Here you will find a selection of work by a group or writers made out of merged writer's groups. Like our pieces, we are a patched together collection from all walks of life, united by a love of writing and an enrollment in English 2250: Intro to Imaginative Writing.
Our semester has been a unique journey for each of us and yet a journey we've taken together. As writers with each our own techniques and preference for genre, we've spent the semester in approaches both comfortably at home and nervously exploring the uncharted in terms of styles and genres we know and love as well as ones may have never attempted were we not assigned them.
On our own we have crafted fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry in the form of short story, essay, braided essay, poetry, play, screenplay, and well, poems. Together in our writer's groups, we’ve developed, expanded, and enhanced those pieces into what you will find here.
Within these pieces you will find each of our unique commentaries on the human condition--some depicting deep, unflinching drama grounded firmly in reality nestled with pieces that seem to trip and plummet into whimsical fantasy at the first opportunity. We have several styles of poetry with a wide variety of expression--everything from odes to a partner, an activity, a profession, and a child, as well as a poem depicting an inspiring internal battle and one playing with the confusing nature of language itself.
Group-wise, our journeys wove together on different paths. Sara, Meg, and Ryan lucked out in taking the smoother road. They were brought together easily and, over the course of the semester, became more and more familiar with each other's writing, then learning to be as pleased and surprised by each other's development of technique while exploring different styles as they often were with their own.
Alison and Sydney's path was a little more bumpy, but rewarding all the same. They were originally in a group that was slowly dismantled by unexpectedly departing group members, both eventually feeling like, for the middle section of the class, they didn't have quite the same experience as their classmates in terms of group bond.
Ultimately though, they were all brought together for the home stretch of the class, each enthusiastic about and better for the expanded selection of peer writing and feedback to read and consider and the variety of personality they would finish their journey alongside.
Our journey has brought us to all new levels in our writing and we have chosen the following pieces to represent that journey. As you read them, we hope that you can experience each with the sense of adventure we believe they contain, and that they may touch your emotions in every way possible.
Alison
It's Not Cancer (10 Minute Play): A realistic portrait of the trials caused by an often overlooked mental illness a loving marriage is made to endure. Alison took what was a heartbreaking and illuminating play and after receiving some helpful feedback, not to mention having it performed on stage for her classmates, she then enhanced it with using a deepened understanding of the mechanics of a play.
Hunger (Creative Nonfiction, Braided Essay): Three woven essays on the theme of Hunger, one strand chronicling a personal experience with a dietary cleanse, one depicting the astounding struggle of specific malnourished West African families, and the final detailing a specific recipe for a salad. Each strand juxtaposed to the next creates an illuminating experience and a lesson in perspective.
Tainted (Mixed Media Video): A realistic look at a difficult divorce from the perspective of a child caught in the middle. Alison took her piece, originally in the form of diary entries, and drew them in a realistic hand, having them slideshow slowly over a sadly appropriate song.
Poetry Collection: Four poems, one expressing quickly but deeply a personal, internal struggle; one confronting a surface struggle with the complexities of language; one movingly expressing a bond between a mother and daughter; and one slam, mixed media poem adapted from a poem that was an ironic look at the types of things people in our society tend to see as major inconveniences without considering a larger perspective, now with a reading of it juxtaposed over a slideshow of images from the third world. Each is uniquely engaging and moving.
Margaret
The Night She Left (Creative Nonfiction Short Story): A creative nonfiction take on one woman’s painful but necessary escape from the only life she’d known. Margaret expanded and enhanced this piece enormously from the already-good short scene it was originally. She's work shopped it already but this this last round has helped her hone it into something truly special. This piece reflects brightly the rewards of careful consideration of feedback and employment of hard work in revision. It's a treat.
The First of Many (Fiction Short Story): This story is part short but grand Sci-Fi tale, part loving portrait of a small and happy moment in a mother/daughter relationship. It's the synthesis of those elements that makes this one special. Meg originally submitted it as a much smaller assignment but felt, once she'd received thoughtful feedback, that there was more story to tell. The result shows how right she was.
The Wedding Nearly No One Dreams Of (Non-Fiction Story turned Sonnet): A non-traditional scene of love depicted in a traditional poetry format. This was Margaret revisiting one of her more tragically humorous pieces based on a wedding she'd attended that was far from her (or almost anyone's) ideal. She had had fun writing the original and was pleased to revisit and rework it. The result is an even more engaging and amusing extra layer to the story.
Sara
Wings (Creative Nonfiction Story) : A personal and yet universal tale of departure and necessary travel. Sara paints an especially relatable scene of comfort, home, and a love that almost was, while at the same time expressing a deep yearning for something more. Her tale is followed then by the rewarding, hopeful beginnings of following that yearning. Her piece was originally the wonderfully depicted scene at home, but after work shopping the piece, she wanted to take time to expand and enhance the story and it has paid off greatly. This piece also pairs nicely with her one act play based on a scene from this story.
