Week 8 Progress

     I'm a little bit ahead in terms of overall points. I believe that's because I did some assignments during the break week. I have no real reason to get super far ahead, but it would be cool to finish super early. My routine isn't anything perfect. At the beginning of the semester this was my only class where any real work was required because my other classes had such a slow start. Now that everything has picked up, I do the assignments for this class whenever I can. There's really no reason for me to not have a routine, though. You can't routinize my creativity! Except you can. I usually like writing under a deadline. However, if I look back at my writing at the beginning of the semester, there were was no deadline because I was so far ahead. 

    I really should be utilizing more of the extra credit options. I usually do the extra commenting because I like reading more stories. It sounds not as time consuming to me on the surface, but it can be time consuming to write a comment for a story that I didn't connect with. I can't imagine what it's like to be a teacher grading a bunch of writing... I guess I can, though. You just do it and see the good and try and elevate that. I look forward to the stories I'm going to read in the coming weeks. I hope they inspire me. This is my favorite class this semester. I would say it's in my top five of all of college. That's nice to have my last semester. I think a class like this should be mandatory. I wonder what those who don't take their writing seriously think of their class. Do they think their going to retell the same story in their own words every week? Or are they freed by the grading system and want to try their hand at writing something more original? The option is awesome, and that's what I love about this class.

Word (Source)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

    I've been pleased with the comments I've received from other students in this class. I usually don't have any grammar issues, so most of the comments have been focused on the story itself. I appreciate the praise for what's liked, and I appreciate the constructive criticism for areas people think could be better. Even if I don't agree with what needs to be changed, I appreciate the time it takes to write the feedback. I do consider some of it. All of the interest in John and Alex waking up from the Garden of Eden has made me want to write a sequel story at some point. There was one comment asking for more information in my author's note about the story of Adam and Eve. It's weird to think about people not already having an idea of what that story is about. Because my story is so similar, I chose not to update the author's note. 

    As for the feedback I've written, I've seen a lot of errors in terms of sentence structure. There was one story that was difficult for me to read because of how many run-ons there were. I had to focus on the story being told rather than how it was written. I ended up appreciating the style even though I think it could use some correction. I've tried to avoid being mean by leaving compliments wherever I can. It's honestly very cool to see where so many people are in how they write. I would like to read more stories and give more feedback.

    I like checking the posts I've made every week to see if someone new has commented. I get why everyone who runs a YouTube channel talks about how in the early days they would check their comments like a man checking on his pregnant wife. I couldn't think of a better analogy there. It'll be cool someday to write something I'm proud of and see how others react to it. 

True (Source)

When the stakes are learning rather than failing or succeeding, challenging oneself is much more enticing. When I trust in God, I can apply this mindset to my life. 

 

Week 8 Reading and Writing

     I love the readings in this class. I probably enjoy the ones I'm unfamiliar with more so than the ones I am familiar with. However, I probably enjoy writing more about the ones I'm familiar with than the ones I'm unfamiliar with. In the future, perhaps I'll enjoy writing about the new familiar--what was once unfamiliar. 

    I haven't tried anything truly challenging with the writing yet. Although I haven't written a straightforward retelling (that sounds too boring to me), I have only written the way I like to. I don't care about description too much, and when you only have a thousand words, description, in my opinion can be wasteful. That said, I know how powerful description can be, and I do enjoy reading it myself. I also haven't taken to heart too much of the feedback I've gotten back from commenters. That's a good thing and a bad thing. For the Adam and Eve story, I don't want to change what I have, but I do want to write more about what people are interested in in a different story. I listen to Laura about grammar and everything, of course. I've enjoyed being edited again. I'm not as careful with my own editing in this class because I know I'm turning in a draft and not a completely finished product. I do tend to write for myself. I like when people can see the merit, but I'm not dismayed when others can't see what I was going for. I know sometimes it can't be seen unless it's explained. That's something I should work on if I want my writing to resonate. 

Elephant Hunt (Source)

Man, I am such a fool. I just spent so long trying to figure out where I could find this image. Thank you, Laura for making us have a source for each image we use. I forgot about it for too long... I picked this image because it looks so good, especially on my website. There's something mythic about primitive men hunting an elephant. There isn't as much sadness for me when I compare it to a modern day elephant hunt. The picture fits my story well because the whole time an elephant is telling a story about humans without malice, and yet this is how his kind was treated.

Moving forward, as for the future, looking ahead... I would like to do more writing. I skipped last week. I've had an idea for part two of the Adam and Eve story for so long. I just hope I haven't forgotten any ideas I wanted to use.