Week Eight Progress

1. Looking Back: Over the first half of this semester, I've found that I've actually enjoyed some of these assignments more than I expected, and I've been relatively proud of the work I've done, particularly the stories I've written. I've always enjoyed writing, but fiction - and especially fairytales and folklore - has never been something I've been good at or really even tried. I've had a good time reading most of the stories so far, and I think my note-taking strategy has fallen into a good and productive rhythm. That said, I'm not very pleased with myself in the realm of extra credit; I had intended, at the beginning of the semester, to be quite diligent at working ahead and completing extra credit work. But so far, I've not done a very good job of that.
2. Looking Forward: That said, the most obvious segue into what I plan to do for the rest of the semester is that I hope to be more consistent with the extra credit work and perhaps even begin working ahead somewhat. I think the best way for me to accomplish this would be to do the extra credit at the start of the week, rather than putting it off until the end and eventually just not doing it at all. I've been avoiding doing it at the very beginning of the week because my week is very front-loaded when it comes to classes, but it would be feasible for me to try to do more of this work on perhaps Wednesdays.
3. Image:

Image of a mountain climber from Pexels

Week Eight Comments and Feedback

This post is meant to be a reflection on the quality of the feedback that I've given and received in this class so far.

1. Feedback In: So far, I would rate the quality of the feedback I've received at around a three out of five. I appreciate that people have been quite positive and friendly in their comments, and many have pointed out the things I've done well in my posts, which is helpful to know which things I should continue doing or expand on. That said, not very many of the comments I've received have included much in the way of constructive criticism, which makes them not very useful for revising my work. I appreciate that people want to be nice, and I am certainly grateful for the compliments, but I can't know how to fix my work if no one will verbalize what's not working.
   
2. Feedback Out: I guess I would rate the quality of the feedback I've been putting out at about a four to a four and a half out five. I've taken several writing workshop classes for my minor, so I've had a fair amount of experience with offering constructive feedback on writing. I make an effort to point out things that could be improved and offer solution to address them. That said, I think my comments have been lacking in providing anything constructive that doesn't pertain to the writing/storytelling (i.e., I know I haven't given much feedback, if any, on website structure and appearance or anything along those lines), so that might be something for me to look for in the future.
   
3. Blog Comments: I've enjoyed reading other people's blog posts, stories, and introductions a lot. I'm a huge fan of getting to know people, so it's been really fun to see their introductions and get a sense of who they are, then see that come through in their writing. I'm hopeful that my blog offers a similar sense to those who read it.
   
4. Looking Forward: Moving forward, I'll make an effort to pay attention to the actual websites/blogs and their structures and offer feedback on those things as well, rather than limiting myself to just commenting on the writing and the stories themselves.
   
5. Image: I chose the following image because I really like the idea it puts across. External feedback is helpful, but taking the time to self-reflect and provide your own constructive criticism is important, too.

Image from Cheezburger

Week Eight Reading and Writing

After looking back through my website and blog, I realized that the website was just far more pleasing to the eye, whereas my blog was looking a little frumpy (Actually, it reminded me of the kind of website I'd associate with the early days of the internet, before people figured out how to make websites look nice. Oof.), so I made some changes and I'm now much happier with its overall appearance. I also moved the navigation bar from the bottom of the page to the right side, which will be more convenient for my readers. I did not make any changes to the website, however, because I think its layout is fine as is, and the layout has been mentioned positively in a few of the comments on my wall, so why fix what ain't broken, right?

I am fairly happy with the way my stories have been coming out so far, and I'm content with my reading notes strategy - it's a little hefty, but I feel like it gives me a good foundation when I'm working on writing the stories. My stories have been pretty varied so far, so it'll be interesting to work on my project, since it has not only a unifying author, but a unifying theme as well. For the storybook, I chose the story that I felt would be the most difficult for me to rework first (i.e. the one that would be the most different from the original), so that I could get it out of the way and have plenty of time for editing if need be. I do have a few areas in the story that I feel could use some revision, though I will probably wait for some feedback from others before beginning, as I'd like to hear some second opinions. Still, I think I like how the general tone and themes of my storybook are coming along, despite my few issues with story number one.


As for my favorite of the images I've included in one of my reading notes posts, you won't be too surprised when you find out that it's this picture of my cat:

Actually, I believe that if Atticus had a Tinder, this would be his profile pic. But cats don't have Tinder and neither do I, so I'm posting it here for all of you to enjoy. (You're welcome.)


Looking forward, I'm excited to get the next couple stories for my storybook published, and to see a few more of the readings (I've really been enjoying learning about the differences and similarities between folklore from all over the world during all different time periods!).