Hello! It’s been quite a while since I posted, and now it’s finally time to catch up on what I’ve been doing!

To start, I am now a junior at Ball State University. We are officially in week five of classes, and my schedule is composed of quite the load: Screenwriting, Poetry Writing, Fiction Writing, Digital Image Design, and Digital Storytelling. Most academic advisors do not recommend taking more than two writing classes at one time, but I am proud to say that I am balancing my writings quite well.

Screenwriting

Screenwriting has been quite the shift from my usual style of writing. For one, it is all SIGHT and SOUND. No taste or real feeling – unless it is said by someone else, you must find a way to show it to the audience. This has been an eye-opening experience honestly. I’ve already written multiple mini scripts as writing exercises, which I do plan to start adding to my portfolio (after some excellent revisions, of course). We are currently working on a 3-Act Breakdown and the Logline for our final project – a 10-page screenplay! I’m actually really excited to do this project, and I think I’ve got a story that has potential!

Poetry Writing

So, I am not a poet. I am a slow learner of poetry. I can read it, and for the most part, I understand it. However, some style are foreign to me. So far, we’ve learned about Robert Creeley, Robert Hayden, Donald Justice, and Anne Sexton. All of these have startling differences in poetry styles from Confessionalism to Projective Verse. However, we do workshops and I think I’m improving. Our final project is going to be a “notebook”/compilation of our written poems based on prompts given in class.

Fiction Writing

This class has jerked me two ways. I originally believed it would be more along the lines of every day, writing, writing, writing! Instead, it is less writing and more reading. However, my professor has made an excellent point. Writers must read like writers, not like readers. We must identify what has worked for other writers; read for enjoyment, yes, but read more to learn how to better your writing. Today we turned in our first short story, and it will likely be one that I put on here after a bit more editing.

Digital Image Design & Digital Storytelling

Digital Image Design has been a rocky boat for me. So far, we’ve worked on logos for advertising our name, learned more about typography, and did an in-class project about putting together a newsletter. There is not tons to report, and there’s been multiple instances where the day is spent in lecture from PowerPoints.

Digital Storytelling is with the same professor that I had for Sound Design, and I am adoring this class. These last two weeks, we’ve discussed storytelling with video games and the debate of narration within video games. Should designers simply create the space, or should they create the narrative too and restrict the player’s ability to create his/her own story? It was an intriguing read. If you’re interested, read Game Design as Narrative Architecture by Henry Jenkins!

Other News

In other news, I am also joining the writing team for the Ball Bearings Magazine here at Ball State University. I’m writing about museums and how they are changing to adapt to the now tech-centered world. I am especially focusing on the museum where I work (David Owsley Museum of Art) here on campus. I am also going to include how museums across the globe are evolving to meet the issue of peoples’ short attention span and the developed idea of “what is art?” I’m super excited for this opportunity, though the fast paced deadlines for the individual drafts and finished product has taken me by surprise!

Additionally, I’m excited to say that since I am focusing a lot on short stories this semester in my writing, I am going to start entering competitions. I’ve already finished two short stories, and am doing the edits recommended. I also have layouts for two others, one of which is in the works. All three are related to fantasy in some way, which is precisely what I love to read! I am uncertain how my work will do when pitted against others from around the world, but I am so excited to at least put my work out there. And who knows? It could turn into something magical!