Extra Blog: April

It was my final day at the courier on Tuesday April 24th and I wrapped up my mentorship with a final article pertaining to the proposed construction plans at Cal Poly's West Kellogg Arabian horse center.

During the last week of May, I began looking into the dig as well as the online campaigns sponsored by students it was here that I got my lead for my article which was completed within the span of a few weeks, the longest that I've ever worked on a piece.

Through this journey, I was prompted to leave my comfort zone which included long over the phone interviews and trips to the Arabian horse center. With notepad and recorder at the ready, and my handy photographer Marissa Jasso, I was able to see the horse stables as the students who protested for their preservation saw them. A prominent piece of the Cal Poly Heritage.

It was a wonderful experience to finally be out and about, talking to the students and community that were dedicated to protecting this specific equine species. Although I felt like a journalist sitting at my desk in the Courier, it was nothing compared to the moment I held my recorder up to one of the students at Cal Poly.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Content:  

LITERAL (a) “I, Aralia Giron, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

(b) sources:

Bender, Sheila. Creative Writing Demystified. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. 

Gutkind, Lee, and Hattie Fletcher. Buck. Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know about Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.

Hart, Jack. Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2011. Print.

Kidder, Tracy, and Richard Todd. Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction. New York: Random House, 2013. Print. 

Klaus, Carl H. A Self Made of Words: Crafting a Distinctive Persona in Nonfiction Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

(c) Update your Independent Component 2 Log (which should be under your Senior Project Hours link)
(d) During this independent component 2, I was actually able to delve into my senior topic and put to practice a majority of the techniques involved. There was definitely a lot of research involved whether it be having to reference my research check notes, searching the web for credible publications, or simply checking out more material to help aid my findings. In doing so, I created a blog and put these research techniques to practice but giving an explanation of why the technique was important and listing two examples (one from a published author and my own attempt) that really encompassed these various aspects of the creative nonfiction genre and ended each blog with what did and didn't work in each piece. 

INTERPRETIVE
Defend your work and explain the component's significance and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  

My evidence that I did in fact complete my independent component posted on the right hand side of this blog under the label "Independent Component 2." Also here is the link: http://agironwriter.blogspot.com/

APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.

This independent component in particular  helped me answer my EQ because I was able to experience and practice utilizing the main elemental techniques of creative nonfiction. I was able to dissect the writing styles from the various authors I studied and apply it to my own by delving into the unique elements that were incorporated into their work. 

Extra Blog: March

It's march madness at the courier as we struggle to gather the much needed articles for our upcoming issue. While I have been diligently gathering the next Claremont Kid's pages material, I was recently tasked to look into an issue over at Cal-Poly. This particular assignment was my first step to being a reporter since I had to run a few background checks on who I was talking to. And when I say background checks I don't mean typing "Megan's law" into my search engine, I mean going onto the Cal-Poly site and scrolling through names and  specific departments for contact information. Once I obtained a decent list of people to contact on the matter at hand, I sent a few emails and made a few calls that is-not without first having a few pages of notes and questions to ask. As of now, I have just completed my first draft but I need to make a LOT of changes. I'm still in the process of learning how to condense my work. I have a tendency to set up scene and delve further into the topic then I need to. So hopefully by the end of this month I will have conquered my current challenge and that is: getting to the damn point.

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Preparation

1. What must a journalist do to properly establish context?

2. What elements help guide the context of an article?

3. What are some techniques a journalist can use when selecting information?

4. Can you define the aspects of a composite character?

5. What is essential for this character to develop? 

6. What elements make for a compelling narrative?

7. How does a journalist maintain objectivity? 

8. Define a three dimensional story.

9. What is the best way to build a three dimensional story?

10. What aspects might drive a three dimensional story off course?

11. What are your thoughts on compression?

12. How might compression be applied to creative nonfiction?

13. Although it is a risk, how might a journalist successfully compress an interview?

14. What are some ways to avoid libel?

15. How can compression be utilized in a way that does not offend the subject?

16. What are some examples of compression?

17. What are some works of creative nonfiction that define the genre?

18. What are some techniques that you think define creative nonfiction?

19. What should creative nonfiction writers be wary of?

20. Define creative nonfiction.

Blog 17: Answer 3

Essential Question:

What two techniques from journalism and  fiction writing can best be combined in creative nonfiction?

