Narrative Essay
A Calming Song
The rain had made the small valley into a lake, calm and serene. The water reflected the sunset, red and orange beams bounced off the surface. Somewhere in the distance crickets chirped, a calming song. The cool night air was beginning to settle over us. We stood at the edge of the water, looking in. Helen placed her hand on the center of my back gently, then she pushed. I fell forward but regained my balance before I could create tidal waves in the undisturbed pool. I turned to her and we both started laughing. I reached out for her and gave a push. She let out a shocked shriek, holding onto my shirt as her body moved towards the water. I held her arms and pulled her back towards me. Suddenly Helen was in my arms, we both began to laugh. I felt her body as it took in air and giggled it back out in an oddly soothing way. The laughter subsided and our eyes met.
For the first time I noticed the way her cool blue eyes reminded me of the water on the beaches of Hawaii, clear yet hectic.The water and the sound of the crickets faded away as her sapphire eyes studied my face as I gazed at hers.
I closed my eyes and leaned in. Time slowed, it felt like the moment after you jump out of a plane and just fall, nothing but air rushing past you. Our lips met, and electricity shot through me. It felt like a furnace had been turned on in my chest. For one moment, we just were, everything else was immaterial. Helen wrapped her arms around my neck and held me. I felt her body against mine, warm and inviting.
When we let go life around us was slowly creeping back into frame, but something did not leave, that warmth in my chest seemed to stay for a long time.
The rain had made the small valley into a lake, calm and serene. The water reflected the sunset, red and orange beams bounced off the surface. Somewhere in the distance crickets chirped, a calming song. The cool night air was beginning to settle over us. We stood at the edge of the water, looking in. Helen placed her hand on the center of my back gently, then she pushed. I fell forward but regained my balance before I could create tidal waves in the undisturbed pool. I turned to her and we both started laughing. I reached out for her and gave a push. She let out a shocked shriek, holding onto my shirt as her body moved towards the water. I held her arms and pulled her back towards me. Suddenly Helen was in my arms, we both began to laugh. I felt her body as it took in air and giggled it back out in an oddly soothing way. The laughter subsided and our eyes met.
For the first time I noticed the way her cool blue eyes reminded me of the water on the beaches of Hawaii, clear yet hectic.The water and the sound of the crickets faded away as her sapphire eyes studied my face as I gazed at hers.
I closed my eyes and leaned in. Time slowed, it felt like the moment after you jump out of a plane and just fall, nothing but air rushing past you. Our lips met, and electricity shot through me. It felt like a furnace had been turned on in my chest. For one moment, we just were, everything else was immaterial. Helen wrapped her arms around my neck and held me. I felt her body against mine, warm and inviting.
When we let go life around us was slowly creeping back into frame, but something did not leave, that warmth in my chest seemed to stay for a long time.
Profile Essay
A Man that Cares
I walked into the classroom at the end of the hall. The room was covered in military memorabilia, from laminated propaganda posters, to a World War II helmet that sat on a cabinet. Mr Albiniak sat at his desk that held only a laptop and a cup full of pens and pencils. He stayed seated as he said “Hey Jimmy.”
“Hey Mr. Albiniak,” I responded. He had a very welcoming expression on his face, but his eyes were wide and intense as if deeply concentrating on what was going on at all times.
I sat down across from him and commented on the large size of his room. He told me that they offered it to him, which was a bit of a surprise considering he wasn't the most tenured teacher in the social studies department. I began to ask him what he found to be the best and worst part about this job. He sat back in his chair and stared at the floor while formulating an answer. “I’d have to say the kids are my favorite part, I just hope at the end of the day they all take something away from my class,” he answered. His voice began to rise steadily until he was almost shouting while he continued stating ,“And the least favorite has to be all the political BS. I don't like that someone from Springfield thinks they know how to do my job better than me, and tells me what to do.”
I decided to change the subject.
"What's something you really want to do before you die?”
