Sunday, September 15, 2019

Comment Wall

My own image of my cat, Atticus, enjoying a post-rain walk. He welcomes you to my comment wall.
My storybook project is here!

16 comments:

  1. Hey Allison!

    To start with I think your story book has a really strong design and layout already. Using a different font for the quote at the top was a great design choice. I think the image you use as the banner also does a great job of setting the scene for the story before you even start telling it.

    I also think you made some great choices with writing your introduction. Not only did I like that the quote was in its own font, but I thought the quote was a great way to start everything off. I don't know what it is about them, but stories that are told in first person are usually my favorite stories. Your intro was on the shorter side, but for me I think that worked in your favor because it made me want to read your stories. Your author's note does a good job on catching the readers up to speed on what is going on.

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  2. Hey Allison!

    I read your introduction and HOLY COW, I am so impressed. Your writing is so good, and so believable in the way you write it! I am super excited to continue reading your work! Movies like 300 and books like The Name of the Wind are pieces of literature that are a retelling of events of someone great, and they did so well! I can see your story being just as entertaining and well-written as theirs was. I don't know much about the character you're writing about, so I look forward to learning more about her! I wish you the best of luck with your story!

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  3. Hi Alli! I really like your story idea, it's really creative and something that I haven't seen before. I had never heard of Marie de France before I read your introduction, and now I'm excited to get to read more of your stories (which is the point, so great job there). First of all, I think the layout of your page looks really nice! The color scheme and the images you included all fit well together and give the page a very sophisticated feel. Your writing is great, too! I love how you used certain words and phrases to make the writing seem more like that of the time Marie would be writing. It really fits with the overall theme of the storybook, and it's unique so it was fun to read. I can tell that your story is going to be very informative and entertaining, and I'm excited to see more.

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  4. Hi Alli!
    First of all, I love the layout of your site. The featured map image is beautiful, and the emphasis on the epigraph is really well-done. It's a beautiful quote, and I'm glad you chose to feature it in your introduction, just like the real Marie de France! And your writing — wow. It's absolutely beautiful. The voice you've given the minstrel is very convincing and wonderfully illustrated; I really felt like I was "lost" in another world. I have never heard of Marie de France until now, but your introduction and author's note have me really looking forward to reading her lais. I really like the idea of retelling them from a modern standpoint, especially with the shift toward modern values. I'm really interested in what you said about adultery playing a role and how it was viewed from the time, as well as love. I'm excited to see what your storybook will bring!

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  5. Hi Allison,

    I'm really excited to read the stories you'll be creating! In your author's note you mention that you'll be changing the stories to be like they were written with modern society's values instead Medieval England values. I think this is a really interesting take and I'm interested to see how you'll be changing the stories to fit this mold. I also liked the quote at the beginning, it's a nice touch to add at the beginning of the introduction. I also appreciate your explanation of what a Lai is in the author's note, because I wasn't picking up on what it could be from the introduction story. I'm also a big fan of your writing style, it's very well put together and goes along with what I would imagine Marie's writing to sound like. Your website is also well put together, from the banner images to the use of text additions.

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  6. Hello,
    I have to say that you did a great job with your introduction! When I was reading it I was quite interested to read a story from you. The way it was written pulled me in to who the writer was. I like the way you structured it as well and think you did a good job on the Author’s Note. It really helped me understand who this Marie was. When I read your story I was not disappointed. I think you started it strong pulling us in from the first line which helped carry us through to the end. I also have to say that the way it was written was most peculiar. It felt as though I was reading something written quite some time ago. I think that only added to the interestingness of the story. I like how there is a central narrator that is telling the story. All in all a great combination of introduction and story. Keep it up.

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  7. Hi Allison!

    When first reading, I was wanting to know background information on Marie de France, so it gave me a lot of context when you explained her character and her background in the author's note. I appreciated the author's note as it really gives insight to your inspiration to your retelling and storybooks. Also, visually, I loved how you started your introduction with a powerful quote. This is a great way to grab your readers and add sentiment to the story. And although the author's not was fantastic, I would love to see you go in the direction more of where your stories are headed in relation to this. Also, maybe it would be a good idea to introduce the context of the relation between the narrator and Marie de France. Why did she talk to the narrator? Were they friends, family, or maybe even her spouse?

    Fantastic work, and I cannot wait to read more!

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  8. Hello! When I first reached your site, I was curious as to who Marie de France was, and now I am glad that I got to learn about her! Your introduction did a great job of giving a voice that is from Marie to the narrator. I also really enjoyed how you opened up with a quote from Marie, it was a unique addition that I think gave the introduction more character. As for the stories, I did have a hard time at first with he language of the storytelling, but I don't think that is something that should be changed because it goes along with the theme of your whole storybook, so to change that would be to change the whole story. Also, I was curious how the minstrel had these stories; were they told to her directly from Marie? Did she find them in the paper somewhere? Other than that, I am excited to see what other stories you coe up with! Great work!!