Answer #3:

The journalist technique of establishing a context and compression from fiction writing can best be combined in creative nonfiction.

3 details that support this answer:

1) Upon discussing the various techniques that go into journalsism, my mentor came to the conclusion that establishing context was the most important aspect of the genre. Sarah Torribio states, "The selective creation of facts and details as well as composite character development can produce a compelling narrative. Through this process one must maintain objectivity and vividly depict there are through a series of events that adhere to the reader."

2) "Compression combines multiple incidents or situations in order to flush out the narrative. This technique allows a writer to build a compelling, three-dimensional story with more ease and fluidity." Lee Gutkind (You Can't Make This Stuff Up) as he reflects on Janet Malcolm's, In the Freud Archives.

3) Walden published in 1854 by Henry David Thoreau (first attempt at this technique)

The research sources that support these details/answer:

You Can't Make This Stuff Up by Lee Gutkind

Sarah Torribio, reporter at the Claremont Courier

Creative Nonfiction, online magazine:

https://www.creativenonfiction.org/online-reading/compression

Concluding Sentence:

By first establishing context, only then can an author delve into the crucial elements of a narrative. These aspects that provide the flesh to the skeleton of a story include: dialogue, character development, scene, voice, and detail.

Extra Blog: February

The duration of my mentorship was yet again filled with assignments and with the looming Saint Patrick's Day deadline, I ended up spending six hours on my article revisions. This consisted of writing drafts, overlooking them, going back to the computer further my content through research, adding my findings, drafting yet again, and editing before the final product was approved. One of the perks of all this writing is getting to see the outcome of the effort put into a task. This month's bylines definitely gave the strength to go on considering the madness that will be March! 

Above: The 3 pages that took up my 3 hours on the 3 tuesdays I went to the Courier. That's 9 hours of staring at a computer and drafting articles. Oye.

Blog 16: Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?

What two techniques from journalism and fiction can best be combined in creative nonfiction?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

The ethics of extensive research from journalism and the art of storytelling from fiction writing can best be combined when creating a creative nonfiction piece.

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
The art of immersion from journalism and the practice of character development from fiction writing can best be combined when creating a creative nonfiction piece.

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.In journalism it is essential to apply the art of immersion because in order to effectively convey a topic through the subjects eyes, a writer must obtain an understanding and this must be done through experience. For instance, at the Claremont Courier, reporters are sent out into the field when dealing with a occurrence and/or person of interest in order to perceive the world through their eyes. It's simply not enough to view a situation from the standpoint of an onlooker, in order for a journalist to present their findings in such a way that appeals to their reader they must go beyond telling a story and delve into the practice of showing it. 

As for fiction writers, character development is a crucial element of the production and progression process of the story. If not for characters, how would the author connect with their readers? A great example of character progression can be seen in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series. In the beginning, Sherlock is depicted as a cold-hearted sociopath who has no hope what-so-ever with ever being able to understand humanity and then upon meeting John Watson, there is a slight change in his perception of the world. As he develops feelings for his ever loyal companion, the reader's opinion of him begins to shift, until suddenly the audience is able to draw connections and sympathize. They are able to embark with Watson on the path that is understanding the complex mind that is Mr. Holmes. If there were no growth in the consultant detective nor the doctor at his side, then the story would remain at a standstill. 

Immersion and character development combined could create a great piece of creative nonfiction as seen in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, where truman retells the story of the Clutter family and their brutal murder, detailing the family's personal lives and morals and delving into the twisted minds of their murders.

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?
Story Craft: The complete guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction by Jack Hart.

6.  What other source supports your answer?
Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction by Tracy Kidder & Richard Todd

7.  Tie this together with a  concluding thought.
"Every story has to be discovered twice, first in the world and then in the author's study. One discovers a story the second time by constructing it." -Tracy Kidder in Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction (page 13).