Creative Writing

*Disclaimer: I can not take credit for any of these drawings. These are not my original images.

Hidden Disasters

photo of crying eye

This is a short story that was written for my first workshop in my Creative Writing: Fiction course Spring 2018. The story tackles domestic abuse and is written from the perspective of a suspicious store clerk.

Here's the complete story in it's original form: Hidden Disasters

Concealed

split image photo

This is a poem I wrote during my senior year in high school. My teacher set aside time during a class period to have a freewriting session with the intent that we would later create poems that exercised poetic license. I label this poem as my best because of the vulnerability revealed that I wouldn’t normally share with anyone.

Here's the whole poem in it's unique form: Concealed

Untitled

photo of praying little girl

Focusing on flash fiction, my first creative writing professor assigned us a writing exercise. My classmates and I had to imitate the repetitive style of Rick Moody’s Boys. I decided to write from the perspective of an innocent child as a challenge.

Here's a pdf version of this flash fiction: Untitled

If you’re interested, here is a pdf version of Rick Moody’s Boys

Silver Lining

photo of soccer ball in the goal

This is a short film screenplay that was written during my senior year in high school. This is the only script I’ve written so far. Hypothetically, the screenplay would equate 1 page to 1 minute. The plot revolves around a fragile son, his passive mother, his assertive father and chronic high expectations.

Here's the script in its unique form: Silver Lining

Abigail: Father's Joy

photo of a baby's hand beig held

This is a short story that I wrote and developed during my creative writing course Spring 2018. This story is one of three stories included in the chapbook I wrote and hand made as my final project for the course. With this story, I wanted to imagine the mind of a woman going through grief and postpartum depression as well as the minds of those who care for her most.

Here's the complete story in it's original form: Abigail: Father's Joy

Spiraling

photo of a man falling down

This is the second story that I included in my chapbook. Without a doubt, I would have to admit that my years and years of digesting crime-drama shows and movies influenced this story. Seeing as it’s outside my normal topics, I wanted to challenge myself by writing a story lending towards action fiction with an emphasis on family and loyalty.

Here's the story in it's original form: Spiraling

Mendable

picture of a father and child holding hands

This is the last story that was included in my chapbook that was created for my first Creative Writing course in college. With this story, I wanted to demonstrate the awkwardness that can linger and cause a great shift in a parent-child bond once there’s a lack of communication and vulnerability.

Here's the story in it's original form: Mendable

Indecisive Decision

photo of written document

I wrote this short story for a writing contest years ago. Generally, the prompt called for the recognition of the founding fathers and the inclusion of their principles. The story follows a Senator who ponders openly supporting America joining the League of Nations until he gets some help from the founding fathers.

I won the Coalition of Freedom Short Story Contest in 2016.

Here's the complete story in it's original form: Indecisive Decision

Cognitive Enhancement

photo of a brain

This report was written as a final paper for one of my Psychology elective courses where I studied the different methods of creating a “super brain”. Although I had to give factual evidence for each approach I chose, I also had to write as if I was on a charter school’s advisory board.

Here's the complete essay in it's original form: Cognitive Enhancement

Inadequate Love: A Wife's Lament

photo of angry woman

This is a creative assignment that I wrote for my Medieval and Early Modern Britain course. I had to write a modern version of one of the writings we read for class and I chose to write a story based on wife lament poems. As a requirement, I had to write a preface page that explained most of my choices and references to the original piece that I will leave included with the story.

Here's the story in it's original form: Inadequate Love: A Wife's Lament

Beyond Repair?

picture of a cracked eye

This is a short story that I wrote during my senior year of high school. I wanted to write a story portraying the misery that comes with grief, how unprepared you are for loss and how essential relationships can be during dark periods of life.

Here's the story in it's original form: Beyond Repair?

Beyond Repair?:First Draft

picture of a broken wine glass with wine spillig out

This is my original draft of “Beyond Repair?”. This is actually one of the rare times that I’ve liked my first draft as much as my final product. I appreciate the raw emotion displayed by the main character in this draft and the fact that she doesn’t set a time restraint on how long everything gets to be not okay.

Here's the story in it's original form: Beyond Repair?:First Draft

Love our Melanin, Love Each Other

skin complexion color palette

I wrote this poem for an African American Poetry contest held by my high school during my final year. I won second place in the contest. The poem addresses one of the divides within the African American community that I frequently hear about, skin color.

Here's the poem in it's original form: Love our Melanin, Love Each Other

Static

picture of a hand grabbing a doorknob

This is a recent poem that I wrote about secretly craving freedom. I find it fascinating that freedom looks unique for each individual so I hope the poem can speak differently to everyone who reads it.

Here's the poem in it's original form: Static

Reflecting

picture of person laying down

This is a poem that I wrote right after I wrote “Static”. In the poem, I wonder why sadness seems to be an emotion that I can express in many more ways than happiness. This is a real question that I think about often as most of my writing is dark even when I’m in a great place in my life. I don’t have a real answer yet.

Here's the poem in it's original form: Reflecting

The "Included" Student

picture of a pillow

This is a short story that I wrote in Fall 2019 for my Writers at Work course. After learning about the New York School Poets and their rejections of academia, we were assigned to write a creative response to the poets’ perspectives using our own thoughts about universities. I chose to write about and hyperbolize some of the issues I’ve had as a commuting student.

Here's the story in it's original form: The "Included" Student

Heavy Prices

picture of the yin yang symbol

This is a short story that I wrote during my senior year of high school and revised for my Writers at Work course. This story revolves around the issues of large consequences and knowing that you’ve exhausted your tolerance for someone that it'll deeply hurt to lose.

Here's the story in it's original form: Heavy Prices

Background Sounds: A Fraction

blank black square

This is a poem that I wrote on June 1, 2020. I wrote this poem as a method of coping with all of my bubbling emotions. George Floyd’s murder, the violence against black lives, the unfair treatment of the peaceful protestors and all the hectic energy and noise from the looting were all affecting my mental health, leaving me drained and anxious. After months of social distancing, everything felt so loud and charged almost instantly.

Here's the poem in it's original form: Background Sounds: A Fraction

00:08:46

art of Georger Floyd with Justice For George phrase

This is a small poem that I wrote on June 4, 2020. I wrote this immediately after viewing George Floyd’s Minneapolis memorial service because it was so painful and impactful. I had to start making dinner after I finished watching the service, but it felt wrong to resume my life without doing something to acknowledge George Floyd or sit in my feelings. I wrote this poem because I want to break the tendency to quickly dismiss emotion in order to move on autopilot.

Here's the poem in it's original form: 00:08:46