Ann Marie Bottita
Videographer & Editor
Writing
Through the writing minor in my degree, I explored many genres in the medium. Writing and storytelling are fundamental aspects in any creative endeavor I work on, and these courses helped me understand my voice as a storyteller.
Short Stories
Town Hall
On a warm summer night in a small, little town, the townsfolk gathered around for their monthly town hall meeting. The meeting took place in a shack on the top of a small hill. The shack was constructed by a few of the townsfolk, proving to be a big feat for such inexperienced carpenters. The walls were made of scrap pieces of wood, the foundation from stone and rocks, and the seats from small logs. At the back of the shack was an upright, podium-like log that stood for the Mayor. The roof was made of branches and sparse leaves, allowing some moonlight to illuminate the building. There used to be a door going into the shack, but the townsfolk proved to be too rowdy entering the town hall, that the door acted more as a hindrance. Above the door hole on the outside of the shack, hung a wooden slab with the words “Town Hall,” appropriately marked.
On a Moonless Night
This storybook tells the tales of what the moon gets up to in the big sky above us, where she goes on the night we cannot see her, and what kinds of antics ensue.
Poetry
Poetry: A Reflection
This was the first poetry course I have taken in my college experience, and it was a lot of fun to come back to the medium after loving it as a kid. Writing was very important to me as I explored what it meant to be a storyteller from a young age. Coming back to the form of poetry so many years later offered itself as a very valuable experience. It is enriching to have an idea and be able to put it into artful words that can resonate with others. The workshop experience in particular, I always find to be incredibly beneficial in obtaining a fresh set of eyes on an idea that has been with me for a while. Over the term, and in the case of my revisions, I have learned that less is absolutely more. I learned to keep things simple in order to obtain the goal and message of the piece. Sometimes words can grow out of control, but truly, keepings things simple has helped a lot to clean up stories. The best strategy I have for myself in terms of writing poetry, is to always read it outload. While the words can live in my head, I want the words and the story to be accessible to any mind. My poems are based on real stories in my life, but as with any piece of art I create, I always want the view to feel that they can interpret a story into their own experiences.