Commentary

Writers Manifesto

I started writing since I was a kid, I loved story telling and entertaining people with poems and stories, I wasn’t great at communicating, therefore I would communicate through writing. There is no external factor that got me into writing. I got into writing because I enjoyed it and it helped me express my self, it also helped me connect with people and bring my fantasies into reality.

This may shock a lot of people but even though I am a writer I have never ever been interested in reading, I don’t particularly enjoy reading. Reading was forced upon me either through my mother or through my school. The only things I could read without frustration were comics and books with pictures in them. Therefore I have never had anyone influence me or inspire me to write. Still my writing is heavenly influenced by my surroundings, my writing is very random, It is always been influenced by tv shows, movies, anime’s, music, art, environment etc. I feel my writing has also been heavenly influenced by my experiences, challenges and struggles, my experiences have developed and shaped me, that’s why I like writing about them.

As my writing is very random I usually don’t have any genre’s or themes that I write about, an idea would strike in my head probably when I am listening to music and then I would turn that idea into a short story or poem. I don’t have any set form, structure or style when I write. All my pieces are different from each other, some might have a lot of imagery, where as some might have very simple straight forward sentences. I basically write with a flow.

When I become a professional writer, I want to to entertain people with my writing, I want to provide escapism to people so that they can have something to feel good about. The world is filled with too much unjust, a little bit of entertainment can help lighten up that darkness and pain we feel around ourself. Sometimes I just want to make people around me happy. I also plan to make my work available to all ages, I personally don’t like age limits on books, I don’t know why people can’t just enjoy a children’s book and not feel judged by it. Therefore my aspirations is create works that can be enjoyed by every age group.

A part of me would also like to work in the film industry. I find the making of films very intriguing, I find the process quite stimulating. When I was making a short parody film for my film class in school, I found it very satisfying I really enjoyed screen writing and directing. This is probably the reason if I ever get a chance I would love to work on films.

So far I have discovered new techniques and styles of writing that really inspire and challenge me, I have been enjoying my creative process and I have developed new skills that have really improved my writing.

WRITERS STUDY

Writing technique study

AESOP FABLES

Aesop was a Greek fabulist. He compiled various short fables that ended with morals and were almost always over in a single page. A few of famous stories include, “The Goose that laid golden eggs”, “The tortoise and the hare” and “Belling the mouse”. Although his stories didn’t have that many literary devices, his simplistic writing is a lot easier to understand. In this study, I would like to explore the Anthropomorphism of animals, historical context and syntax used in his short stories.

The fables were written during the 5th century BC.[1] This was the time when Pataliputra was being established as the capital of the Magadha empire[2]. It was also the time when society was forming and becoming bigger. People were becoming more intellectual and cities were forming. Aesop's stories often revolved around themes like greediness, working hard and being true to oneself. These morals were quite important to learn during the 5th century as the society was growing and people were becoming more power-hungry.[3] Most of his stories reflected the society during the 5th century. Another thing to remember was that Aesop was actually a slave during this time therefore his stories were often reflecting his own experiences.[4] As writers, it is important to understand the historical context of stories. They help us understand the morals better and how they impact our culture in the modern world

Aesop often personified animals in his short stories. The animals would act like humans, interact like humans and even conduct daily activities like humans. In his short story, “The Fox and the Crow” [5]The fox says “How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds.” This sort Of communication between the fox and and the crow is very anthropomorphic.

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Similarly in the short story “The Mice In The Council”[6] The mice would act like council members and they would even interact as humans. The mice's behaviour was very human-like. For instance, in the story towards the end, Aesop wrote “his proposal was warmly applauded, and it had been already decided to adopt it when an old Mouse got upon his feet” This type of anthropomorphism is actually quite helpful as it helps the audience connect better with the characters because we tend to understand the characters in a more personal way.