“I really want to retrace my grandfather's footsteps in World War II, go to England and France and Germany,” A smile grew on his face when he talked about his plan. “I've been trying to gather as much information as I can about his unit so I can get a good idea of where he was and when.” When he finished telling me about it I decided to shift the conversation again.
“What makes you feel accomplished?”
“I think my job, I like teaching you guys about history and I hope you guys enjoy it too.” I told him we definitely did. As he always gave very passionate lectures when it came to history. He always had this aura of excitement when it came to his chosen subject. He thanked me for telling him so.
“I’m also very happy with my kids, parenting is probably the hardest and most rewarding thing you could ever do. Like the other day me and my daughter went to Chuck E Cheese with my best friend and his daughter, and my daughter got up to the prize counter and she said “Daddy I want to buy her a bracelet with my tickets.” And she's only three, as a parent it doesn't get much cooler than that.”
“You really love your kids don't you?”
“I do, that's why I work so hard so I can give them everything they need in life. It's not an easy thing but me and Mrs. Albiniak are making it work.” He stared at me with his eyes wide when he said this, and he said it with the same delicacy of someone telling you about the love of their life.
After that we made small talk for a bit since I’d asked all the questions I had. I thanked him for his time and we walked out of the school together.
I walked into the classroom at the end of the hall. The room was covered in military memorabilia, from laminated propaganda posters, to a World War II helmet that sat on a cabinet. Mr Albiniak sat at his desk that held only a laptop and a cup full of pens and pencils. He stayed seated as he said “Hey Jimmy.”
“Hey Mr. Albiniak,” I responded. He had a very welcoming expression on his face, but his eyes were wide and intense as if deeply concentrating on what was going on at all times.
I sat down across from him and commented on the large size of his room. He told me that they offered it to him, which was a bit of a surprise considering he wasn't the most tenured teacher in the social studies department. I began to ask him what he found to be the best and worst part about this job. He sat back in his chair and stared at the floor while formulating an answer. “I’d have to say the kids are my favorite part, I just hope at the end of the day they all take something away from my class,” he answered. His voice began to rise steadily until he was almost shouting while he continued stating ,“And the least favorite has to be all the political BS. I don't like that someone from Springfield thinks they know how to do my job better than me, and tells me what to do.”
I decided to change the subject.
"What's something you really want to do before you die?”
“I really want to retrace my grandfather's footsteps in World War II, go to England and France and Germany,” A smile grew on his face when he talked about his plan. “I've been trying to gather as much information as I can about his unit so I can get a good idea of where he was and when.” When he finished telling me about it I decided to shift the conversation again.
“What makes you feel accomplished?”
“I think my job, I like teaching you guys about history and I hope you guys enjoy it too.” I told him we definitely did. As he always gave very passionate lectures when it came to history. He always had this aura of excitement when it came to his chosen subject. He thanked me for telling him so.
“I’m also very happy with my kids, parenting is probably the hardest and most rewarding thing you could ever do. Like the other day me and my daughter went to Chuck E Cheese with my best friend and his daughter, and my daughter got up to the prize counter and she said “Daddy I want to buy her a bracelet with my tickets.” And she's only three, as a parent it doesn't get much cooler than that.”
“You really love your kids don't you?”
“I do, that's why I work so hard so I can give them everything they need in life. It's not an easy thing but me and Mrs. Albiniak are making it work.” He stared at me with his eyes wide when he said this, and he said it with the same delicacy of someone telling you about the love of their life.
After that we made small talk for a bit since I’d asked all the questions I had. I thanked him for his time and we walked out of the school together.
Review Essay
The Godfather of Slasher Flicks
A great scare is not an easy feat. A great scare has to dig down deep in a person's psyche and make them truly afraid. This is even more challenging when trying to do that with film, a person can simply say “It's just a movie I’m not in any real danger.” But a truly great horror movie finds a way to scare the living shit out of an audience regardless. That is why the 1978 movie Halloween is such a great horror movie, it delivers brilliant tension, intelligently utilized jump scares, and a lasting effect that will keep and audience scared long after the credits have rolled. Not only that but it manages to do these things while subverting normal horror movie cliches, which make it hard to predict what will happen next.
