LITR 3731: Creative Writing
Sample Final Exam 2005
Karen Daniel
Of all of the classes I have taken at UHCL this class was the one that surprised me the most. It was nothing like what I anticipated it would be, and I learned a great deal more than I expected to. I had expected to be assigned topics to write on, and to be graded primarily on how much Dr. White liked my writing and grammar. What a pleasure it was to instead participate in the workshops! Although I have written very little creatively since high school, I was sure I knew what to do, and was just as sure that what stopped me from doing it was my inability to find inspiration to write creative pieces. What a surprise to discover that not only did I not know much about this type of writing, but that I could write creatively if I tried to, and if I was willing to take the advice and criticism of my classmates and instructors. Finding out that I could write poems, short stories, and drama scripts was the biggest learning experience of the semester.
The most profound discovery for me was finding out that creative writing is hard work for everyone. I am an avid reader, and the knowledge that what I read in a day can take months or years to write is humbling. I have always been under the impression that fiction is the result of some divine inspiration that I do not have the secret to. Finding out that writing is a real job that writers sometimes have to make themselves do is both comforting and disturbing. Reading this in our textbook Three Genres was one thing, but hearing about the discipline involved from Tina Hergenrader was quite another.
I also found out that things are seldom right the first time through, and that the more proficient authors become, the more dissatisfied they are with their first drafts (175). The textbook stressed the idea that editing is hard (178-179), and that it can sometimes hurt to cut out pieces of writing, but that it is important to have readers to critique my work. Most importantly, Tina made it clear that some pieces of writing will always be works in progress and that authors will sometimes spend a lifetime repeatedly revising one piece, never quite getting it right to their satisfaction.
One of the specific things I learned about creative writing is that there are clichéd and hackneyed themes and plots that are deadly to a piece of writing. The book talks about what the author refers to as “the ‘seven deadly sins’ of fiction” (156) addressing issues that will take a serious piece of fiction and turn it into an overdone piece of formula fiction. It also discusses the problem of allowing a piece of writing to become overly melodramatic (223). When I started looking at these issues, and issues of plot, scene, character development, tension, and point of view, it becomes obvious that there is a lot more to writing fiction than I had first supposed.
The most comforting thing I discovered about writing fiction is the idea that it is okay to write about events and people from my own life. The textbook discusses fiction as being partially made up and partially true (145), and one of my favorite quotes is “fiction is one way to make up things without being called a liar” (145). I have always thought that if I wrote about people I knew that it was not really fiction. The book talks about ways to reshape the details of a true story to make it uniquely the author’s own piece (163). Creative writing, particularly the writing of short stories, becomes much more plausible for me if I can feel comfortable drawing from personal experience. The most wonderful part of writing about my own life was hearing the reactions of my classmates in our workshops. It was inspiring for me to start with a piece of fiction, such as my short story “The Winner,” and end up discussing personal issues with others in class.
One of the most important things I learned about literature in general is the fact that there is not a great deal of difference between academic and creative writing. I have a lot of confidence in my ability to write academic papers, and it surprised me to find out that the ability to organize and clarify ideas is just as important in fiction writing as it is in academic writing. It was not surprising to me to read that the pleasure a reader gets from reading serious fiction is entrenched in obtaining a greater understanding of the world around us (148). I have always loved to read, and have always believed that reading enhances my life. The textbook asserts that potential fiction writers should spend as much time as possible reading (149). That is a great insight to someone who reads as much as I do! I believe that the best things about being a literature major, and future English teacher, is the idea that I am supposed to read as much as possible.
The experiences of this creative writing class will help me immensely as I enter the teaching profession this year. Most of the education classes I have taken stress the workshop format, but it is an elusive concept to grasp for someone who was not taught that way. Participating in the workshops in this class has helped me to obtain an idea of what I want to do with my own students. I believe that it is far more beneficial to students for a teacher to assign fewer papers with more time for revision, rather than to assign a high volume of writing. Both the in-class workshops and the journal exchanges were helpful to me, and I plan to institute them in my high school classrooms. The most invaluable thing that I have gained in this class is the confidence I will need to teach creative writing to my students. In particular, I have been afraid of teaching poetry. I worried about how I would go about instilling a passion for creative writing in my students when I did not have that passion myself. This class has given me that passion and has made me a more confident writer.
Overall, I found this class to be inspiring and educational. I thoroughly enjoyed the assignments, the workshops, and the interaction with my fellow students. This class enabled me to become acquainted with other students in a way that is not possible in other classes, and the relationships we have formed will serve us well as we continue to read each other’s writings. I have always enjoyed reading, and it feels great to know that I am capable of writing the same sorts of things that I like to read. I had always thought creative writing took an inspiration and a talent that eluded me, but now I know that all it takes is a lot of hard work and some special people to read my work. I believe that all of this will make me a stronger teacher and a better academic writer in the future.