Even though we don’t officially meet until Thursday, February 4, please read this page and complete the assignments before then, because this class is a hybrid. A hybrid class only meets once a week, but that doesn’t mean you only have to prepare for that meeting time! It means you have to read, write, and sometimes communicate with me and/or your classmates during the week. (You can see what your first assignments are here, but don’t go yet, read the other stuff below first!)
Often the items discussed here will be covered in our class meeting times, but even if you attend the class, be sure to read the weekly Announcement. It’s a great way to refresh your memory and you may note things that you missed during class!
I like to start my classes with a quote or a question, so here’s the quote and questions:
When you write, itās like braiding your hair. Taking a handful of coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring them unity. Your fingers have still not perfected the task. Some of the braids are long, others are short. Some are thick, others are thin. Some are heavy. Others are light. Like the diverse women of your family. Those whose fables and metaphors, whose similes and soliloquies, whose diction and je ne sais quoi daily slip into your survival soup, by way of their fingers.
Edwidge Danticat
Take a moment and think about the following questions:
Why does Danticat equate writing with braiding?
Why are you taking this class in particular?
Why do you think others are taking this class?
What do you hope to gain from this class?
What does this quote and questions have to do with one another?
Your first assignment for this class is to consider these questions and answer three of them in the “reply” section of this post by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Note: this will be a way for us to get to know one another before Thursday, and will count towards your participation points!
Some Thoughts
Anyone who has braided hair knows it is a challenge. It’s a skill. It’s not something you can learn overnight. Braiding and writing are both skills that need time, effort, and a lot of patience. Everyone in this class is bringing different experiences with writing–the good, the bad, and the so-so–and some of you may have never taken a “creative writing” class in their whole lives!
This class is going to focus on memoir, short fiction, poetry, and dialogue. Now, some of y’all might not be into one or more of those genres, but it’s been my experience that students end up enjoying a genre they didn’t expect to even like, or have fallen in love again with a genre they’ve just been secretly crushing on. As long as you make an effort with everything I assign this semester, you’ll be happy with your experience (not to mention the grade)!
Everyone in this class is a writer. Whether you are writing a text, a paragraph, an essay, or a novel, you are all writers. You may have different reasons for taking this class. Some might be taking this class because it was the only general education class available, because they want to practice more writing, because they write creatively, and even others aren’t quite sure why they’re here. Whatever your reasons or expectations for being here, please know that I and your peers are here to read and respect you.
Please take some time to explore this OpenLab course site. Use the menu to explore the course information, activities, and help. Be sure to check on the Activities tab where your assignments for Week 1 (which is THIS week) reside. I’m going to share a little bit about myself and I want you to do the same.
Curious? Go to Week 1 and find out more!
Also, if you haven’t yet, please…
Join this Course
Login to your OpenLab account and follow these instructions to join this course.
If you’re new to the OpenLab, follow these instructions to create an account and then join the course.
Remember that your username and display name can be pseudonyms, rather than your real name. Your avatar does not need to be a picture of your faceājust something that identifies you on the OpenLab.
Questions
If you have any questions, reach out via email or in Office Hours. If you need help with the OpenLab, you can consult OpenLab Help or contact the OpenLab Community Team.
1. Danticat equates writing with braiding because she believes that just like how one takes a bunch of strands of hair and ties them together, in writing you use many tools and elements to connect all of it (your writing) together.
2. I am taking this class in particular because it will help me expand my knowledge more in creative writing and also, writing and reading is something I really enjoy. For instance, in my free time which is most of the time, I spend all my time reading on an app called Wattpad. Writing and reading helps me escape from the boring reality I live through everyday.
3. I believe others are taking this class probably because just like me, they want to learn more about creative writing or/and they need this class to meet a certain goal like for their major.
4. I hope to gain multiple things from this class. First, I definitely want to get better at writing and discover my writing style. I also want to meet people who have similar goals or writing style like me.
5. I am not sure if I understand this question but I think what this quote and this question has to do with each other is that, it is kind of difficult to understand how to get to the end but with more digging around and reading over (braiding over), we will finally come to an understanding in the end and meet our goal(s).
