Veronica Nadalin

Creative Writing Assignment Analysis

Revision Account

This piece originated when I was driving home in the rain from school one evening.  I was reflecting on things from my past and from my present life and thought if I picked out the interesting parts and found a way to combine them, that it could make an interesting story.  The main reason I wrote it down when I did was because I needed something for the short story assignment.  Usually, I wait until I have a more complete thought or path for the story before I write.

            I shared it with a classmate, Alicia Costello, a friend, and my Dad.  Alicia really liked my story and in typical Alicia fashion she provided enough feedback to type up a four page analysis.  My friend, who is not a literature major, said that he “liked it” and wanted to know where the story was headed.  My Dad said something along the lines of my friend, but also pointed out my grammatical errors and awkward sentences.  I chose Alicia because she helped me with my poem, and I like how she is brutally honest.  I chose my other friend because I thought it would be beneficial for me if someone in a field outside of literature to look at my writing.  Lastly, I chose my Dad because he was walking through the room when I was typing it up, asked what I was doing, and when I told him, he said, “I would like to read that.”

            I went back and changed sentence structures and, to quote Alicia, tried to “show” instead of “tell.”  I also added more dialogue at the end of the passage because If elt that the original draft just ended.  I also went back and changed the names of my characters because I ended up feeling that the original names were not appropriate for the characters. I resisted some of the suggestions that said to “not use more than two adjectives” at a couple of points because I felt that the adjectives were needed.

            The draft that I submitted is the fifth draft.  I feel that the main strength of my submission is that it will make a good starting point for me to actually write a full-length novel.  Right now, I have a few ideas on where the story can go, but I am not sure which path I would like to place my characters on.  I may go back and refine the draft again, just so I keep the beginning fresh in my mind.

            Once I write a complete manuscript, right now I have seventy pages written, I plan on trying to submit it to publishing companies. I have done research on publishing companies, and hope that the finished manuscript would be of interest to someone. I do not think I need to do any factual research, but I may observe human nature in general to add more depth to my characters and the setting.  The one thing I hope to accomplish does not have to necessarily pertain to this assignment, but I would like to somehow develop more confidence in my writing.  I have always been apprehensive about sharing my work with others, and would like to overcome the fear of being told that I “can’t write.”