Halloween is an excellent case study in tension. This film puts the gas pedal to the floor right from the first scene and refuses to let up for the whole movie. In the very first scene we hear the main theme and are shown a shot crawling towards the eye of a unsettling jack o'lantern. Even while the beginning credits are rolling one begins to feel the tension building, subconsciously the viewer know that in the next scene something bad is going to happen. The next scene delivers on that promise by showing a very creative one take POV shot of a person in a clown mask sneaking into a house and murdering a girl. When the killer exits the house the camera pulls back and reveals that the killer was a 6 year old Michael Myers, the movies main villain. This sets up for the horrific scenes to come through the whole movie. The second scene that delivers excellent tension is a scene towards the middle of the movie. In this scene one of the babysitters is watching a movie and spills butter on her shirt, so she decides to go to the family's shed where they have the washer and dryer to clean it. Throughout the scenes leading up to this we see that Michael is lurking outside of the watching her, waiting for his chance to strike. When the girl is walking into the shed we just know that he's going to be inside the shed and kill her. But he isn't, the babysitter goes and washes her clothes. Next we see Michael waiting outside the shed, so when the door locks on the babysitter and she has to climb out the window and you sit there and go “He’s going to get her right now oh god here it comes,” but it doesn't. The girl climbs out the window and goes back to the house. This moment of tension is so great because it doesn't let up the whole scene and when the scene ends the tension isn't released and you have don't get the relief you thought you would. The fact that this movie carries the tension throughout the film is astounding, most movies have moments that don't really deliver any tension and the audience gets a chance to take a deep breath. But a great horror movie does not allow the view that chance to breath, a great horror movie keeps the view right on the edge of their seat the whole time.
Halloween also uses jump scares very effectively. A lesser horror movie utilizes jump scares to get a cheap freight out of an audience without really having to work for it. A good jump scare is built up to, and should add tension to a scene rather than relieve it. Halloween is a perfect example of this, there a numerous scenes where a jump scare would happen, but instead of letting it relieve the tension it adds to the tension of the scene. These scares are instrumental in making even the calm moments of the film suspenseful by making the audience expect scares that don't come. This puts the audience on high alert even though nothing is wrong.
The most important effect a horror movie is its lasting effect, does it stick with the viewer? Does it leave them on edge that night or for a week after watching it? The best horror movies stick with you long after you watch it, making you feel uneasy even when you know you’re safe. This movie does exactly that, it plays with the very real fear of home invasion. It's so effective because it reminds you that even after you lock your doors and shut your windows you still might not be safe. And when you hear something go bump in the night, you might think twice about just ignoring it.
Halloween is the godfather of all slasher movies, after its release in 1978 many other movies were made to capitalize off of its success. However most of those movies began to reuse the same cliches that all the other ones use. This practice lead to the making of movies that relied so heavily on genre specific cliches that they became predictable, and made them far less terrifying than their predecessor. Halloween is interesting because it simultaneously created and defied classic horror movie cliches. This makes is unpredictable to even someone like me who has seen a fair share of slasher movies. A good example of this is the cliche that the violence and gore in most films is meant to be what scares the audience. Halloween, however, does not dwell on the violence, in fact most of the violence takes place pretty quickly. Taking this route helped Halloween have the freight come from the tension more than from seeing the actual violence. Also, by keeping the violence to a minimum the movie minimizes the amount of relief the audience gets at the end of it. Whereas in other horror movies, a large act of violence is shown but after the audience can breath easy because it's over. Halloween subverts that cliche by having the acts of violence not relieve much tension at all. This leaves the audience on edge where other horror movies would have let the viewer breath a sigh of relief.
