Writing!

Long time no see! I am aware that I haven't written much recently, but you may excuse me this time because I was studying hard for some tests at school (Yeay! Miracles happen!) but today I was thinking about my blogpost and decided to write about writing. I used to think that writing didn't demand much skills, that all you needed to write a good piece of article or a book all you need is a great idea in your mind, a few spoons of criativity, a pinch of inspiration and of course a pen and a piece of paper.
After seeing some personal failures while trying to write my own book and reading some fabulous texts of some people I respect a lot, I realised it takes a lot more than that to write. I realised it demands organisation, inteligence, skills, and a lot, and I really mean it, of practice. Of course, I'm not talking about getting good grades at school tests or college admission exams, if that's what you want it's a lot easier, I'm talking about writing art! Writing something that you would love to read.
I'm not the most experienced writer, but I try to be a good one, so I'll share with you somethings I like to keep in mind when I'm elaborating a text.

1º - Brainstorm. Brainstorming will always help you to see everything you know about some subject and than help you to analise what's relevant and what isn't

2º You know all the arguments you want to support? Now discover how. Any kind of text need a solid base, otherwise it will fall apart. I remember when I was writing my book. I had a wonderful story for each main character, I had amazing descriptions of each o them, I had created the most wonderful and complete world with it's whole culture and even invented some new alphabets. What happened? I wanted and adventure, I had pieces of this adventure written down, but I had no idea of why the characters wanted to make this travel and I couldn't lead my text where I wanted. I had nothing to support this travel, so I had to give up until I find a reason for them to travel.

3º - Try to link the subject to some knowledge you are good. I always link it to scientific subjects, for example, once I was asked to write about the difference between men and women. I remembered I read something about the diferent development of certain brain areas in men and women. That was the base of my article.


4º Let your imagination grow, think of comparisons you can make. When I was writing about the Amazon Forest, for example, I compared what happens in the amazon with the Chaos Theory. It was one of the best compositions I've ever wrote.

5º Choose a good kind of introduction and conclusion, always having in mind that you have to be carefull not to be repetitive. And remember, the introduction is what first calls the atention of the reader. The conclusion is what causes the last impression and sumarizes all you wanted to say.


That's all I have to say about writing for now. If you disagree about something or want to add something I forgot, feel free to do it!


See ya!
Shimabuko

“I can slay the Jabberwocky” – Is the sky the limit?

“I always imagine six impossible things before breakfast... Six impossible things. Count’em Alice!
1. There is a potion that makes you shrink
2. There is a cake that makes you grow
3. Animals can talk
4. Cats can disappear
5. There is a place called Wonderlands
6. I can slay the Jabberwocky!”
The excerpt above was taken from the movie “Alice in the Wonderlands” and is my favorite scene for several reasons. First of all because of the way the actress says these words. Second because of its meaning. The thing is, everyone has his own Jaberwockys to slay. The only question we have to ask ourselves is “Do I believe I can actually slay it?” If the answer were yes I would be tempted to tell you that then, for you, the sky is the limit. But why should the sky be our limits? If you wanna fly high, why not fly above and beyond anything you have ever been able to imagine? I always think of this when I watch this movie and it helped me a lot to achieve some personal goals I had established to myself this year. So, I decided I am able to slay my own Jaberwockys, what about you?

See ya!
Shimabuko

Mock Test

Well, the previous post was a little personal, some sort of an unburden, so I decided to make a second post talking about the Mock test. Well, I found it a little more difficult than what I was expecting, mainly the “Use of English” – Yeah, you were right… - but I think the result was good. It is important to have a mock test in the beginning of the semester so that we can tell whether we are doing the enrollment or not. Besides that, the test and the first class helped me to see how I still have a lot to learn. About the execution of the test, I must say I don’t really have a pattern, but in the reading, I think what I most usually do is to read the text before the questions, and then just scan through it to find the answers. But what concerns me the most is the writing part of the test. Why? Because even though I love writing, it is always hard for me to write about something someone else has told me to and because I always spend too much time thinking of how to begin the text. This time I waste I have to recover by writing faster, which can be a disaster since my natural handwriting is already not very pleasant to read. But I think I can deal with it somehow.
Well, that’s all I have to say by now, so… See ya!
Shimabuko

Being sick sucks!

Well, that’s something everyone knows, being sick really sucks. But why am I saying this? The main reason is that I needed to write something here, and since Henrick told us to write about anything we wanted, I’m talking about something that is really bothering me. Why? Because for almost two months I have been getting sick at least once a week. And it is not something like a cold, no! Since then I got pneumonia, tonsillitis, gastric reflux and gastritis. I think I have already lost the count of how many times I went to the hospital during these two months and I must say that hospitals are boring places. The nurses keep stinging needles on you whether to take your blood for exams or to inject any medicine. The doctors keep poking your body to see if it hurts anywhere, I know it is important but I’m just tired of it. Unfortunately next week I’m still going to face a endoscopy, but I hope it solves my problems.

See ya!
Shimabuko – Literally sick and tired

Hello folks! o/

Well, this is my blog for the CAE prep course, and as my first post I decided to tell you a bit more about myself since some of you might find it interesting to get to know me a little better (or not hahaha).

As I said before my name is Guilherme, but as my full name is Guilherme Shimabuko Silva Rocha, everyone rather call me Shimabuko or any variation of it, such as Shima, Shimi, Shishima, Shishima Jr, Shi, or anything else you can think of.
I really enjoy reading and writing and about two years ago I created my first blog in which I still post some poems and some stories that I write. I decided to create a new blog for this because I thought the old one might be a little too personal to be mixed with class stuff. If you want to know what I write about, you will find the link that leads to it in the right side of the blog.

Another interest of mine is music. The kind of music that I hear the most is rock. Mainly some old bands such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Rolling Stones and Beatles. But this is not the only thing I like to hear, actually I’m a little eclectic when it comes to music. I like MPB and Pop music as well, and I can even stand a few “sertanejo” groups or if I’m in a party I might dance funk even though this is not the kind a music that I like. The only music that I can’t bear in any situation is Axé music.

What else can I say about me? Well As a Japanese descendant I’m quite a fan of Japanese animation, or as we usually call it, Anime. I’m not one of those guys who walk around the school with a Naruto’s bandana, but I enjoy watching it and I won’t spend any time denying it. I also like playing RPG, and there is a dark secret about me and I must tell you. I read Twilight from Stephen Meyer and I did like it =P. It’s not my favorite book or anything close to that, I know it has lots of stupid parts, but I think it is an ok book to read when you have nothing else to do, and I had a good time reading it before it became a best seller. By the way, so that you know, I didn’t (and wouldn’t) spend a single penny on it. I borrowed the books.


I think that’s all for now. See you around guys!

Shimabuko