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  9. Hey Alli, I want to start off by saying that I really like the images and color scheme of your story book- it has that elegant feel to it. Reading your introduction, the vocabulary you used really helped set the tone. I couldn't help but read it in some English accent. I love that you have Marie speaking to the audience- it's so inviting! You are a very talented writer, and the imagination you possessed while creating your story from a different perspective was incredible.

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  10. Hello Alli! Your website is spectacular! It has an amazing color scheme and the images that you used throughout the website are awesome!! I like how you are telling the stories. The idea of using a minstrel that isn't Marie de France is such a unique and cool idea that I would have never thought of but you pulled it off with exceptional success. Your writing is amazing! It is flowing and easy to follow for me. It seems as if you have been writing for a while and know how to put a great story together with ease. One thing about your website is that fact that it is very easy to navigate. It is simple and the colors do not class or cause for me to not be able to find something on the website. I think you are going to find great success with this website as it is easy to navigate and the content on the website is spectacular! Good luck the rest of the year and hope your semester is going well!!

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  11. Hi Alli!

    First off, I love the huge map as the photo for your site. It made me feel like I was about to read a lot of interesting history. On your Intro page, I also liked how you had the oversized quote in a different font/color cause it set the tone for the rest of the story. I was really glad that you had some history of Marie de France in your author's note, because I was a little lost after reading your intro. I also found myself having to Google what "minstrel" was. In your first story, I thought your author's note did a really nice job at explaining your thought process, so good job on that. It was very thorough! I also think your tone and the way you write sounds very professional and matches your story, you are super talented and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your stories!

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  12. Hi Alli,

    This is such a great idea — to begin with, I’d never heard of Marie de France, and from your first Author’s Note I’m already very excited to see where you go with this! (You capture the feeling of a more antiquated language very well, which really makes the atmosphere click.)

    Your first story was quite well-written and left me, as I know you intended, feeling quite bad about the fate of poor Meriaduc, who really did not deserve any of this. It serves also to tell a good moral about the dangers of good people sometimes being too quick to trust and too willing to sacrifice needlessly (because it is “honorable” or “right,” even though it leaves those dependent on them in quite a bind).

    On a purely technical note, in your second story there seem to be some two-line paragraph breaks and others that are one line: was this intentional? Your writing certainly is clear enough that it does not need the extra structuring to flow well, so I just wanted to ask.

    Best,
    Alby

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  13. Hi Alli,

    I enjoy how thorough and complete all of your posts are. Sometimes people can grow complacent in the monotony of each assignment but it appears as though you put your all into each and every one of your assignments. Just wanted to make sure that you are aware your readers notice the effort and intentionality you choose to put into each and every assignment. I hope you continue to write well and I look forward to reading more of your work.

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  14. Hi Alli! I really enjoyed your storybook! I just read the story about Meriaduc and was wondering how Meriaduc came upon the Ebony ship. Did something happen when Guigemar and the lady last met that forced her to flee? I think a picture could break up the story a bit. Maybe a picture of Meriaduc's castle or of the lady. I enjoyed how none of the members of the story are "good." Meriaduc doesn't respect the wishes of the lady and puts his people at risk. Guigemar is maybe the least problematic, but he is still cast in a negative light. It is also revealed that the lady is cheating on her husband. I wonder if that is why they lead short lives! I also like that the story was told by the narrative but we got to see more of Meriaduc's emotions than the other characters. I can't wait to see what else you do with the storybook! Good luck with the rest of your semester.

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  15. Hi Alli! Your storybook project looks great! I chose it for my free pick this week because of the interesting project title. I think the design of your website is spot on with your topic. The colors and images are all very cohesive and really fit with the theme of your stories. I love the titles of your stories. They all sound intriguing to me. Since the titles are a bit longer though, they get cut off on the website. Maybe you could shorten the title links as they are listed on the website banner and keep the full titles on each of the story pages. This might make your website look a bit more polished. I definitely can tell that you have your writing style down after reading your stories. You utilize dialogue very well. You also did a nice job of spacing out your paragraphs so that none of them are too long. Nice work!

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  16. Hello Alli!! Your website and storybook is an exceptional work of art. I was thoroughly entertained and was well put together. I loved the images that you used throughout your website as it created a great feel and the pictures went very well with the stories and the theme of the website. This week was a focus of paragraphs throughout the website. It seemed weird to analyze that aspect of a website but it was actually cool to see how effective paragraphs could be. As I read through, it looked like you spaced out your paragraphs well and allowed the reader to have the chance to understand the story with more ease than if they were long. Another aspect of the stories I really enjoyed was the dialogue. I am a huge fan of dialogue in all stories. Dialogue makes stories more personable to me and your stories did exactly that. There wasn't too much in which it could be overwhelming and it there wasn't too little to make it seem just added words. All in all, I really loved your website and the stories and I am really excited to see what you come up with in the near future.

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