Epics of India

At this point in the class, I am on track to make an A! So I am quite happy with the progress I'm making, especially in regards to writing stories. The stories are probably my favorite part of the class, because I have the creative freedom to do what I want (within the confines of the class) while receiving feedback to refine it. It's a good cycle to be in, where everyone benefits. And I think I've adapted to a good, habitual, weekly routine now. Extra credit on Monday (if I have time), reading on Tuesday and Wednesday, story/lab on Thursday, then project/comments over the weekend, with more extra credit if I'm feeling up for it.  Looking forward, I'm wary of becoming too comfortable with this schedule, and not looking at the Canvas and end up missing some big announcement. In regards to my website and blog, I am thinking about maybe changing up some design elements? I think they're okay and convey the focus of what they are for, but maybe they can be refined...

Feedback is a bittersweet thing, at least to me. On one hand, I dislike criticism, but on the other, I know that to improve, I need different viewpoints. And the latter usually outweighs the former, unless the feedback isn't constructive at all. Sometimes (and I'm guilty of this too..) people are just commenting something random to fulfill the assignment checklist and I can tell they didn't really read the entire story. For example, someone would comment on a specific part of the story about how something could be explained more, but I explicitly stated the explanation further along in the story. In general, though, I like to hear feedback about what I could change to make things more clear for the reader - explaining some story element further, more character development, possible changes, etc. As I read others' works, I'm inspired to make changes to my own work and feedback as well. Some feedback I receive is really good, and I am able to then use it to evaluate...

There's an interesting dichotomy I think, between any work I look back on and the work I am currently writing. As I'm in the process of writing something, the ideas are flourishing, and the story seems to unfold spectacularly, with no flaws. However, after publishing something, leaving it for a week, and coming back again to look on it, it's so...awkward and chunky. Grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, sentence structure and overall flow - invisible weeds that suddenly become visible after not working on it for some time. The feeling I thought I had conveyed to the reader, upon visiting the story again as   a reader  - it's just not what I had envisioned in my mind. But the frustration of it all - I don't have the proper vocabulary or mastery of writing techniques to properly express this idea in my mind. I don't have the "meat" needed to beef up the bones of my story. I look at stories that I think are really well done - " Avatar: The Last Airben...