The Ultimate Tuesdays with Morrie Feedback!

So I chatted with Mitch Albom today. WHAT'S UP. I'm so excited. I'm actually kind of flipping out right now. Back story!

Maybe a week ago, I was chatting with Sophie about getting feedback from experts, and I mentioned that I was waffling with the idea of asking Mitch Albom some questions. She jumped on board right away, encouraging me to go for it. I hesitated and put it off because I didn't feel like I really had any valid questions, and I didn't want to approach a great author with dumb questions.

Jump to yesterday night, when I was having a small breakdown about my paper. I knew it was lacking the honesty and deliberate care I usually put into my papers. The subject I had chosen to write about was lackluster at best--I simply couldn't bring myself to care about it enough to write a paper I really liked. I went to my dad, feeling ready to give up completely. Sensibly, he sat me down and made me tell him why I care about Tuesdays with Morrie in the first place. I answered earnestly and quickly--I know why I love it. It's honest, heartfelt, and deeply touching to me. I love it.

So, ever the wonderful father, my dad told me to write about that. I scrunched my face up critically--write about love and feeling in a literary analysis? I didn't think I could manage it. But we talked things through and I finally came to a thesis and topic that I can really truly embrace. And now I'm excited to write my paper!

Now for the best part. I snuck into my dad's empty office this afternoon to work on my paper in peace and quiet. I got in the groove and was getting lots done when I realized that I finally had a question for Mitch. So I did some research and ended up on his official Facebook page. I worked and reworked a suitable question, and then posted it with low expectations but high hopes.

AND HE RESPONDED. Ahhhh! Best day ever. His answer was really interesting, and it lends itself perfectly to the topic of my paper. Speaking of which, I've finally decided on a topic. I'm going to write about the fact that Tuesdays with Morrie is not a literary book. It doesn't lend itself to analysis or interpretation--it simply isn't formatted that way. In spite of that, it is a very valuable, touching, sentimental text, and that kind of literature is very literary because the whole point of literature is (or should be) to make us more human. And that's exactly what Tuesdays with Morrie does. Not really elegant yet, but that's the general idea.

Keep On Keeping On

Creative Commons 1.0

That picture is basically me throughout most of my writing process....like really. I find myself thinking way more than I should and not writing/researching as much as I need to. My status report so far is a little over satisfactory. Honestly, I can feel myself starting to get a bit complacent in my paper and not pushing for making that brilliant paper. Although, my ideas are flowing and I am getting more comfortable in my topic. Improvements are being made with all of the feedback and suggestions I have been receiving. I just have some things to work out and couple more steps to complete. These include:

1. Consult Professionals - I plan to talk to Professor Cutchins who knows a lot about film adaptations and literature. I'm glad he is a BYU professor and father of one of my peers. This way it makes it a lot easier for me to consult him in regards to my paper. He can definitely help with the mechanics and content of it.

2. Better Rough Drafts - my drafts need to be taken more seriously on my part. It feels like I complete them just to get it done instead of significantly flushing my ideas out and doing it as a preparation for the final one. A lot of that probably has to do with how much time and effort I actually put into doing them.

3. WORK HARDER - this would probably be my greatest challenge. I've done so many papers they are sort of like an exercise that I've grown to shortchange and not give my all. This paper is probably one of the more important ones I'll do here in college so I need to step it up. As a recently accepted English Teaching major, I need to be a paper expert and this is the only way I'll get to that level. Practice makes perfect!

Go for the goals.

CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0

There comes a time, when writing a literary analysis paper, when one must stop and appreciate the progress that has been made, as well as assess what still needs to be done. I have a pretty good handle on what I would like to address in the novel Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, but now that I have included Fairest (by the same author) in my paper, I feel the need to do some close reading with it. I have only read Fairest once all the way through and so I think I need to take some time to really study it in context of my topic. Also, I think I have several sources that aren't as relevant any more now that I have shifted the direction of my topic. I'd like to replace some of those with fresh sources that are more applicable.

My goals for the rest of this week:

• Complete a close-reading of Fairest by Gail Carson Levine.
• Look again at the sources I have now and incorporate them into my working paper.
• Find which sources that I have already complied aren't working for me with my revised thesis, and replace them with new ones.
• Organize the ordering and structure of my paper in preparation for Friday's half-draft.

#Enthusiasts

Better late than never but never late is better... 

Since I am still a bit reluctant to messaging strangers online, I decided to reach out to enthusiasts in person. For my enthusiasts, I decided to use fellow English majors and lovers of writing. I consider them to be enthusiasts because they have the same passion of research and analysis that I do. I had an electronic version of my draft in hand to every enthusiasts I talked to. Most of the English majors I talked to gave me similar advice. They had great advice about formulating the paper and how the structure could be improved to help fluidity. One enthusiast I talked to was a Writing Fellow here at BYU. They're advice was very useful because they have a lot of experience with guiding other in their writing processes. In terms of ideas, I got way more points to discuss and ideas I hadn't thought of before. I really like sharing my drafts with others personally. It's probably the most useful practice we have done in this class, in my opinion. Yay for enthusiasts!

