Week 4 Notes & Creative Writing

Levels of meaning making.

Close reading: Words on the page.

1.       Face value (what is the story?)

2.       Story behind the story (reality, what inspired the story)

3.       What feelings or thoughts does the story make you and others think, feel and ask what is the meaning

4.       How does the story achieve that (through particular words and their meanings, language use and structure

5.       Taste: Personal liking or disliking of the artefact irrespective of the theory and other teachings.

 The Essay – A literature review = critical analyses of published sources.

1.       Find likely articles using key words about what you want to address in the artefact eg, Characterisation, perspective, representation, stereotypes, facto/ficto. Need to back up what you are doing. Buttress your argument.

2.       Articles: Skim, scan, evaluate by reading abstract, headings, key words, conclusion

3.       Read article – write a descriptive paragraph

4.       Introductory sentence/s and concluding sentences.

5.       Write intro last  - In the past traditional (this part will be last in the intro and first in the conclusion.

 

SENSES: Distance to close-up. Imagine approaching a building or person – what is it like

 a.       Visually, what do you see?

b.      Hearing, what do you smell

c.       Smell, what do you smell?

d.      Touch, what is the texture when you touch?

 
CREATIVE WRITING

My stomach was aching from nerves. The car park was full and the cream stone building appeared to be bulging at the seams. Getting out, I took my satchel and adjusted my skirt. I made my way through a sea of black jackets and coats, toward the small desk at the back of the main hall.
“Thanks for coming,” The young man said, shaking my hand. He handed me a memorial card and asked if I’d like to sign the book. I smiled and accepted, grateful for any delay of the inevitable.

When I finished he led me through a set of glass doors into a small chapel. “You can set up here,” he offered, showing me to the lectern. “Feel free to grab a glass of water and I’ll be back shortly to check you’re all set.”

When he left I set my papers on the wooded document holder. There was complete silence, but for a rustling of my paper. The smell of the fresh flowers atop the coffin lingered in the still air and convinced me to finally look.  The young face of the old man inside the box stared back at me. The photo, taken many years ago, was brimming with hope and confidence. I looked up to the screen above and stared, comparing his now 98 year old face with that of the other one. He had aged relatively well, his features still handsome when you looked hard.

I stepped forward and touched the top of the coffin. I had a great sense of the man that lay inside. Having sat with his family and re-lived many of his antics and war stories while writing the funeral ceremony. His had been a life well lived. Courageous in battle, a seaman in the Navy he had seen more in his 98 years than many might in several lifetimes. In the voices of his children and grandchildren I had learned of his one great love, Agnes and how on one fateful day, after a telegram from the dock where Agnes was to set sail, he packed a back, walked down the cobbled pathway and didn’t return to his Wales home for 30 years.

The smooth finish of the glossed wood was soft but cold beneath my fingers. “Well done, Bill” I whispered as mourners slowly made their way into the room. I waited until they were seated to begin.