Please share your thoughts on what you took away from today’s conversation with author Andy Marino. What part(s) of the talk resonated most with you? Did you learn anything that, if applied, might help you to improve your own writing? In general, did you like having a guest speaker in the classroom? Your response should be at least five sentences long.
24 thoughts on “Blog Post #2: Reflecting on Guest Speaker Andy Marino’s Talk”
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I found the group conversation with Andy Marino extremely insightful. One big takeaway I got from the conversation is how to write your first drafts. He said when writing the first draft, especially for an assignment as short as this one, the most important thing is to get your thoughts on paper. Your first draft can be double the word limit of the actual assignment but through revision, you can cut out the unnecessary parts and create a better-paced story. Additionally, he spoke on info-dumping and why to give your audience pieces of information chapter-by-chapter. After reviewing my first draft, I found pacing to be a common issue so I will definitely keep these ideas in mind when I revise my draft.
My biggest take away was to just put crap on paper. Not only in writing, but in any creative process. It takes me an unreasonable amount of time to write any type of essay or assignment because I refuse to put a sentence down unless it sounds exactly the way I want it to, and most of the time I’m not even satisfied with what I eventually write so it just ends up being waste of time. Hopefully I can bring myself to not think so much into it during the beginning of the process, not only in writing but in my art, where I’ve also had creative blocks. Having a guest speaker was very helpful and he gave a lot of insight on working in a creative field.
I thought having the guest speaker for class today to share his personal experience during writing and now was helpful. In my own writing I struggle to stick with an idea without getting sidetracked to adding other ideas that may not be as concrete. He mentioned that every writer has different processes and the process for him not prewriting as much may not be effective for the next. I think taking away from this concept that my ideas can be written on the paper and then later edited it doesn’t have to be a perfect process from the start. So when I write my draft I’ll be sure to find the method that works best for me and stick with it. Keeping in mind that the more I read/write I’ll get better overtime.
I felt that having guest speaker Andy was quite informal on different ways we can improve our writing skills. One thing that stuck out to me was when he said just keep writing things down even if you might have to end up deleting the whole page because you may find an idea on how you want to go about in your paper. I tend to write in the bulk of words in my essay but when it comes time to remove some words I can’t seem to figure out what parts to remove and which to keep. This at times can make me lose focus on the main idea of the essay. I enjoy having a guest speaker since it’s only going to benefit us to learn something new.
From todays discussion with Andy Marino in our class I found that he gave some very useful information regarding writing that I will likely apply during the rest of this semester. For example, I really found the tips he told to get oneself to keep writing when they have no motivation. One of which being taking out a random book and writing down a paragraph to get yourself in the mood or write down random words. I also found it interesting to learn about how the book writing industry generally works. The main point being that the payments in the writing industry is based on royalties being sold to a author only if they hit a certain mark of books sold. The thing that Andy said that resonated with me the most would be to write a lot more than necessary in our first drafts of our fiction pieces. From there we should learn to cutdown. I felt having a guest speaker was very useful.
Today’s conversation with Andy Marino was helpful. When writing, the number one thing I struggle with is knowing when and how much information to give. Sometimes I flesh out all my ideas and give all the information in the beginning. Or I give barely any in the beginning and everything towards the end. I recall Andy saying something along the lines of leaving one clue in every chapter. Thus, the reader is given just enough information to want to keep reading. In general, I liked having a guest speaker in the classroom because it gives us an opportunity to learn from them.
Today’s conversation with author Andy Marino connected well with our current assignments and homework. One part of the talk that resonated with me was when he described the different writing styles he utilizes when speaking to different audience members. For example, when writing for younger kids, his paragraphs are shorter and end more abruptly, whereas when writing for older young adults, he can elaborate on his thoughts. I thought it was interesting how the question you posed during class about the importance of the length of a sentence related to what Andy Marino said.Another aspect I found interesting about today’s conversation was when he mentioned all the genres, such as history, he can incorporate in his fiction writing. This helped me further expand what I want to write for my fiction writing. Overall, I enjoyed having a guest speaking in the classroom because it gave me a different perspective and a first-hand account of his experiences.
The class session with Andy Marino was a great lesson about what it’s like to be a professional writer and the obstacles they may encounter. The biggest takeaway from this class to me was when Marino mentioned how it is important to keep writing in a writer’s block even if it feels impossible. Marino stated how he knows he will delete the writing he does when in a writer’s block, but it helps him keep momentum and motivation. Whenever I encounter a writer’s block I often want to give up and stop writing, but that often leads to me abandoning my writing making it difficult to pick back up in the future. Another new aspect of professional writing I learned from Marino is that editors often have a lot of say in this collaborative effort. Editors have this reputation of just reading and reviewing someone’s work, but they are also involved in the creative aspect of book writing, suggesting new ideas or changes. Having a guest speaker who is a professional writer was motivating because I felt inspired from his vibrant passion for writing novels.