1) I believe Danticat equates writing with braiding hair because writing comes in all forms with different contents just like hair comes in different textures and colors. All hair isnāt alike and all writing isnāt alike. Before hair is braided it could be messy or all over the place and hard to deal with but when you braid it you tame it and bring it together. With writing it can start off as a bunch of ideas that seem confusing but then when put into context that is easier to understand or made to be more relatable itās not as scary it is now tamed. When it comes to writing it canāt just be done one way, just like with braiding hair not everyoneās braids come out the same, some can be short, long or fat like Danticat said, writing is something that can be done in multiple ways and sometimes there will be imperfections .
2) Iām taking this class because I needed to take and intensive writing course. I chose creative writing because I like the idea of it I always have since I was young. Being able to write freely without out the limits of it having to be structured a certain way or say specific things . I like to write and read about things that are more than just one sided but instead makes people think deeply and question what the writer was trying to depict.
3) Iām hoping that during this class I am able to expand my knowledge of writing techniques and hopefully get exposed to new writers whose work Iām not familiar with. I hope it allows me to think even more in depth about how certain writers are able to make people see and understand through their work.
(1) Why does Danticat equate writing with braiding?
—> In his quote Danticat states”Those whose fables and metaphors, whose similes and soliloquies, whose diction and je ne sais quoi daily slip into your survival soup”. This quote explicitly explains how writing can come in all types of forms. It can simply come in similes, hyperboles, and many more. All of the different types of dictions were used to compare to our own hair type. Because all hair types can come in texture, color, length.
(2) Why are you taking this class in particular?
—> To be very honest with you, I went on degree work to see which classes I needed to take under “creative expression”. The only course that interested me was creative writing because I enjoy reading poetry. I believe poetry can explain one’s feelings and emotions.
(3)Why do you think others are taking this class?
—> There are two reasons why others are taking this course right now #1- it’s either needed to be taken towards their degree in order to graduate and #2- if someone is taking this course they are probably taking it because they enjoy writing.
(4) What do you hope to gain from this class?
—> As a student, I have been struggling with how to write properly. I hope that by the end of this course ill be an extraordinary writer.
(5) What does this quote and questions have to do with one another?
—> This question is very confusing, I personally think this quote has a deeper meaning behind “writing” itself.
1. Danticat equates writing with braiding because they are similar in a way where they both require the time of learning a skill and they’re all going to be different. Different types of writing styles, different types of strand of hair. Different genres, different lengths of hair. It’s a process that you develop over time, that takes not only you developing the skill but now being able to say, “Hey, I’m getting the hand of things. Now I can write in different genres and braid in different styles.”
2. I’m taking this class in particular because it’s apart of a requirement for my major. Also, upon making my selection a writing course I chose this course because I do like poetry and I wanted to give this class a shot and see what I could learn. I use to write when I was younger but that was more of how I felt and not stories or any specific genre, it would be like free flow. I’m open to learning more about what creative writing is and writing/ reading different genres.
3. What I hope to gain from this class is skills that I can take with me in the near future, not only how to enhance my writing skills but about life. What less can I get from taking this class. What can I learn from my Professor and peers in this class that I didn’t know before or what I did know and you all opened up my mind more. I hope this class will be a great experience for me, this will my first time taking a creative writing course, so I’m excited to see all that I will learn and how I will grow.
1. Why are you taking this class in particular?
Well to start up, this is a requirement for my degree. But I would love to learn new ways of making writing practical and fun!
2. Why do you think others are taking this class?
I believe is the same reason as mines and or they just enjoy the fact of being creative in various types of forms. Let’s make this class fun!
3. What do you hope to gain from this class?
I hope to gain more experience in my writing and turn it into a hobby. Not only that, but I hope it can change my style of writings into formulating my thoughts.
1. Danticat equates writing with braiding because braiding hair is the same as writing. As in when your braiding hair you can become creative and different types of styles. Same with writing you can become creative writing about anything you would like. Also braiding hair you can also learn something new when begin creative same as writing switching up your styles can bring more surprises to your skill set.
2. I am taking this class because this class is part of my general education path course that is needed for my degree. So I choose this class to be one of my general Ed classes because I’m used to writing a lot so I wanted to stick with something I already have knowledge on and I’m used to.
