Prior to this project, I have never really told a story on a blog using the digital storytelling method. I was very nervous going into the project as I am not very good at creative writing, or writing in general. However, what I found out through this experience was very interesting. I was surprised how much fun I had working with the media and creating a story that combined traditional story-telling with modern "twists." It was notable that I enjoyed this as much as I did because prior to this I have usually enjoyed writing simple research papers instead of creative writing.
Writing a research paper is so much more different than writing a creative paper. I say that a research paper is easier to write than a creative one because of the simple fact that it is solely based on finding, comprehending, and putting information into context. A creative writing paper involves several more aspects that, in my opinion make the writing more difficult. You have to be aware of so many more details that can seem overwhelming. Creative writing may have much more freedom, but that is not necessarily a good thing. When there is so much freedom in a story, that makes it harder for a writer to focus on the story at hand. Creative writing also has the feat of keeping a reader interested in a story. This can be a daunting task especially if the topic may not seem very interesting to a majority of readers.
However, there are aspects of writing a research paper that can make them harder as well. Many people argue that because of the fact that research papers are generally longer than creative writing papers, that it takes more time and is harder to complete. I argue differently. I think that although they may be longer, generally there is a large amount of information to fill up the pages, while creative writing relies on your imagination and creativity.
This project helped me conquer my "inability" to effectively complete a creative writing assignment. I enjoyed the aspect of linking outside sources (pictures, videos, maps, etc.) to the corresponding words/sections that gave the reader more perspective on the story. It was very fun using the previous blog posts to form a story that relates to many of the different topics that floated around in the previous topics. What I found most interesting about all the pages as a whole was the fact that they could all be read in any order and still make sense. For example, our page (page six) focuses on what happened in the story before the main character was even born, but no matter where you read it, the reader will understand. In this sense, creative writing is much more fun for any reader because, at least in this case, there is a great deal of mystery that surrounds the story and there are so many loose ends that keeps the reader interested.
Creative writing papers and research papers vary greatly in their styles and content, no matter what. However, they both have positives and negatives about them. I believe that it would be harder to write a creative writing paper over a research paper because you can't rely on facts, instead you have to rely on your creativity, imagination, and attentiveness to detail. This project, however, was very interesting and helped me grow my creative writing skills for the future.
I have always had the same opinion and view that writing research papers is easier than writing creative papers. Even though I think in theory that creative papers should be less time consuming because they do not require the vast amount of time and energy that research usually takes, I have always found that creative pieces often take me just as long or longer to write. I think that even though for creative papers all the information needed is in your head, it is so much harder to put it into words.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy creating our page for the digital storytelling project, but I would not say it helped me conquer my aversion to writing creative papers, but it did help me see that there is more than one way to write creatively, which gives me hope. Each week I have found myself looking forward to what the next group will put up for their page of the story, but I did not think about it until you pointed it out that the pages can be read in any order. To some extent I do agree with that. Even though reading them in a different order would possible bring up more questions for the reader, it is true that by the end of the story all the questions will be answered.
Overall I think that people who find research papers easier to write than creative papers are those who enjoy structure and a set process for doing things where as people who are more prone to creative papers are very innovative and comfortable without set guidelines when they write.
I fully agree with you and Katrina that research papers are significantly easier to write than creative writing papers. With the way that my mind operates, I have an easier writing about information that I can support with outside sources and proving that what I'm saying is accurate. With creative writing, I have to try to find my own reasons why something is happening instead of the realistic explanations of the scientific world.
ReplyDeleteWith that in mind, this project helped to develop my skills in creative writing. We're alike in that aspect of this project. In your section, I liked how you went into a back-story that gave more information about the history of the characters. It answers questions and provides explanations. I hadn't thought about reading the story out of order before, but I can see how it can be done especially with your own specific section. Even as the last page, it would make sense in context to the plot.
I agree with you all that research papers are easier to write than a creative writing assignment. This assignment and experience throughout the class has definitely helped me improved my creative writing skills as well. I still enjoy research papers better, because of the fact that it is a set structure, and easier to back up with facts, data, and information, but this has made it easier for me, and more comfortable for me to write creative writing papers.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the thing about the research projects. Creative writing is a lot easier because it forces you to write about only things you know which is easy because you don't have to look things up. And it's easier to write a lot about it because you can go on rant sessions which can take up the bulk of the writing.
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