I thought that the class was very helpful and insightful. A lot of the work in many of my classes revolves around writing reports and essays and sometimes one can just lose interest and not know what to write. Andy explained that when he has a difficult writers block he just writes down anything from his brain to paper. Also, when Mr. Marino was asked why he has written sci-fi and horror genres. Andy said he writes those genres because they’re familiar to him and that it just made sense. I found myself in the same situation when writing the first small draft of the fiction story. I was racking my brain until I found something i knew i could write about from personal experience. Over all, if I were to follow some of the advice given to us by Andy i feel that i could become a better writer overall not just in fiction.
I really enjoyed hearing from Andy Marino he gave some amazing insider advice. I liked how he said even when he had nothing to write he would just sit and write to get over his writers block. He did this knowing most of what he would write is useless but nonetheless did it. I like this idea since all pieces of writing need to be edited and by doing so you can potentially write something useful. I very much enjoyed having a speaker, I feel that hearing from people from within specific part of a career is very effective and educational.
Our class with Andy today was very insightful. It was interesting to see writing methods from someone who writes as a profession. My biggest takeaway is how he doesn’t try to brainstorm much before writing. I think as students we are taught to always brainstorm and write our ideas on paper before curating. Whether it be for tests, essay, etc. He also had the common response that no matter what you just have to write as it comes to mind and then improving the story with revision, which is something I don’t usually do.
Our class today with Mr. Marino was quite interesting. It was insightful and had a lot of good take aways. One that thing that I related to the most was when he explained how he just keeps writing whenever he is experiences writers block. I relate to this I also do the same when I get stuck while writing. My 9th grade english teacher advised me to do this and it has helped me improve my writing since. So it was really cool to learn that he does that as well. Another thing he said that I really liked was how he chooses to disperse his information throughout his work. He does not just pack all the information into one part. He separates it. Which is a really good thing to do so that your readers wont get bored fast. Overall I really enjoyed todays class!
I appreciated hearing our guest speaker, Andy Marino, speak and relate his experiences writing fictional books. He mentioned the application of writing and reading (even watching fictional stories unfold on the T.V. screen) allows us to relate to the characters- in a way, cultivating a connection to the characters’ experiences and personalities that we see imposed in us. Marino also raised his task of writing to compel the writers to keep turning the pages by planting small clues throughout the book. Hence, I think fiction has a way of grasping and captivating the readers’ attention that makes us feel integrated into the story and truly experiencing the emotions implied simply through words. Additionally, he also mentioned that sometimes the story has started before the story has actually taken place. This made me consider how and where the story should start- there shouldn’t be excess worldbuilding. Consequently, in my writing, I hope to frame my writing so that I write an appropriate beginning to the story: clear and concise.
I truly enjoyed having a guest speaker with so much experience and knowledge in class. As a reader, it is incredibly intriguing to discover what the process of creating a book entails from the perspective of a writer. There are aspects of being an author that I had never thought about previously. For example, the difference between how to write depending on the intended audience, like writing in shorter sentences for younger readers. Also, planning how and where certain details and clues will be delivered throughout the novel. The patience and skill that this requires is so impressive! It was compelling to learn that many authors and screen writers like to deliver two clues, while also leaving two clues for the audience to figure out. Meanwhile, others decide to deliver them all at once or completely scattered. I will definitely inspect future books I read to compare different authors’ methods. I also want to try out some of the writer’s block tactics that he mentioned, such as writing out my stream of consciousness or copying another text to get my mind and hands working. His advice was very helpful!
I really enjoyed having a speaker here in our class to talk about some of the techniques and suggestions when writing, especially with fiction where we are going to do it later in the class. Writing whatever thing that comes to your mind or just copying the paragraph of another author’s writing when you could not come up with your ideas and thoughts is a new first clue that I haven’t heard about before, and I found them very interesting and incredible because I may apply them later in the future, especially because this situation often happens to me. Next, having a draft first with no limit word and just compose whatever thing in it, and then shorten the work when it comes to review and proofread is what I usually do when doing any long paper or assignments, and I am very glad to hear that many people also found it helpful, especially when it comes from an author!
Having Andy over as a guest speaker was very helpful in terms of providing tips on his own writing process and how he deals with certain things that a lot of us struggle with. I haven’t done creative writing in a long time since high school I worked on a lot of research essays and analytical essays, so hearing that it was okay to not where you were heading with your writing was very relieving since it was difficult with just coming up with an idea, to begin with. He spoke about how you should just continue to write even if they don’t make the most sense because as you continue to write, you will realize what’s important to your story since there will be something that keeps being repeated. Both you and Andy also spoke on how a lot of times it’s easier to delete things and work from subtracting pieces than adding them. That was also good to hear from a professional writer since I tend to overthink whether or not I should write a detail and it wastes a lot of time when I could’ve drafted more. Overall, I really enjoyed hearing from Andy as some of the things he spoke on will be things I keep into consideration as I draft up my own story.
