Writing Exercises

I felt that most parts of the writing exercises we did in class last week were helpful because they enabled me to relate to my plays much more. However, sometimes when I was required to use objects or people in my plays they felt like obstacles rather than pieces of guidance. I guess that was one of the objectives of the assignment though, to push us to write something with specific elements. I really enjoyed the first in-class exercise because it helped me the most with character development. The guidance in the exercise enabled me to go into small details of the characters without me even noticing. I also loved combining the two characters' monologues; it was much more seamless than I imagined.

I think that the first day's exercise was most helpful for me. I had less success in the second exercise. My mind works the quickest it can when I get to say what I'm thinking out loud; I'm much slower with writing things down, so it was hard for me to keep up with the pace of the exercise. I also find that often, I am too embarrassed by what I have written down, to the point where it's hard for me to implement. Perhaps I was not fully letting go in the exercise. When we were asked to describe a place, I was so overwhelmed with ideas that my actual description became a little too general. I also found the fairy-tale aspect of the exercise difficult with both thinking of one in class and writing about the imagery in it later. Writing three entire scenes was a challenge for me. They felt a little redundant.

The dream exercise was odd, but very thought-provoking. I felt the most out of control during that exercise more than any other exercise; however, I soon realized that the people and things I thought of on the journey Ms. Connell took us on were very much a part of me, subconsciously so.

Overall I think the exercises from last week directed me towards better ideas than I had had previously. They were also extremely relaxing (most of the time, looking at the snow and everything) and enjoyable.