or hard work only comes from those who are "creative."
ReplyDeleteKayla Garza
Creative writing by Wallace Stenger’s opens up by stating creative writing “offends people” at first, I thought why would it offend people? Is it because people just tend to write out whatever without thinking about the consideration of others? Stenger mention on page 15 “it begins in the senses, it is done with words, it ends is communicated insight” he brings up Hemingway as an example to this to where Hemingway found it difficult to write just based on what he really felt rather than was he was supposed to feel basically having emotion in our writing. Its also mentions on page 24 about students having a list of what nots in their writing which I believe is what limits most writers to being stuck majority of the time when they are trying to perfect their sentences the first time. worrying about reaching a word count goal can deplete a student mind for having a creative energy towards a story or poem. Stenger displays many examples throughout the text to help the audiences grasp a better understanding for writings to be descriptive based on the 5 senses. Fiction stories for example are better when you can picture the story in your head, “creative writing must be concrete, must communicate by images. Fortunately, the possible ways of seeing…and tones of voice” (21). In all, creative writing to me is a subject that helps writers explore their creative side through visual and emotion in their stories.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Duque
While reading "Creative Writing" by Wallace Stegner, I felt like I was relating on a personal level to what he had to say. I read a lot more than I write. While reading different genres, and authors I have noticed how the writing changes throughout to communicate more appropriately with their set target audience. Twenty-six letters in the correct order have the ability to create extraordinary fictional worlds, or that same twinty-six can tell the story of specific events, or someone's life. One sentence that I can not stop thinking about has to be "language is the greatest human invention". After reading that, I literally stopped to think about it. We take language and communication for granted because we grow up learning it, and it is essentially one of the first things we learn when we are born. However, without it we are nothing. We would not be able to communicate with any other individual, and even to the point that we would not be able to fully understand our own thoughts. Writing allows us to put our thoughts on paper. It does have to be seen as an art because in my personal experience it is not as easy as we think to get all of our ideas to make sense in a paper, and not just in our heads. I really enjoyed what this article did for me as far as realizing that there is not necessarily a "right" way to write, we are all different and have to learn what we are able to do with our own skills, and how far we are able to take it. I will probably end up rereading this just so I can fully digest all of the examples, and comparisons that are made.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Videgaray
Creative Writing itself often comes with certain restrictions. I’ve seen that with creative writing, it may involve a prompt, or a minimum or maximum word count and other restrictions. So, to me, I can understand that while I’m writing my own creative writing, I’m basically doing it at someone else’s terms. I may not be writing what I want in my own style, nor what others think I should write, but what I think that they think should be written. Stegner uses a quote by Hemingway which states “…and I found the greatest difficulty, aside from knowing truly what you really felt, and had been taught what to feel, was to put down what really happened in action...” Hemingway also states “Creative writing begins in the senses” With that being said, I don’t think you necessarily need talent to write creatively but I would say the ability to write exclusively in your own style is talent. Anyone that wants to write freely doesn’t need a talent to do so in my opinion. Using the five senses and Hemingway mentioned are a very useful guide when it comes to creating an art. Not everyone writes under the pressure of the readers nor should they. But creative writing should come from the reality of what they feel. To me, that is what iconic.
ReplyDeleteMarissa Sanchez
While reading Stegner's "Creative Writing" I noticed how he talked about the influence a reader may have on the author's way of expressing emotions. He realizes that writing feelings in an essay is extremely difficult, the way the author may want the passage to be taken may not match how the readers interpret. I can relate to this statement on behalf of always trying to make my essays move people in a certain way, but once the essay is done and published the readers are often confused. He compliments the work of Conrad and Frost stating that, “Can both disparage the gift of words because both have it, supremely… language cuts clean for them flashes into vivid pictures.” They execute their work flawlessly and allows the reader to feel a certain way towards the writing. He basically explains how their words make the reader see the essay in a different way, and how the writing inspires the thoughts of the reader. Stegner uses them as an example as how words can influence the readers intake and how the mood can change in the writing. The words that are used in the essay can be the strongest weapon and no author can be successful without them.
ReplyDeleteIngrid Cano
While reading Stegner on his idea of what creative writing means, I felt that we have some of the same ideals towards what it entails. The word itself is self-explanatory, it should be “creative”. It should come from the heart, and the passion, and the feelings of the person who wants to convey a message. It should go above and beyond what someone—teachers in this case—tell you to write about. It should be work that encompasses the personality and projects the message of the writer. It is a combination of words that when used properly, can engage the reader to listen, catch their attention, and make them hold still as Stegner metions in his essay. I believe that it is important for creative writers to explore language, and to not be chained to the norms of what language should be. Also, I agree with Stagner in that a writer’s style may not come naturally, or as easy as it may seem. Sometimes, it is important to dabble with different genres and styles to find whatever they feel most comfortable with. Lastly, art is a form of expression; therefore, the idea that creative writing is “imaginative writing, writing as an art” like Stegner mentions, exemplifies exactly what creative writing is, and should be.
