Writing Process for Assignment 1

One of the biggest challenges for me was staying within the 850-900 word limit. I kept writing and writing, and by the time I finished I was over 1,000 words and had to go through multiple times and cut out large sections of writing. As it was a challenge, it was also one of the most beneficial things. It made my piece much more concise and I realized that a lot of what I was writing was unnecessary.

Another challenge was writing effective dialogue. It was hard to decide whether to write in French or English or both, and which would be most effective. My host mom could only speak French, so it seemed logical to write her speaking in French. But at the same time, what she was saying to me was just as important because it was so demeaning. Because not everyone can understand French, I chose English translations for these specific lines.

Breakthrough-wise: I realized I am still bitter with my host mom. But also find it hilarious how much of an a-hole she was. It was fun to try and capture this through writing, and realize I still have a lot of work to do in order to really show how much she sucked.