Steps Towards a New Me

Well folks, I talked recently about trying to get healthy. And you know what? I think it's happening.

My Mom and I have been working out together and keeping track of how we are doing with eating. So far, in just about 5 weeks, I've lost 12 pounds and she has lost about 13 pounds. Not too shabby. We've had a number of set-backs, at least as far as working out is concerned, but we're working through it. Our workouts are becoming more frequent and more intense, and we're feeling better after each workout!

I'm not only trying to get healthy physically though...I'm also working on getting healthy on the inside too. And for me, a lot of that is through writing. It is something that I have a true desire for, and I always push it aside because I'm so busy with other things. Last semester, being in a Creative Writing class allowed me the freedom to write, because it was for school. But now, I'm writing pretty regularly, and I'm doing it just because I want to. I'm thinking about applying to an MFA program for Creative Writing after I graduate, and so this can also help me to build up a portfolio of writings to submit for the application process.

Anyways, I'll keep you all updated on how it is going.

Building a Creative Writing Portfolio

I've never built a portfolio of my writings before. For my Creative Writing course this semester though, it is a requirement. We are to put together the pieces we have worked on during the course, along with all of the various drafts that went into them, other writing exercises we have done, and a journal that we've kept. Anything else that we want to include is also acceptable, so things that we've written but never presented are options, as are things which may have inspired us during the semester.

I bought a 1/2" binder to compile it all in, assuming that it would be more than ample space for all of my pieces. I've only presented four pieces this semester, three of which have been single page poems. The one short story I wrote only wound up as 8 pages. I assumed that it would be more than enough room to fit everything in and have it all look nice and neat. I was wrong.

Once I put in tabbed dividers, printed out all of the copies of my pieces, included the various drafts of those pieces and a few other things, I was shocked to discover that my 1/2" binder was already almost as full as it could go! Not only that, but I hadn't put everything in it that I had planned to put in it. I wound up getting a 1" binder to make it all fit properly.

It really does take up a bunch of space, all of this. But I really have been enjoying the experience of building a portfolio and determining what should be included. I've included the song lyrics of some songs that have inspired me. Also a couple of photographs that I've taken. I think I might burn a cd with the songs that I added the lyrics to. And I like having everything together, especially having all of the various drafts of my pieces together. It really begins to show my writing process, how I work as a writer. It is a good learning process for me. If I can learn more about how I write, I can better know how to attempt to write. At least, I hope so.

I think I will likely try to maintain a working portfolio of my writings now. It will only continue to help me grow in my craft. Of course, I will likely need to move to a larger binder!