Creative Writing Portfolio

Creative Writing Portfolio By: Kayleigh Harnish

Creative Writing with Mr. Hertzog

Contents Author’s Forward Author’s Notes Author’s Content

Table of Contents Author’s Forward- Pages 1&2 Author’s Notes- Pages 1-6 Non Fiction Piece- Personal Narrative Page 7&8 Extended Work of Fiction- “Caught” Page 9&10 Flash Fiction 1- “Trickery”- Page 11 Flash Fiction 2- “Sometimes Sorry Isn’t Enough”- Pages 12&13 Poems- Pages 14-16

Author’s Forward The first technique I used was so simple and so obvious, yet I overlooked it so often. I remember watching the video of the author describing that when you are writing, you should simply take breaks when you become uninspired. He claims that there is no point at sitting at a desk with a pen and pencil with no ideas. As I explained earlier, when I would try to write stories of my own, I could sit for hours racking my brain for what would happen next or if the plot should change, or maybe a new character should enter the story. This tip was very helpful because it taught me that it is best to write when you are inspired. I used this technique when I wrote “Over.” This was a follow up to my “Sometimes Sorry Isn’t Enough” work during our lesson Anatomy of a scene. The way I used this scene was because I was not quite sure what I wanted the outcome to be. I was not sure If I wanted the abusive boyfriend to travel to her or if he was just trying to scare her. I closed my laptop and went to my brother’s lacrosse team and heard lots of yelling.

That is when I was inspired to finish the story the way I did. “Alex arrived at his destination and pounded on the large wooden door, only to be greeted with a group of five county sheriffs.” I decided to have the antagonist follow through with his threat to come get the main character and for the story to end with him finally being taken away for the abuse he had caused to the protagonist.

Another technique that became very helpful was learning to show the setting rather than tell it. As I started to write like this, my works started to flow much better and overall, I could picture the scene much more vividly. During this lesson, the speaker explained a story of a family member who had passed and that the man was blaming his wife for the death. It was so easy to picture the room and what the two characters were doing because he was showing the setting. I learned that saying “Margot plopped on the old, smelly, grey couch.” Was better than making the character say, “This couch smells.”.

It would leave out lots of detail and has the potential to ruin the current dialogue or conversation. I used this technique when I wrote my self-criticism poem, “Imperfect”. I

wanted to be sure to make the scene clear for the readers to picture to feel the aching pain and jealousy that my character felt. “she stares at herself in her old, dusty mirror and criticizes her pale, uneven skin tone and cringes at her shorter, frizzier hair”. It was easy to make this poem free of dialogue by showing the scene. In this example I am showing the mirror in her bedroom and showing what she sees in the mirror.Page 1 The next technique that was helpful for my writing was how to organize dialogue.

Before this lesson, I would leave my dialogue in the middle of my writing which was hard for the reader to understand. After that lesson, I learned that it is much easier to read a story if you bring the start of dialogue to the outside, that way you can understand conversation between characters easily. I did not do this in one of my stories, and I am glad that I was critiqued and was able to fix it to be able to improve it. I finally did this in my story “Sometimes Sorry Isn’t Enough” and it made such a difference.

“What did I say about you talking to him, huh?” His face is only inches away from mine and as he speaks, I can feel the heat radiating from his skin.

“I promise he is only my friend; he works for my-.”

He tightly grabs my face with his right hand, cutting me off.

As you see here, it is easy to understand the conversation between the two people.

My favorite story was “Sometimes Sorry Isn’t Enough”. Writing this story was difficult because it was such a real situation that required lots of strong emotion. I had to step into the main character, Haley’s shoes and attempt to express the vulnerability and hopelessness she was experiencing. On the other hand, I also had to try to act as Alex, Haley’s’ abusive boyfriend. It was hard to do this because I had never felt the amount of anger it would take to lash out like this character did. I researched facts about abusive relationships to attempt to make it as real as possible and in each case, the abuser often apologizes each time in hopes of keeping the other person with them. Out of all my works, this was my favorite to create and share because of the raw emotion it conveyed and because of the realness of the story.

