Perspective Shifts

You may also want to check out the section on MYTH (D.3.a). Make sure, as with all creative pusuits, that you communicate the relelvance of your work when you use it to document your learning. Here are pieces from the 1991 Handbook of Inspiration:

CREATIVE WRITING May 1 1991

Minutes by Natasha and Jana:
	We began with a discussion of different ways of using creative 
writing as part of a journal, without necessarily including a section 
devoted to creative writing.  Angelica suggested using it as a way of 
creatively introducing other sections.  Beth W.'s session on 
"mythologizing" academic work seemed to be inspirational for a lot of 
people, and Chris suggested that one reason for this may be that the 
material becomes less threatening when in the form of a story or myth, 
because onis removed from it to a certain extent.  Another idea is to 
write a dialogue between two opposing oints of view in an essay, or in 
an issue one is discussing.
	We also talked about specific ways some of us had incorporated 
creative writing into our journals.  Angelica said she had written 
about a field trip she had taken in the form of a story, from another 
point of view.  Jana said she had written a piece from the point of 
view of her luggage to document her first impresions London-- again, 
it can just be a way of removing oneself from the rawness of 
experience or just for fun.  Chris mentioned that the journal is a 
space to play around with ideas and with the "truth."  Even if 
something doesn't work out, it's a good idea to put it in and document 
what you tried to do and where it went wrong, because it's still a 
valid part of the learning process.
	Jana brought four exercises as suggestions to get people 
started writing (see below).  Others had ideas of their own.  We 
split up for about 45 minutes, then came back to read what we had 
written and discuss it.

1)	Describe something from the point of view of:  a young lover, 
a man/woman whose child has just died, someone who's just found out 
they have a fatal disease.  Do not mention the lover/child/disease/etc.

2)	Using a wholly unrelated person, place, and object (given by 
other people), write a short story connecting them.

3)	Take a written piece-- an original of your own, a newpaper 
clipping, etc., and turn it into a "found" poem.  Rearrange the form 
of the poem to change the tone-- does it become ironic?  Comic?  
Does it bring out a new point?	

4)	Describe an everyday event-- getting up (morning routine), 
making/eating a meal, riding the bus/tube-- in a fantastic manner, 
i.e.-- comic, horrific, sci-fi, romantic, etc.

5)	Group exercise:  each person writes three paragraphs, one a 
true incident, one a lie, and one a fantasy.  Read aloud to the others 
who must try to guess which is which.

Facilitator:  Jana
Present:  Beth F, Chris, Jana, Natasha, Katherine, Angelica, Jessica, Miho

Workshop Discussion Sparks

Uses of this tool in "making the familiar strange, and the strange familiar" as part of reflective segment of the learning process

Inspired and Creative

See above excerpt

Rigorous Training

See above excerpt

AAAAAGGGHHHH!

It's just a game of make-pretend. You can't really worry about getting another perspective "right," because you are still you (pretending to have the point of view of someone or something else). Nobody expects anything different.