Blog #8: The Last Blog

Inspiration: Ever since I discovered my love for writing during my freshman year spring intensive, I've wanted to dedicate a large chunk of time to the craft. Creating worlds and telling stories is something I've been passionate about for a long time, but finding the time to act on that passion has been difficult due to my extracurriculars. However, with the opportunity given to me during the three weeks of the project, I was able to realize my goal and explore my writing abilities to the fullest.

Reflection: My final project, while it maintained the general ideas of my initial proposal, has definitely manifested itself differently than I intended. I initially had a larger focus on exploring the community with my writing, trying out different writing locations, and potentially meeting with various writers in the Cleveland area. However, as I began my writing, I found that I was most happy when I was creating the narrative and wanted to dedicate all the time I had to the writing aspect of the project. My objective of writing a compelling narrative was, largely, fulfilled. My larger novella is not quite finished, but I have an ending in mind and will be able to see it through to completion. I never once found myself disengaged on unmotivated to work. I took breaks when I needed them and believe I was able to maximize the quality of my writing, though I do think I could have produced more raw pages of writing with some slight alterations to my work style. As for mentorship, even though Mr. Harris and I had limited interactions during the three weeks, he allowed me to run wild with the project and had full confidence that I would be able to produce quality work during the three weeks. He gave me the flexibility to see the project out how I saw fit and I believe that was a big part of my success during this capstone.

Revision: Personally, I was thrilled with how my project turned out and I had a great time writing all day. That being said, it wouldn't hurt to incorporate more exploration into my experience. I ended up not traveling as much as I planned or meeting with authors in the area, primarily because I wanted to dedicate all of my time to writing. 

Partnership?: This was an individual capstone and I did not work with a particular organization. However, writing is a powerful tool that can be used to make statements and spread messages. While that wasn't a focus of my project, it certainly could have been and likely will be in some future story or project of mine.

What I learned, Important Takeaway: I think the most important thing I learned during this project was to have confidence in my work. This is something that I've been working on for years within my writing "career", but I really felt it come to fruition when I presented my work earlier today. I used to not be comfortable sharing my writing with others and I was protective of my work. it was Mr. Harris' art of fiction class that forced me to be vulnerable with my writing and subject it to the opinion of others, which really helped my confidence moving forward. I noticed that I felt no shame or awkwardness sharing my work with a group of strangers earlier today and that was really rewarding for me because that wasn't always the case. I also learned that writing can be flexible in where it takes place, but it should be in a place where the writer can focus, at least with regards to my writing. Writing at Hawken didn't work for me. I was easily distracted, annoyed by noise, and unable to concentrate. I have an understanding of what I need to be productive; a quiet space where I can enter my own bubble and get work done without fear of it being popped by an outside distraction. This space doesn't just exist at the desk in my room or in my bed, however, and I won't have to limit myself to specific locations for my writing moving forward.

Advice: Do what you love, no matter what it is. At first, I felt pressure to do an internship because it would look good on my resume or give me a head start going into college, even if it wasn't what I wanted to do for three weeks. However, I believe that to get the most out of this time, it has to be spent doing something you love irrelevant of what it is. If you like video games, make a project out of video games and don't let people tell you what can and can't be a project, because anything can be informative and educational in the right situation.

 Appreciation: I want to give a massive thank you to Mr. Harris, my mentor on this project. As I mentioned previously, Mr. Harris had complete confidence in my abilities and gave me complete freedom with this project. It is also thanks to his teaching that I have confidence in my writing and have developed the skills required to craft a compelling narrative. The art of fiction was at least a hobby-altering class for me and I can confidently say that in addition to being one of my favorite classes, it equipped me for success on this project and any future projects involving creative writing. I know Mr. Harris was also teaching an intensive during this time and appreciate him taking time out of his day to meet with me and discuss fiction together. Thank you, Mr. Harris!