The work I struggled with the most was my personal narrative due to the fact because it was so long, and it was difficult for me to stay on track since I knew all the facts of the story and didn’t have to make anything up.

This Creative Writing course has given me the opportunity to further my love for writing.

It has taught me things about writing that I didn’t even know existed. I have always written short stories in my free time or attempted to start novels, but I was always discouraged and that was because I did not have the groundwork, I needed to be able to start my own creations. Thanks to this class I will be able to successfully write more stories.

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Author’s Notes Flash Fiction Alayah lit her cigarette and took a long drag as she kicked the gravel in front of her while traveling down a back alley in a small town she came across in her aimless travels in hopes of finding somewhere to stay. After coming out to her religious parents, she was immediately kicked out with nothing but a small bag of belongings and the heavy depression that sat on her shoulders. She tucked a piece of her long black hair behind her ear while millions of thoughts flew around her mind at thousands of miles per hour. Deep down she knew that at seventeen years old she had no chance of making it out alive in the real world and would have to return home. So she ended her undirected trek and she promised her parents she would go to church and be cleansed by the priest.

Although she knew it did not work like that, she hid her true feelings away because in the end she knew that being gay would mean having no family. So she promised her mother that she would marry a nice, catholic man, birth catholic children, and live ‘happily’ ever after.

I wrote this story because I know lots of people who can relate to this feeling. When I first wrote it, I didn’t include as much physical detail which is very important in every story. I left “lit her cigarette and took a long drag” because it created a sense of who Alayah was, and what her mood was in the story. I also tried to include more figurative language in the revised version of the story to make it more dynamic and interesting.

Without figurative language, the story is very bland. In the final draft, I also extended the story by having the character question whether to return home or not.

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Extended Fiction Michael opened the door to the heavy aired building and took a seat at the bar. He noticed a beautiful young lady next to him and had a nice little conversation with her before ordering a drink for them both. Soon after, Michael began to feel very drowsy, and when he was woken up by the bartender telling him to leave. The young girl was gone and strangely enough, so was his wallet. He apologized the to the bartender and explained the situation, but he was told that his tab was taken care of by the girl he was sat next to.

He retraced his steps and decided that he did indeed have his wallet with him when he entered the bar. He decided to go back to his hotel to change into comfortable clothing and get something to eat at the hotel buffet. Michael checked his online banking to see if his cards had been used at all since they all went missing. To his dismay, they were not used so there was no way of tracking his wallet. I was worried out of my mind that all of my money would be wiped and I would be left with nothing. I could easily call the bank and cancel my cards, but for some reason, I really wanted to do this by myself. I luckily remembered exactly what the girl looked like and even remember her name being Victoria. Just as I sat down to eat, an unfamiliar alarm went off on my phone. It was an alert saying that three-hundred dollars was just spent at one place and needed me to approve it. Now was my time to decide if I wanted to stick to my boring routine or take my chances and try to get my wallet by myself. I clicked the green check mark and headed to my car, typing the address into my GPS. When I reached the location I realized it was a country themed bar that reeked of cigarette. I looked all over, and Victoria was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey was there a girl with long curly brown hair just in here?” I asked the bartender. He seems agitated but answered “Yep she bought everyone here the most expensive liquor we had. She kept slurring compliments of Michael.” He laughed. “Must be some creepy sugar daddy.” “Hey say I was bar hopping… Where would I go next?” I ask hoping to get a solid answer. “Check out ‘The Dirty Rabbit’ the young girls love it.” He winks. “perfect.” I thank him and quickly wave goodbye. I hop in my car and race down to the bar that the bartender recommended. Another alarm goes off and this time I am alerted for five-hundred dollars. “Must be a bit fancier and a lot more crowded” I angrily mutter to myself. As I enter the building I see the culprit coming towards the exit. “This is so great.” Victoria giggles. She is tipsy and is loving the freedom of spending Michael’s money. As she reaches the exit, she recognizes a face she did not expect to see. She quickly tried to change the direction in which she was headed but when she is gripped by the elbow, she knew that her joy ride had definitely come to an end. “Come on Ms. Victoria, you’ll be coming with me.” Michael said in a menacing tone. He had never felt so aggressive but it felt so right. “You are hurting me!” Victoria yelped. She was scared.When she first met this man he seemed so innocent and gullible. When the two reached the car, he slammed her small body against the trunk. “You thought you would get away with this didn’t you, sweet heart.” He chuckled to belittle Victoria.

