Blind writing

Last week in class we did an activity "Readers Workshop Contract" I did the activity Blind Writing.
     The assignment was:
      Cover your screen with something (like maybe your daybook). Type into your
      literacy narrative without at the words you type.

I covered my screen with my day book and typed a document in word...

 

I did not at all care for this assignment, I am constantely looking up at the screen while I

type. It was very hard to do the blind typing assignment.

When I looked back at my work I had misspelled words and typed sentances incorrectly.

I am the type of person that when I type it has to be perfect, and change it right away when it is wrong.

 

Creativity requires TIME

In class we watched a video for our writing into the day, Creativity Requires TIME. In the video a class was given a picture of an unfinished clock and the task of completing the drawing in ten seconds. Most everyone finished the clock and the drawings varied some, but were mostly generic clock drawings. The class was then given the same task but with ten minutes to complete the drawing. With the extra ten minutes the students were able to add creativity and originality to their clock drawings. The new drawings were a reflection of the extra time the class was given. With more time they were able to express themselves through their drawings. Ten seconds is hardly enough time to finish the drawing much less be creative with it. 

  Creativity Requires TIME video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPbjSnZnWP0&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1

Creativity takes time.

I have learned this through my writing. When I take my time with my writing I am able to brainstorm and come up with more ideas than when I just rush through. It is better to take your time and become inspired and produce great work and put forth your best effort.

Literacy Dig

This week in English 1101 we have been talking about literacy. Merriam-Webster defines literacy as “educated, cultured, and able to read and write”. We were assigned to do a literacy dig. We were assigned to look for at least five literacy artifacts around us, in our room, car, apparent or etc. that may or may not be valued in school.

These are the artifacts I found around me…

 

 

Literacy Dig

Item #1: mini fan- This fan is almost always on in my dorm room. I live on the second floor and for some reason my hallway is always hot. When I moved it I thought it was just because there were a bunch of people going in and out, doors opening and shutting, moving heavy boxes but no it has not gotten any cooler. It is just my hallway that is hot, the other three hallways on the second floor are relatively cool.  We have complained, but basically nothing can be done, so they say. For now the fan stays on. 

 

 

Item#2: plastic water bottle- I drink a lot of water, I almost always have a water bottle with me. You are supposed to “drink eight glasses of water a day” so that’s what I try to do, although it do not always meet that recommendation.

Item#3: a desk- The dorm room came with a desk, that’s why it is here. I do not really use it to do my homework or study. I use it more for storage and to just put things on. (It is normally a lot cleaner than in the picture, im currntly packing. Please excuse the mess.) I keep my makeup, perfume, hair products, and all my girly stuff on my desk. It is just an easy place to store things, especially since my dorm room is not very spacious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item #4: black blanket- I got this blanket as a graduation gift from my friend/roommates aunt. She got them to match our dorm room, and they have our names embroidered on them.  I use it almost every night because it is too hot in my room to use a big blanket.

 

 

 

Item #5: a television- I do not really watch a lot of TV, I just do not have time. I will turn it on sometimes while I am doing homework, or when I go to sleep. College keeps me going so I do not have a lot of free time to just sit around and watch TV.

 

Not all of these items have “made me” literate but a few of them

have for sure contributed to my literacy.  Being literate is obviously a very important

 and these items have of course at least contributed to me being literate.

Strings too short?

For this second blog post, I decided to go back a little bit frothier in my day book. Actually all the way back, to the first day of class. We were given a sheet with quotes from Breathing In Breathing Out: Keeping a Writer’s Notebook by Ralph Fletcher. We were told to read all the quotes and star one that seems to resonate with us the most. I chose the second quote…

Writer’s notebooks are filled with what Joan Didion calls,

“strings too short to be saved” yet too important to be thrown away:

The writerly instinct is to hang onto them. (p.22)

 

In my day book I wrote..

“A writers thoughts and words are significant, they have meaning behind them. Even the simplest thought or idea could turn into something great! You have to start somewhere nothing is too “short” not to be saved.”

 

So in a way I agree and disagree with the quote I choose.  Often times we as writers can get bored with our writings and just quit or start over with a completely new idea. What about the old idea that we just let go? Why should we not at least save it for later it may be too short to be saved, but it could be too important to throw away. Who knows what that simple paragraph, sentence, or idea could turn into. By saving these little short strings you can always go back to them later and frothier develop the idea into something great. We as sort of “new” writers should take this advice from Ralph Fletcher and apply it to daybook and blogs when trying to come up with something new. If we save all of our thoughts and ideas about writing in our day books then we will never run out of things to write and blog about.

 

"My Theme for English B"

At the beginning of our second class of English 1101 we read a poem by Langston Hughes, “Theme For English B”. It was our starter, our writing into the day. I wrote,

-“This is my theme for English B

a poem or page that is true to me,

our daily assignment to write in this notebook.

Now I wonder what will I put?

Will I write about me?

Or the things I see?”

When we write in our daybooks we can write whatever we want to, there is no specific format or guide line, we just write what we feel.  I was inspired by Hughes poem to try and write a poem myself.  I am not at all a writer, especially not a poem writer.  If I would have had more time I would’ve added to the poem and looking back now I would change a few things.  I would first change the title from English B to English 1101 since that’s the title of our class. Then I would add to the "poem"...

 

 

 

-“This is my theme for English 1101

a poem or page that is true to me,

our daily assignment to write in this notebook.

Now I wonder what will I put?

Will I write about me?                                     

Or the things I see?

Who knows where this book might take me?

At the end of this semester I’ll take a look back just to see little changes Iike that

Maybe it’ll be me or my writing, we’ll see.

I hope that by the end of this semester my writing skills will grow and change by using this daybook. The daybook gives me the opportunity to write what I think or how I feel about anything and everything.  I’ve never really been into the whole blogging thing. In high school we had to post in blogs or comment on them, but we never actually had our own blog. I’m actually excited about my blog, and can’t wait to see what it’s going to turn into.