Commenting Review Week

STEP THREE: Write up a blog post where you share some thoughts about the commenting in the class so far. You can write about anything you want; the following are just some prompts to give you some ideas to think about as you write your post:

• Do you feel like you are making good connections with other students in the class at the blogs?

Yes, I think I am making good connections with the other students in the class.  I like how you put us in different groups sometimes, plus I like to choose people at random to comment on their posts.  I hope to eventually comment on at least one post from each student int he class.

• What kinds of interactions do you think are most helpful in creating good connections online in a class like this?

I definitely think that having us comment on other students Introductions has helped us get to know each other better.  Also, commenting on other student's writings has helped me get to know other students personalities better.

• What kinds of comments have been most useful to you so far on your blog posts?

To me, both the constructive criticism comments, plus the positive affirmations have been extremely helpful to me.  Sometimes I need to know what's wrong with my story and other times I need that pat not he back & "good job" comment to help keep me going.

• If you have received Project comments, have those been useful so far? (Not everyone has gotten Project comments yet.)

Yes, one person helped me with grammatical errors and some sentence structure issues, while others told me they were inspired by my story and they remained engaged in my story because of the way I write it.

• When you are leaving a short comment, what do you usually focus on?

I try to focus on the positive parts of their posts like keeping me engaged in their story, the way they write their character dialogue, and overall storytelling techniques.

• When you are leaving a long comment on a Project, what is your focus?

My focus is both positive affirmations, plus constructive criticism on grammar, sentence structure and paragraph lengths.  

• What is the easiest part for you about writing comments? What is the hardest part?

The easiest part is to write what is good about a story.  The hardest part is writing the constructive criticisms without sounding judgmental or snooty.

• Do you do a lot of commenting on other students' work in your other classes? Is your major one in which peer comments are generally an important part of the classes you take?

Writing comments on other students work has never been a part of my college experience so far.  The only times I have ever had to make suggestions before was when I attended University of Phoenix and we did A LOT of group work.

• How do you make use of comments when you revise your writing?

I read each comment and make the adjustments to my story.  I try to incorporate everyone's suggestions into my writing.

• Are there comments people have given you about your writing that have really made a difference for you in your writing overall?

Yes, one student commented that they would like to see more character dialogue in my stories.  I plan to incorporate that into my next story.  The sentence structure & paragraph comments have been helpful too.

• Do you have any suggestions for improving the commenting component of this class? 

I really can't think of anything to make it better at the moment.

Inspirational Quote

Writing Review Week

STEP THREE: Write up a blog post where you share some thoughts about the writing in the class so far. You can write about anything you want; the following are just some prompts to give you some ideas to think about as you write your post:

• What have been your greatest writing successes in the class so far this semester?

I think my most successful writing successes have been my storytelling assignments: Pat-A-Cake, Christine the Faithful and The Psychic and the Leopard.  I'm including this picture from my Pat-A-Cake story because it has been my most favorite story to write so far.  The story was inspired by my daughter, Mary, and her desire to bake all the time.

(Image information: Pat-a-Cake by Mary Brigid Barrett and Illustrated by LeUyen Pham)

• What writing goals do you have for yourself in the second half of the semester?

My writing goals are to complete more of the Reading Diary Assignments and spend more time on my Storytelling Assignments.

• As you look at your Storytelling posts, what do you think are some good strategies for coming up with good stories?

The best strategy for me is to use some ideas from my own life.  I always seem to write better when I have a personal connection to the story.

• Have you been able to get some good writing ideas from looking at the writing other students are doing?

I have been able to get some good writing ideas from other students, especially Stoffel, Allison, and Bria. They use a lot of actual character dialogue in their stories and I haven't quite perfected that technique yet.  I plan to use their techniques in the future.  I'm in no way saying that I'm not influences by the other students int he class.  I'm just saying that those students have made the biggest impression on me and my writing so far.

• Is the feedback you are getting from me and from other students helping you to improve your writing?

Yes, the feedback has been quite helpful in revising my stories.  They notice my grammatical and sentence structure errors when I don't.  I have also used suggestions about creating smaller paragraphs and will be adding character dialogue in my stories in the future.

• What kind of feedback is most helpful for you in your writing?

Any kind of constructive criticism is helpful to me.  I'm not a writer and I know it.  Any comment makes me into a better writer.

• Have you learned anything useful about yourself as a writer, about the writing process, about writing techniques, etc. from your work in this class so far?

Yes, I have learned that although I have more years under my belt in college than almost everyone else in this class, I am no where near as good a writer as some of the younger students in this class.  I'm learning a lot from everyone else in this class including the instructor.  

• What do you feel are the biggest challenges you face as a writer? What do you think could be most helpful to you in facing those challenges?

My biggest challenge I face as a writer is my own mind.  I tend to tell myself that I don't write well or I don't know how to put a creative spin on a story.  Sometimes I over-analyze myself and my ability to write.  The thing that has been the most helpful is seeing all the positive comments on the stories I have written already.  That helps a great deal.

• What do you find most inspiring as a writer? What do you find most rewarding? 

The most inspiring things to me are reading other people's stories and incorporating their writing styles into my own writing.  When I do incorporate other student's writing styles into my own, I get a lot more positive feedback.  That is definitely a huge reward for me.