Thank You's For Enthusiasm

I have tried to contact a few literary enthusiasts this week, and while I haven't had a response yet, I am confident that I will get at least one reply.

However, I have had some success getting sources from classmates, which is fantastic! I haven't had the chance to look at the sources yet, but Morgan posted on my mini-paper post and suggested I look at Cyclopedia of Literary Places. Her interest in my topic and helpfulness is reassuring, and I think using this source would be a great way to strengthen my argument about authority affecting the development of children.

Cristiano also gave me a great source to use on my annotated bibliography. It has to do with the evolution of the portrayal of the family from the Victorian era to the Modern era. Perfect! This will put my analysis in context, and I'm excited to see what I can find in this book.

Thanks to both of you, and to everyone else who has commented!

The Song Remains The Same

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For this week's build to enthusiasts, I went the route of posting on another blog about Watership Down. Fortunately, I did get a response in short amount of time, but unfortunately the author who responded didn't know anything about Lewis Carroll and really had nothing to offer me that I didn't already know. No worries though! It was nice to get a reply. It furthered my faith in the probability of getting feedback through blogging. Here's the conversation:

Robbie

Hi, I just read your post and I admire your enthusiasm for Watership Down. I really liked the insights and quotes from the author your provided from the introduction to the 2005 edition. This book has been among my favorites since a high school teacher first recommended it to me several years ago. Currently I’m working on comparing Watership down to Alice and Wonderland, and I've found several comparisons between the two and they’re a lot more similar than I would have thought. In addition to literary comparisons, I’m doing biographical comparisons between the authors. However, I don’t know how to tie the two parts together to make it an interesting topic. I’m thinking about arguing that the similarities between the two authors is responsible for the similarities of their writing, but I don’t know if it’s strong enough. Do you have an suggestions for an angle I could take, or an interesting way to tie biographical comparisons with literary comparisons? I would appreciate any feedback, or ideas you may have.

Thanks for writing your blog. I’m excited to see what new discoveries I can make here.

Reply

• 

  March 24, 2014
  www.pineneedlesandpapertrails.com

  Thanks for your kind comments about my blog and the Watership Down post. I am intrigued by your work on comparing the book with Alice in Wonderland and investigating the common themes of the authors’ lives. I know next to nothing about Lewis Carroll, so I can’t help at all there! Richard Adams, however, has given many interviews and, of course, there is his autobiography for research sources. Please check back in to let me know about your progress!
Fortunately, I still had a lot of time left to find feedback so I posted on another blog that was comparing Tolkien's Lord of the Rings with Watership Down. Perfect! I explained how I was also doing a literary comparison and asked specific questions about how my thesis and topic could be improved. Unfortunately, I received no rely and seem to be in about the same position as I was before. However, I remain optimistic that I will get some good feedback in the next few days (hopefully also from my peers who have yet to comment and give feedback on my previous post *cough *cough.)

Finally Caught a Break

My email to Allie

Hey, everybody. Did you know that this whole "social proof" thing works? I had a really helpful experience. I discovered a blog called The Hemingway Project during that one class when Professor Burton ditched us for a half hour to go to lunch. Instead of sitting there thinking, "Man, I'm jealous. I wish I were at lunch right now, too,"I started conversing with Adam and Kimberlee. I expressed some of my concerns about my trouble with getting good feedback, and they helped me find this blog about Hemingway. It looked perfect, so I resolved to send the editor an email. I read some of her interviews and essays regarding related topics and finally decided to reach out. What I got in return was better than what I could have possibly hoped for. 

I sent out this email to the editor, Allie Baker. I mentioned that I had enjoyed reading her blog posts and then asked if she had any knowledge regarding my thesis. I tried to sound professional and smart. My question was specific and interesting to a Hemingway enthusiast. Luckily for me, she responded fairly quickly and gave me some help that I could not have expected.

Allie's reply

Allie was very gracious and helpful. She expressed her interest by pointing me to a Hemingway scholar named H.R. Stoneback. She interviewed him for her blog and asked him some questions that were related to my thesis. I am definitely going to check that out when she posts it. She recommended one of Stoneback's books that could be useful for my paper.

One really important thing is that now I have an "expert" to reach out to. I can become familiar with his work, mention Allie's recommendation, and then propose my question. I no longer feel like I am reaching in the dark thanks to Adam, Kimberlee, Allie, and Professor Burton's long lunch.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Tuesdays with Friendly People

This is how my imaginary scowl looked.
Creative Commons License 3.0; credit to natsumi88

Over the course of the last few weeks, I feel like everybody has been writing about their great success finding friendly people that love to talk about literature and are just thrilled down to their toes to discuss fun literary topics with anyone and everyone. And I gave those friendly people an imaginary scowl because where were my friendly people?

