CREATIVE WRITING: WEEK THREE

Inner voice - italics

?clearer. Less censured. In some characters, more sure; in others, insecure.

It should be clearly different than outer thoughts.

Back story - research

What’s next, flow

Velocity, rhythm

HOW CAN YOU TELL WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE WILL BE A GOOD FRIEND (5 minute, in class)

You can only tell if someone will be a good friend over time. 

It is easy to know if you like someone or not often within a few minutes of meeting them. But friendship requires more complicated decisions and character traits than the common interests or sense of humour or agreeability that makes the first encounter the start of a friendship. 

It is much harder to  have a good friend. They need to be able to respond to some of your needs. They may need to know what you need even when you can’t tell them. Some traits that make a person easy to know initially do not guarantee that they will be a good friend over time. 

Even more complicated is the fact that two people are changing over time.

Authenticity vs hook

Mina bird

*Background story

The sound of the city at night

What is the coolest thing found in nature (awe-inspiring)

I am really proud of …

The sounds of the city at night

Sometimes when I am sitting in my house in the suburbs, I am amazed at the absence of sounds. I think myself very lucky, and do not miss living in downtown.

When I go for a walk, I hear neighbours talking and laughing in their yards. The leaves  in the trees rustle in the wind in the summer. They swish around the street when it is fall. Sometimes there is the sound of rain falling and striking objects as it lands. Other times, the wind swirls around in gusts, and seems to come alive as its own entity.

With the windows open in the summer, the occasional car sound passes by. For a wonderful year, there was not even a plane that could be overhead. But now, the planes seem to fly low and frequently just as the sun sets, putting my teeth on edge. I hardly notice the crickets looking for love, or the shuffling of a skunk or raccoon through the yard until it passes. Then the tranquility returns, and the symphony returns to my ears, restoring my calm. The fall usually brings the sounds of geese leaving for the south, travelling under the safety of the night sky, and honking their good-byes.

Each morning, the newspaper delivery car drives by at 5:30 with a defective muffler, and wakes me up with the violent shaking of my windows. If I am lucky, the birds chirp me back to sleep until my alarm goes off later. 

Last year, when they dug up my street to place drains and rebuild the roads,  I actually learned to fall back asleep to the sounds of heavy machinery instead!

Recently, I went to downtown for supper, and I was surprised at how calm the sounds were after dark. I usually visit the city during the day, when it is jarringly loud at times. I think of my streets as quiet in comparison. But in the right streets, downtown has a quietness too. Less animal noises, but the hum of a quiet version of itself.

I hear a low grumbling, and I sleepily recognize that the night is coming to an end. I am instantly awake, as I race to the door. It’s garbage day, and I have to get the garbage to the street before the truck arrives at my house!

FEEDBACK:

Recognized as a compare and contrast essay

Less seems - directly is

Sometimes is weak - rarely, from time to time

Silence to noise

Take out downtown

Move through the night temporally - natural order of time