Author: Ayana McPherson

Decision Making

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Capstone 2 Comments

Writing can sometimes be hard even if it is “your thing.” I have had a rough time constructing the story of the BSU. As I continue to create material I find that I need to write and take breaks because generating prose is a lot different than generating material from a research perspective. I have actually done lots of research in regards to my project but a good bulk of it has been on the techniques of storytelling. The other information I used was from the interviews. My project is really a retelling of the stories I heard from my interviewees, but with a change of persepctive, proximity and point of view.

While it has been difficult to find the words I am emmersing myself in a process that requires trust. I will have to tell the story, however rough it is, and from there going on to revising will help in my story actually being shaped into the technique. More on this later, but those are some of my current challenges.

StoryTelling

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Capstone 1 Comment

Look at the listeners body language and expression.

Have you ever thought about what it means to be a raconteur? I have not, until I began interviewing for my capstone project. Storytelling is truly an art. It isnt just knowing how to read or how to embellish words on a page, but rather it is a much more flavorful experience. Storytelling is the ability to relay an event or series of events in a tasteful, trustworthy and genuine manner. It is the ability to transport ones feelings to another place that renders listeners/readers vulnerable to a different reality. It allows the listener/reader to have a look into your imagination and relive that which has already been experienced.

Skillful storytelling is a learned trait for some and for others they are born with the gift. All storytellers however, must practice. In preparation for my projects final stages I am practing my story telling skill in order to complete my capstone both through written achievement as well as experiential growth of other mediums. More on this later.

Trust the Process

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Capstone Leave a comment

As I reflect on the capstone I am realizing how important it is to trust the process. I was very worried about my project and executing something that I was not 100% emotionally invested in. But this project has unfolded in a semi-miraculous way. I did an interview on Friday and from this interview I figured out what medium I will be publishing my project as. I want to keep the idea of the project but instead of recording the writing as a documentary I want to tell the story of the BSU, the history and the mission common goals and it role in the community. I will research the art of storytelling to make it a true story and I will use the stories of the people i interview to help me to tell my story. It seems like a lot but wish me luck in trusting that the process will take me to each next step.

Capstone- Contradictions and Challenges

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Capstone Leave a comment

So hey guys, lets talk about these contradictions and challenges with the Writer’s Evolution Essay. In class we spoke about authenticity and as I reflect it seems this has been a topic of conversation throughout the minor courses. Finding this true, authentic voice seems to be the challenge when writing about ones self. This is also precisely the challenge I am facing now.

We spoke on writing to please the reader and in some forms of writing I do believe this is an acceptable adaptation. But when writing about ones self, while it may be acceptable I do not think it is necessary. Here is where contradictions come into play. I began my essay on the premise that I would not be converging on any one point and stating that I evolved to a specific point/level of enlightenment. However, I ended up doing just that. Although I was not 100% clear and going in one direction with my thoughts, I did end up making a solid point by the end.

The problem with this is because I was trying to write what I felt Professor McDaniel wanted to hear I was not using my authentic voice. You see my authentic voice likes to converge on a point by using the analysis I have drawn from the situation to build a conclusion. The point may be multi fasceted however it is still a point. The analysis is the essay and the “point” I converge upon should be apart of it. Talking about the process is the actual point of this essay becasue evolution is not a finished product it is the process of evolving.

I still have many ideas in my head but I will leave you all with a question. Why have we forsaken our “Why I Write, “essays? We have already identified our purpose and it can surely help us talk about our evolution thereafter.

Farewell student, Hello Writer!

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Gateway, Gateway Portfolio Leave a comment

It is crazy that we have come to the end of fall 2014 cohort’s gateway course. I am amazed at how much work we have done over the semester and how much I can say I have learned. After only 3 months I now know how to use:
-Imovie
-Garageband
-Adobe Illustrator
-Wix website to create my own eportfolio

And all of this I learned from a writing course. Crazy how much I got from a writing course that was not writing. LOL!  I gained the tools necessary to find creative ways to publish my works when I could have never imagined my work existing past a word document. Thank you to my classmates and my fabulous teacher and the professors in the minor. This has been a great semester that I can walk away from proud of my accomplishments!

I am no longer a student neither are my classmates. We are writers now with the skills to find and create mediums to publish our work. We have a voice no one can silence. So lets go out and make noise!

CHEERS TO A GRAND SEMESTER! WE DID IT!

 

Here is the link to my eportfolio. Enjoy!

http://ayanammc.wix.com/eportfolio

Future MIW Students

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Gateway Leave a comment

Dear Future MIW Students,

There is a semester ahead of you that will take you by storm. You will be challenged to write new things, to be honest, to find your voice, to revise thoroughly, to stretch your creative mind and begin to mold it into a constiently changing entity. The gateway course (Writing 220)  is all that I can speak on at this point and as I am coming to the end of the course I must say that it has been quite a journey for me.  I came in thinking that all I would be doing is writing but I have indeed done way more than that.

