Original Work
Proposal:
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The events of the past couple months have taught me lots about myself and my ISM journey. I’ve been putting off nearly everything I expect myself to do this year for ISM. Heck, I’ve been missing more assignments than I’ve been missing summer break. I haven’t been able to put my finger on why this is. Perhaps it's the pandemic. Maybe it's my tendency to procrastinate. Honestly, I’m not willing to outrule aliens at this point.
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But the main culprit is my lack of motivation. When I first started feeling unmotivated to write, research, or even just outline my novel, I was surprised. Isn’t this what I was absolutely sure I wanted to do? Why was I dreading it so much? I was completely in the dark about my circumstances.
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That was, until the lightbulb in my head finally lit up. Suddenly, my problem, and its solution, went from a complex puzzle to a simple yes or no question. For somebody who has never written a story over ten pages, do I really want to make myself write a full-length novel in an academic year already full of stress with the additional wrench of a global pandemic? The answer is a flat no. It took lots of self-evaluation to see my limits, but now that I’ve finally found them, I see how they can help the bigger picture. Yes, I still want to write a full-length novel someday, but that goal is going to have to be set aside for now. Instead, I have come up with a better idea, and one that allows me to take advantage of the opportunities ISM gives me while not killing myself over the amount of words in a google doc.
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What I have come up with is this: I will write and develop a children's book. This way, I can explore deeper meanings without having to blatantly put them in the face of the reader. I have many ideas on how to create a compelling children’s book that goes over real-world problems, such as learning styles, how to deal with sadness, and how to keep yourself safe during the present times. Adding onto that, I can illustrate or work on my business skills by hiring an illustrator that I know. I am actually really excited about this idea, and pursuing it would make me able to actually enjoy deadlines as well as opportunities in the future. Since I have a publisher willing to publish the things that I write, I want to produce something that is worth publishing, even if it isn’t a masterpiece.
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I understand that I still have lots to work on. But this project will help propel me into a field that I can see myself prospering in as well as doing my best in this year. I am very excited to see where it will take me, and I am very thankful for the patience of everyone around me. I’m not changing my topic, but my final product, and I am ready to begin my journey on this new path.
Original Work:
Original Work Assessment:
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The objective of my original work was to create a foundation for the children's book I plan on publishing later this year as well as creating something that can help me learn more about what it takes to be an author in today's world. There is much I have to learn, whether it be about illustrations or publishing. The materials I used included the many popular children’s books I took influence from, google scholar (an extension of google that allows me to only look at research papers and articles pertaining to the topic I decide to look up), the procreate app (a drawing app that I used to create concept art on), and a plethora of other books. These books included K.M. Weiland's novels called Writing Your Story's Theme and Structuring Your Novel. Two other books that I used as materials included The Ultimate Hero's Journey by Neal Soloponte and Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. These books helped me learn more about how to create an impactful story. One of the most important materials that I decided to use was my own experience. Since I plan on writing the book about expression emotion, I had to draw from my own experiences to create a realistic piece.
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There were many people involved in the creation of my original work. My family, my friends, and others helped me immensely in the creation process. One of my family friends, Derek Wheeless, who is an author, helped me by giving me resources in the forms of books about writing and its process. This helped me to research the hero's journey and other parts of the story, such as theme, dialogue, and various other writing devices. I was able to also utilize the help of Mike Rodriguez, a best selling author. He gave me the option to publish my book with him if I finished it by the end of the year. This motivated me immensely, and it gave me an end to the project to look forward too.
The steps of the original work project were quite simple. First, I brainstormed ideas for a potential children’s book, and mulled them over in my head. I was able to come up with a favorite quickly. The next step was to do enough research to figure out how I would be able to put my idea on paper. Turns out, I did not have to do too much research on the writing process of a children's book, since I had already done so much research on the writing process in the past. After my research, I came up with a rough outline of the events that would occur in the book and how my character would develop throughout the story. After writing that down, I got to have some fun messing around with different ideas for how the characters might look through various forms of concept art. This part was the most fun, since I was able to draw the characters I had thought about so much in my head.
Higher level thinking skills, such as synthesis, were used throughout the creation of my original work. I created a brand-new idea that was turned into a skeleton outline of a future children’s book. I had to relate from knowledge from several areas (my own life, writing research, and illustrating research) to create my original work. I was able to come up with an idea that would add to the world of children’s literature in a wholesome way. Taking deep topics and putting them into a form that kids can relate to was a challenge, and it took higher-level thinking skills to figure out how to properly do that.
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I think that the results speak for themselves. Reflecting on my work, I see that I put hard work into it as well as passion. I was able to come up with an original idea for a children’s book and begin to manifest it in physical form. I learned that this is something I enjoy doing more than I thought, and that perhaps I will continue to write children's books for awhile, as it is something that I can see myself doing for a long time. I can apply this work to my resume as well as my real life. Writing a book at my age is no small feat, and any progress made is like gold to me. Overall, I would say that my original work is well put together and a good foundation for my final product.
