Literary Journalism on Monster and Planet

In “Mrs. Kelly’s Monster”, one example I found of Franklin using a metaphor to move forward the story is when he points out Mrs. Kelly’s medical issues. For example, he uses the “pop, pop, pop” sounds to describe the sounds of the heart monitor. On page 101, “The heart monitor pop, pop, pops with reassuring regularity.” I found it interesting that this use of sound to describe heartbeats helps the reader to be aware of what is happening at the moment - it effectively gives the readers an impression how Mrs. Kelly is having her surgery at the time. This is a good way to keep the reader present to the situation and to help them avoid getting lost in the complexities of neuroscience and the surgery. It keeps the reader grounded. I like the way that this author moves through the story by using descriptive techniques in the personal essay form. Throughout the piece, the use of vivid imagery keeps the reader to engage in the story of what is being presented. I can definitely learn how to incorporate this in my writing to make it interesting and creative when it comes to literary techniques.

Looking at “Mr. Bellow’s Planet,” was challenging to learn about Staples as I thought his writing style is kind of confusing and a bit rambling. The words Staples chose to use when describing and comparing things are so abstract but also truly described the thoughts of Staples and how he dealt with the world around him.There was the description of life in Chicago, the issues of racism that are presented, and the general idea of the writer’s process. The tone of the article was somewhat satirical as the readers are able to visualize or imagine Staples’ mind and put themselves in his place.

There are some metaphors and analogy, and creative language frequently used in the stories, which is something I want to learn to do in writing my story though I do find challenging to write in creative style as it takes a lot of imagining process. The process of creativity work of a story- getting great ideas- where we also have to detail in our own experiences to form deeply personal perspective, and have vivid imagery and abstract word choices.

Narrating a journal, meaning creative writing, is not as much of a practical bent as an academic essay articles. Writing a narrative journal is just not as the same as writing an academic essay or a regular journalism. It isn't just about the facts. Honestly, I think that trying to make something real into something artful is extremely difficult for me. As this piece contains a lot of descriptions and extremely detailed, it shows me how I could effectively find that direction to reach reader's interest.

But no doubt that, both disciplines- journalist and creative writer can learn from each other. Creative writers can learn from the journalist’s ability to promote themselves and to be concise, while journalists can learn from the creative writer’s ability to engage with their subjects in a deep way. That is how they combine into a literary journalist; 'literary journalists' conduct their work requiring both of these disciplines and skills.