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“What can I do to make it up to you? I’ll do anything.”

She looked up at Michael enticingly. Michael tucked a hair behind her ear and sighed.

“You devilish little girl.” Michael clicked his tongue and shook his head. He rose his large hand and slapped it across Victoria’s small face leaving a large red hand print and grabbed his wallet from her bra. He threw her away from his car and before driving off said “I’ll see you soon, darling.” With an evil smirk.

To revise this piece, I was sure to make the story come through the correct point of views. In this unrevised piece, it is clear that it changes back and forth. I also made sure to separate the dialogue so it became easier to read and had a better flow. I also added a bit of back story in the beginning to explain that he was on a business trip and that was why he was unfamiliar with the area and why he was staying in a hotel. My intention of the story was to convey that there is a different side of a person and different things can trigger that. Michael was a kind innocent man until he got taken advantage of. When he realized he was being played by this young girl, he turned into a different, more aggressive person who got his way.

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Poems Beauty A model in a pink robe curls her brunette hair while sitting Criss cross in front of a tall mirror An old woman sitting in her white car applies pink lipstick to her wrinkled lips using the rear-view mirror A young boy dressed in pink uses green gel to style his hair in a perfect form Beauty is everywhere and beauty is in everyone My goal in this poem was to show that different types of people no matter what age or gender, do things to make themselves feel more beautiful. I did my best to use lots of figurative language to set the scene and allow readers to picture what the different characters are doing in order to feel beautiful. To revise this poem I changed the figurative language and made it even more detailed.

Anxiety is sitting in your room alone with a cloud above your head which is releasing endless amounts of raindrops ridden with stressful thoughts.

This poem was written to show that depression is most likely to be its worst when you are alone. I used more figurative language to express the emotions I wanted to convey. Figurative language is like a seasoning to a meal, it makes it better and more tasteful. When I revised this piece, I used more formal words and better language to make it flow well. I also changed the font and form to follow guidelines.

I want affection I want to give affection but I am alone I wrote this Haiku in hopes of expressing that many people feel alone. Whether they feel romantically alone or have no friends to spend time with, it is hard to fTorevise this poem I decided to use different words to make the poem sound slightly morecomplex. It is important to have complex wording in your works so the reader does not get bored with what they are reading.

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Personal Narrative “What year is it, sweetheart?” I remember the EMT asking. I lay in an ambulance dazed and confused, wondering why I was even there. I racked my brain, trying to remember what year it was and searching for the answers to all the questions they were asking, but all I could not remember a thing. I did know that I had a pounding headache and just wanted to lay in peace.

I had small, sticky patches placed around my body causing me to scratch the itchy spots all over. While hot tears rolled down my red cheeks, my weak body attempted to sit up and look for my mom who was by my side in panic. She soothed and ran her warm yet clammy hands up and down my cold arms. We reached the hospital and I was finally transported to a room and was transferred from the stretcher onto the uncomfortable hospital bed I was told that I had a seizure.

At that point in time both my mother and I were very uneducated about seizures and had no idea why I had one. I still had a grueling headache and experienced constant nausea. A nurse greeted me quietly and proceeded to place an IV into my arm. After a small pinch, the needle was inserted, and a water solution was being slowly pumped into my arm to keep my body hydrated. My mom sat by my side, rubbing my head in hopes of alleviating pain. After a long night of different testing including EKGs, cat scans, and drawing blood, I was finally wheeled out of the hospital and into my dad’s car.