Having Andy Marino with us was extremely helpful because we were able to get advice from someone who knows the ins and outs of writing since he is a well known author. I really liked how he was able to point out his own flaws and let us know that even professionals have a hard time writing. He also let us know that the best thing we can do is not be so hard on ourselves and when we feel like we have no inspiration, to just put something down on paper. I will definitely take this advice because there are many times when I feel like I don’t have anything else to write. But putting something down on paper, even if its “crap”, will get my mind going. Having a guest speaker is such an important part of class because we have another opinion and another point of view. Our class will then become more dynamic and I think we can all benefit from it.
One idea I took away thorough Andy’s lecture is that writing is a process and literally write down whatever comes to your mind on paper an then you can edit it later because you may forget your ideas. Andy mentioned a strategy he used which I found it can be very beneficial to my writing was when he did research for a story, for example when he said something about a celebration in a certain country then he ended up finding the term for it. An obstacle I face in my writing process is thinking of an idea to write about, and it was good to hear that not only I struggle with this problem as a writer. Personally, the majority of guest speakers are not beneficial in any way for me, however, Andy is not like the majority. I was able to relate to Andy’s obstacles he faces when he writes and he mentioned what he does to overcome these obstacles which is what I will incorporate in my future writings.
Listening to Andy Marinos thought process when he is writing a book really bought some useful insight on what goes through an author’s mind when they are in writing a book. Andy mentioned that he would not try to think about what to write but instead just start writing about whatever he is thinking about at the time because that’s where he would get most of his writing done. Which helped me think about the fiction story that we were gonna write most of our creative thinking comes in short bursts of our imagination and instead of trying to remembering it I should instead just write what I am thinking but make sure that when I’m reviewing I polish the jumbled mess that are my thoughts which is something Andy emphasized the revision process being key into what makes a piece of fiction from average to great.
I learned a lot of expertise about fiction from author Andy Marino’s talk. I’ve always admired before how novelists have so many storylines in their heads and then write them down in words. I learned from Andy Marino’s conversation to put the creative ideas on a draft, to put everything we want to write on paper, even if it’s just one word, one sentence, and probably these notes will help me a lot in my subsequent writing. Creating a novel is very difficult for me because it is challenging to choose a theme and to work on that theme in an interesting way. Although the process of creating it was difficult, I think it will get better afterwards. I learned a lot from the writing experience shared by author Andy Marino, and I am glad that I was able to explore many issues and learn a lot about creative writing in this class.
I thought Andy Marino was a great guest speaker who gave a lot of important information. Andy emphasized the importance of simply getting thoughts out on paper when your thoughts may not be completely developed, or at all. Often times, I find myself having difficulty with this, and I believe it will assist me in the future. I was glad to hear his creativity doesn’t just spawn as if he was sitting in some meadow, underneath a tree, enlightened with thoughts. This showed me it’s okay to not have everything in mind at a given time and that writing takes a longer time than expected. I definitely enjoy having guest speakers in class because there is always so much to learn from other people.
I found Andy’s insight to be extremely helpful, especially because most of the questions asked also pertained to my own struggles with writing and my own curiosity about the craft. I found his suggestion to defeating “burn out” was to write anyway, even if you’ll delete it, the most relatable part of the Q&A for me. On days when I can’t think of what to write I usually avoid putting pen to paper, but his suggestion gave me a new outlook to try. I wish more of my classes had guest speakers, I believe his professional advice added more take away to the lesson. I left class feeling as if I learned more from the conversation with Andy, than I would have retained from reading a piece about the writing process.
Having Andy in class was an absolute blast because it gave me the opportunity to see the mind of a accomplished writer, and allowed me to see what strategies I could take from Andy and use in my own writing. Besides writing strategies, I also got to ask some more personal questions about the writing industry itself. For instance, I had always wondered how authors got paid and how they got book deals and what a contract possibly looks like. It was incredibly insightful to see someone speak about how they broke into a incredibly competitive industry and actually succeed. I was inspired to no end because I was able to see myself in a successful writer, and I will use his advice to further advance my own writing.
I thoroughly enjoyed having Andy as a guest speaker. It was great to hear many tips on writing from someone who’s entire life revolves around writing. From Andy, I learned that one of the most important ways of getting through writers block is to just write down your thoughts on paper. I always struggle with getting through writers block. Many of my previous teachers gave us templates and graphic organizers in order for us to begin writing our thoughts down, but I feel like the method of graphic organizers is too limited and it the students aren’t able to fully express themselves.