Halloween is my favorite slasher flick of all time. After all it's hard to compete with a movie that has great tension throughout, uses jump scares effectively, has a strong lasting effect, and goes against cliches making unpredictable to the viewer. All of these things make Halloween the best slasher movie and one of the best horror movies ever. It's so good in fact that it was preserved in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
A great scare is not an easy feat. A great scare has to dig down deep in a person's psyche and make them truly afraid. This is even more challenging when trying to do that with film, a person can simply say “It's just a movie I’m not in any real danger.” But a truly great horror movie finds a way to scare the living shit out of an audience regardless. That is why the 1978 movie Halloween is such a great horror movie, it delivers brilliant tension, intelligently utilized jump scares, and a lasting effect that will keep and audience scared long after the credits have rolled. Not only that but it manages to do these things while subverting normal horror movie cliches, which make it hard to predict what will happen next.
Halloween is an excellent case study in tension. This film puts the gas pedal to the floor right from the first scene and refuses to let up for the whole movie. In the very first scene we hear the main theme and are shown a shot crawling towards the eye of a unsettling jack o'lantern. Even while the beginning credits are rolling one begins to feel the tension building, subconsciously the viewer know that in the next scene something bad is going to happen. The next scene delivers on that promise by showing a very creative one take POV shot of a person in a clown mask sneaking into a house and murdering a girl. When the killer exits the house the camera pulls back and reveals that the killer was a 6 year old Michael Myers, the movies main villain. This sets up for the horrific scenes to come through the whole movie. The second scene that delivers excellent tension is a scene towards the middle of the movie. In this scene one of the babysitters is watching a movie and spills butter on her shirt, so she decides to go to the family's shed where they have the washer and dryer to clean it. Throughout the scenes leading up to this we see that Michael is lurking outside of the watching her, waiting for his chance to strike. When the girl is walking into the shed we just know that he's going to be inside the shed and kill her. But he isn't, the babysitter goes and washes her clothes. Next we see Michael waiting outside the shed, so when the door locks on the babysitter and she has to climb out the window and you sit there and go “He’s going to get her right now oh god here it comes,” but it doesn't. The girl climbs out the window and goes back to the house. This moment of tension is so great because it doesn't let up the whole scene and when the scene ends the tension isn't released and you have don't get the relief you thought you would. The fact that this movie carries the tension throughout the film is astounding, most movies have moments that don't really deliver any tension and the audience gets a chance to take a deep breath. But a great horror movie does not allow the view that chance to breath, a great horror movie keeps the view right on the edge of their seat the whole time.
Halloween also uses jump scares very effectively. A lesser horror movie utilizes jump scares to get a cheap freight out of an audience without really having to work for it. A good jump scare is built up to, and should add tension to a scene rather than relieve it. Halloween is a perfect example of this, there a numerous scenes where a jump scare would happen, but instead of letting it relieve the tension it adds to the tension of the scene. These scares are instrumental in making even the calm moments of the film suspenseful by making the audience expect scares that don't come. This puts the audience on high alert even though nothing is wrong.
The most important effect a horror movie is its lasting effect, does it stick with the viewer? Does it leave them on edge that night or for a week after watching it? The best horror movies stick with you long after you watch it, making you feel uneasy even when you know you’re safe. This movie does exactly that, it plays with the very real fear of home invasion. It's so effective because it reminds you that even after you lock your doors and shut your windows you still might not be safe. And when you hear something go bump in the night, you might think twice about just ignoring it.
Halloween is the godfather of all slasher movies, after its release in 1978 many other movies were made to capitalize off of its success. However most of those movies began to reuse the same cliches that all the other ones use. This practice lead to the making of movies that relied so heavily on genre specific cliches that they became predictable, and made them far less terrifying than their predecessor. Halloween is interesting because it simultaneously created and defied classic horror movie cliches. This makes is unpredictable to even someone like me who has seen a fair share of slasher movies. A good example of this is the cliche that the violence and gore in most films is meant to be what scares the audience. Halloween, however, does not dwell on the violence, in fact most of the violence takes place pretty quickly. Taking this route helped Halloween have the freight come from the tension more than from seeing the actual violence. Also, by keeping the violence to a minimum the movie minimizes the amount of relief the audience gets at the end of it. Whereas in other horror movies, a large act of violence is shown but after the audience can breath easy because it's over. Halloween subverts that cliche by having the acts of violence not relieve much tension at all. This leaves the audience on edge where other horror movies would have let the viewer breath a sigh of relief.
