The Carlow University MFA Program Integrative Essay was much easier and much more difficult for me to write than I expected. Part of the reason why was I wanted to get a first read of most of the writer's I met before sending it in. That was quite the cram session and budget expense. After it's graded I hope to publish it on this site.
My mind, I find, isn't as flexible as it used to be. Once I had the goal of completing the essay finished, I set down to write my novel, result: brain dead. It's actually quite like being on a roller coaster or time machine, you start thinking and look up and say, where am I? China? Ireland? Florida? Back in history?
My first step has been to isolate some of the specific places used in the story and collect specific place data. Some of the data affects only one scene, a few, two or more. I finished a new first scene, it's a bit more blunt and maybe a turn off, than I wish it to be.
So where do I get my information about how people dress, what is modern, and what current events are trending in China?
This photographs shows a number of things about China:
My mind, I find, isn't as flexible as it used to be. Once I had the goal of completing the essay finished, I set down to write my novel, result: brain dead. It's actually quite like being on a roller coaster or time machine, you start thinking and look up and say, where am I? China? Ireland? Florida? Back in history?
My first step has been to isolate some of the specific places used in the story and collect specific place data. Some of the data affects only one scene, a few, two or more. I finished a new first scene, it's a bit more blunt and maybe a turn off, than I wish it to be.
So where do I get my information about how people dress, what is modern, and what current events are trending in China?
This photographs shows a number of things about China:
- here is a family on vacation, probably Chinese rather than foreign, taking pictures of something their child liked. It's not the best photograph, but the clothing, the interests, the mobility, etc. of locals in China is well portrayed.
This second photograph from my visit to China in 2008, shows a range of fashion worn by locals. It shows how couples behave together. It shows local interest in photography.
I also use a variety of resources starting with a tour book that is usually good for maps, city names, road and rail and boat routes and general local information.
Following from there, I can do a search on a specific area, for plants, businesses, news, photographs, products, anything I might find useful for the scene I have in mind.
I also use a variety of resources starting with a tour book that is usually good for maps, city names, road and rail and boat routes and general local information.
Following from there, I can do a search on a specific area, for plants, businesses, news, photographs, products, anything I might find useful for the scene I have in mind.
I've started reading "The Real Story of Ah-Q and other Tales: Complete Fiction of Lu Xun". The foreword of the collection of short stories explains the role that Lu Xun played during the transformation of China from the Qing Dynasty through to the era where Mao Zedong took over. He, too, wanted to change Chinese society, using fiction as a motivator to encourage leaders to take China away from superstitious behavior, into educating people about science and technology. He wanted to be a doctor, but he decided that it is impossible to heal people if they are first suffering from a lack of knowledge about the world. This theme is still carried on in China, the US, and around the world.
I've also read a few stories from Grace Paley's "Enormous Changes at the Last Minute", "Judas Kiss" by David Butler, and a few stories from Mary Costello's "China Factory", In poetry I've read "A Gather of Shadows" by Mark Roper and "State of the Prisons" by Sinead Morrissey.
I've also read a few stories from Grace Paley's "Enormous Changes at the Last Minute", "Judas Kiss" by David Butler, and a few stories from Mary Costello's "China Factory", In poetry I've read "A Gather of Shadows" by Mark Roper and "State of the Prisons" by Sinead Morrissey.
RSS Feed