Wings (One act play): a story of two young friends on the brink of something more, both in their lives and in their relationship with each other. Sara received great feedback in work shopping this piece which opened up possibilities for her to expand and deepen it. The result is a touching moment carefully captured.
Purpose: A lovely meditation on peace found and lost, and waves. Sara has taken what was originally a replacement poem and, after considering and incorporating the feedback she received, has taken it a step further to create something even more uniquely her own.
Poetry Collection: Five lovely poems by Sara on topics from race and humanity to love and metaphor.
Sydney
Poetry Collection: A unique and exciting collection of six poems. Sydney has taken a number of her smaller assignments and considered them from different angles and perspectives. Here, she's taken two pieces and approached each of them first with loose, flowing, free verse poems and then compacted those experiences into smaller, more traditional poetry formats. Those are book-ended around a lyrical tale of a cheetah's struggle to support her family and an ode to one of Sydney's favorite activities: Camping. Sydney found the feedback she received in work shopping her poems (the first feedback she would receive from her new group-mates) and was eager to expand and enhance her pieces. The result is a wonderful collection and a fun, unique, and interesting read.
Play: An intriguing and mysterious scene of fantasy, brimming with a sense of the supernatural. Sydney took one of the very first pieces she wrote for class and adapted it in a way one may not naturally expect, but it worked wonders. She displays here a clear feel for intrigue and especially how it can be employed on the stage.
Ryan
Surface Waves (10 minute screenplay): the story of a man plagued by fear, haunted by the memory of someone he loved, and the office building/personification of the sun that brought them back together. Ryan wasn't happy with his original finished screenplay and was happy at the opportunity to present a revised version. He received illuminating feedback that helped him more effectively tell the story he wanted to tell.
Phaeton (Fiction Short Story): A modern retelling of a tragic Greek myth, set on the outskirts of a small mountain town. Ryan wasn't satisfied with his original finished piece and felt it didn't connect in the way he envisioned it. The comments and suggestions he received helped him recognize where he was coming up short in telling the story. Here is his clarified and expanded short story.
Goodbye Flamingos! Come Back Soon! (A Villanelle turned Song): Ryan has turned his villanelle about someone discovering a flock of migrating flamingos in their seaside backyard into a short song. Originally intending to merely put the existing poem to music, he found that singing his words (especially with his limited vocal ability), allowed him to really confront and smooth out the flow of the poem, resulting in the poem itself being heavily reworked once the music was in place. He was assisted by his girlfriend, who accompanied him with vocals and piano.
Our semester has been a unique journey for each of us and yet a journey we've taken together. As writers with each our own techniques and preference for genre, we've spent the semester in approaches both comfortably at home and nervously exploring the uncharted in terms of styles and genres we know and love as well as ones may have never attempted were we not assigned them.
On our own we have crafted fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry in the form of short story, essay, braided essay, poetry, play, screenplay, and well, poems. Together in our writer's groups, we’ve developed, expanded, and enhanced those pieces into what you will find here.
Within these pieces you will find each of our unique commentaries on the human condition--some depicting deep, unflinching drama grounded firmly in reality nestled with pieces that seem to trip and plummet into whimsical fantasy at the first opportunity. We have several styles of poetry with a wide variety of expression--everything from odes to a partner, an activity, a profession, and a child, as well as a poem depicting an inspiring internal battle and one playing with the confusing nature of language itself.
Group-wise, our journeys wove together on different paths. Sara, Meg, and Ryan lucked out in taking the smoother road. They were brought together easily and, over the course of the semester, became more and more familiar with each other's writing, then learning to be as pleased and surprised by each other's development of technique while exploring different styles as they often were with their own.
Alison and Sydney's path was a little more bumpy, but rewarding all the same. They were originally in a group that was slowly dismantled by unexpectedly departing group members, both eventually feeling like, for the middle section of the class, they didn't have quite the same experience as their classmates in terms of group bond.
Ultimately though, they were all brought together for the home stretch of the class, each enthusiastic about and better for the expanded selection of peer writing and feedback to read and consider and the variety of personality they would finish their journey alongside.
Our journey has brought us to all new levels in our writing and we have chosen the following pieces to represent that journey. As you read them, we hope that you can experience each with the sense of adventure we believe they contain, and that they may touch your emotions in every way possible.
Alison
It's Not Cancer (10 Minute Play): A realistic portrait of the trials caused by an often overlooked mental illness a loving marriage is made to endure. Alison took what was a heartbreaking and illuminating play and after receiving some helpful feedback, not to mention having it performed on stage for her classmates, she then enhanced it with using a deepened understanding of the mechanics of a play.
Hunger (Creative Nonfiction, Braided Essay): Three woven essays on the theme of Hunger, one strand chronicling a personal experience with a dietary cleanse, one depicting the astounding struggle of specific malnourished West African families, and the final detailing a specific recipe for a salad. Each strand juxtaposed to the next creates an illuminating experience and a lesson in perspective.