Halloween is my favorite slasher flick of all time. After all it's hard to compete with a movie that has great tension throughout, uses jump scares effectively, has a strong lasting effect, and goes against cliches making unpredictable to the viewer. All of these things make Halloween the best slasher movie and one of the best horror movies ever. It's so good in fact that it was preserved in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Research Essay
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
Film has been around in one form or another since 1889, it was not until 1968 that a system for rating film was created. The system consists of five ratings from G, all ages admitted, to NC-17, where no one under 17 is allowed. Several problems arise when films try and get either a PG-13 rating down from an R rating and a R rating down from an NC-17 rating. A filmmaker may have to cut out violence or language to obtain their desired rating, and the movie may lose something as a whole. I propose that we eliminate this system, in favor of a new system. A system in which there are two categories, Everyone and Adults. In this system anyone above 16 can choose to see an adult rated movie, anyone younger cannot without a parent or guardian present. This new systems would eliminate a overly complex rating system, and allow a wider audience to experience the films message.
The actually process for movie ratings is known to be very biased. A perfect example of this is the film Saving Private Ryan. The movie was hailed as one of the greatest war movies ever made. It presented what soldiers that attached Normandy during World War II. So well in fact that the Bureau of Veteran Affairs had to open a line that veterans could call if the movie had brought back memories due to the films unrelenting realism. Just like every other movie it had to be given a rating by the Motion Picture Association of America, or MPAA. The film received an R rating because of the violence and language in the film. However, the movie originally was going to be given a NC-17 rating, which is one level above an R rating that bars anyone under 17 from seeing the film. However According to Derrick Brady of the National Coalition Against Censorship the “Motion Picture Association of America decided to give it an R because it was “masterpiece exception” . The filmmakers were not forced to cut down on the violence that had caused the concern in the first place. The MPAA’s rules on rating films ends up being used more as guidelines when it comes to film. This leads to a film rating system that is completely arbitrary. This means that a film with violence that pushes the envelope, but the MPAA does not see the point, would have to make cuts. While a film with the same level of violence that the MPAA decided was significant would be able to portray that level of violence. This leads to some movies to make forced cuts in order to be approved with an R rating. However, if we do away with the border between an R Rating and NC-17 rating and simply put them under one rating, the adult rating, it would take this problem out of the equation. Some might say that this could lead to films being extremely graphic for no reason. The beauty of this new system however, is that if you don't want to see a specific movie, you just don't go see it. People have always had the ability to choose what they wanted to see, and here it's no different. This change would allow filmmakers to show the work that they were intending to show in its entirety and not have to make cuts. It also allows people to have a greater choice in what they would like to see. These are two improvements that switching the the proposed rating system would make.
The new system is broken down into two categories, adult and everyone. Films that were rated g through pg-13 will be included in the everyone category. While films that earned a R or NC-17 rating in the old system would now fall under the Adult category. In order to be able to see a movie in the adult category you must be sixteen years of age or older. Some may question lowering the minimum age requirement from seventeen to sixteen. According to John Guida of the New York Times “Younger people, particularly teens, are much more likely to be impacted than older adults because they are still developing and shaping their worldviews” . Not only that but film has a very interesting way of effecting society, Guida also said that film is “wonderful mechanism for discussing highly charged topics in society, and providing a way to tackle issues without doing it outright.” The movies that are given R ratings for graphic content tend to show things that make people uncomfortable, and that's the point. It gets people talking about issues that are normally taboo, such as violence in today’s society. Why not give a sixteen year old a way to safely explore important issues. That is the logic behind changing the rating system.
Film is a fantastic medium that we can use to examine complex issues in a way that everyone can comprehend. But the current rating system has made the display of these issues more complicated than it needs to be. That is why we should switch to the proposed film rating system. It will eliminate unnecessary rating categories and allow a wider audience to view these films.
