AMomentinTimeProjectReflection

ProjectDescription
Inthisproject,weweretaskedwithcreatingabriefnarrativeessay,otherwiseknownasa
vignette,chroniclinganinfluentialandpersonallydefiningmomentinourlives.Thelimitations
ofthisessayincludedthatitmustbealengthofonepagewithsetmarginandfontsizesyetalso
includeanindividualwritingstyleuniquetotheauthor,adherencetoabasicstructureofstory
grammarwhichrequireddetaileddescriptionsofsetting,characters,andtherisingandfalling
actionsofplot,andsufficientspecificityandelaborationwithinthevaryingscenesofthestory.
Anemphasisonsensorydetailswithintherubricdictatedthatthewriting,aboveall,beattuned
todescriptiveatmospheresandscenesinthestory,andthuspresentthereaderwithanaccurate
senseofwhattheexperiencewaslikefortheauthor.Revisionsoftheessayinthisprocess
numberedquiteafewandpermittedustocontinuallyanalyzeourworkandcompareittoseveral
givenrubricsoutliningourguidelinesforstyle,specificity,andepisodicelaboration.Ifwe
desired,therewasanoptiontocontinueonwithourlessonsindescriptionandstyleina
challengeoption,whichwasposedtousintheformofconvertingouressayintoavideo,art
piece,orothermediumofourchoosinginordertofurtherexploreeffectivemethodsof
storytelling.Asexemplifiedinanimagebelow,Icompletedmyspecificchallengeoptioninthe
formofacombinedcollageandpoemlyricallyrepresentingmystoryssubjectanddelvingmore
deeplyintoconceptsofsensoryinvocation.
Thepurposeofthisprojectasawholewastorefineourwritingskillsasaclass
concerningbrevity,detail,andinterest,aswellastoanalyzewhatcomponentsofstorytelling
proveeffectiveandactonthebasicpsychologyofalistener,viewer,orreader.

TakeAwaysandEnduringUnderstandings
Myactualacademiclearninginthisprojectaidedmyunderstandingoftheingredientsof
astrongstory,whystoriesaretold,howwritingaboutmyownexperiencetransformsthis
experience,andhowIthinkthatnarrativewritingcanhelpmegrowasawriteringeneral.
Inthisproject,inordertoknowhowtoformulateaninterestingandorganizedstory,we
studiedthecomponentsofwhatcreatesastrongstory,andIlearnedthatthesecomponents
mostlyfallalongthelinesofsensorydetailandspecificelementsincharacterandplot
development.Atthisprojectsbeginning,westudiedthecomponentsofpsychologywhichdraw
areaderorlistenersattentiontoastory,andthese,inbrief,aredescriptiveelementsinsetting
whichareabletoactivatecentersofthebrainasidefromthoseoflinguistics(i.e.visuals,scents,
sounds,tastes,etc.),andelementsofamaincharacterorherowhichallowchemicalstobe
releasedinalistenerorreadersbrainwhichcanhelpthemempathizewiththemaincharacter
(oxytocin)andfeelthestressandstruggleofthischaracter(cortisol).Humansalsocravethe
3actnarrativewhichisthatoftheherosintroduction,theherosstruggle,andtheunveilingofa

changedherobythestorysconclusion.Throughananalysisofthesebasedesiresinalisteneror
reader,IwasabletoconstructastoryinwhichIconsciouslyconsideredtheserequirements
whichgrabtheinterestofareader.
Thisprojectalsotaughtmewhyhumanstellstories,andtheanswertothisquestionwas
oneofinfluencingabetterremembranceofaneventinalistenerorreader.Theinfluenceofa
storywhichinvokesmanycentersofthebrain(includingthoseofempathyandstressas
describedintheaboveparagraph)asopposedtooneortwocentersinthebrain,asinalecture,
canportrayamessageandinduceplotrecollectiontwentytwotimesmorethanplainfact.So,in
thisfashion,storieswhichdemonstrateinteresting,sensoriallyappealingeventsareaneffective
toolforcreatingamemorablenarrativeconstruction,andmaintainthemselvesasoneofthe
reasonsforwhichhumanstellstories.
Writingaboutmyownexperienceinthisprojecttransformedtheexperienceitselfinthat
itpermittedmetolookbackuponwhatIexperiencedintermsofemotionalanalysis.Inneeding
toconformmymaincharacterorherosexperiencetothepsychologyofagenericreaderinorder
tocreaterelatability,Irealizedthatperhapsmycognitiveexperiences,whichcenteredquiteabit
aroundlogical,moral,andethicalscrutinyandnotemotion,werenotrelatabletotheaverage
man.Thisknowledgeforcedmetoexaggerateemotionswhichwerereallyonlypresentinquite
smalldosesduringtheeventandtoimproveuponmycapabilityindescribingmyownemotions
throughwriting.
Ibelievethatnarrativewritingcanhelponegrowasawriteringeneralinthatitprovides
onewithasolidbaseofbeingabletoproficientlyelaborateuponcharacteremotion,detailof
characters,anddetailofsetting.Althoughthesethreeelementswillnotalwaysbepresentin
writing,theamountofdescriptionrequiredfortheirexecutioncanmaterializeinothervarious
formsofwriting,suchaspoetry.Detailsimportanceinwritingcanmanifestitselfincreating
intrigueinanypieceofwritingandahandleonhowtodescribevariouselementsofastorysuch
ascharactersorsettingcantransferanindividualwritersownrubricoffluencyanddescriptive
organizationintoproseorevenfactualelaboration.