I was showered with relief when I was finally able to go home and get some rest after a long, eventful day. When I woke up the next morning, my mom was sure to take care of me all day in case of another accident. After my first seizure, my mom instantly began to do research and learn all about seizures and the different types. As a 13-year-old girl, it was so stressful and hard to comprehend everything that was happening.

A close friend recommended we see a neurologist which is a doctor who specializes in different types of neurological disorders. He recommended that I have an EEG which would track my brain activity. I had no idea what to expect since I had never had or needed an EEG before. I sat in the waiting room, nervously tapping my foot due to my anxiety. When my name was called, I sat up and followed the nurse into a room full of colorful wires and computers.

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I laid on the examination table and the nurse began to draw marks on my scalp and was worried that they would be there forever. She used a special paste to stick small patches on my hair that would track my brain activity during the session. After the nurse sat on her chair and watched my brain waves change on her computer, she removed all the wires leaving a greasy residue which I later scrubbed off.

When my doctor examined the results, he discovered that there was abnormal brain activity and I was then diagnosed with epilepsy. As a teenage girl, it was hard to hear this. I would have to be monitored constantly and wasn’t able to be as independent as all my friends were. I was prescribed medication that I would take every morning and every night both at 7:00. Our entire family hoped and prayed that the medication would stop any further seizures from occurring.

Sadly, I continued to have seizures. We tried different medications and special diets, but nothing seemed to work. After seeing three different doctors, we still had not gotten new information or answers. For two years, I was seizure free and we thought we had solved the problem and had the right kind of medication. I was able to be more independent and hang out with more often without having too much worry. When I turned sixteen I could not wait to get my permit and start driving! It was going to be amazing to have the freedom to go where I wanted and be able to go by myself. When the special time came to get my permit, I had another seizure.

After each seizure, you legally are required to wait six months until you can drive again.

My mom consoled me when I was clearly upset and promised to take me places I wanted to go whenever she could. She did her best to try to make my abnormal situation, normal.

I was grateful but it just did not feel the same. After the six, dreadful months, I finally could drive! It was the best feeling to be able to beat my epilepsy and finally get what I wanted without my seizure disorder getting in my way. My mom even bought a cake to celebrate. Those two months of having my license were amazing.

My heart broke when I was shaken awake by my school nurse who found me on the bathroom floor. I felt defeated once again. I have seizures to this day and we are still searching for answers. I currently am enrolled in all online courses to avoid having another seizure at school. We all hope that someday my seizures will be controlled and I will once again get the independence that I strive for. During the entire experience, I have learned that my mom is my number one supporter and has always been there for me since the beginning of my diagnoses.

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Extended work of fiction “Caught” Michael was sent to Miami Florida for a week on a special business trip and was enjoying the warm weather rather than the chilliness he was used to in New Jersey. He had several, long, dreadful meetings in one day so he decided to go to a bar near his hotel to relax. He opened the door to the heavy aired building and took a seat at the bar. He noticed a beautiful young lady next to him and had a nice little conversation with her before ordering a drink for them both. Soon after, Michael began to feel very drowsy, and when he was woken up by the bartender telling him to leave. The young girl was gone and strangely enough, so was his wallet. He apologized the to the bartender and explained the situation, but he was told that his tab was taken care of by the girl he was sat next to. He retraced his steps and decided that he did indeed have his wallet with him when he entered the bar. He decided to go back to his hotel to change into comfortable clothing and get something to eat at the hotel buffet. Michael checked his online banking to see if his cards had been used at all since they all went missing. To his dismay, they were not used so there was no way of tracking his wallet. I was worried out of my mind that all of my money would be wiped and I would be left with nothing. I could easily call the bank and cancel my cards, but for some reason, I really wanted to do this by myself. I luckily remembered exactly what the girl looked like and even remember her name being Victoria. Just as I sat down to eat, an unfamiliar alarm went off on my phone. It was an alert saying that three-hundred dollars was just spent at one place and needed me to approve it. Now was my time to decide if I wanted to stick to my boring routine or take my chances and try to get my wallet by myself.