From the very first assignment we were given I was asked to tell the truth. The prompt was “why I write.” I had to write a paper about why I write. I thought, very shallowly I must add, that I wrote to release and to get my points across and then I thought to myself that I wrote because I was good at it. This was the truth. I liked it because I was good at it. For our second project I created a magazine spread where I had to learn how to work Adobe Illustrator and format 8 pages of a magazine. From creative design to content I had to do it all. And for the third project I had to create a movie via imovie, format, edit and shoot the entire film.

In a nutshell, being a student in the Writing Minor is not for the weak hearted. We write a lot, we teach ourselves how to create new mediums for our work and we have to be innovative. It is hard work and very rewarding in the end. We have works that do not just look like a college paper but they are published and revised works that we can proudly show to anyone. It is an honor to be a writing minor student. So go forth, prosper and prove things to yourself that you never thought you could do. I know I have so why cant you?

ImaWriter

Who Runs The World?

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Gateway Leave a comment

Writers are truly the heartbeat of the world. People say knowledge is power. Some of the worlds most educated and highly respected persons read the newspaper and scholarly journals and writers write those. Some even say that the Bible is law and that it governs whole religions of people. The apostles were writers too. Writers truly are the heartbeat of the world. We keep people thinking and questioning and knowing what is happening in our minds. We can truly lead the world by showing them our perspective. The perspective of the world is simply the perspective of the writer or the thoughts provoked by statements made by the writer.

Who run the world?
Writers have the power to run the world. Even Beyonce knows it!

Who runs the world? WRITERS!

Pop…

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Gateway Leave a comment
This is what comes up in google search when you type in pop. It's clearly called soda NOT pop!
This is what comes up in google search when you type in pop. It’s clearly called soda NOT pop!

Tired is a thing that happens to people when they feel they have had enough of something or when they are actually physically fatigued or sleepy. Getting tired of something means you have exhausted your own personal tolerance for whatever it is that you are doing. You wanna know something I am never tired of… Pop. In New York we call it soda, but in the Midwest and in the South its, “clearly called pop,” as per my friends. They always use the term pop to describe the carbonated drink I usually have at restaurants. Ever heard the saying, “when in Rome do as the romans do?” Yea it sounds good and all but as for me ill stick with the soda! Listen to how soda sounds. SO-dUH! Two of the funniest phrases every used. It is perfect for the clear bubbly liquid that I can resist only long enough to urinate and rid myself of the Sprite right before it. Before you know it im back at it drinking another soda (sprite to be exact). Right now I have a 24oz. Sprite as I write this. I also had another one at a book club meeting and after that at my boyfriend’s house. Sprite is vesatile. It can actually be consumed anywhere. There is no criteria other than have a mouth and a throat so you can swallow the tasty goodness. It even tastes great flat- uncarbonated. I know there are things you all dont get tired of. What are they?

This is an authentic sprite. Drawn and colored to perfection!
This is an authentic sprite. Drawn and colored to perfection!

Project III…Help!

Ayana McPherson 2014 Fall Cohort, Gateway Leave a comment

Project III- remediating I have chosen to remediate my prject II, which was the last unofficial copy of Jet Magazine, into a video. I want to show the world we live in from different perspectives ranging from light to dark skinned. I will include a video interview with myself as the narrator.  I want to go into places like the drug store and look or color palattes and see what it is like to try someone elses skin tone on for size. Then I want to have a portion where I go home and make up half of my face with makeup that is not consistent with my skin tone. Next I want to go into the interview portion of the video. After I have shown at least 5 different view points I will then switch to myself again and speak about all the information I have been able to gather. I need to get: -camera from ISS -interviewees -storyboard finished -editing practice   I am also thinking about the e-portfolio slightly. I want to find my connective tissues. About me- I want to obviously reveal my demographics (age, gender, race, major, hometown ,etc…) Then I was to have a picture of me as a dancer, fashionista, and then just a normal picture. This will help to show the different interests I have. I also want to talk about the way my life as a dancer connects to being the token identity in the room and then how that has informed my decision to write about being brown.  I kind of want to create a timeline to show my journey of accepting and realizing and finally appreciating my brown skin and my accomplishments about rasing awareness about colorism and empowering others to do the same! 2012- trip to italy and realizing brown -college essay 2013-Michigan and realizing that I am the token identity in many of my classes and one of few in my department 2014- PBG Maybe this timeline can translate differently in my eportfolio but I want to show some sort of journey and then my connective tissue will be the idea that each event inspires the next and the next until finally there is a girl proud to be Brown and wants others to be proud of who they are! More later on both of these projects.