Here are the guidelines:
- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 250 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by 10pm on the day PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading
Well, this was quite a refreshing breath of fresh air. In the gentle art of the personal essay, I learned a new vocabulary word! Assay: to attempt or to try. Not ever really looking up what an essay was, just a short narrative on your personal opinion (most of the time), but with this new knowledge, it makes sense. Reading through this, I noticed a few things that I do as a writer that were noted to be problem situations. Example: keeping on track. For some reason, I always tend to go off track and then have to constantly re-edit my papers to make sure that I’m not straying away from where I want to go with my piece. I really enjoyed a quote in chapter 2, pg 8, “It is our job to transfer what we have seen, remembered, reasoned, or imagined. If the reader does not comprehend, we have failed to do our task well.” This is important to me, simply because I want my readers to understand each step I took and each decision I have made, to better understand me, and where I was at the time, whether emotionally or physically. This is why I attempt to be so descriptive in what I am thinking, feeling, seeing. Using all my senses to try to entrap my readers and feel the same pain I did, or the same joy. Either way, “pain demands to be felt.”-John Green.
ReplyDelete-Cemantha Solis-
Well I have to say that I am just stunned by the amount of writing techniques and tips that I was thrown at from reading these two chapters. For starters what I got from the first chapter is how teachers and professors have been teaching us to write in the incorrect way. They have been setting the standard for us on how to write our essays and there is really no correct format on how to write them. This first chapter also makes us think on why we write. For what reason? What do we want to convey to the reader? The second chapter was really informative. I learned how to learn to write in a way that the reader can practically visualize and maybe even remember the smell of something. To set the reader up for an emotional type of experience just by reading your words. This chapter also tells you to keep your privacy in your diary. Essays will be personal experiences for the reader to read and enjoy. The streetcar demonstration was quite easy to understand. Basically meant that you have to let the reader know what you are bringing to the table. The reader has to know where you are going to take them as far as the experience they will have by reading you essay. Lastly there was an author’s piece talking about the death of his mother. This part actually made me sit down and just think because the piece was actually good. The author made the reader get an emotional experience by how he explained thoroughly what was going on in his mother’s death bed.
ReplyDelete-Lucio Vasquez-
One of the main reasons that I keep taking creative writing classes is so that I can learn to write the same way that Dinty Moore describes personal essays. I want readers to understand what I want to say. I want them to read and not have question marks on the side of their heads. Moore explains that writing a personal essay is a form of art. Just like a painter uses a brush a writer uses words to create. Those words stacked together shape into a story. It forms a message that can be understood. A ride that can be experienced. When I read the chapters I felt like my mind got expanded a little. Years of trying to figure out how to write finally made sense by the simple explanation that was given. A personal essay is the author’s unique point of view. An artful attempt to perceive something fresh and significant. He calls this form of writing a “gentle art.” He also advices that despite the fact that a personal essay is personal an essay is never meant to be private. “Privacy is for your diary, essays are for readers.” I agree a lot of what Moore said in the first two chapters. Writing something whether it’s a play or a song or even a poem is something that you’re not going to get on the first try. It has to be attempted over and over again until the writing finally forms into a clear defined message. I am hoping that with this class my writing can finally have that clarity that Moore talks about.
ReplyDeleteJuan Garcia Jr
Word count: 268
“The gentle art of the personal essay” made me feel really good because I hate outlines and I hate structure. I’ve always loved to free write, so I never liked being assigned these boxy essays throughout grade school, middle school, and high school. I was never comfortable with the idea of being restricted in my writing, or limiting myself to the mundane repetitiveness of a five paragraph essay I should say. I am definitely looking forward to writing a personal essay because it will be of me, from me and my unique point of view. The possibilities are endless and I get the chance to make up my own form of structure for a change. Reading chapter two “the personal (not private) essay” shined a new light on personal essays for me. For somebody who journals frequently like myself, I tend to forget while writing a personal essay that specific lines that really cause a powerful reaction for me, will not with others because they are what Moore described as “private sentences”. Going on to explain that privacy is for our diaries, and that essays are for the readers. I have trouble keeping in mind that just because I understood my writing completely doesn’t necessarily mean I painting the picture well enough for others to comprehend. My reasoning behind taking this course is so that my writing will become fluid, not just to me but to others as well. I want to find the depth that it lacks so that it may resonant with somebody else, too.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Victoria Ramirez~
After reading both chapters, I found myself agreeing to a lot of things with Moore. I have only written about a handful of essays that can be considered “personal” essays or essays where the instructors did not give me a specific subject or structure to follow. Teachers and professors have been hammering away at students since grade school that all essays need to follow a certain format, but Moore explains that there really is not a correct way to write a personal essay. We are the ones who lived through those moments; they are being told through our own point of view. Although I do agree that, as writers, we must always try to engage the readers. Some things may make sense to us, but others may not be able to create the same picture we are trying to paint with our words. I am always left thinking more often than not if my writing is being delivered the way I want it to, or if my descriptions are being understood by the readers. I believe it is important for a writer to have their own unique way of writing and how they create their stories without having to use language that is so over the top they have to go back and reread the same sentence seven times. Moore goes on to explain how personal essays are not meant to be private. I sometimes find it very difficult to write anything personal to share with others but I feel like this chapter really gave me that push to try and get over that wall that has been holding me back.