I clicked the green check mark and headed to my car, typing the address into my GPS. When I reached the location I realized it was a country themed bar that reeked of cigarette.

I looked all over, and Victoria was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey was there a girl with long curly brown hair just in here?” I asked the bartender. He seems agitated but answered “Yep she bought everyone here the most expensive liquor we had. She kept slurring compliments of Michael.” He laughed.

“Must be some creepy sugar daddy.”

“Hey say I was bar hopping… Where would I go next?” I ask hoping to get a solid answer.

“Check out ‘The Dirty Rabbit’ the young girls love it.” He winks.

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“perfect.” I thank him and quickly wave goodbye. I hop in my car and race down to the bar that the bartender recommended. Another alarm goes off and this time I am alerted for five-hundred dollars.

“Must be a bit fancier and a lot more crowded” I angrily mutter to myself. As I enter the building I see the culprit coming towards the exit.

“This is so great.” Victoria giggles. She is tipsy and is loving the freedom of spending Michael’s money. As she reaches the exit, she recognizes a face she did not expect to see.

She quickly tried to change the direction in which she was headed but when she is gripped by the elbow, she knew that her joy ride had definitely come to an end.

“Come on Ms. Victoria, you’ll be coming with me.” Michael said in a menacing tone. He had never felt so aggressive but it felt so right.

“You are hurting me!” Victoria yelped. She was scared. When she first met this man he seemed so innocent and gullible. When the two reached the car, he slammed her small body against the trunk.

“You thought you would get away with this didn’t you, sweet heart.” He chuckled to belittle Victoria.

“What can I do to make it up to you? I’ll do anything.” She looked up at Michael enticingly.

Michael tucked a hair behind her ear and sighed.

“You devilish little girl.” Michael clicked his tongue and shook his head. He rose his large hand and slapped it across Victoria’s small face leaving a large red hand print and grabbed his wallet from her bra. He threw her away from his car and before driving off said “I’ll see you soon, darling.” With an evil smirk.

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Flash Fiction Piece Trickery I had never been more fooled in my life before. Trickery at its finest. I was alone at the local, run-down bar after my torturous, minimum wage job, enjoying a mixture of rum and coke that always seemed to smooth the stress. I took a sip and tapped my nails on the counter aimlessly and felt a presence appear to my right. I sat that glass down, tucked my hair behind my ears and turned to evaluate the stranger. I had never seen him before.

“You new around here?” I ask with a slight attitude and a raised eyebrow.

“No, I just tend to avoid dive bars like this one.” He laughed lightly and ordered the same as Haley.

“You’re very pretty, you know, and don’t worry I’m not trying to get into your pants it’s genuine.” The anonymous man had a beautiful, white smile.

“Oh, don’t flirt with me.” Haley scoffed, gulped the rest of her drink and knocked on the counter signaling the bartender for another.

“Hey why not?” The man seemed taken aback. Usually woman were all over him.

“I am a nice girl. I know men like you don’t like girls like me.”

“Here ya go, Haley.” The bartender announced.

“Haley is your name…. Well I can’t tell if you’re drunk or sassy, but either way I like you already. My name is Alex.” Alex now turned his body completely towards Haley and rested his temple on his knuckles.

“Well, thank you I guess…” Haley shyly remarked and looked down. The two talked for hours and before the night ended, Alex had her phone number and she couldn’t wait to see him again.

How dumb and innocent twenty-two-year-old Haley was. She was entranced by his dark brown, styled hair, bright white smile, and his charming sweet talk. She never would have guessed that she would be stuck in a relationship with him that resulted in her being tossed and beaten when the stuck-up man didn’t get his way. She was broken. She forever resented the tasted of rum and coke.