Bibliography:
Brady, Derrick. "A Brief History of Film Censorship." National Coalition Against Censorship. N.p., 01 Nov. 2016. Web. 09 Nov. 2016.
Guida, John. "How Movies Can Change Our Minds." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
Film has been around in one form or another since 1889, it was not until 1968 that a system for rating film was created. The system consists of five ratings from G, all ages admitted, to NC-17, where no one under 17 is allowed. Several problems arise when films try and get either a PG-13 rating down from an R rating and a R rating down from an NC-17 rating. A filmmaker may have to cut out violence or language to obtain their desired rating, and the movie may lose something as a whole. I propose that we eliminate this system, in favor of a new system. A system in which there are two categories, Everyone and Adults. In this system anyone above 16 can choose to see an adult rated movie, anyone younger cannot without a parent or guardian present. This new systems would eliminate a overly complex rating system, and allow a wider audience to experience the films message.
The actually process for movie ratings is known to be very biased. A perfect example of this is the film Saving Private Ryan. The movie was hailed as one of the greatest war movies ever made. It presented what soldiers that attached Normandy during World War II. So well in fact that the Bureau of Veteran Affairs had to open a line that veterans could call if the movie had brought back memories due to the films unrelenting realism. Just like every other movie it had to be given a rating by the Motion Picture Association of America, or MPAA. The film received an R rating because of the violence and language in the film. However, the movie originally was going to be given a NC-17 rating, which is one level above an R rating that bars anyone under 17 from seeing the film. However According to Derrick Brady of the National Coalition Against Censorship the “Motion Picture Association of America decided to give it an R because it was “masterpiece exception” . The filmmakers were not forced to cut down on the violence that had caused the concern in the first place. The MPAA’s rules on rating films ends up being used more as guidelines when it comes to film. This leads to a film rating system that is completely arbitrary. This means that a film with violence that pushes the envelope, but the MPAA does not see the point, would have to make cuts. While a film with the same level of violence that the MPAA decided was significant would be able to portray that level of violence. This leads to some movies to make forced cuts in order to be approved with an R rating. However, if we do away with the border between an R Rating and NC-17 rating and simply put them under one rating, the adult rating, it would take this problem out of the equation. Some might say that this could lead to films being extremely graphic for no reason. The beauty of this new system however, is that if you don't want to see a specific movie, you just don't go see it. People have always had the ability to choose what they wanted to see, and here it's no different. This change would allow filmmakers to show the work that they were intending to show in its entirety and not have to make cuts. It also allows people to have a greater choice in what they would like to see. These are two improvements that switching the the proposed rating system would make.
The new system is broken down into two categories, adult and everyone. Films that were rated g through pg-13 will be included in the everyone category. While films that earned a R or NC-17 rating in the old system would now fall under the Adult category. In order to be able to see a movie in the adult category you must be sixteen years of age or older. Some may question lowering the minimum age requirement from seventeen to sixteen. According to John Guida of the New York Times “Younger people, particularly teens, are much more likely to be impacted than older adults because they are still developing and shaping their worldviews” . Not only that but film has a very interesting way of effecting society, Guida also said that film is “wonderful mechanism for discussing highly charged topics in society, and providing a way to tackle issues without doing it outright.” The movies that are given R ratings for graphic content tend to show things that make people uncomfortable, and that's the point. It gets people talking about issues that are normally taboo, such as violence in today’s society. Why not give a sixteen year old a way to safely explore important issues. That is the logic behind changing the rating system.
Film is a fantastic medium that we can use to examine complex issues in a way that everyone can comprehend. But the current rating system has made the display of these issues more complicated than it needs to be. That is why we should switch to the proposed film rating system. It will eliminate unnecessary rating categories and allow a wider audience to view these films.
Bibliography:
Brady, Derrick. "A Brief History of Film Censorship." National Coalition Against Censorship. N.p., 01 Nov. 2016. Web. 09 Nov. 2016.
