Progression of a Writer

     When I began writing fiction and doing the assignments in the class I feel my creativity was in a slump. I hadn't taken the time to full flesh out my concepts until I wrote small sections and worked my way back up to where I imagined I once was. With the Journal entries I learned about characters, settings, and proper dialogue. Then, taking that knowledge I worked in plot, point of view, and perspective. Perhaps the most interesting practice was learning Gardner's five beginnings.
     The next task at hand was to write poetry. I had written a little poetry and analyzed it some in high  school but never had I really taken the time to consider what comprises a poem. Learning to see the music of a poem was invaluable as I dissected pieces of poetry to see how rhyme and meter were used in the stanzas. It also taught me to analyze parts of my life that were difficult to discuss or emote. I even learned to create rich works from simple objects and little direction.
     Learning to write drama was very interesting as an actor. I read plays when I get a role but not for how it's written. I merely looked at what my character thought and felt without analyzing how it tied the piece together. The most interesting of which was a play with two characters, a predetermined phrase, and four words of dialogue to be said by any one character (who was not determined throughout the entire play). In the end, I was able to complete an entire one-act play using all the elements of a script.
     Finally, I learned the importance of revision of a piece. It's something I tend to neglect for a lack of care and a lack of certainty on what to do for a piece. When I write a piece I speak from the heart but unfortunately the heart tends to make grammatical errors and says things on a whim. With proper editing, a piece can be elevated exponentially and new insights into alternative directions for a piece can be explored.