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Wood: the Good, the Bad, and the “Neutral”

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  Bioreviewable Wood: the Good, the Bad, and the “Neutral” Cory Dahlstrom, 11/11/20 Time sure has a way of moving quickly, eh? Already it’s November--oh, and already we’ve arrived at the third installment of Bioreviewable ! Today I’ll be discussing none other than wood; it’s so commonplace in the world that we don’t think about it too much. What’s the deal with that, you ask? I shall attempt to answer that as I discuss the benefits and drawbacks of wood as a product. Let’s begin where the wood begins: trees. Like everything else, trees have a life cycle; and depending on the tree, we might harvest its lumber for production purposes. In this case, we like to employ forest management. If you recall, I briefly touched upon this in the previous post! To quote myself, “forests are utilized for lumber and are managed over extended periods of time. The yields from these forests are manufactured in bioproducts. Your furniture may very well be a bioproduct! Wood is a biorenewable resour...
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Journals 1 and 2 - Wk 14

His vision came into focus; Adam was in a St. Francis Hospital room--he could recognize this plain room anywhere. Its walls were layered with thick white paint; the floor a checkered orchestra of tile; there was but a single window for eyes to gaze from; and a single door through which people could enter or escape. That room couldn’t get any more vanilla. A hissing soared in the air as the clicking and clanging of machinery nearby announced itself to his ears, and the air smelled a bit like lotion. Wait, why was he there? “Ah, what happened...?” he heard himself ask the white void engulfing him. He hadn’t expected the humming noise of machines to be usurped so soon. “You were in an accident, you see,”  the words struck. The voice was fairly regular, but sounded young.  Adam impulsively snapped his eyes around the room once more, hoping to see where he hadn’t seen someone. As his eyes trailed toward the left side, he saw a boy, seated in a chair practically adjacent to the bed...
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Bird by Bird Journal - Wk 13

“But no matter what, you are probably going to have to let bad things happen to some of the characters you love or you won’t have much of a story.” (43) Yes, yes, yes! I can't agree more with this. I've been trying to brainstorm some interesting ideas for a drama, and there really isn't a way to do it without  someone  getting the short end of the stick in one way or another.  “Another way to familiarize yourself with your characters is to base them partly on someone you know, a model from real life or a composite—your Uncle Edgar, but with the nervous tics and the odd smell of this guy you observed for ten minutes in line at the post office.” (47) God, there's so much truth to this that it almost hurts. Every single character I've ever conceived has been based on someone I know, or some combination of people I know. In my opinion, a great way to do it is by taking unique elements from people you know and mix them together to form something else entirely. Also, a li...
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Juggling Technique - Journal (Wk 13)

First, use of the "juggling" effect through what Anders was thinking relative to what was happening; this is something I think Wolff accomplishes quite nicely throughout. Furthermore, dialogue can be very effective at establishing character traits, rather than pure exposition. E.g., Anders' personality shown through dialogue.  --- Feet pound as Ely's legs propel him away from the person behind, whose feet are matching Ely's speed. The air feels like water that he's trying to swim through--clawing for the surface. His lungs burn as he keeps running. Why the hell did I agree to this?!  Ely thinks as he nearly trips over someone on the sidewalk; he can hear his pursuer shove them out of their way seconds later.  He can't stop thinking about it: all he had to do was decline Kris' offer, and he wouldn't be in this mess. He wouldn't be running for his life. Two words, "no thanks", would have been enough. He veers right into an alley, formed...
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Robison’s “Yours” Story and Creative Journal Response

Part I: There are clues dispersed throughout that make you question the situation, rather than give exposition, which I think is key. The wig, for instance, a hint that maybe despite the age gap, they probably have close to the same amount of time to be together. Furthermore, their genuine affection for each other is shown through the pumpkin carving, and you're really surprised by the reveal of her health. Part II: "You know," Maddi said to Angel, "it's weird to think about, but this is where we were when we met." "Heh, yeah," he replied, stretching his arms. "Just a walk in the park, eh?" "Yep." A silence befell them; the cool night air stings their cheeks a little, but warmth is shared between them. "Oh, I think I can hear it..." Angel said. In the span of thirty seconds, a train passes on the bridge over them; the noise full of chaos, yet endearing. Angel is content. Ah, to think that they met here because they wer...
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Bonus Journal - Week 13

I'm personally not great at coming up with names, but I think name choices are a great opportunity to instill some indirect characterization or plot detail; great names will often have meanings that resonate with some aspect of the plot. Consider, for instance, the Breaking Bad series finale, titled "Felina". Breaking Bad involves cooking/selling meth and drama; Fe, Li and Na represent Iron, Lithium and Sodium on the periodic table, or "blood, meth and tears" when translated. Brilliant! Undertale, a video game by Toby Fox, makes brilliant use of anagrams in its names. Another game by Toby, called  Deltarune , is an anagram of Undertale, for instance. Another example: a character named "Asriel Dreemurr"; his name is an anagram for "Serial murderer". 
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Some Instructions on Writing and Life: Thoughts

A quote that rings true is, “They kind of want to write, but they really want to get published.” I wholeheartedly agree that people often write with a romanticized vision of being published burned into their minds. Publication is a good goal to have, but it shouldn't be what drives you to put words on paper. You should write for you. This leads me to the next quote, "Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole journey that way." An excellent point that hits home for me. I've been having an issue lately, the need to "plan everything out" and know exactly what's going to happen before I even type the first letter of a story. As alluded to by Lamott, it's okay to not be perfect--most times, your first story won't be your best, which is another reason why people who care more about publication than quality of writing probably have the wrong mindset. Have you ever seen  Breakin...
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