3. What I hope to gain from this class is more knowledge on how to become a better writer. Also how me different ways on how to be creative by turning nothing into something. This will differently help me in the future as a good writer is always needed. I also hope to learn different skills writing a lot more easier because everyone teaches different and learn something new that you never thought of.
4. I think other students are taking this class because they want to learn something new and they want to gain a new skill set. While other might just be taking this class because its required and there no way around it . Also some people might just love to writing and see creative writing as a way to make them better in the future.
5. What I think this quote and question means is that its tryin to tell you how writing is the same technique as braiding hair and theses different ways to approach depending on the length and difficulty of it but there’s always a way to be creative
2. I’m taking this class because I’ve always wanted to take a creative writing class, but was robbed of the opportunity to do so in high school. Furthermore, I feel like this class fits in with my plans of how I would like to utilize this semester, given our current circumstances.
4. I hope to gain inspiration and insight from this class, and apply these things not just into writings, or ideas, but into life as a whole. Additionally, I would like to gain credits.
5. Danticat’s quote deals with the nature of writing, while these questions, for the most part, seek to gain insight as to our personal motivations for writing. Hand in hand, our answers to these questions may serve as a small, surface hint as to what our natures may be as writers and an insight to what our respective processes may be.
1. I am not entirely sure but I think Danticat equates writing with braiding because in a way they are both similar. The way I see it is that when you braid your hair you are uniting all the strips of hairs in order to make it look beautiful. Similar to when you are writing you are making and taking sentences, words, and phrases and uniting all of them in order to create something beautiful. And of course no braid or writing is the same. They can be made different ways, similar to how writing can be structured many different ways.
2. In all honesty, this class was one of the classes I needed choose from to complete my requirement for creative expression. But I also hope to be able to get creative with my writing. I believe the last time i wrote creatively was probably in elementary school.
4. I really hope to be able to write creatively. I hope to be able write in many different styles and hopefully broaden by writing abilities. I am also looking forward to see how my writing has changed.
(1) Why does Danticat equate writing with braiding?
They equate writing with braiding because it is a skill that is done with your hands. At first it may seem messy and impossible but you have to trust in the process. In the end you have something go from unmanageable and plain into something new and intriguing
(2) Why are you taking this class in particular?
I am taking this class because it counts as a creative expression. For this semester due to COVID I need to be remote, in turn I decided my schedule should consist of requirements that can be taken online. This is a class that fell into that category of options that I chose from.
(3) Why do you think others are taking this class?
Students and professor alike have an expectation of what this class is going to be like, therefore everyone is looking to somehow better their writing by the semester’s end. Work has to be put in to be able to master any skill, The effort, time, and dedication we put in is what we are going to get out of it.
Danticat equates writing with braiding because like braiding, to create the finished product you are taking many different parts to create a quality result. He compares writing to gathering “…coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring them unityā, symbolizing the different ideas coming together to a nice ābraided projectā.
Why are you taking this class in particular?
I am taking this class in particular because it is a required course, and while I am not the biggest fan of writing I can recognize the importance. I picked this time slot specifically because I am only taking one elective leaving me with less time to focus on more task difficult classes.
Why do you think others are taking this class?
I believe others are taking this class as a required course or to work on their writing skills.
Some people may also be taking this time slot specifically because they are busy part-time students and need to support themselves or family while completing college.
I’m taking this class because I want to try and expand my writing skills. I’ve written short stories before – for classes and personal writing – but I’m willing to try something new. I hope to learn how to write well enough to get started on writing a field guide for a Dungeons & Dragons world I’m currently running with some friends. I feel as if the quote and the questions relate to one another in a way that makes us as writers think critically about each piece of writing we may come across in our daily lives.
1) Why does Danticat equate writing with braiding?
The reason why Danticat equate writhing with braiding is that the only way to perfect oneās writing skill and braiding skill is practice, practice more, and practice even more. Our random thoughts are like hairs, they might not be able to fit into one paragraph in first sight, but if you be patient and pick out the parts that have similar length (how relevant the ideas to the topic), similar thickness (if the ideas / words that you use support each other), similar weight (if the ideas lead to the same outcome), then your hair and your writing would look fantastic and organized.