ReplyDeleteAna T. Flores
Wallace Stegner “Creative Writing” was full of very interesting new views. He introduces the topic that creative writing connects strongly with the five senses. Basically stating that whatever you see or hear should be put to use in your writing. Often times we find ourselves writing to meet certain criteria or for the joy of others but instead we should focus on what we feel and see and use that depiction exactly. In page 16 Stegner’s quote “An image is crystalized by the perceptions of the writer, is converted into words like a cable message being scrambled…” exemplifies how every writer has their own thoughts and ideas and that will help writers flourish in their creative writing. Exploring your own thought and ideas will help you grow as a writer into becoming naturally inspired. On another note I do strongly believe that not all of our writing should be personal or come from past experiences because I think that when writing you are able to become whoever you want and expand your imagination as much as you would like hence the word “Creative writing. All readers interpret readings in a variety of ways which is what creates different perspectives which is what makes the readings even more interesting.
ReplyDeleteMarlen Garcia
Wallace Stegner's "Creative writing" was a very insightful read. Before enrolling in this class I never gave much thought into what the duties of a creative writer might be, but after reading a chapter off of Stegner’s novel, I now have a general idea of what it involves. Stegner shows his readers the importance of staying true to one’s self, while also stressing the importance of expressing ones ideas with form. Throughout the chapter, Stegner continuously mentions writers’ inability to carry meaningful messages across to their readers. Sometimes, writers don’t fully persuade their ideas onto their audience, and for some, maintaining that duty can be a fearsome expectation to behold. The phrase that caught my attention the most was when Stegner said, “possession of a weapon does not make a warrior or a hunter, but no man is a very good warrior or hunter without one” (Stegner 14). What I got out of this quote was that a person cannot be successful without starting and facing their fears. The reason why this quote spoke to me was because creative writing is one of my many weaknesses, and that is why I enrolled in this course, to challenge myself into bettering my weaknesses.
ReplyDeleteJulissa Balderas.
From the moment I began to read, I knew Wallace Stegner through his work “Creative Writing” would be manifesting all the swirling ideas I and certainly many other artists have had in our minds in a concentrated and profound form. It definitely feels like being in a group conversation and one of the people saying exactly what you were thinking out loud but in a galactically better manner. I deeply agreed with his description of creative writing in that “information is not what any true novel is written to communicate.” When utilizing this art form the intentions are for the experience, to invoke something within the reader, in any capacity. In it’s most basic intention it is intended to allow the reader to feel something. Conrad was used as an example in his purpose as a writer: “...to make you hear, to make you feel… to make you see.” Stegner also highlights the importance of setting aside this rigid, unwavering persona that academics have given to language and embracing its “natural...irreplaceable...playfulness.” Creative energy is so easily stifled and stunted when met with nothing but the incessant need for an ideal of correctness that is as stable as an adequate definition for language itself.
ReplyDeleteNick Torres
When Wallace Stenger talks about creative writing its never done in an educational method, rather as the sentence says he “talks” about the subject. And they way he speaks in the coming pages is from a place of experience, even providing some examples to better demonstrate the particular methods that creative individuals have used in the past to further illustrate this. And I think this is a great particular way to educate on the topic of creative writing, especially since it makes it clear not just in the beginning, but also within the lesson itself that there is no “proper” way to write creatively. All in all the beauty of creative writing is the freedom to write what every you want, be it a conscious choice, letting your subconscious write, or whatever your mood influences you to write. All without being completely restricted by the extremely methodical and research detail obsessed papers that most educational classes attempt to drill in everyone’s skulls. No stress of keeping up with the numbers that the essay requires, not an absolute need to be tidy in ones train of thoughts, the details, methods and styles of writing are all up to the individual writer. And all in all i think Wallace Stenger provides an amazingly accurate method of writing and educating on the subject of creative writing.
ReplyDeleteDavid Rodriguez 2
In Stegner’s “Creative Writing” I found his requirements for someone to do creative writing compelling. For example, Stegner states that “A creative writer not only perceives in images, he must communicate in them, and the reader must read in them.” I found this interesting because it demonstrates that creative writing is not just the simple five paragraph essay but is the author’s person experience that is painted in a certain way for the reader to feel as if they are living those memories. Creative writing is more than just writing in a sophisticated manner and just getting straight to the point. I agree with Stegner that a creative writer must use the five senses in order to persuade the reader that what they are saying is true. For example, in a novel I recently read known as The Tequila Worm, the author Viola Canales uses sensuous writing where I felt I could quite literally place myself in her shoes and make a connection to her personal experience. Most of the examples that Stegner uses such as Thomas Wolfe’s letter to Scott Fitzgerald uses language that had strong verbs or imagery. I’ve learned that even though creative writing is known as imaginative writing it is limited to the author’s experience. In order to persuade the audience that what you say is true your truth cannot be over-exaggerated, but is based on your story making it complicated to understand if something is 100% true.
ReplyDeleteKevin Esparza
After an insightful reading of Wallace Stegner's "Creative Writing," I found myself in a more insightful position when it came to the art of creative writing. Any predisposition I had about it vanished with each revelation Stegner made to me. I can now see that everything I think about or see, I can incorporate in my writings. What I gravitated to the most, and found very useful for my further writings is incorporating the five senses. The idea that everything you can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste can be integral to your writing resonated with me. As a writer, I always felt that I had in inclination towards imagery, specifically the tactile nature of certain words to describe certain feelings, and being able to incorporate them in creative writing is an exciting prospect for me. I'm happy to know that Stegner and I share a love for imagination, as the perspectives you can manifest in creative writing is boundless and limited only to what the writer can do. This has encouraged me to further my exploration in unique ways of writing, as I can truly find a voice within myself using the tools given and guided to me by the very early writings by Wallace Stegner.
ReplyDeletePadini Paolo Santiago