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Flash Fiction “Sometimes Sorry Isn’t Enough” “I’m sorry baby I’ll never do it again.”

I beg for my boyfriend’s forgiveness. I watch him pace back and forth in front of me as I sit on our worn couch in our run-down apartment.

“What did I say about you talking to him, huh?” His face is only inches away from mine and as he speaks, I can feel the heat radiating from his skin.

“I promise he is only my friend; he works for my-.” He tightly grabs my face with his right hand, cutting me off.

“I don’t give a shit, Haley. I told you about talking to men, didn’t I?” He releases my face from his tight grip and harshly slaps my face, leaving a stinging sensation before walking away.

“Please forgive me Alex, I love you I won’t talk to him again.” I yell with tears streaming down my cheeks, one I am sure has a large, red hand print on it. I pour myself a glass of water and head to the patio for some fresh air in hopes of calming down. I place a cigarette between my lips and take a long drag as I light it. I constantly consider leaving, but it is my fault that he hit me, he did tell me before not to talk to that man, but I still did. The sound of the sliding glass door opening jolts me out of my thoughts and brings my attention to my teary-eyed boyfriend.

“I’m so sorry I hit you, baby, you just made me so mad.” He sniffles. “I won’t ever hit you again I promise.” I have heard this several times before.

“Okay.” I shrug and look in a different direction. I stand up and put my half-smoked cigarette between his lips and with confidence remark, “Whatever you say.” As I open the sliding glass door, I feel the burning sensation of the cigarette against my arm.

“What are you doing, Alex?” I rub the burn.

“Don’t disrespect me.” I turn and stare at him with my bruised face, burnt arm and tear stained cheeks and whimper a quiet Page 12

“Sorry.�

I soak my body in a warm bath and dream about better places. A place where I am with my family on the beach and I have a boyfriend who plays with my nieces and nephews and takes care of me and respects me. Soon the water is no longer warm, so I dry my bruise ridden body off, slowly tread back into my bedroom, fall onto my bed and bury myself into my covers and sob. I soon drift off into a deep sleep that I wish I could stay in forever.

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Beauty A model in a pink robe curls her brunette hair while sitting Criss cross in front of a tall, dusty mirror An old woman sitting in her white car applies pink lipstick messily to her wrinkled lips using the rear-view mirror A young boy dressed in pink uses green gel to style his hair in a perfect form Beauty appears everywhere and in everyone

She sits in her memory foam bed adorned with a grey, down comforter and stares at her phone screen wishing she looked like the girls she saw online They looked so beautiful with their perfect tan, long, smooth hair, and perfect skin she stares at herself in her old, dusty mirror and criticizes her pale, uneven skin tone and cringes at her shorter, frizzier hair she takes it upon herself to cover her imperfections with expensive cosmetics in hopes of achieving the beauty that these women possessed she takes product and tools to create the smooth curly hair that these girls had that she did not have naturally.

When she completes the routine, she looks at herself in the mirror and sees herself A different version of herself, the beautiful version

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EVIL Evil surrounds us may it be physical or not Your heart may feel tortured, a dragon battle, breathing fire on your wounds You may hear devilish whispers in your ears, urging you to sin You may physically see evil A man abusing his wife She is worthless Your heart is broken which turns you evil

She finds happiness as she places the two small buds into her ears and hears the sweet lyrics and beautiful melody pour

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I yearn affection I yearn to give affection Yet I am alone

I sit in silence Thoughts take over my mind I learn intense things

Joy overcomes me As I spend my time with her I have secret love

For how my heart leaps when I see you And my arms numb when I don’t Everyday my love for you renews For how my heart leaps when I see you When I don’t see you, sorrow and grief brews Once again you have left me, for I should have known For how my heart leaps when I see you And my arms numb when I don’t

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