To tell all yall the truth, I went into this editing phase with a hatred towards my short story. I put it off to the very last moment because I had been surpressing the fact that it needed to be done. I didn't want to think about my story because I had no idea what the ending would be, I needed to change who the narrator was, and I didn't want to spend the time finding/writing a more substantial plotline.
The first task I decided to tackle was that of the narrator. Originally I had someone talking about the life of the main character and also interacting with that main character; however, that extra person was not bringing anything to the story. So I chose to make the main character the narrator and she would tell the story from her own perspective.
To change around the plot, I took the original situation and wrote about how the main character felt right before it occured. It turns out that the main character never even makes it to the event, after much contemplation. My short story is about her car trip to the event, but the main focus is her reflection about her past life experiences on the way to the party. The fact that she ends up not going to the party solved my issue of finding an actual ending for the story. I feel I should improve the ending because it is too forces. I would like to find a way to leave a more ambiguous last moment.
I'm still not in love with my story, but now it is bearable to work on. I think in the next step of the revising/editing process, I need to develope the characters more andaborate on the life instances that the main character remembers.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Metacognition: Jane Eyre Transcript
While working on the Jane Eyre transcript the most difficult part was chosing ideas that weren't repetative, confusing, nor contradictory. Crystal, Leanne and I took an approach where we would discuss the topic of love in the context of Jane Eyre and then we would sift through our thoughts to find "break-throughs." This method proved to be troublesome. Often we would over discuss topics and talk ourselves into thinking the idea was bad, unexplainable, or too confusing. Sometimes we even forgot what we were talking about since we would change topics so frequently.
On the other hand, the easiest part of the assignment was writing transitions because we would follow the natural flow of our own conversation and use connections to different pieces of literature in between the Jane Eyre focussed topics.
I'm really glad I was able to work with Crystal and Leanne because it was an ideal balance of fun and work. We each has agenda and other things to do; therefore we were motivated to get the work done. Orginally it was only Leanne and I in a group together; however, after receiving work time in class, we realized the project would be impossible without a third mind. We would get caught up in questions that we came up with but couldn't answer ourselves. So having another person to bounce ideas off of was very necessary.
I feel that, although the class discussed love a lot, it was a difficult topic to talk about because the members of my group haven't fallen in love yet and we didn't want to repeat anything we said in class. However, I think that love was a broad enough topic where we could incorperate the other choices into the discussion, such as feminism, society, and religion/God.
In general, I had a fun time working on this project. I think that was mainly because it was the first time I was writing a script for something that wasn't necessarily going to be acted out. It was especially important for me to get my thoughts down on paper because I am not a very talkative person; so writing down what I would want to say in a discussion was very helpful.
On the other hand, the easiest part of the assignment was writing transitions because we would follow the natural flow of our own conversation and use connections to different pieces of literature in between the Jane Eyre focussed topics.
I'm really glad I was able to work with Crystal and Leanne because it was an ideal balance of fun and work. We each has agenda and other things to do; therefore we were motivated to get the work done. Orginally it was only Leanne and I in a group together; however, after receiving work time in class, we realized the project would be impossible without a third mind. We would get caught up in questions that we came up with but couldn't answer ourselves. So having another person to bounce ideas off of was very necessary.
I feel that, although the class discussed love a lot, it was a difficult topic to talk about because the members of my group haven't fallen in love yet and we didn't want to repeat anything we said in class. However, I think that love was a broad enough topic where we could incorperate the other choices into the discussion, such as feminism, society, and religion/God.
