The Creator’s Subject
Purpose and Context
Again, in “The Creator’s Subject” section of this course, we are exploring a few of the many areas that creators mine for their artistic inspiration and material (or subjects), and along the way, we’re giving shape to our identities as writers. The overall goal of “The Creator’s Subject” is to determine what inspires you, what is important to you, and to keep honing your skills as a budding creative writer.
In The Creator’s Subject Part 1 assignment, you performed Observation and made metaphorical connections to those observations.
In The Creator’s Subject Part 2, you will perform Reflection. Through that reflection, you will unearth potential subjects for your fiction and poetry writing in the second half of our semester together.
What to Do
Step 1
- Open a new .doc/.docx file and name it “Yourlastname_CS2”
- Add your MLA-formatted heading and your last name with the page numbers to the top right corners of every page. (See “formatting assignments” for help if needed.)
- Add a title for your essay. “Creator’s Subject 2” is fine.
- Double space your essay, and use 12 pt Times New Roman font, please.
Step 2
After you’ve completed the Creator’s Subject 1 assignment, use the writing you did for it as well as readings and writing exercises from our class so far to write thoughtful, detailed responses to the following questions. Be thorough–for better results, dig in to your writings and reading so far, as well as your thinking about all of it, to provide deeper, more complex answers.
You can simply type the question and your response beneath it, like an in-depth Q&A. (You do not need to paste the entire prompt into your CS2, but do label the prompt so I’ll know which you’re answering, when.
To illustrate the points you make, note writing you’ve already done in our class, including Discussion posts. Reference (by name) any readings/viewings assigned in our class thus far, too, to show your progress and thinking so far this semester.
PROMPT 1: WHAT ARE YOU DRAWN TO?
Look at what you wrote about in the “Creator’s Subject Part 1: Observation” assignment, the Alien Anthropology assignment, and any other writing exercises you’ve done so far in this course, including the Discussions and your responses to your classmates on Canvas, etc. Take another look at the stories/poetry you’ve read so far for our class, too, especially the ones that have plots, characters, etc. that resonate with you or that you find particularly challenging, interesting, or curious.
What stands out to you? Look for common threads or consistencies: do you tend to write about social issues that matter to you? Are there types of people that you realize you’ve been drawn to within the reading and writing you’ve been doing so far? What topics do you find yourself revisiting or referring to multiple times, even if they’re in different ways? What common threads do you see, and where do you see them (and which readings and writings are they, specifically)?
Reference the assignment(s), exercise(s), or reading(s) in your response, please.
An idea to help you with this prompt: if you were to put all of your writing from our class so far into a word cloud generatorLinks to an external site., what phrases or ideas would be the biggest/most common? Those might signal what kinds of things you’re most interested in or drawn to!
PROMPT 2: WHAT SOCIAL ISSUES DO YOU FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT?
Look at your responses to the previous prompt, as well as previous exercises, assignments, and readings. What kinds of social issues stand out to you in your responses, writings, and thinking so far in our class?
Come up with at least two social issues that you have a passion for, and discuss why they are important to you
Be concrete, not abstract. “Happiness” is an abstract concept, but “access to good mental health resources for women of color in Cincinnati” is a concrete social issue. Be specific and detailed. Don’t simply write “My responses often deal with race” and leave it at that. Instead, write “I’ve noticed that throughout the course so far, I’ve written a lot about how my racial and cultural heritage as a Colombian immigrant impacts my everyday life. It’s similar to how Hughes deals with race and history in his poem, ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers,’ except that in my writing, I tackle it by…”.
Prompt 3: Who are you as a writer?
Study your responses to the questions above. Observe the responses as though you were an outsider. How would you describe the person that your responses reveal? What makes you–this person you’ve revealed so far–different from the other people?
Now, observe in more depth. Whether you feel like it at the moment or not, you *are* a writer. Observe and think about this person (you) as a *writer*! What is really important to this writer? How do they express that in a way that’s unique to them? What might this writer’s main interests be, especially those they may connect to fiction and poetry? What do you think matters most to this writer? What kinds of topics/subjects do you think they should write poetry and fiction about, based on everything you’ve observed so far?
Tip from Prof. Lawrence: please don’t write some surface-level version of “I’m a passionate and emotional writer”. So many students write this sort of abstraction (what does it even mean?). Dig deeper. Get more personal. “Passion” and “emotion” isn’t at all unique. Challenge yourself here!
PROMPT 4: HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR VOICE AS A WRITER (SO FAR)?
Study the writing you’ve completed so far in this course, including the writing you’ve done for this assignment. You might also consider the readings you’ve been doing for class, particularly the ones you find yourself most drawn to, as well as reading and writing you do outside of our class.
With that in mind, identify one or more of your personal subjects, and what makes your voice distinctive and unique. Use those thoughts to fill in the blanks of the following statement:
I write about ___ with _____.
Copy/paste the completed statement(s) into your essay. The statement itself will count as your answer to the final prompt. Try to be as specific and concise as possible. Feel free to write more than one statement. Explaining/rationalizing your statement(s) is optional, since you’ve likely made your reasoning clear via the other prompts.
Examples:
- I write about the hardships of physical disabilities with a silly sense of humor.
- I write about unfair labor practices with angry sarcasm.
- I write about travels to distant places with a sense of nostalgia and longing.
- I write about lonely people I have known with curiosity and compassion.
- I write about the everyday possessions that define my fellow Americans with humorous outrage.
Note from Prof. Lawrence re: prompt 4: one single statement is okay, but if that is all you choose to do, make sure it’s very specific and detailed, not abstract. Make sure it says something important and telling about you and your work. “I write about my dog with emotion” isn’t unique or distinctive…find what is!
EXAMPLE CREATOR’S SUBJECT 2 ASSIGNMENT:
Click here for an example essayLinks to an external site. written by a former student. Please note that example papers are offered so that you know what style, formatting, etc., is expected for your own Creator’s Subject essays. The prompts for the examples may have been a bit different, as I tweak them almost every semester.
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