On Writing Prose

上一篇欣賞了Estelle老師的散文作品後，Estelle老師想和我們同學分享對散文寫作的心得：

On Writing Prose
by Estelle Jiang

There are also quite a few websites instructing you how to do creative writing. I did not read their instruction closely; however when I wrote my little article—“The New Leaves,” I also followed the three steps I provided for poetry writing.

To begin with, I do feel a lot about the seasonal changes on our campus whenever I go strolling on the hill or along the river bank. I remember clearly that I was once shocked to find the beautiful maple trees on the hill severely sick. The following spring, I was tremendously delighted to find them blooming.

Last year, I also felt bad that my best friend in my department got retired. Seeing young faces on campus or in class only made me sigh with sorrow. How life goes on noiselessly and swiftly!

Then, I connected the two things together and wrote my little article. To overcome the sad feelings of the ebb and flow of our life, I found strength and enlightenment in the maple trees when I composed the article. Finally some extra work was done to make the article smoother and more with literary playfulness.

I believe if you listen to the class outside a classroom, if you take a walk on the sports field at sunset, if you visit the campus restaurants at noon, if you sit down in our library, you’ll have interesting discoveries. Then, do not hesitate to write down what you feel, see, hear, or even smell and taste. You’ll find such English writing quite rewarding.

同樣地，繼續歡迎同學們發表自已的創作，踴躍投稿，參與Nccu & Me 第一屆全校英文創作比賽，詳見比賽辦法。

The New Leaves

在Estelle上次分享了一首這麼美麗的詩和她的寫作心得後，相信同學們將對英文創作會更有概念。

除了詩的創作外，此次全校英文創作比賽中，另一個比賽項目是散文(prose)。所以這周我們的Estelle老師，在自學中心部落格上面，就安排和大家分享一篇Nccu & Me的散文，請同學們細細體會這當中的美囉。

The New Leaves
By Estelle Jiang

The maple trees stand erectly along the Hill Drive. In the light of August, the sharp green leaves glitter in the hot summer breeze. It is amazing to see the exuberance of these tall maple trees again because a year ago they were severely devastated by some unknown pests.

Seeing the maple leaves dying in multitude and the tree trunks wrapped in the pests’ silken gossamer, I called the school’s Office of General Affairs anxiously. “Oh, don’t worry. The trees will grow again next spring,” answered the lady on the other end of the phone line confidently. She was right. I saw the sprouts of the green on the twigs in March. And here they are, standing like guards along the Hill Drive and waving their numerous little green hands at me when I go uphill.
As these maple trees growing in the natural cycle, many freshmen wil

l come to school in mid September. The campus will be filled with young faces with excitement. The Zhinan Road outside of the East Gate will be packed with students seeking a nice spot in restaurants at meal times. The dins of the students will soon bring life to this university, now slumbering quietly in the summer vacation ambience.

Yes! Soon a new generation of students, young, flustered, but hopeful will come. They will sit in the classrooms absorbing teachers’ lectures like sponge. They will dance with sweat in front of the windows on the balcony of the Administration Building. They will practice singing enthusiastically the school song for the Culture Cup Contest somewhere on campus. They will play croquet gracefully on the green grass of the sports field. They will line up politely for the school bus for the classes uphill. They will discuss questions intently for their group oral presentation under the trees in the Roman Square. They will study avidly in the Reading Room of the Library for their big exams…

Wait!

Didn’t these students just go through these things not long ago? Didn’t we just attend their graduation ceremony and have photos taken with them?...

As the beautiful maple trees along the Hill Drive, our students “grow” again. At the same time when many teachers are retiring one after another, these new leaves come to this hilly college town. These new leaves shall embrace the following four years with the same exuberance.

下週，老師將會藉由這篇散文，與同學分享其他英文寫作的原則，同學們敬請期待。

同樣地，繼續歡迎同學們發表自已的創作，踴躍投稿，參與Nccu & Me 第一屆全校英文創作比賽，詳見比賽辦法。