In general, I had a fun time working on this project. I think that was mainly because it was the first time I was writing a script for something that wasn't necessarily going to be acted out. It was especially important for me to get my thoughts down on paper because I am not a very talkative person; so writing down what I would want to say in a discussion was very helpful.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Best of Week: Womyn
I don’t consider myself a active feminist, though I do support equality. For instance, I wouldn’t have been bothered by the titles Man and Woman in the Venn diagram on the board. When Alyssa suggested that we change woman to womyn, I was intrigued. It constantly occurs to me that the word woman is just an addition to the word man, and this is the first innovative spelling solution I have seen. By replacing the A or E with Y, you eliminate the connection to man or a male root. Next, I loved our battle towards finding the plural of womyn. I thought it was ingenious of Albert to say that it is already plural such as words like fish or deer. Lastly, I think it is very important to continue the use of this spelling in order to influence others to change their frame of mind, similar to Jane’s defying of the Victorian social view of women, oops I mean womyn. By using this spelling in our pieces of writing, I think the Academy can start a very large trend, without over advertising the cause. This fits my views because, as I said earlier, I am not a very active feminist. Therefore, by putting the new word into use (taking action) we have a longer lasting effect than if we just told people to change their minds (talking about it). It would be very interesting to see how far we could take this, maybe even worldwide, especially since so much technology is available. I can only foresee two extremes. Either our campaigning will have a huge effect or very few people will be influenced, which would be disappointing. Well, those are just my thoughts sparked from the excitement during class. This is pretty much all a reflection of form is content!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Dialectic: Social Status vs. Happiness
Towards the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane is faced with the question of living a life of love or a wealthy life of hatred (either with the Reeds or with her poor relatives). I find it odd, yet refreshingly honest that she would prefer a higher status to a poor yet happy life. I wish that I could realize how difficult a life without material luxury would be. I agree with Jane but probably would never admit it especially in her situation. Everyone around her that was trying to help thought that she would value love and acceptance over wealth, but she proved them wrong. I guess once you become acclimated to a higher class lifestyle you can’t and don’t want to give it up, even more so in Victorian times. Also, because Jane is looking back on her life, it must’ve been even more difficult to admit to the reader this decision.
There are clear benefits to both lifestyles one being physical and the other being more mental/emotional. However, for Jane admitting to needing the wealth kind of disappoints the reader because I feel that most people would expect and want her to be a perfect heroine by defying the rules of society. Actually, I think that by falling victim to the Victorian times, Jane has more room to grow and Charlotte Brönte gives credibility and honesty to Jane. Lastly, without Jane’s desire for a better life, in society, she probably wouldn’t have met Mr. Rochester who might be able to give her both lives, one of wealth and one of happiness.
There are clear benefits to both lifestyles one being physical and the other being more mental/emotional. However, for Jane admitting to needing the wealth kind of disappoints the reader because I feel that most people would expect and want her to be a perfect heroine by defying the rules of society. Actually, I think that by falling victim to the Victorian times, Jane has more room to grow and Charlotte Brönte gives credibility and honesty to Jane. Lastly, without Jane’s desire for a better life, in society, she probably wouldn’t have met Mr. Rochester who might be able to give her both lives, one of wealth and one of happiness.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Blogging Around 3
I first commented on Dylan's post about his ideal discussion/class environment, which would include teachers asking students to share whatever is on their mind, whether or not it pertains to the pieces of discussion. I know that homework and school would always be on my mind. Anyway, here is my response to Dylan's What If post:
Dylan, I completely agree with Margot that this would be a great idea, especially for a group with a class environment similar to the Academy. However, I don't think this type of discussion would be suitable in the current school system. Moving forward, I think that Mr. Allen already tries to apply this frame of mind to his lessons. When he realizes that someone hasn't participated in a while, he calls on then. Trying to keep the pressure to a minimum, he asks him or her to share anything about the text or whatever is being discussed. I think of myself as a planner; therefore, I think or write everything out before I say it. However, when Mr. Allen goes on a random selection streak, I get very nervous, probably because I am one of the usual victims. All that previous thinking goes out of my brain and I go into panic. Overall, I think you introduced a very interesting style of teaching that would benefit students in the long run, but at the start, it would only interest for the students that really like to speak up in class. This was a really great writing piece and I think it connects well to English class.
After I wrote this review, I realized that you were probably talking of just a more open discussion with less direction or focus on a specific topic or text. I think Margot and I were getting at how Mr. Allen would lead the discussion. Sorry!
