Intro to creative writing Milestone 1
Please note that unless noted within an assignment’s directions, any form of AI is not permitted in work intended to represent the original and authentic voice of the writer. Use of such programs violates course academic integrity policies.
Part 1:
Collaborate with ChatGPT to write a ten to fifteen-line poem in the style of a poet you admire and build the poem around a significant event you experienced in your hometown. Your poem must include, at least, two of each of the five elements included below, two street names, two restaurants or stores, two significant locations, the names of two family members, and two references to your hometown in the media (a YouTube clip, a social media posting, recent news, etc.).
There should be two pieces submitted:
1. The poem was written by ChatGPT on its own.
2. Your significantly revised version of the poem.
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Street names specific to your area – that means not including something like 3rd Street. My area has many streets with unique names like Flying Cow, Pierson, Barnstable Road, Horseshoe Trace, Stirrup Lane, etc. As an equestrian area, we have many references to that community in our road names. There happens to be a Barnstable in another community in another state, but these streets are located within subdivisions in my area that I can identify, so Horseshoe and Stirrup are in an area called Paddock Park, and in my video or narrated PowerPoint, I can explain that to my audience.
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Restaurants or stores that are specific to your area – In addition to chain restaurants like Cheddar’s and Olive Garden, my area has unique and singular eating establishments like Gabriel’s Café, Devine Bistro, Ollie’s Fashion Café, and Maxwell’s Plumb, to name a few. Please avoid including the names of chain stores and restaurants.
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Significant locations that are associated with your area – My area had one of the first inclusive parks in the county, Scott’s Place Playground, and is home to the largest winter equestrian festival in the country, held at the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club, and nearby is the county’s largest park, Okeeheelee Park, and not too far from that is the Palm Beach Zoo, all unique locations to my community and county.
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The names of family members or friends or neighbors – incorporate the names of two of your family members or friends or neighbors into the poem. In your PowerPoint, you will identify who you included and why you incorporated those specific names into the poem where, when, and how you did.
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A reference to your hometown in the media – This could be a YouTube clip on your area and something included in that clip. This could be a reference to a social media posting, or it could be a reference to a recent news happening. Please include the link to the information with your submitted work. In your PowerPoint, you will discuss how you incorporated the references in the media to your hometown into the poem. Because my area is home to the Winter Equestrian Festival, there are YouTube clips on that event that I might be able to draw from.
Please submit the original version created by ChatGPT and your revised version that includes all of the elements below. Please use comment boxes in Google Docs or Word to annotate your poem and explain, in detail, the work you put into revising the poem and how your revised version represents your hometown, your moment, and your chosen poet, considering how the original poem did not initially represent these elements and how you needed to revise the poem to craft something more authentic to your experience and voice.
This is an example of a poem I wrote using some of the elements above and in the style of Robert Frost in “The Road Not Taken.” I did not use or consult ChatGPT when constructing this poem. You need to include two of each of the elements noted above. Please title your poem with a significant title that makes sense for the moment.
Love Born on the Backstreets
Where Stirrup meets Barnstable, we met to walk.
Our journey started years ago, when we first met to talk.
We ate at Devine; you loved the name.
I was cautious of your courting, concerned you saw me as a game.
But, here we are, passing by a place where, one day, we will take our child.
Scott’s Place will hold memories to come, but for now, we are standing on the road.
Trips to the Palm Beach Zoo and countless breakfasts at Gabe’s will be where our time will lead.
Now, we stand, and we decide. Do we take the street we know, or do we leave it behind?
It is this moment here, at the corner of the roads, that will come to define
The way we tell the narrative of our lives that have been forever entwined.
Part 2:
Multimodal Element
In a screencast or narrated PowerPoint, explain the moment you encapsulated in the piece of fiction. Explain why it’s a notable moment in your life, and describe in detail the references you included to your hometown. How do they represent your hometown, and how do they represent the moment? Show your final version of the poem in the video or PowerPoint and highlight (like you see above) the references to your hometown and explain why the completed product better represents your hometown than the ChatGPT version. Did you find working with ChatGPT beneficial? Why or why not? No “yes or no” answers will be accepted.