Guida, John. "How Movies Can Change Our Minds." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
Refletive Statement
First I’ll discuss my planning process. The secret is it barely exists. I have never liked the idea of sitting down and planning exactly what I am going to say. It makes writing sterile and uninteresting to me. I will however plot out the big points of what I am trying to say. This helps me focus any research I need to do or specific points that I want to touch on in a piece. Other than that I do not plan a lot. I like the feeling of carving a path from one point to the next organically, that way my thoughts are presented in the way they come to me. The narrative paper we wrote in class was completely void of planning; I simply contemplated what I wanted to write about and just went for it. I find that if I make a plan for how I will discuss the way I feel it loses all that rough uncut emotion. This includes thing that maybe I would not include because they're too personal, or might sound silly to others. With the get up and go style I employ in my writing I find that I don't lose that. I am able to put into words what I feel very accurately without the rigid confines of an overly specific plan.
For me actually writing the paper is a lot like a constant stream. Once I get going it becomes easier and easier to find what to say next. It's a lot like meeting a new person. You may know a little bit about them, in the same way you have an idea of what you want to write about. Then after talking to them and asking some questions you can find some common ground that leads to a deeper conversation. Writing is a lot the same way to me. Once I figure out what I want to say I can attack a blank page with ferocity and state my case in the best way I can. When I really feel passionate about what I'm talking about I find that i get into a certain flow, where one thing come right after the next. These moments are where I end up writing the meat of my papers. A perfect example of this can be found in my review essay. In that essay I described why Halloween was the best slasher movie in my opinion. It became clear pretty early on in the writing of this paper that I was more passionate than I thought about the movie. The paper went from a good review to a stellar review of the movie. I had planned several talking points and examples from the movie to discuss as evidence for my very high opinion of the movie. While discussing the examples I had planned on talking about, I found myself with a lot more to say then I thought I would. I found myself writing sentence after sentence of concise points that helped my argument. That is was I really like about the way I write - I find that nerve and tap into it. I pour out words onto the page I did not know I had in me. It still surprises me and I am more than happy with that.
My editing process is a two part process. I have my dad help me out with the grammar and spelling aspect of editing. He writes a lot of articles so it is very helpful to have him look over my paper and catch things that I most likely would not catch if I edited the entire paper myself. The other part of my editing process is a spot check for my writing process. While I do find myself ensconced in writing on a particular topic I find that I can begin to ramble, stating the same points over and over again. So what I do to combat this is to simply write to my heart's content and then go over it again to see where I may have gone overboard. This part consists of reading back over my paper and cutting or rewriting certain parts so that everything fits, cutting things that are off topic or redundant and rewriting parts that are good but could be better and more concise.
The reason I make certain decisions in my writing tend to very. While factors like audience, purpose, and context do play a part, I tend not to let those be the deciding factor in my writing. If I simply sat down and figured out every facet of a paper, looking at all the factors and angles, it would a pretty boring paper. Take my narrative essay for example. There is not a specific purpose or lesson that I went out to write about, it was just a moment in time that I thought I could speak fairly accurately about my feelings. I strongly dislike writing about personal experience as a tool to teach a specific lesson. Life is not a simple cause and effect chain from the cradle to the grave. Life is much more than that. It is unpredictable, terrible and beautiful and everything in between. Whatever lesson one chooses to take from my writing is what they take from it. With this in mind I wrote a narrative that I would want to read, one that evoked feeling in the reader. So my audience is really anyone that wanted to feel a specific emotion or reminisce about a time in their life. My purpose again is a bit odd. I did not write the essay to have a specific lesson learned. I wrote it as a piece that would hopefully make the reader feel something. With this in mind I focused heavily on the emotional aspect of the story. In all honesty the whole story took place in about thirty seconds to a minute. But I remember it feeling like an eternity. I took that purpose to heart and really stretched it out, making sure to touch on everything I felt during the experience.
A lot of my writing I find is based on emotion. I know some people tend to think that writing should be based on the facts, but I disagree. And with that I leave you my explanation of my writing process. I hope that it shed some new light on what I’ve written and fully explained my style.