You should know that these bats are not even a little ordinary. They came from the deep recesses of my childhood home in Vietnam, a thin, rectangular house on stilts, with rushing sewage below. My grandparents hired a man from the village to remove the squat toilet so that they could install a new, Western-style one for my benefit. For my convenience.
These paragraph shows how the bats are in relation to the writers journey in Vietnam.
My father had just died. So I did what writers do, even, or especially, at the worst of times
This makes me consider the fact that writing can be a way to deal with grief and and a way to truly understand what you are really feeling. This I can relate to because I enjoy journaling which helps me with my emotions. It shows how writing can help people deal with difficult emotions.
A painting by my father of himself sitting with his own father — two thin men with somber, distracted faces, staring into separate distances, leaning away from each other in art as they did in life.
I like this piece because it shows how even though the father was sitting with his father they are still emotionally distant from each other. The part where it says they "leaned away from each other" really makes the reader realize how distant they really are from each other.
When Mom unlocked and opened the front door at 3 a.m., she was in her nightgown, Dad was asleep.
This detail shows the unexpectedness in the writing. It makes the reader start to wonder why someone would be at the door at 3am and shows how the mom was not expecting someone to be at the door at this time.
I’m not sure a genre is a destination so much as a way of thinking, a tendency of inquiry.
I personally like this because genre isn't just a type of writing that we read. It shows how we can change the ways we read something and think about what we are reading. It helps us as reader and writers think about what we want to explore.
he had read Faulkner’s novel three times and still didn’t understand it. Faulkner said, “Read it four times.” Some pieces just aren’t going to be meaningful to you.
Not every writing you will read will make sense to everyone. When you read something more than once you still won't be able to connect to it and that is okay.
Short story writers study poetry to learn form and infuse their sentences with sound and rhythm. Playwrights read memoir and nonfiction to hear how different people speak, and for inspiration and content.
This demonstrates how writers improve their writing by looking into all kinds of writing. The short story writers use poetry when looking to understand sounds and rhythms of short stories. This also shows how different types of writing can inspire you.
Writing is a place to speak your truths, whatever they may be.
This is why I enjoy writing because you are able to speak on issues that you wouldn't usually discuss with other people. It makes writing more special and intimate when you share a deeper meaning and compassion on something.
Poetry writing is a different because it’s a compressed form, where each word can play a variety of important roles
I find this interesting because when writing with poetry you have to be very careful on the words you use. Poetry writing has a lot more meaning behind it than just normal writing does.
I have great hope for California. It turns out that I had a lot to say, so the poem was born.
I find this relatable because sometimes when I write I don't realize how much I have to say about that topic until I actually start writing about it.
At no point is it suggested that we look at an actual ocean, wave, or beach, rose, pansy, or peony. At no point is the viewer’s experience of the painting considered. This kind of approach to art is based on tricks instead of looking closely at the real world. Fooling the eye, these shortcuts usually produce mediocre paintings that look like everyone else’s mediocre paintings.
I agree with this because art doesn't have to be right in your face physically. Art should make people feel something.
Notice how you tell stories to friends and family members. What are you doing when you tell a story well versus when you tell it poorly?
When I am telling a story to friends or family I usually get off topic which leads to either forgetting the whole point of the story, or everyone just getting bored. So, if I told the story well and got to the point it would be much easier for friends and family to understand what I am trying to say.
A good storyteller, whether talking out loud or in their writing, creates activated images — movies in the mind — so we can see the events play out as they happen.
This statement is very true because a good storyteller is someone who can be very descriptive and relatable to the readers. Just like the example from Hamlet, he really feels like he is seeing these things in real life. This relates to a good storyteller because they really hook the readers and help them visualize what they are reading.
my writing process is centered on mindfulness, on noticing things around me.
I can relate to this because I love to journal and write about what I am feeling and seeing around me.
I lost my dog to cancer, and then just a week later, we had to move out of the house that had been our home for fifteen years.
I can relate to this because almost the exact same thing happened to me when I was younger. My family moved us to California and shortly later our dog passed away.
well, we all self-destruct somehow — we just do it in different ways.
I agree with this because I definitely have done things to self destruct but some peers wouldn't understand it the way I would, just like I don't understand their personal self destructions.
I like to work in loud, busy places full of people.
this stuck out to me because I do not like to work in busy places especially when I am writing because it is hard to focus.