Set-Up and Completion:
Objective/Purpose:
For my original work, I wanted to complete a rough outline of the children's book I plan on completing for my final product. I planned on creating a book that kids can understand while also having a deeper meaning that can be applied to all ages. As an aspiring author, creating stories that have deep undertones is good practice for somebody who is eventually going to write full-length novels. I wanted to also include bits and pieces of research that I completed throughout the first quarter of ISM in order to showcase my understanding of writing fiction for all ages.
Methodology:
Materials:
The primary materials I used in relation to my original work were published children's books as well as the drawing app, Procreate. By looking at multiple examples of popular children's books and their formatting, I was able to figure out how I would translate my idea into a physical form that children could enjoy. The Procreate app allowed me to draw rough sketches of my characters and their journey throughout the story. The last material I used was the help of family and friends who were able to donate their time and resources to help me research writing in a more in-depth way. Making these connections through my family has provided me with enough resources to put my idea into an actual book.
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Description of Process and Procedures:
I began the process of completing my original work by allowing myself to relax and let the creativity flow. I felt as if my original plan for the work, a full length novel, was so much stress that I didn’t allow myself to express the creativity I could have. With the children’s book, I had to let my imagination run wild before truly beginning the process. I allowed my own experiences to influence the main message of the book, which allowed me to be more connected to this piece than I would have been with the novel. Once I had jotted down some ideas and let myself breathe, I was able to cement what I already suspected about any children's book, which was that it was not bound to any plot structure or outline. Since I had already done so much research regarding the hero's journey and the writing process, I decided that even though I did not necessarily have to structure my book, I would model it after a simple version of the hero's journey. After outlining the plot points of the book, I was able to estimate the number of pages, and therefore drawings, I would have to do in order to have a proper children's book. I used the Procreate app to draw concept art of my characters as well as the structure of how they would be presented on the page. Since my main goal for this project was to create a rough outline for the book, this was the last step of the process. I made sure to keep the concepts for most of my characters open to changes I may decide to make in the future, however, I did spend a good amount of time coming up with a product that I was happy with, so I doubt that I will make any big changes to the ideas.
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Utilization of High-Level Thinking Skills:
Writing a children's book in itself is not something that many would consider as something that would require any high-level thinking skills to create. However, this entire process called upon exactly that. First and foremost, I wanted to include a deeper meaning to the book, and figuring out how to apply it in a way that is suitable for children was something that took much thought. I was able to go beyond an entertaining story and into a completely new territory that not even the most experienced authors venture into. My message is something that can be applied for all ages, and translating that into what many think is the lowest caliber of writing talent was harder than I imagined. Since the message is close to my heart, I wanted to make sure that it was translated into the book properly, something that took a new level of creativity as well as synthesis.
Results:
I created a rough outline of the children’s book I plan to finish by the end of the year. The outline includes original concept art, description of the original characters I created, and a summary of the plot as well as the message I intend to convey throughout the book. These results will forward my final product and create the foundation for a book that I will publish. This book will contain content that will overall benefit the reader, allowing them to reflect on their attitude towards themself no matter what age they are. For somebody who changed their original work in December, there is a good amount of content included in the work. This works as a sort of skeleton for what I intend to build throughout the next quarter. I will admit that I feel as if I could have done more research on how to create a popular children's book, however, my goal is moreso pointed towards creating an impactful book. Overall, I am proud of the results.
Conclusion/Interpretation:
Throughout my research and writing, I came to the conclusion that having fun with this project is more important to me than creating something perfect. Creative writing is all about expression, and I feel as if I should enjoy that expression. I feel like this project has allowed me to do just that with some wiggle room. I can showcase a deep meaning while having children as my audience. Children truly are a worthy audience, and perhaps they need this message the most. Young minds need to be fed with things that they not only enjoy, but things that influence them in a positive way. My work has such potential, and I am extremely excited to continue working on it. My skeleton outline is a great foundation to build upon, with the only work I need to do for my final project being that I must reach a good word count and continue illustrating my characters.
Application/Meaning:
My original work will eventually be published, and put out into the public. The real world will either embrace my work, or throw it away. Whichever it chooses, my book will be able to impact real children and give them perspective on what their mind says about them. Young children need to know that their struggles are valid, and that they are more worthy than they think that they are. My book, which is about intrusive thoughts as well as thinking that is hurtful towards how children think of themselves, will hopefully be used to teach kids the importance of self-love. Perhaps even adults will be able to relate the message in the book. I am hoping that it is as impactful as I wish for it to be. Another application is that it will further my understanding of the publishing industry, and I will be able to put it on my resume. Although these are lesser applications, they are still very important to me.