Writing Journal-Assignment 1

The theme of the first city, “having faith is believing in something you cannot see,” was easiest for me to implement into a story. I think this is because of the way I personally think about a lot of things in life. I am not the kind of person who always has to see something or someone physically to believe in them. This is probably most exemplified in my belief in God, the supreme ruler of the universe and my creator.

It was definitely easier and more enjoyable for me to create an invisible city centralized around a specific theme. I tend to think of things in life in themes anyway and I’m a fairly organized person who likes to think of things categorically or in groupings. It just felt natural to compose a story that is trying to convey a central idea/theme.

The most difficult part of the assignment for me was making sure I used the right imagery and diction choices to accurately illustrate what I was thinking. I am a sort of a novice when it comes to purely creative writing and I tended to focus on the artistic/symbolic elements of the story which relies heavily on the best word choices.

Some of the time I enjoyed the way Calvino used language and sometimes I did not enjoy it. I did not like the he used language to throw off the reader’s linear reading of the story, but I did like how he would contradictory ideas within the same story.

When writing I just did whatever would get my stories’ point across. I did not really think of whether I was sounding like Calvino or not. However, I did notice myself using one of my favorite styles of his, which was the contrasting elements and ideas to convey one thought.

So far, Rome does seem like an imaginary city to me. That is because I will experience certain themes that I pulled from his “Invisible Cities.” I think Rome possesses themes and qualities such as “unforgettable imagery,” “constantly being inconstant,” “fellowship,” and elements of “contradictory enjoyment.” These are all feelings I’ve experienced in Rome during my first and they themes I citied from Calvino’s work. If I had to choose a theme to write about in regards to Rome it would probably be “mysticism.”