As far as writing goes, this has been one of the most involved projects I've had the chance to work on in a long time. And due to the fact that I like to make my writing projects as complete as possible, there are many old and new pieces filed in this portfolio simultaneously. All my pieces from my Art of Writing Class are stuffed into this packet, along with things written outside and prior to the class. Basically, this is a good representation of the work I've done over the past two years.
I can say I've grown as a writer, but that's mainly because I have let myself "live a little" instead of sitting in my flighty mind for hours at a time, trying to come up with situations that would make good stories. That's not the best approach to writing. I prefer the toddler-learning-to-walk approach. I read and read and read-- like a baby watches people walk around -- thus getting acquainted with the idea of writing. I try to do the same myself and quite often find myself sprawled on the floor, whining and kicking my legs in the air. Writing takes an effort and only gets easier if you work at it.
Of course, if I work on it too much, I go insane. After writing for about three days straight, I could not write for a week and a half. Instead, I took to drawing and doodling, or anything that kept me from being a drooling mass at the end of my bed. I could not pick up a pencil or pen without feeling like I had been thrown off a cliff. It's a nerve-wracking feeling, to say the least, and I tried to avoid it as best as possible. But when you're in school, there is only so much someone can avoid writing.
Some of my writing is spontaneous and off the top of my head. Other times, it is well thought-out and planned and polished. It just depends on the mood I'm in, I guess. At this point, my desire to write is getting to an all-time low, after having worked on writing for the past week and a half. I'm going insane again, and have a writing conference to go to. This time next week, I'll be a basketcase. But I'm looking forward to it. Of course, it's going to be a really long time before I pull a stunt like this again. Too many pages, too much thinking, too much writing, too many sheets of paper. But I'm happy with the outcome; that would be a large representation of the last two years of my writing, all typed out and pretty.
Thank God I'm finally done with it. That means that this is where I say "The End."