Creative Writing Final

                                                 

Theme:

Through two of my poems, The Land of the Trees and Moment, I want to emphasize how emotion effects how I interact with the world around me. Changes the way I connect with my world. 

The Land of the Trees 

 

High in the sky,

with the birds and the bees,

among branches and bark,

in the land of the trees.

In the land of the trees,

there is moss and there are leaves,

there are whispers and rustles,

a world without cease.

After rain there is mud,

and scents of sodden Earth,

musty and strong,

leaving new life in its berth.

In the night there are stars.

Bright against a black pitch sky,

they flicker and fade,

not till first light do they die.

At dawn the mist falls,

the world wakes once more,

creatures start to stir,

the day knocks at Earth’s door. 

Moment

Fear arising. 

Back UP against the wall.

Instincts on overdrive.

Fight or flight?

Do I give in or give all?

Back still up against the wall.

Whenever I read a book, I wonder about the characters lives before they got to the point where the author started writing. In the real world,  everyone has a story. Experiences that made them who they are and got them where they are today. Why shouldn't characters be the same? So, when I started writing my book, Accused, I made a list of all the mentioned character (all those I meant to keep at least) and jotted down brief descriptions about each of them that I hope to later use to write their stories and to make them more realistic and relatable.   

Character Log

•  Rachel Morrison- grew up in the small town of Clark, Pennsylvania. Is now a freshman at Penn State, accused of murdering the man who killed her friend Rebecca .
• Ian McGorham - former paramedic, currently completing his residency at St. Andrews Trauma Center in the ER. Has become a close friend of Rachael’s.
• Kaylee Anderson- one of Rachel’s best friends. The girls met at the funeral of Becky Cooper, Rachel’s first and forever best friend, and have remained good friends ever since.
• Matthew (Matt) Cooper- Kaylee’s obnoxious boyfriend (ex-boyfriend as far as Rachel’s concerned). Brother of Rebecca Cooper.
• Rebecca (Becky) Cooper- Rachel’s closest childhood friend who was kidnapped and murdered when they were 8.
• Special Agent John Marshall Hayes- a Former Special Ops Sniper, the current lead agent of the Federal Bureau of Criminal Affairs (FBCA): Violent Crimes Unit.
• Special Agent Alexander De Luca- worked Philly P.D. for a few years before joining the FBCA. Hayes’s number two.
• Special Agent Catherine (Tate) Tatum- newest agent on Hayes’s team. Hand-picked by Hayes for his team.
• Eleanor (Ellie or Nora) Sharpe- Assistant Supervisor of the FBCA crime lab. Specialty: substance analysis.
• Skylar (Skye) Siebel- Ian’s sister. Adopted by Ian’s parents when she was little. She had had a hard time before that. Specialty: trace analysis

Moment

  Moment

  Fear arising. 

  Back Up against the wall.

  Instincts on overdrive.

  Fight or flight?

  Do I give in or give all?

  Back still up against the wall.

10 Images of My Life

                                                       10 images of My Life

When I was little one of my many nicknames was cupcake. There was exactly a special meaning behind it just my mom telling me I was as sweet as a cupcake. She called me that so much that I actually thought it was my name. Once when we had painters working in our house, when asked what my name was, I replied, "My name is Cupcake."

When I was three years old we moved from Maryland to Colorado. The night before the big move I was playing in the basement with my brother and his friend when I spied a box of Capi Suns on top of some wooden moving pallets. I asked my parents if I could have one, but they and the other adults were too busy. I decided I would get one for myself (by climbing on top of the pallets.) As I reached the top, the pallets began to shift and fall. I jumped off and ran as quickly as I could, but I was not fast enough. The pallets landed on my foot, penning it to the ground We later found out it was broken.)

Ever since I was four, I had loved to play soccer. It was a great way to get some exercise and have fun with my friends. I played soccer until about seventh grade when I realized it had become more about winning than having fun. No matter what, soccer was definitely an important part of my life.

 I major a major sweet tooth. I love sugar in my coffee, ice cream, and just about any thing sweet and sugary. One of my favorite desserts is a kind of cake called tiramisu. It combines two of my favorite things--lady finger cookies and coffee.

Ever since I was little, I've always loved to read. I started out with picture books, and by third grade I was reading chapter books. Whenever I have free time, I love to settle down with and read. I always have my nose in a book.

In my free time if I'm not reading, I'm definitely writing. It has become once of my favorite hobbies. I'm always coming up with new story ideas.

Since second grade I have always done track. My dad was a coach and a former track runner so it definitely runs in the family (oops sorry no pun intended.) It's always been a great way to get exercise and hang out with friends. Other than soccer it has been the most important sport in my life.

I love animals. For the longest time, I actually thought I'd end up becoming a vet. I have a big yellow lab named Scout, and he's absolutely adorable. I couldn't life without him--or any of my other favorite animals.

Another hobby of mine is doing crafts. I love working with my hands. When i was little I liked to make clothes for my stuffed animals. Most recently I've taken up needlepoint.