Lauren
Next, I commented on Kyle's post about our analyzation of Cathedral. He wrote about the varying length of sentences and how his thoughts were different from those of the class. Kyle brought up some very important questions such as, "But it raises the question how much of this is intentional by the author? Is he writing the prose, or in someways is the writing working through him. " Here was my reaction:
Kyle, I thought this blog post was really insightful. Your original idea makes just as much sense as the ideas from class. Although the beginning of your Best of Week was awesome in class, I appreciated the questions at the end of your blog the most. Sometimes after class discussions I wonder if the author of each piece of text we read actually thought of all the ideas we came up with, especially since some of them are very disconnected from the original literature. I know that when I write, I have an idea and I run with it. I don't always wonder what the reader is going to take away from the craft. Because of this, I sometimes have disbelief that English class is completely truthful. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the great discussions that come from English, but sometimes I think we unnecessarily beat pieces to death. Your blog was the perfect balance for me of desired writing (the beginning of the post) and reality (questions at the end). You have some wonderful insights there and this post was well written.
Lauren
Everyone's blogs this semester have been great!
Dylan, I completely agree with Margot that this would be a great idea, especially for a group with a class environment similar to the Academy. However, I don't think this type of discussion would be suitable in the current school system. Moving forward, I think that Mr. Allen already tries to apply this frame of mind to his lessons. When he realizes that someone hasn't participated in a while, he calls on then. Trying to keep the pressure to a minimum, he asks him or her to share anything about the text or whatever is being discussed. I think of myself as a planner; therefore, I think or write everything out before I say it. However, when Mr. Allen goes on a random selection streak, I get very nervous, probably because I am one of the usual victims. All that previous thinking goes out of my brain and I go into panic. Overall, I think you introduced a very interesting style of teaching that would benefit students in the long run, but at the start, it would only interest for the students that really like to speak up in class. This was a really great writing piece and I think it connects well to English class.
After I wrote this review, I realized that you were probably talking of just a more open discussion with less direction or focus on a specific topic or text. I think Margot and I were getting at how Mr. Allen would lead the discussion. Sorry!
Lauren
Next, I commented on Kyle's post about our analyzation of Cathedral. He wrote about the varying length of sentences and how his thoughts were different from those of the class. Kyle brought up some very important questions such as, "But it raises the question how much of this is intentional by the author? Is he writing the prose, or in someways is the writing working through him. " Here was my reaction:
Kyle, I thought this blog post was really insightful. Your original idea makes just as much sense as the ideas from class. Although the beginning of your Best of Week was awesome in class, I appreciated the questions at the end of your blog the most. Sometimes after class discussions I wonder if the author of each piece of text we read actually thought of all the ideas we came up with, especially since some of them are very disconnected from the original literature. I know that when I write, I have an idea and I run with it. I don't always wonder what the reader is going to take away from the craft. Because of this, I sometimes have disbelief that English class is completely truthful. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the great discussions that come from English, but sometimes I think we unnecessarily beat pieces to death. Your blog was the perfect balance for me of desired writing (the beginning of the post) and reality (questions at the end). You have some wonderful insights there and this post was well written.
Lauren
Everyone's blogs this semester have been great!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Best of Week: Vocabulary
Although I thoroughly enjoyed our short story discussions, my favorite part of the week was the constant incorporation of vocabulary. Towards the beginning of the week, studying vocabulary became a daunting task, mostly due to variety show. So I made my note cards and studied; after some quality practicing the vocabulary words seemed to stick. Therefore, the morning of preview, I didn’t have to worry about studying last minute. By the time I got to English class, the northies had left, but Mr. Allen gave the Vshow kids the vocabulary test anyways. He gave us a few minutes to review; but before giving us the test, he called each of us up individually. “Lauren. Do you know what the word auspicious means?” he asked. (at least I think that’s the word he used) I freaked out, thinking it was a vocabulary word I was supposed to know, and I didn’t. Then Kate Henning answered and I couldn’t be happier. Mr. Allen handed me my Heart of Darkness test and I had done very well on it!
Next I took the vocabulary test and flew right through it. I was glad to hear that no one, or almost no one, got less than a 96 on the test. I know there was some confusion whether or not the South kids would have time to take the test or not, so some people hadn’t studied until the morning of the test.
In class Mr. Allen also asked if anyone knew what the word sedulous meant. Remembering the word from a past vocab. test, I shouted “diligent.” Mr. Allen and I both seemed very surprised that I remembered the definition and that a synonym would be assiduous. The fact that it was possible to recall the meaning after such a long time really showed me that, A. repetition actually helps in long term memorization, and B. vocabulary is important and helpful in real life, aside from just being a relatively easy grade-booster in English class.