Aesop’s stories even had human characters but often the human characters would be portrayed as greedy and unkind. The human character seemed to be portrayed more negatively compared to the animals who in general are shown more positively. In the story “The Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs”[7] The farmer ends up becoming greedy and he ends up killing the goose, soon regretting his decision. At the end of the story, he realises that he should have counted his blessings and been happy with what he had. The last line of the story says “Thus they neither got rich all at once, as they had hoped nor enjoyed any longer the daily addition to their wealth” This shows how greediness can never be satisfactory. In another fable “The Man With Two Wives”[8] the story shows how the greediness of both of the wives ends up causing more trouble for their husband for example the sixth line says “The consequence was the Man soon found himself entirely bald”. again the story ends with a moral where we learn that greediness only leads to more problems. Through the fables as readers, we can learn about important life lessons through simplistic stories. As writers we can adapt these simple morals in our stories, that can also be applied to future generations.

Another important aspect of the fables is syntax. Aesop's stories were often short. He used short sentences and limited vocabulary. His story “The Fox and The Grapes'[9]' was only 116 words[10] long. His most popular story “The Tortoise and The Hare '[11]' was only 188 words.[12] Most of the stories ranged from 100 words to 200words. This is because he was considered to be a slave and someone who suffered from major deformity and a speech impediment.[13] Despite his unfortunate conditions, he had a flair for literacy and therefore was granted freedom for his writing. While there is huge speculation forming around Aesop's existence. One can interpret that his stories were short due to his unfortunate conditions.

This simple writing technique is quite helpful because as a writer we can learn that even short stories have huge impacts because shorter stories are easier to understand and easier to remember.

While discussing syntax I would also like to point out that all his stories end with a quote. The quote would briefly describe the moral of the story. In the story “The Tortoise and The Hare” The story ends with the quote “Slow and steady wins the race”. In the fable "The Goose with the golden eggs", the fable ends with “Greed often overreaches itself”.[14] This was used to simplify the moral for children. Most fables are used for kids. Many times the moral of the story might not be that obvious to children therefore quotes like these would help the children understand the ending better.

In conclusion, Aesop's Fables are quite impactful. They are relatable and realistic, and even in today’s society, we can learn a lot from the morals. I personally like how the fables don’t have an age limit and how they can help any person of any age. The short stories are simple yet entertaining and it provides a quick read for times when you don’t want to go into too much depth. These are also stories that can be read again and again. As a writer, I found such writing techniques helpful as I myself struggle to write something with a lot of metaphors or something that is highly intellectual.

[1] Horgan, J., 2014. Aesop's fables. World History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/664/aesops-fables/ [Accessed March 14, 2022]. 2Anon, 2021. 5th century BC. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_century_BC [Accessed March 16, 2022]. 3 Anon, Greek civilization in the 5th century. Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Greece/Greek-civilization-in-the-5th-century [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [4] Anon, Take online courses. earn college credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/who-is-aesop-biography-fables-morals.html [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [5] 6, A.F.M. & Fables, A., 2015. The Fox and the Crow: Aesop's fables. FairyTalez. Available at: https://fairytalez.com/the-fox-and-the-crow/ [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [6] Anon, Aesop's Fables: The mice in council. Infoplease. Available at: https://www.infoplease.com/primary-sources/fables-fairytales/aesops-fables/aesops-fables-239 [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [7] The Goose That Laid The Golden- Aesops Fables- Apple Books- pg no. 19 [8] 10, A.F.M. & Fables, A., 2015. The man with two wives: Aesop's fables. FairyTalez. Available at: https://fairytalez.com/the-man-with-two-wives/ [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [9] The fox and the grapes-Aesops fables- Apple Books- pg n0. 18 [10] Anon, 0 words 0 characters. WordCounter. Available at: https://wordcounter.net/ [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [11] Anon, The Hare & The Tortoise. Library of Congress Aesop Fables. Available at: https://read.gov/aesop/025.html [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [12] Anon, 0 words 0 characters. WordCounter. Available at: https://wordcounter.net/ [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [13] Anon, Take online courses. earn college credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/who-is-aesop-biography-fables-morals.html [Accessed March 16, 2022]. [14] Anon, Aesop's fables. FairyTalez. Available at: https://fairytalez.com/author/aesops-fables/ [Accessed March 16, 2022].

REFLECTIVE COMMENTARY

Reflective commentary

When I started my writing journey at AUB, I did not know much about writing, in fact, I was still developing my personal writing style.

