GOOD MORNING!! As I was reading these short stories assigned by Mrs. Cardona I actually realized what she was talking about in class about what makes a short story readable. The stories were concise, yet detailed and really gave the reader a solid picture in their head of what was going on during the occasion that they think spurted their writing. Each writer started off their short story with a different kind of opening line that caught the reader's eye (or at least mine, I assume other people are like me).
Pat Conroy's story was the most intense, about how his family's issues sparked his love of writing. His essay even started off with details about his father that made me believe he was a tough and unapproachable man. Conroy begins, "My father, a Marine Corps fighter pilot, 220 pounds, six-two, a blunt instrument, a semiautomatic assault weapon." After reading this sentence, I immediately am itching to read more. I want to understand why Conroy chose those adjectives to describe his father instead of ones that deal with his personality alone. As i read on, I realized Conroy chose those exact words to paint a picture in our head of the strong, unapproachable man that was his father. Conroy's father's demeanor helps us to understand what is going on when his parents are fighting- a match to the death. When his parents fought, everyone close to his father was afraid for their life. Conroy explained when talking about his parents' marriage, "this was (a) martial art." As i read this line i gathered this picture in my mind that wouldn't leave. This gigantic, tough man all dressed up in a black ninja outfit with only his eyes in view and this redneck woman with one tooth knocked out dressed in a white karate robe with a black belt attacking each other. Both of them have their share of karate chops and roundhouse kicks. Everything is in slow motion, just like in the movies. Both are fighting for the win.
Everything that Conroy said caused me to think twice about what I wrote about. My essay was so uneventful and boring! I know that I don't have family problems like Conroy did, but I am sure that I can make a new essay that is just as interesting if I think more about miniscule details then the big picture. If i focus on one specific occasion that caused me to write, I will be more inclined to catch the reader's attention. The most important item that I need to focus on is a catchy intro because that is where the reader decides if he/she is going to read on or stop mid sentence because they think what is to come cannot get any worse then it already is. In the week to come, besides working on my paper as a whole, I am going to work on catchy intros. Wish me luck because I will need it! :)
Okay so I am more then halfway through with this blog and I still cannot think of a title. As I was reading these short stories the only thing that I thought could have made these short stories better was a title. Will Kennedy had named the short story that this short story was talking about, "Eggs." I thought that this was a very interesting title. I didn't realize at the time that the short story was ctually about eggs, I thought eggs was a metaphor something more meaningful. When it wasn't, at first, I thought that it was crazy that he could write a whole short story about a guy whpop goes and eats eggs. Then I realized that you could actually make an interesting story about eggs if you know how to write it with enough detail. I mean there is so many types of eggs; they can be scrambled, sunny-side-up, omeletes, hard boiled eggs, fried, eggs benedict, and my personal favorite green eggs (and ham.) I don't think I would ever and try and get it published in a magazine, yet it would be interesting to find people I know to read that story.
So back to talking about titles. They are really suppose to grab the reader's attention and make them want to read and listen to what you have to say. At the same time, they cannot be a lie, which narrows down my possibilities. I probably should not name this something that is totally unrelated to what I am writing either because that gives the reader false hope. I could probably name this tomatoes: are they a fruit or a vegetable? I mean, I am talking about tomatoes now so ha (it isn't a complete lie)! As long as the reader keeps reading until here they are good to go and can understand my title. This argument is an interesting one, so I looked it up just a few minutes ago and here is what google gave me. Oxford is a highly recognized college so I would go with their answer :) http://oxforddictionaries.com/page/tomatofruitveg In case you don't want to go all the way to that website because you are lazy it pretty much says that scientifically speaking tomato is a FRUIT, yet it is a VEGETABLE in terms of cooking!! :)
That's all I have to say about tomatoes besides they are delicious in tacos, salads and sauce. So talk to you all later! PEACE OUT!! Have an incredible day!!!
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