ReplyDelete-Jennifer Gutierrez
I HATED Dinty W. Moore’s notion of “so remember, though personal, the [personal] essay is never meant to be private (Moore 9).” That is academic creative writing speaking, which is much different from my form of writing that is being street and community writing. When I write, I do engage in exploration as Dinty W. Moore explains personal writing is about (Moore 5), however, I am not so concern for the “passenger” as Dinty W. Moore wasted so much time maintaining for no dam apparent reason other than he is incapable of explaining the essence of personal writing. No writer, should ever tell another writer “so remember, though personal, the [personal] essay is never meant to be private (Moore 9).” Saying so is a disservice to coming into being writers. It is my perspective, that when I write, I write for my own release, for catharsis, for realization. I am not writing for the “passenger.” The “passenger” to continue with Dinty W. Moore’s pointless metaphor, should have no say on the direction. I, the writer, choose the direction. I decide what stops to make, I decide when to drive faster. Is that scary for the reader or “passenger?” You dam right bet it is. But it is a risk readers taken when they suspend their disbelief and start reading. This notion of resonance, while it does apply to writing, should not be of the main concern to the writer (Moore 9). The writer should only focus on his/her writing resonating with himself because that sh!t is what is true writing. Otherwise you are writing pointless sh!t because “the reader needs travel assistance all along the journey (Moore 14).”
ReplyDeleteAlejandro Sanchez
My concern as a writer has always been remembering the little things which is why I’d give up whatever I were writing because I wanted it to be as real as I could remember, but I never had a full image (not as I remembered) and there were always missing pieces. I always felt if I put too much detail the reader may get lost without a point as to where those details take them and Moore wrote, “if the reader does not comprehend, we have failed to do our task well” and I think pouring out too much may do that. After reading Dinty Moore's "The Gentle Art of the Personal Essay" and "The Personal (Not Private) Essay," I realize, now, that I need to gain a bit more patience to let the details unfold on their own as I remember to the best of my ability for my readers. After all it is an “assay” since every draft is another try, another try to give a memory another go. Again, as other writers have expressed, Moore talks about the importance of reading if you want to write in order to examine what you find is good and bad writing in order to know what to try and what to avoid. He gave plenty of helpful advice and I enjoyed that it was interesting to read and straight forward with a lot of imagery and examples to better understand his point. One example that I found helpful were the “Mr. Secrets” opening tips as to where the conflict begins and how it ties into the point of the chapter in making the personal essay personal and not private since “privacy is for your diaries. Essays are for your readers.” The other was that I must remember I am the “tour guide” leading my readers and my readers should not be tense or feel lost. The point Moore mentioned that I really want to focus on is keeping a distance. I already have in mind ideas on what I want to write about but I don’t want to come across as a bad person nor do I want to be seen as perfect because I am not.
ReplyDeleteLisa Marie Serna
One of the things that Moore talks about is how writing for school and its limitations can sometimes be very off-putting to students and drive them away from writing. I was one of these students that hated writing anything for school. It wasn’t until late into high school that I stopped hating writing, and it was because I stopped trying to fit my writing into these systems we are taught to write in. The way Moore talks about writing is the way more educators should talk about writing to younger kids. Writing was seen as a punishment to many in elementary, whereas Moore talks about writing as an art and makes the personal essay sound attractive instead of something a student would not want to do. Moore gives some examples on what you should do in your personal essay and one that struck me was finding deeper truths. During the classes I have taken I have encountered many texts that in the past I’ve read and glazed over but had deep meanings that I enjoyed but missed on my own. I would like to write in such a way that my work has more meaning than what is on the surface as the writers I enjoy do.