Tainted (Mixed Media Video): A realistic look at a difficult divorce from the perspective of a child caught in the middle. Alison took her piece, originally in the form of diary entries, and drew them in a realistic hand, having them slideshow slowly over a sadly appropriate song.
Poetry Collection: Four poems, one expressing quickly but deeply a personal, internal struggle; one confronting a surface struggle with the complexities of language; one movingly expressing a bond between a mother and daughter; and one slam, mixed media poem adapted from a poem that was an ironic look at the types of things people in our society tend to see as major inconveniences without considering a larger perspective, now with a reading of it juxtaposed over a slideshow of images from the third world. Each is uniquely engaging and moving.
Margaret
The Night She Left (Creative Nonfiction Short Story): A creative nonfiction take on one woman’s painful but necessary escape from the only life she’d known. Margaret expanded and enhanced this piece enormously from the already-good short scene it was originally. She's work shopped it already but this this last round has helped her hone it into something truly special. This piece reflects brightly the rewards of careful consideration of feedback and employment of hard work in revision. It's a treat.
The First of Many (Fiction Short Story): This story is part short but grand Sci-Fi tale, part loving portrait of a small and happy moment in a mother/daughter relationship. It's the synthesis of those elements that makes this one special. Meg originally submitted it as a much smaller assignment but felt, once she'd received thoughtful feedback, that there was more story to tell. The result shows how right she was.
The Wedding Nearly No One Dreams Of (Non-Fiction Story turned Sonnet): A non-traditional scene of love depicted in a traditional poetry format. This was Margaret revisiting one of her more tragically humorous pieces based on a wedding she'd attended that was far from her (or almost anyone's) ideal. She had had fun writing the original and was pleased to revisit and rework it. The result is an even more engaging and amusing extra layer to the story.
Sara
Wings (Creative Nonfiction Story) : A personal and yet universal tale of departure and necessary travel. Sara paints an especially relatable scene of comfort, home, and a love that almost was, while at the same time expressing a deep yearning for something more. Her tale is followed then by the rewarding, hopeful beginnings of following that yearning. Her piece was originally the wonderfully depicted scene at home, but after work shopping the piece, she wanted to take time to expand and enhance the story and it has paid off greatly. This piece also pairs nicely with her one act play based on a scene from this story.
Wings (One act play): a story of two young friends on the brink of something more, both in their lives and in their relationship with each other. Sara received great feedback in work shopping this piece which opened up possibilities for her to expand and deepen it. The result is a touching moment carefully captured.
Purpose: A lovely meditation on peace found and lost, and waves. Sara has taken what was originally a replacement poem and, after considering and incorporating the feedback she received, has taken it a step further to create something even more uniquely her own.
Poetry Collection: Five lovely poems by Sara on topics from race and humanity to love and metaphor.
Sydney
Poetry Collection: A unique and exciting collection of six poems. Sydney has taken a number of her smaller assignments and considered them from different angles and perspectives. Here, she's taken two pieces and approached each of them first with loose, flowing, free verse poems and then compacted those experiences into smaller, more traditional poetry formats. Those are book-ended around a lyrical tale of a cheetah's struggle to support her family and an ode to one of Sydney's favorite activities: Camping. Sydney found the feedback she received in work shopping her poems (the first feedback she would receive from her new group-mates) and was eager to expand and enhance her pieces. The result is a wonderful collection and a fun, unique, and interesting read.
Play: An intriguing and mysterious scene of fantasy, brimming with a sense of the supernatural. Sydney took one of the very first pieces she wrote for class and adapted it in a way one may not naturally expect, but it worked wonders. She displays here a clear feel for intrigue and especially how it can be employed on the stage.
Ryan
Surface Waves (10 minute screenplay): the story of a man plagued by fear, haunted by the memory of someone he loved, and the office building/personification of the sun that brought them back together. Ryan wasn't happy with his original finished screenplay and was happy at the opportunity to present a revised version. He received illuminating feedback that helped him more effectively tell the story he wanted to tell.
Phaeton (Fiction Short Story): A modern retelling of a tragic Greek myth, set on the outskirts of a small mountain town. Ryan wasn't satisfied with his original finished piece and felt it didn't connect in the way he envisioned it. The comments and suggestions he received helped him recognize where he was coming up short in telling the story. Here is his clarified and expanded short story.
Goodbye Flamingos! Come Back Soon! (A Villanelle turned Song): Ryan has turned his villanelle about someone discovering a flock of migrating flamingos in their seaside backyard into a short song. Originally intending to merely put the existing poem to music, he found that singing his words (especially with his limited vocal ability), allowed him to really confront and smooth out the flow of the poem, resulting in the poem itself being heavily reworked once the music was in place. He was assisted by his girlfriend, who accompanied him with vocals and piano.