At AUB I learnt about various forms and styles of writing. Learning and exploring different forms of writing has helped me immensely to form my own personal writing technique and narrative when it comes to expression. I have learnt a lot during this time.

Apart from basic poetry forms, I learnt the different forms of poetry like Blackout, Gross Out, Concrete, Naturalisation, Triolet, Villanelle, Haiku and Tanaka etc (Woodgate E.(2022) Exploring these different types of forms helped me understand and appreciate poetry better.

When it comes to fiction or creative non-fiction, I learnt about place writing and how I could effectively develop a setting, time and place for the piece. I also learnt how to provide context without making it obvious. I have also learnt about a unique form of writing called Haibun. It’s a Japanese form where you combine prose with Haiku. (Manwaring,K.(2022). It's a truly incredible form of writing. Through this form, one can be creative and unique and it allows you to write without boundaries.

My personal writing style hasn’t changed much. The only difference I can see is that it has become more context-heavy. Last year my work lacked in world-building. I feel this time

I was able to provide a proper background for my audience. I was also able to follow through with the plot more effectively. In dept, my practice hasn’t really changed much but overall I would like to think that has improved for the better.

As you can see from the examples given above there isn’t any major difference between the styles, but overall the new writing style comes across as clearer. In the first example on the right you can see that, there is repetition and it doesn’t seem structured. Where as the second paragraph seems more structured and less repetitive.

Regarding critical theory, for this term I will be working on Autofiction theory. Autofiction is an inconsistent narrative form, where the author combines real life experiences with fictional plots and subplots. (Warner , B. (2021). “Many works of autofiction have been written in the aftermath of some kind of traumatic experience -real or imagined” (Dix, H. 2018, p.g. 21)

Taking inspiration from autofiction theory. This term I have taken real-life experiences and turned them into fiction. Most of my experience comes from the world around me. The nature, the music, the people and the culture around me affects my thoughts and help me turn everyday elements into a short story. One autofiction story that really struck out with me was the movie “The Karate Kid”. (Kamen , R.M. (1984). The screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen was bullied by his classmates in real life, therefore he started learning martial arts that helped him overcome his bullies, he used these experienced and created the worldly famous “The Karate Kid” series. These movies really inspired me since I myself had gone through similar problems like the main character Daniel Larusso. Similarly to Robert Mark Kamen I wanted to tackle more serious topics, topics that are challenging for me to talk about. The main theme of my prose was bullying and the effect it can have on young individuals. In my story the main character Lea wanted to disappear because she was being bullied and she couldn’t handle the constant drilling anymore, therefore due to unforeseen circumstances, her wish of disappearing comes true. Through this prose, I want to connect to people that might have gone through a similar situation. I want to create a fictional world where they can be understood.

Growing up I had read a lot of fictional stories where animals had magic powers and they would use their magic power to help people for example, I use to read a lot “Sabrina The Teenage Witch” Comics. (Rio, T.D. (2013).The comics had a black cat called Salem who was cursed wizard punished to live in a cats body, therefore as a cat Salem had access to magic power. Using his magic knowledge, he would often help Sabrina with her adventures. Another book that I use to read was “Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus”. (James , K. (2005). This book as well had a magical animal that helped Barbie on her adventures. I really liked the idea of having a pet that would use their powers to help people in need. My prose revolves around this theory. In the plot of the prose, I have a cat named Jubilee, who trades one of her nine lives to help the main character, In a way she is quite similar to Salem from the ‘Sabrina a Teenage Witch’ comics. Personally I though a cat would be a more fitting pet to use, because of the “witch” lore mostly used in fiction writing. I purposely used a sense of magical lore in my prose to help provide escapism to the reader. Magical lore can also help in introducing darker themes like depressions to younger audience. My main aim is to introduce these themes with younger audience to make them feel more comfortable and safe when they are initially introduced such themes.

When I started my prose, I thankfully didn’t have any idea blocks. In fact this term my brain was like a volcano of ideas. It kept on erupting with new ideas, whenever I felt stuck or lost. For example I had brainstormed a few ideas about my prose from which I chose my final prose.

These were the ideas that I wanted to work on, I even tried poetry before finalising on my final idea for the assessment. Personally I found that the plot of ‘I’m Just Existing’(idea 3) most interesting and more though- provoking compared to the other ideas. Therefore I chose this idea (idea 3) for this term.