ReplyDelete-Jesus Prado
When you get out of work, then to class, and finally are able to post what you've been thinking about for the last 8 hours.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost I would like to make it clear that I generally concur with author’s inference that there is no one “A-B-C” method of writing a perfect personal essay. Consequently, it would take far more than 250 words to break down the steps laid out in the second chapter and give feedback that is meaningful. Therefore, I will speak in general about the entire hegemony that is perpetuated in essay writing intuitions. Now, most can agree that there are many ways to accomplish a goal and achieve the same result. Such as in mathematics where 4+4=8 while 7+1=8 also gives you the same end result. Here in is my first disagreement with author’s notion that the “box car” (Moore 4) method of teaching essays is too restrictive. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that most students need a rigid structure at elementary levels of education. We tend to teach children simple ways to find solutions before we ask for critical thinking problem solving. We teach children that numbers are to be added together and taken away from one another. We however do not teach children that if they have two apples and three are needed they have a deficit of one apple. (Negative one apples -1) Why? Because save for the few genius among us we are relatively simple people whom seek to do as little as possible as needed to endure. Tying this back into English and our essays, or assays if you find yourself cultured by a foreign language... An alarming amount of students lack the craft needed to produce essays, and therefore a base system which both allows for benchmarking oneself while pushing for “better” essays should be sought after. Thus, at least as far as the organization of ideas goes the beginning writer should stay close to an aforementioned skeleton. As far as punctuation and the oxford comma go, that rant is for another day.
Gabriel D. Martinez CPhT
The reading was full of useful lessons about writing a personal nonfiction essay. I think that the most important one is: if the writer fails to make a connection with the reader through their writing, then the essay falls apart. Not only that, but writer will have divulged a personal experience without having a return for their efforts. For example, let's say the writer's goal was to influence reader opinion to be more sympathetic toward the cause of raising funding for a nonprofit organization serving children living in impoverished areas. The writer writes and publishes in the local paper a nonfiction essay about their personal experience growing up in poverty as a child; however, there is no large outpouring of community support and nothing changes. Maybe this is because the essay was written in such a way that it did not resonate with the audience. Sharing the story of growing up impoverished would an extremely personal and hurtful thing to do. However, let's say that the audience of the paper was comprised of mostly upper-class and financially stable persons. Let's say that their parents before them were also well-to-do. How then would they be able to be moved by the essay? Their cultural values and personal experiences might be very different from the writer's. While, they might be able to acknowledge that poor children and underfunded districts in impoverished neighborhoods was a terrible problem, they might also not feel emotionally affected enough to support efforts to combat this problem - a problem that is both geographically and emotionally far away.
ReplyDeleteMoore explains that, although the nonfiction essay may involve deeply personal and even painful experiences, these experiences might not resonate with readers in the same way that these memories would do so with our own selves. We are effected by our own memories because we have an attachment to them, an investment. In this way, they belong to us and are exclusive of others. No one will feel as much pain or happiness as you do in that moment. However, it is the writer's job not only to share experiences, but to do so in a way that causes the reader to place value on the subject and be as emotionally invested as possible for a personal experience not their own.
Doris Tolar
This reading was actually easy to comprehend and overall a total relief. Although I have written quite a bit of essays during my time in college the process is always somewhat dreadful. I guess there is always so much pressure to get the essay just right, but it good to remind yourself that the personal essay is for you and nobody else. One habit I formed early on in my writing career was not doing things the “traditional” way. I often times got scolded for this by previous teachers but it has seemed to pay off now. As the reading said, the five paragraph essay is just one boring block after another and I completely agree. I’m glad to have a course where my essay can be understood the way the reader chooses to understand it because I personally feel in that process I am able to learn more about myself as a writer. My personal struggle with writing is staying on topic. I thought this portion of the reading was interesting because the “rules” on staying on track aren’t exactly by the book. It actually came off more as common sense which made it pretty easy to understand. I tend to lose myself in my writing but often not in good way. My ideas get all twisted up and it ultimately loses its flow. This is one aspect of my writing that I really wish to improve in the long run. I’m hoping I’ll be able to work on this with the feedback of my peers throughout the semester.
