To me writing fictional stories is very different from writing about fiction. Like myths though they do reinforce each other. Basically all of us have spent our time in college learning about the fictional canon or the techniques these people used so writing about fiction should be second nature to us. Like I said in my myth blog they complement each other and knowing one makes you stronger in another.
Looking at this particular assignment I had much more fun writing a story than writing about someone elses story. Again it allows me to be creative and outside of the standard norms we have to write our academic papers in. I don't actually think my writing about fiction enforced my writing as much as the numerous books I have read over the years has influenced the story I wrote though the short story I wrote about did influence the style somewhat.
In a way you could see my story as a kind of pastiche of the authors and stories I have read over the years. I added echoes of Palahnuik and his references to real life trivia, I tried to emulate Salinger's stream of conscious style from Catcher in the Rye though a bit looser. I tried to create an insane characterization I have seen before in Richard Matheson novels. Almost everything in my story is influenced by what I love in what has come before.
In teaching this is better suited to students who read less than me. Like the myth exercise you can use the two to reinforce each other. Have the students write about a story to see the elements and then use the learned elements to create something they identify with or cn be proud of. Same kind of learning just a diferent genre of literature.
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Does this assignment give you that feeling of deja vu all over again? You're right of course. Knowing how to write about fiction makes one a stronger writer of fiction and vice versa. I liked writing my own story better too. After years as an English major, I'm a little sick of writing about what other people have done. It's like getting to stretch my legs and breathe fresh air to write a story of my own.
My writing is also heavily influenced by what I've read. I don't think that can be avoided. Though, in my case, the influence manifests itself more in the form of avoidance than mimicry. Reading the classics has taught me what not to do, or at least what I'm sick of reading.
I still say your story, specifically your protagonist, is quite Poeish (not Polish).
I'm fairly certain that the majority of students we'll be teaching will not have the reading experience we have. Not only are they not college English majors, but they are younger and simply haven't had enough time to read as much as we have.
Yea, I felt the same way that writing fictional stories is different from writing about fiction. I also agree that one does definitely complement the other, but they are very different.
I had a great time writing my own story too. But, I also had fun writing about the fiction. Even though we've been doing that forever at this point, it doesn't really get old for me because I love it. after all, I chose to major in this becuase I love reading other people's writings and then analyzing it, and writing about it. That was fun for me too.
It's a good idea to do both in the classroom, I agree. One does reinforce the other. I think students will like the idea of being able to create since they are not really given a chance to be creative in the classroom too much anymore. This will be a great way for them to show off their creative abilities and feel really accomplished after creating their own story!
I totally agree that writing your one creative fiction is much more entertaining and interesting than writing fiction that someone else has written. I also agree that more inspiration for aspects in ones own readings of particular authors. I’m also a huge Chuck Palahniuk fan and try to throw in trivia and engage the reader as much as possible. When using this in the classroom, students who aren’t as well read as us will probably lean more towards the writing about fiction to attempt to grasp the writers voice and that’s totally fine. I think that writing about fiction and writing fiction each have their own goals and that each serves a specific purpose. I also think that when teaching both writing about fiction should be taught first in order to allow students to learn the basic terms and techniques and how they are used by established authors. With this knowledge, the students will have more insight when they begin to write their own stories.
I agree with you when you say that writing fictional stories is very different from writing about fiction. I had a great time writing my own fiction. It allowed me to be creative and I did something different with my writing. We have spent the last 4 or 5 years writing about fiction but very little time for us to write our own fiction. It was finally time to step away from all of these academic essays that we have been writing and now finally being able to take the time and write our own fiction stories. Writing fiction is very different from writing about fiction. I like how you used several authors to influence your own story writing experience. I didn’t think about any author or style for my story writing. All I did was think of an idea for my story and then sat down and started writing. I think fiction short stories is a great unit to use when teaching. You can see how creative the students can get when they write their own stories.
Well, I agree with the idea that writing about fiction is second nature to us. It something that we practiced for so long that we lose our own voice and personalities in our writing. I'm glad that you had fun doing this assignment because I found it very difficult to do. I agree that the poetry, myth, and this assignment go hand in hand because they both draw on our personal experiences. However, for me, the myth assignment was far easier to do than the other two. I like your idea of teaching this activity. I think I will try that with my students as well. =)
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