Week 8 Progress

Looking back:  So far, I am happy with my progress! I am honestly most proud of creating both a blog and a website and becoming baseline adept at navigating both- things are going well with both! I most enjoy writing stories and getting to put my own spin on them. So far, I have just been keeping with the designated schedule, so have not needed to use the extra credit options. I have also not made use of them to work ahead, since I have plenty going on as a baseline already. 

Looking forward:  At the end of March, my schedule clears up somewhat dramatically, so I hope to be able to spend more time in the writing of my stories. While I don't think that they have been bad, it has been a pitfall for them that I sometimes come up with a story that I deem to be "good enough". Perhaps unsurprisingly, stories are better when they are thought about and developed more.... I think this will also lead to me trying new things in my writing, though what they are I don't know yet. As I become more adept with using the website tools, I'll probably try to modify the look a bit, but frankly I'm pretty happy with it for now. 

 

(This is a picture of aviyal, a dish that comes directly from the Mahabharata. I am very exited both to write this story and make this dish! Source: Pixabay)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

1. Feedback in. 

I think that the quality of the comments that I have been getting so far have been really great! While it's always nice to get complimentary feedback, I find that the feedback that I find to be most useful is the constructive criticism. I like knowing what others see in my stories as room for improvement that I might not see myself. 

 

2. Feedback out. 

I try to always include that which I hope for in the comments of my own stories- constructive criticism with an emphasis on the "how". I try never to give a piece of advice unless I can also write out the way I would go about implementing that advice. I have really enjoyed reading other people's writing- it was what inspired me initially to incorporate more dialogue into my own stories, and after reading my first bit of micro fiction just recently, I am inspired to do the same!

3. Blog comments. 

I don't necessarily know that I am getting to know people, as I am still having the randomizer assign me people I have not seen before. I am starting to get to the place, however, in which I am seeing familiar names more frequently, so I think my sense of familiarity with my classmates and their writing styles will grow as the class continues. I am happy with my intro- I think it's a pretty adequate portrayal of the things I am interested in and like to do! 

 

4. Looking forward. 

I think I will want to continue modifying the look of both my blog and website as I become more adept at using the software. I will continue to try to leave implement-able advice in my comments and minimize the "fluff" that surrounds this feedback. 

(I chose this image simply because I would very much like to get to a point where I feel like I have internalize this advice myself.... Source: Growth Mindset)

Week 8 Reading and Writing

Looking Back: Overall, I think the assignments are going well! I have been really enjoying working on improving my writing, and have noticed the greatest improvement in including dialogue. For some reason, I just wasn't including it in my earlier stories, and I think that they have gotten better since then! 

Definitely my favorite reading so far has been the Mahabharata. Although I have read it and watched it in the past, I guess I'm just consistent in my enjoyment of the epic! 

As I am in the process of writing my stories, I generally don't look back at the reading notes. I tend not to include specific stuff in there, so I use the process of writing the reading notes much more as a springboard for creating story ideas. 

Looking Forward: One of the most prominent things that I have noticed in terms of new strategies for research has been that this class has changed how I read books. I am an avid reader, and always try to make time each day to read at least a couple of pages. Recently, I have been reading my books more critically- looking at what storytelling tactics are used that I like or even just looking at the formatting of the story and using that to make my own writing better. I really want to keep doing this, not just because I think it is good practice in generally to read critically, but also because I really think it has changed (I think for the better) how I write stories!

(While I really like this image, it is the story that went with it that made me choose it. I think it is one of the more prominent displays of my changing and developing writing style. Source: Wikimedia)