I also made sure to get as much feedback as I could so that my work seemed more structured and professional. When working on my prose, the majority of feedback that I received suggested to have a transitional paragraph that foreshadows the plot. For example in my original draft, I jumped right into the plot from the beginning itself, after some feedback I changed the beginning of my story and I added in few contextual clues that foreshadow the plot.

Along with the feedback received during our workshops. Learning new concepts like New Historicism (Cole, J. (2022), Eco Criticism (Galdwin, D. (2019) and Speculative Fiction (Cole, J. (2022) really helped me develop my knowledge of writing.

Personally speculative fiction really stuck out to me. Speculative fiction is a genre of work where the setting is slightly different or inspired from the real world and it uses supernatural or imaginary elements, keeping that in mind the setting used in speculative fiction should extrapolate from the real world. (Cole, J. (2022). Also Eugene Bacon in her book ‘Writing Speculative Fiction : Creative and Critical Approaches’ says “Creating imaginary worlds is essential in all forms of speculative fiction, when you are writing a novel or short story.” (Bacon, E. 2019, p.g. 15) My prose does not 100% revolve around this theory but it is roughly inspired by it. For example my prose is set in a fictional town that is based on a real town and has elements of magical animals in it, like the cat spirit that shows up in the prose.

We even learnt about various authors like Samuel T Coleridge, John Cowper Powys and Amy liptrot. Learning about their unique writing styles helped us young authors effectively develop our own writing style.

On the other hand the most challenging part of writing a prose was formatting. Formatting a prose is a very creative yet lengthy journey. Initially I was very confused on how I could format my prose. I wanted my prose to be clear yet interesting to look, thankfully the style guide helped me to format the prose that looked easygoing and clear to read.

Overall this term went on quite smoothly. We learnt a lot about different forms of writing and different authors. Personally I explored various different genres before finalising on my prose. It was sometimes challenging and complicated , but yet I found it quite satisfying and rewarding . The assessment at hand was a bit confusing but through lectures, field trips and workshops we were able to jump over every hurdle. I have learnt how to incorporate real life experiences into my writing. I have a lot to improve and learn. In the future I will keep everything I have learnt this term and apply it to my writing.

Bibliography

Bacon, E.M. (2019) Writing speculative fiction: Creative and critical approaches, Pro quest Ebook Central . London: Macmillan Education. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/aib/reader.action?docID=6234507 (Accessed: 2022).

Cole, J. (2022) World Building In Speculative Fiction [Powerpoint Presentation] BA creative writing, Arts University Bournemouth, available from: https://canvas.aub.ac.uk/courses/624/pages/autumn-term-2-2, (Accessed:25/11/22)

Cole,J.(2022) New Historicism [Powerpoint Presentation] Digging Through History: Space and Time, Arts University Bournemouth, available from: https://canvas.aub.ac.uk/courses/624/pages/autumn-term-3-3 (Accessed: 15/11/22)

Dix, H. (2019) Autofiction in English. S.l.: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN.

Galdwin, D. (2019) Ecocriticism, oxford Bibliographies. Available at: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780190221911/obo-9780190221911-0014.xml (Accessed: November 30, 2022).

James , K. (2005) Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus. New York, NY: A Golden Book.

Kamen , R.M. (1984) The Karate Kid I, II & III. Sony.

Manwaring,K.(2022)Assessment Briefing [Powerpoint Presentation] WL2:Assessment, Arts University Bournemouth, available from: https://canvas.aub.ac.uk/courses/624/pages/autumn-term-4-

4, (Accessed: 25/10/22)

Rio, T.D. (2013) Sabrina the teenage witch: The magic within 1 (Sabrina Manga). Seattle, USA: Sasquatch Books.

Warner , B. (2021) Autofiction: What it is and what it

isn't, PublishersWeekly.com. Available at: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by- topic/authors/pw-select/article/85269-autofiction-what-it-is-and-what-it-isn-t.html (Accessed: November 30, 2022.)

Woodgate, E.(2022)Forms Of Poetry, BA creative writing, Arts University Bournemouth, 03/22