TheWriting
Theaspectsofthewritingwhichstoodoutweretheemphasesonsensorydetailsand
connectiontothereader.Ifounditinterestingtoviewwritinginawaywhichrelateddirectlyto
thereaderandwasfocuseduponthereadersreactiontoatext,asmostwritingprojectswhichI
haveconductedinthepastfocusedmainlyonafewcheckpointsconcerningmechanicsand
organization,anddidnotincludefacetsofwritingwhichattendmainlytohowprovidingthe
readerwithadeepsenseoftheauthorsexperienceoremotionwithinthestoryplaysan
importantroleinthestorysoverallcaptivationofthereader.
Themostdifficultpartofthisprojectwasthefactthatwehadtofitanarrativestuffed
withdescriptionandlinguisticdevicesintoonepagewithasetfontsizeandsetmarginsizes.
Beingamoreflowerywriterthanmost,IfoundthisespeciallychallengingasItendtoelaborate

quiteabitonsensorydetailsinthesettingandphilosophicalpointswhichcanbefoundinan
experience,andIeventuallyrealizedthatIsimplyhadtodecreasetheamountofsymbolismand
imageryinmystorytofocusmoreevenlyupontheplot.However,Ibelievethatinkillingmy
darlingsIlearnedavaluablelessoninthebalanceofthesevaryingelementsofastory.
IdontfeelthatthereisanythinginmyfinaldraftwhichIwouldhavelikedtohavedone
differently.Asmyfinaldraftisafinaldraft,itshouldnotbenecessaryforittoundergofurther
refinement.Myessaysorganizationcapturesthemechanicsofplotquitewell,Ibalancemy
descriptionofsensorydetailswithconcreteplotchanges,andinvokethefeelingsofrepressed
disgustwhichthisexperiencepresentedmewithquitewell.Duetothecumulative,quality
effectswhichtheseelementshaveonmypaper,Itrulydoubtthatthereisanythingelseinthe
textwhichwouldrequirefurtheranalysisorchange.

PersonalGrowth
ThemostimportantsociallessonwhichIlearnedinthisprojectwasthatofhowour
humanpsychologyisattuned.AsstatedbeforeinSection2(TakeAwaysandEnduring
Understandings),thereareseveralpsychologicalfactorswhichtakeplaceinthecomprehension
andretentionofastory,andInowcanutilizethisknowledgeinmyacademiclifeintermsofmy
analysisofotherwritersworks,andinmyownwritingprojectstocome.Priortothisproject,I
viewedwritingsimplyaswordswhichdidnotfollowanyotherformatotherthanplot
organization,anddidnotthinktoquestionthedeeplyprimalfactorsofthehumanmindwhich
canaffectastorysreception.Postproject,Inowcannameandunderstandtheprocesseswithin
thebrainwhichcanrelatealistenerorreadertoastory,andIthuscanincorporatethis
knowledgeintomyownstorytelling.Whenconsideringthelogisticsbehindatrulycaptivating
story,Inowbelievethatitisextremelyimportanttoconsiderthepsychologicalfactorsbehind
therecognitionandprocessingofthedescriptionofaneventinordertomoreeffectivelyinvoke
areaderorlistenersemotionalandcomprehensivereactionstoanillustratedmoment.Inow
realizethattrulygreatwritingarisesoutoflookingbehindthelinesoftextandintothereaders
mind.