I feel that the new method of writing words down on the board is very interesting. I, in fact, wrote those words, sedulous; truncated; and apotheosis, down in my assignment notebook. I’m looking forward to seeing whether or not Mr. Allen will quiz us on those words.
I generally don’t view myself as having a very broad vocabulary, yet this week, vocabulary seemed a more positive idea.
Next I took the vocabulary test and flew right through it. I was glad to hear that no one, or almost no one, got less than a 96 on the test. I know there was some confusion whether or not the South kids would have time to take the test or not, so some people hadn’t studied until the morning of the test.
In class Mr. Allen also asked if anyone knew what the word sedulous meant. Remembering the word from a past vocab. test, I shouted “diligent.” Mr. Allen and I both seemed very surprised that I remembered the definition and that a synonym would be assiduous. The fact that it was possible to recall the meaning after such a long time really showed me that, A. repetition actually helps in long term memorization, and B. vocabulary is important and helpful in real life, aside from just being a relatively easy grade-booster in English class.
I feel that the new method of writing words down on the board is very interesting. I, in fact, wrote those words, sedulous; truncated; and apotheosis, down in my assignment notebook. I’m looking forward to seeing whether or not Mr. Allen will quiz us on those words.
I generally don’t view myself as having a very broad vocabulary, yet this week, vocabulary seemed a more positive idea.
Monday, February 16, 2009
What If: My Life Was A Short Story
This week we read the short story Boys, in class. Through the heavy use of repitition, of the boys enter the house, we reasoned that at least a few parts of this story story are applicable to every boy. Therefore it is a model. What if my life was the model for the lives of girls? When I look over my life experiences, I think that the events are too boring to write a short story about. Then I move to my frame of mind and i don't contemplate about anything out of the ordinary. Even thought I may not think my story would be a good model for the lives of other girls, it may be mundain and simple enough to apply to girls everywhere. Just to be clear, I do think my life has value and I do think I will leave a lasting influence on the people I spend time with. This lasting influence happens, I think, because everyone may take part in similar activities, but the details add importance and emotion. Boys applies to nonfictional boys because the narrator describes on situation that everyone does, entering the house, and he adds detailed experiences to this single experience. If my life was a short story, the narrator might talk about something similar such as looking out the window or sitting on the couch; then he or she would add specific events to those simple actions.
Aside from the structure of the story, I think that it would be really strange if every reader knew all of my quirky habits. I don't think I would want a short story to be written about me. I am a quiet, private person; therefore, I wouldn't want the attention or possible questions that would come along with the plot. Also, currently, I don't know what the climax would be. Maybe I'll never know what the climax is, only someone on the outside could know. I don't think my story would be possible in my brain because I don't know who would write it. My only guess would be if someone, that I don't know, found a scrapbook or a photo album of my life and wrote a story. We talked about this in class. If Boys was written the same way then that explains why the names weren't mentioned and why the story it more universal.
Pretty much, I wouldn't want a story about myself. Therefore, when I begin writing a short story, I'm hopefully going to write about a fictional character. To tell you (Mr. Allen) the truth, I'm not looking forward to writing a short story. On a seperate note, I apologize for the poor writing today. I've been really busy with Variety Show.
Aside from the structure of the story, I think that it would be really strange if every reader knew all of my quirky habits. I don't think I would want a short story to be written about me. I am a quiet, private person; therefore, I wouldn't want the attention or possible questions that would come along with the plot. Also, currently, I don't know what the climax would be. Maybe I'll never know what the climax is, only someone on the outside could know. I don't think my story would be possible in my brain because I don't know who would write it. My only guess would be if someone, that I don't know, found a scrapbook or a photo album of my life and wrote a story. We talked about this in class. If Boys was written the same way then that explains why the names weren't mentioned and why the story it more universal.
Pretty much, I wouldn't want a story about myself. Therefore, when I begin writing a short story, I'm hopefully going to write about a fictional character. To tell you (Mr. Allen) the truth, I'm not looking forward to writing a short story. On a seperate note, I apologize for the poor writing today. I've been really busy with Variety Show.
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