2) Why are you taking this class in particular?
Creative writing is one of my favorite writing styles, because with less restriction (compared to technical writing or other similar writing styles) and more creativity, creative writing is way more interesting and enjoyable to read and write. Instead of choosing a class that Iām not enjoying so much, it is way better to choose a class that is fun and useful to keep my interests in writing.
3) What do you hope to gain from this class?
I really hope that after taking this class, I will learn more rules in creative writing, then follow the rules to make my writings more professional; better understanding on how to put our ideas together, what to do and not to do; and most importantly, improve my writing skills in general by learn more from each otherās works on Open Lab.
2)Why are you taking this class in particular?
I am taking this class in particular as I thought it would be a fun change of pace from the intensive math courses that I have been taking these last two years. Nowadays with the sham of social media, people have a harder time expressing themselves; however, this course can change peoples mindset.
3) Why do you think others are taking this class?
I believe most students are taking this course because its either required of them or they truly believe in expressing themselves through words. No matter the student, I believe by the end of this course we will all be better at writing, whether or not it was intentional to take this course.
4)What do you hope to gain from this class?
I aspire to become an amazing writer. All my life I have struggled writing about singular topics in depth, unless it was more of a physical issue. I hope to learn how to become a better writer and be able to connect to different styles of writing with ease.
Why are you taking this class in particular?
I am taking this class in particular because I wanted to take a class where expression and something part of my nature could be shared without having too many about what I would like to write, I wanted to be creative and not just learn things that anyone could know, I wanted to experience what it was to have some freedom into what I could write about without the formal regular evidence based essay.
What do you hope to gain from this class?
I hope to gain some creativity on my writing and freedom, its been hard lately and as the months go by in the pandemic I have little to not freedom to reinvent my days and do something new, so I hope this class will give me that new experience and knowledge in how to write better without any claim, evidence or base.
What does this quote and questions have to do with one another?
I think that in a sense the strands of hair represent us, as the author says, some are thin others are more thick, and I think he’s referring to how we are, we are all human but at the end we are different in so many ways, our personalities, our past, and the way we will shape our future, is different for everyone. At the end we will all experience this class, but that also will differentiate from one another because we will all focus on different things even though we will be taking the same path.
1)Why does Danticat equate writing with braiding?
In Danticat’s quote, I believe he wants to show how both are so similar. Both take time and practice to learn; they both start off messy, but once you’ve put the effort into them, something beautiful comes out of it. Also, with writing and braiding, there will always be new styles to try, so it’s always a learning process.
2)Why are you taking this class in particular?
This class is a requirement for my degree, however, I’m excited about this class. I’ve always enjoyed writing and creative expression.
4)What do you hope to gain from this class?
I hope to gain a new outlook on writing and strengthen it. Hopefully, I also learn to be more daring with my writing. I have many unfinished works and maybe after this class I’ll finally be able to finish them!
1. Danticat equates that writing is like braiding hair; they’re both skills that take time and patience to get close to mastering. In writing you may try to write consistent sentences, but sometimes they’re not. They could be short, or too long like braiding hair. Sometimes when writing you may leave concise information or too little, just like a braid where it could be too thick or too thin. Through all this mess of information you try you best to put it together and give context to what you’re writing. It will only get better with practice and time.
2. I would like to be a better writer since I struggle with some aspects such as grammar, punctuation, and thesis statements.
4. I hope to learn easier ways to combat my struggles with grammar, punctuations, and thesis statements.
1.why does Danicat equate writing with braiding?
–ļ Danicat equate writing with braiding because they are both a learnt skill that takes āraw materialā , raw material being hair and the words. Braiders create many different hair styles by interlocking hair into whatever patterns they see fit that would be visually pleasing to their customers and others.It is the same way writers take any set of words and put them together to either inform,tell a story,instruct etc,
2.Why are you taking this class in particular?
–ļ I am taking this class because I think it would help me be able to express myself in writing better. I do acknowledge I have a few limitations when it comes to writing and I will like to move past those limitations.
4.what do you hope to gain from this class?
–ļ I hope that by the end of this class I am a better writer.