Week 8 Commenting Review

I feel like the longer comment requirements for the project commenting have really made us connect more with each other. I like that the regular blog comments are only 60 words because I feel like we don't have to add as much "fluff" to our reviews of each others' storytellings and other assignments; we can just get to the point. These comments include things like specific errors, things they thought went well, ideas about how to do things differently, and sometimes questions that help me understand if I've left some important information out. Those questions really help me evaluate my author's notes, by the way.

The comments on my storybooks are longer, but because those stories are longer, they require more discussion. I have felt like these were very helpful, especially those left on my Isis story because it has helped me see what people are looking for and what interested them the most. I want to make sure my stories are engaging, which is why this week's project assignment has taken so long because I've pretty much decided to just rewrite most of my Isis story to reference a better story and add more focus on the goddess. I feel like the project comments are incredibly useful and go well with the project assignment weekly tasks.

The easiest part about commenting, for me, is to point out strengths and things I really connected with. I like telling people things they do right. The hardest part is when I do not engage well with the story or just don't like it (usually because it's just not my style of story). It's harder for me to finish those stories, which means by the time I get done. I just don't feel like commenting about it because there may be nothing wrong with it, I just didn't care for it. I've done a lot of commenting on other peoples' work throughout college because OU requires a liberal arts education and a certain amount of papers for many classes. As for my major, social work, we do a lot of peer editing because our papers are EXTENSIVE. Many of them are research based and a minimum of 14 pages. They have to be written in APA style and are weighted heavily in our classes, so we do a lot of peer editing outside of class. The commenting in this class is great to me because we don't have to read super long stories, so I can stay interested. Plus, they aren't weighted like a midterm or final would be, so we don't feel as pressured to nitpick. I think the commenting component of this class is good.

Here are some gifs I think might make you smile! You rock! Try not to forget that, I know sometimes things can be difficult, and I often struggle to be confident in myself, but you are awesome and you can do the thing!

Demi Lovato, telling the truth 

found on Favim

Edward Scissorhands agrees

found on Lights on Open Sky

If you haven't watched Jenna Marbles on Youtube, I highly suggest you do. She's hilarious.

Found on Tumblr

Week 8 Writing Review

Looking back over my storytelling posts, I can definitely pick out some that are stronger than others, but I think my favorite so far might be from week 5, titled The Betrayal. I picked this one because the comments on it helped assure me that i'd achieved my goal of surprising people and making them think about things from a different point of view. Often it is very difficult for people to see all sides of a story, so I like writing my storytelling posts from the perspectives of different characters, apart from the protagonist/narrator. Going into the second part of the semester my goals are to continue writing stories that I would find fun to read, to continue having fun writing the stories and doing most of the readings, and stick to my routine of getting reading diaries done over the weekend or by Monday so I can get a little ahead by doing the storytelling and the Wednesday assignments on Tuesday while i'm at my practicum.

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway with their regalia.

Found on Wikipedia 

Photo taken from The Betrayal (link in previous paragraph)

Other students have really given me some cool ideas about types of stories to write, styles to use, and how I could take something they did and fit it to my style. They have also given me good feedback and helped me see how these stories could be perceived by others. This is especially true because I dig macabre, dark humor and old stories from writers like the Brothers Grimm and Edgar Allen Poe so I get really into the darker writings and some people might not be into that or might be able to help me relate those to a larger audience. They've helped me spot grammar errors and question my motives or execution of my motives so that I can connect better with more people. Their comments and the ability to write creative stories has helped me be more creative in my writing for other classes and for all of my applications that I have to do (for Tanzania, Grad School, Scholarships, etc.).

I think my biggest challenges as a writer are trying to keep grammar, sentence structure, etc. in mind when i'm "stream of thought" writing. This is when i'm really inspired and am thinking really quickly about what I want to write, so I just type it as fast as I can so I don't lose it. The problem with this is that I don't think about all of the technical stuff and so I have to edit a lot and I just really don't like editing. However, when i'm inspired, I feel like I can really get some good stuff going. This doesn't just relate to fun, creative writing but also to my professional and/or academic writing. For instance, i'm writing a research paper about the use of art therapy with dementia patients and i'm really interested in it, so it doesn't feel as intimidating or monotonous as when i'm researching or writing about something i'm not particularly connected with or aligned with.

Week 8 Reading Review

Having taken your Indian Epics class, I can really say that even though I enjoyed the texts for that class a lot, I have LOVED the readings for this class. I don't think there has been a unit i've disliked so far. I particularly enjoyed the Egyptian, Greek, Congo, and Arabian Nights units, though some of the stories in the Japanese mythology unit were really cool too, like the stories of Izanami and Izanagi as well as the story of The Heaven Descended. I've found that for units where I plan to use a lot of information from them for storytelling and storybook assignments, I prefer to take notes on most or all of the stories from the unit so I can reread my reading diary post and have all the information I need later on. This has become really helpful with my writings about Isis for my week 7 storybook assignment. However, for other units that I don't plan to use as heavily, it's nice to focus on 2-3 stories that I really enjoyed and take heavier notes for those.

My reading diaries have been essential in my storytelling and storybook assignments. I use them every time. They also give me ideas of what sort of outside information i'll need to write a good story for my storybook. I use a lot of sources for my stories (which is why my bibliography for Isis was so long), and having my bulleted lists from my reading diaries really helps me get my thoughts together when i'm writing.

I used to read a lot for pleasure, but since college have had little time to do so. However, I used reading as a fun way to escape from real life and get lost in another place as a different person. I like stories with lots of descriptive imagery and stories that take place in places where magic exists so the stories i've read in this class have been a nice break from all the stuff I have to read for my other classes (which means dry textbooks and LOTS of research articles).

My Hat is a Very Good Hat

from Animal Capshunz, found on Vayagato

I chose to include this photo because I like it and it makes me happy, but also because it was from a really fun story from the Congo unit, How the Gazelle Got Married. This story was just a lot of fun to read and was a nice example of something that I enjoyed reading without having to use it heavily in class. I got this from my week 7 reading diary B.