ReplyDeleteKarina Saldivar
I found the readings to be interesting. Dinty Moore's tips or suggestions on writing a personal essay were quite illuminating for me. For example, the "public (not private) essay" commentary was a paradigm shift for me. I formerly believed taht personal essays were meant to be private works that if so decided by the writer became public and if they were relatable to anyone aside from the writer then that's good. But after reading the chapter, I can see how writing with intentions of privacy can significantly narrow the lens the author is using for retrospection, which ultimately may rob the author of the deeper truth within their experience; not to mention the likely failure to resonate with an audience. I also thought the idea of pursuing the deeper truth within one's writing interesting. Specifically regarding our doubts and uncertainties. It's unusual to me to imagine presenting my thoughts as unclear or nebulous but I see now how that is a good thing in a personal essay in a humanizing kind of way. It makes the writer seem real because many times, if not all, we don't know why or how or what and to leave such fascinating questions unaddressed within our writing is criminal because that is often where our greatest insights are born. All in all I am excited to apply these new insights to my personal writing and look forward to discovering more.
ReplyDeleteAndres Trevino
In secondary school we are taught to be descriptive and detailed in our writing, which I hated. I always got straight to the point and never met the word count requirement. I was happy to see that it’s not always about the word count but what you put into what you wrote. The standards set in writing these works are different, more open to other styles. While reading, I was particularly drawn to the example Moore gave about “less is more” and how stepping back can improve a readers understanding of what the subjects are feeling. In his example Moore is describing a conversation between an estranged mother and son. A simple shake of the head and movement of the hands made the reader aware of the disappointment and misunderstanding between the two characters. All the explaining you need is there. The author isn’t “painting a gruesome picture of an angry child or a lousy parent” (Moore 17), but giving the reader an honest scene. All this was eye-opening. In this reading I really understood that the way we write such works depends on what the aim is. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about putting your emotion on paper as a form of therapy but if you want to get published in a certain genre, write with the intention of keeping the reader interested and with an understanding of what is happening. If you want to write for yourself then throw all these tips out the window and go nuts.
ReplyDelete-Muriah Huerta-
Finally a type of writing that I have been waiting to do and willing to share the world about the messed up life we all live in. When reading Moore's introduction into writing a personal essay to help guide the blind through what we are barely trying to understand. A personal essay bring out many reactions from the reader which is very important. Trying to convey a story without private issues but also to connect somehow with the reader. As I look at myself as a writer I am quite not sure on personal and private because let's face it, I simply think anything I ever faced should be private. What I am sure will get me is knowing the idea of "deeper truth" I am aware the story should really resonate with the reader, I feel so often the subject i heavily write about isn't exactly something understood so i try extremely hard to explain but less is more here. Will i be able to overcome that challenge? I hope so but at least Moore has given me a proper idea of what i should be doing and even then you can always bend the rules a bit. I am certainly looking forward to digging deep into writing and trying my best to stray the pack (readers) into the woods of darkness and destruction, maybe they will appreciate it in the end.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Benavidez
Dinty Moore does a marvelous job on the first couple of chapters alone where she deliberately goes through her transitions almost in the same way she describes to formally write an essay. She doesn't state to follow a certain criteria or basic outline like teachers in our previous have made us believe. Actually she does it quite different. She displays her meaning by almost giving individuals all rights and privileges to do as they please when it comes to writing, makes sense seeing the fact that there's no right or wrong way to structure a piece of personal literature. This being said, I look at Dinty Moore as another mentor on my path to reach the greatest form of being. She took away the notion that all essays need the be structured to be correct. She's simplifying the standard that was previous set which in turn gives the writer a sense of free will. No limitations lead writers to speak from their minds willingly without hesitation. This can only mean that you're asking the writer not to focus on anything else but the point you're trying to make to your audience whether the audience you're trying to target is you yourself, or a third party, whatever the case may be she's allowing you to just do you. So immediately understanding this, the writer comprehends the task at hand and has all the weight taken off their shoulders, this only leaves one thing left to do and that's to take action and simply write whatever they desire to get their story across. They ask, why do I write? The answer her is simple. I write because we all have a story to tell. I'm here to speak on the truth and nothing but. My life revolves around knowing, understanding, inner-standing, and over-standing the truth while being able to express it to the public eye. I'm here to expose a different realm of being that many have not yet explored because of lack of questioning. I question a lot that comes my way, so when you ask me why do I write? I write because I have a point to get across, and writing is another venue that I have at my disposal to target another set of audiences.