This last image represents my compassion. I love helping people. When someone is in trouble, I can't just stand by and do nothing. I've come to believe that it's God propose for me in life to help others.

Everything is Illuminated

Lista to Johnathan "You're a collector."

I really enjoyed watching the movie Everything is Illuminated. Though it involved some very serious topics, there was great care given in adding comical undertones through the use of Alex's hilarious grammatical errors and the general awkwardness of the situations the characters are put into. Also, I love all the symbolism displayed in this film.

In the very beginning, there is a scene of one of the main characters, Johnathan standing in front of a wall of his collection of miscellaneous items. As the story goes on it is revealed that each object represents a person in his family and a memory he shared with them. In essence,  his collection symbolizes a tangible representation of his memories, with each object having the their own unique symbolic significance.

Nature Chronicles

The Land of the Trees

High in the sky,

with the birds and the bees,

among branches and bark,

in the land of the trees.

In the land of the trees,

there is moss and there are leaves,

there are whispers and rustles,

a world without cease.

After rain there is mud,

and scents of sodden Earth,

musty and strong,

leaving new life in its berth.

In the night there are stars.

Bright against a black pitch sky,

they flicker and fade,

not till first light do they die.

At dawn the mist falls,

the world wakes once more,

creatures start to stir,

the day knocks at Earth’s door. 

The Dawn of a New Day

As the dawn breaks a new day,

the night’s grip is swept away.

The world wakes

its people stir,

winds whirls

and its skies renew.

The nights reign is finally through.

The sun is high,

shining bright,

bringing forth a new day’s light.

Sestina

I follow you into the silence,

slowly, I begin to breathe.

Darkness plays upon the promise of adventure,

reality cracks as the world starts to break.

Pick up the pieces before you fall,

as the past will soon fade.

As the past will always fade,

time will always  fill the silence.

In the end everything will fall.

Take a breathe, 

take a break.

This life is an adventure.

Make life an adventure.

In the end everything will fade,

you may bend, but you will not break.

You cannot be silent.

Just take a breathe,

let your chest fall.

Listen as you fall.

Brace for the adventure.

So take a breathe,

the fear will fade.

Follow me into the silence,

I'll let you bend, but you will not break.

You will never break,

but you may fall.

Faster, farther into the silence.

This life is an adventure

Let the past fade,

And with it tension, breathe.

Just breathe,

take a break.

The darkness will fade.

In the end everything falls,

make life an adventure.

I follow you into the silence.

Cut-up Poem

None of us can do anything in life alone

A whole is always greater than the sum of its parts

Live without error.

Go higher, do better, 

And never stop.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea,
Yet never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

By: Emily Dickinson

I love this poem, because it expresses how powerful hope can be. By comparing hope to a singing bird, it explains the cheerfulness of the feeling. Also, I very much admire Dickinson's use of simple words to describe what can be such a complicated concept. All in all, it's just a feel good poem that makes you get all warm and fuzzy inside (except of course for that one person that goes "uh another poem by some dead person, yuck." ) 

SNOWBALL

by Shel Silverstein

I made myself a snowball 
As perfect as could be. 
I thought I'd keep it as a pet 
And let it sleep with me. 

I made it some pajamas 
And a pillow for its head. 
Then last night it ran away, 
But first- it wet the bed

When I first read this poem, it completely reminded me of something I would have done as a little kid. I love the whimsical and childlike tone Silverstein  is able to accomplish. This makes the poem so simple and innocent, but also very comical (if you're able to picture it anyway.)

                                                                                                    

                                                             "Happiness"

                                       By The Fray

Happiness is just outside my window 
Would it crash blowing 80-miles an hour? 
Or is happiness a little more like knocking 
On your door, and you just let it in? 

Happiness feels a lot like sorrow 
Let it be, you can’t make it come or go 
But you are gone- not for good but for now 
Gone for now feels a lot like gone for good 

Happiness is a firecracker sitting on my headboard 
Happiness was never mine to hold 
Careful child, light the fuse and get away 
‘Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks 

Happiness damn near destroys you 
Breaks your faith to pieces on the floor 
So you tell yourself, that’s enough for now 
Happiness has a violent roar 

Happiness is like the old man told me 
Look for it, but you’ll never find it all 
Let it go, live your life and leave it 
Then one day, wake up and she’ll be home 
Home, home, home

This song has a very poetic sound to it, mostly because of The Fray's great use of literary devices. For example, the way they use multiple different metaphors (firecrackers, other emotions, etc.) to describe the same emotion. Overall, the ability to personify happiness and express it as a tangible thing makes me consider this song a poem.

A Piece Of Me (One Of Many)

I have a huge soft spot for animals of all kinds, big or small.  As you can probably tell, polar bears are one of my favorites. On my fifth birthday I got to make a huge stuffed polar bear at build-n-bear, one of my then favorite places. I even got to name her, Tina (short for Argentina, because, at the time, I didn't realize that was not anywhere near the arctic.) My love of animals started when I was little with catching frogs and toads in my back yard and has continued to grow ever since.