Blog #4 Literary Website

As far as literary websites go, I never really took the time to check out any of them. Ever. So this was quite an interesting assignment to do. The one that I found first, and liked the most was Writer’s Café. From what I can gather, you can post any types of writing that you may have, whether it is a screenplay that you have been writing for ages, or a poem you slapped together in ten minutes, you can post it.

I feel that in posting here, if I ever chose to do so, would help to get my work out there. Obviously. But, it would also provide me with more opportunities to hear feedback and critique, which is one of the most important aspects I believe in writing and revising. Other than that, I don’t believe there is much to say. Just keep writing!

Here is the link to this site: Writer's Cafe

Blog #3 Furthur Reading

For this blog we were tasked with reading a story that was not assigned. This is what I have to share:

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For this blog assignment I chose to read David Means, “The Secret Goldfish.” The title alone was curious enough to grab my attention, and I just had to read it. The story as a whole was quite good, albeit a bit different than what I normally read. The story revolved around a family’s pet goldfish that through the years lived on to the surprise of its caretakers. As the story progressed, the narrator who I believe was the mother, reflects on her childhood memories of having her own goldfish that was thrown into a pond by her father. Her father was later killed in an accident. When not reflecting on memories of the past, the author cares for the fish, but fails to for a long period of time when her life got complicated. It is interesting to note that it seems the author at times attributes the condition of the fish tank with the condition of the human relationships. This is even summed up in the line: “Then she felt awe at the fact that life was sustainable even under the most abhorrent conditions.” (pg401)  

As a whole, I was quite pleased with this story, and am glad that I have read it. The beginning was gripping and caught my attention easily, due in part to the title. I would recommend this story to anyone interested.

Inspirational Post

Nothing says inspiration like having your grade on the line! That is why this is getting done now instead of never. Inspiration. Yes.

I guess on a more serious note, just keep envisioning that movie tie-in for your novel. Okay, maybe not a serious note, but a somewhat valid point if that is what you are into.

Blog #2 Story Beginning's

I know that this is quite late, and I am sorry. Better late than never.

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The beginning of a story is one of the most important aspects to a piece, if not the most important part. One would want to grab a reader’s attention as quickly and effectively as they can, so that the reader continues on and is engrossed in the entirety of a piece. Having now read Jhumpa Lahiri’s story, A Temporary Matter, I would say that she did an exemplary job at grabbing my attention, though this was not immediate. It wasn’t until I reached the part where the baby was born dead that I had to see what happened next.

I have a hard time defining anything as what I would prefer to read when it comes to the opening, because as long as something is gripping, and interesting enough, I would most likely read on. As an example of a story that I have read, in which I was quite pleased with the opening, would be Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel Good Omen’s. I used this book before in the previous blog, but I feel that the excerpt that I talked about before, which was the beginning, is quite strong and sets up the pace and general tone of the book as a whole, as well as introducing the plot and main characters. It is also quite funny, so there is that.