ReplyDeleteRuben Loa Jr.
I was very pleased with this reading because in just two chapters Moore spits out more writing techniques than I know all together. In the first chapter Moore says what we’ve all been thinking since grade school, we are taught to hate writing all the way up to our sophomore year in college. This is when our professors stop us dead in our tracks and tell us to forget everything we learned about essays. For me it started in fourth grade, I loved writing but I hated the whole one introduction, three body paragraphs, and one conclusion. I felt like I had so much to write and so little space. In chapter one Moore describes the “gentle essay” as “the endless possibilities of meaning and connection.” In this chapter he breaks down the structures we are taught to follow and describes the personal essay as your own unique art. You cannot follow rules when you are making art. Chapter two was way more informative on different writing techniques you can use to make sure you engage your reader. When we are writing we are writing for an audience, whoever it may be. It is important that you convey emotions, situations and even dialogue in such a way that you reader will be able to feel what you felt or see what you saw. Personally I have the trouble with this and I can still here my old professor telling me over and over “show don’t tell.” Another technique that really stuck with me was when Moore said to find a healthy distance, he states, “The private essay hides the author, the personal essay reveals.” When we stand back and allow ourselves to reveal insecurities and imperfections so that we are human to our readers. If we come off as perfect and always right, the reader can’t relate to us. After reading these chapters I will be more conscious of my audience while I’m writing, I want my writing to be relatable and understood and Moore breaks down how to do that.
ReplyDeleteOlivia Hinojosa
I can come to an agreement with Moore’s idea that writing can transform the twenty-six letters of the alphabet into vivid experiences, but I believe he was unappreciative of the macro-structure that most disciplines practice. Sometimes simplicity and this “boxcar-boxcar-caboose” arrangement make it easy for the reader to understand what message you are trying to send. As a political science major, many of my 20+ page research papers rely on a neat and organized structure. I believe that the best writing not only provokes an emotional reaction but bases that reaction on facts and evidence that can educate the population.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author when he says that “Privacy is for your diary” and “Essays are for readers.” From a person who has had a diary for over 10 years, I can tell you that the the two styles I use are very different and serve their unique purposes. Sometimes it is okay to go off track and express yourself outside of your topic but it is always important to keep the reader in mind. Not everyone cares about your personal life and they might not feel the same way, keep your lighted sign in sight and make sure you emphasize the main message you are trying to communicate. “The truth about human nature is that we are all imperfect, sometimes messy , usually uneven individuals, and the more you try to present yourself as a cardboard character-always right, always upstanding (or always wrong, a total mess) –the reader begins to doubt everything you say. (Moore, 15)
Sarah Sanchez
Being that this is the second creative writing class i take, i thought i was going to be familiar with the content in these two chapters and reading it would just refresh my memory on what i learned in the first part of creative writing. Not only did i learn i was wrong but i also learned that in order to keep the reader entertained, the writer must let the reader know where the writing is headed. I, personally, had never heard of this before, but as i continued reading i realized that keeping your reader informed of the direction of your assay, is crucial. I loved how the author compared the reader and writer to a tour guide and the tourist. This metaphor really helped me understand the importance of staying on track. If the reader feels as if the writer does not know what he is doing or where he is going, no matter how beautifully written the piece might be, the readers will be distracted.
ReplyDeletei learned that it is also very important to help the readers understand what you are trying to say. While writing a piece or describing a memory, it is easy as writers to forget that the readers did not experience this. The readers only have the information that the writer has presented to them, which most of the time is vague and really of no help to the reader. I believe the art of creative writing is that instead of telling the reader, the writer must elaborate and show the reader. Instead of writing sentences, the writer must try to put it into a scene and describe small and important details to the reader in order for them to really grasp it. At times it helps to have someone look over your work and ask them what they think your writing means and if the reader cannot explain it to you the way you intended to write it, then you are not doing a good job. in my opinion, the reader must be able to fully understand to the extent to where he is able to explain it. That is the beautiful art of creative writing, being able to write however you please without having to worry about the "5 paragraph" format or the things our high school teachers said made up a "good" essay.
Jennifer Millan
Word Count 393