So this week, I stuck my neck out a little. I felt determined to find myself a friendly person or two for myself, because everyone deserves some friendly people in their lives (besides their actual friends, of course). On Friday, I discovered Mitch Albom's official website, which was exciting. I created an account so I could post in the discussions and forums and went straight to work reading old things and drafting my own little post. Unfortunately, the site seems to have gotten a little run down, and looks to be largely obsolete now. So I went looking for other friendly people.

Drowning

Confession: My greatest fear is drowning.  

Though I’ve never actually experienced anything close to drowning, the event  haunts my dreams.  It starts with the last gasp and gulp of air, and you give all your exertion to kicking and flailing; trying to propel yourself back to the surface.  Fatigue quickly sets in, leaving your body’s alarms screaming.  You must get out!  You must find a way to resurface!  But there is so much bringing you down… fatigue, pressure, not even knowing which way is up any more… And then there is the pause, the silence… and you know it’s coming.  The last watery breath, and then… I wake up from the dream.

At this point I have yet to wake up.  

I am flailing and my mind, body, lungs, everything is screaming of air!  

For reprieve from the floundering.

The more I dive into my topic, the more things jump out and me and beg me for attention.  With every new drop of information pooling together I hadn’t realized that I had been creating my own demise.  
I feel that the surface is close, but I don’t know what direction to orient myself to get there.  

I have two competing thoughts.  One I feel is more practical, the other more intriguing… and I hate to admit it, but I think it’s about time that practicality wins.  

I have been switching between a feministic approach of my two books and more generally defining what a good book is generationally speaking.

This was my thesis and opening paragraph… and this is what it might be (most likely) changed to.  (still a rough draft...) 

I’m asking for honest, direct and constructive feedback! 

Between two exams, another paper and wedding planning I’m trying not to drown.  I’ve been trying to rely on my own strength to resurface, but now it’s time to reach for a life- preserver… if anyone is willing to throw one out to me.  

Feedback and Publication...

Curious Cheshire Cat 

I've reached out to quite a few of my Korean friends back in California by email and Kakao Talk (a texting application) and received many ideas from them. But the person I received most help from was my mom who is familiar with both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Sara. As mentioned in my post Miracle, my mom was the one who introduced me to the book. She had great interest in what I was going to write about, especially in how I plan on connecting the protagonists of the two novels, Sara and Alice. Both characters are children and have preconceived notions about the world. But when they encounter strange and fantastical creatures, such as Cheshire Cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Solomon in Sara, their world and perspective turns upside down. My mom helped make this kind of connection between Sara and Alice. Many of my friends helped me in different areas, such as how I can make connection between settings of both novels.

Kimberlee made a great suggestion in my other post Shell: "It also might be helpful to try to tie your paper into a broader, more general audience: like, why is your paper significant to the reader." I don't have an answer to this question yet but my train of thought leads me to "it is significant because a part of us are always curious about the inexplainable, even though we believe in to be unrealistic, and we sometimes ponder whether it really is impossible."

As for venues I've researched for submitting my paper...

Perks of Publishing

From Wikipedia

One of my new favorite things to do is sharing my work, or work in progress, with others. Whether they may be interested or not, people are prone to give useful feedback that will benefit you. Many of the people I've talked to have definitely improved my process. I decided to share my draft with some of my peers from my dance technique class. I see them everyday for two hours so they are peers I am pretty familiar with. It was so satisfying talking to them about my paper because they reacted exactly how I intended: they related to the idea. My teaser discusses how The Perks of Being a Wallflower involves the concept of loneliness. The author, Stephen Chbosky, says this story is very autobiographical in terms of how much it relates to his life. This is the purpose of the book, to allow audiences to relate. When I shared this draft with my peers they began telling they're stories of loneliness and how they experienced it but overcame. This reassures me that the topic is supported and easily understood.

Now its time to start thinking about not only sharing my work but publishing! At first, it sounded a bit intimidating. Thinking about strangers reading my work and critiquing sounded scary. Now I'm thinking "Read my work, rip me apart, make me better!!!!!". This process is for sure to help me improve.

1.The publication I think would fit my paper the best would definitely be Digital America. Since I'm focusing on the novel and film, it goes with their interests and would make a good argument to them.

2.The conference I'd like to submit to is the BYU English Symposium. I feel more comfortable here at my own school because I know my peers are supportive. The due date might have passed but it still sounds fun.

3.For the guest blog post, I am stealing the one I read on Kate's post which McKay used as well. The blog is called New Directions in the Humanities and it seems very modern which I appreciate. The name describes it perfectly "New Directions" so it focuses on fresh ideas and topics that have not been commonly discussed. My paper would fit pretty well into this. They even have a promotion on their home page about a book that discusses the transition between literature and cinema....BINGO!

Spagetti and Waffles

I once had it explained to me (by a man) that men are like waffles and

girls are like spaghetti.  

Let me explain.

Men have the fabulous ability to compartmentalize in their mind.  They have the work waffle divot, the school waffle divot, the relationship waffle divot, sports waffle divot etc.  Thoughts can stay as separate as they want them.

Woman are spaghetti.  We have one thought that gets tangled into another thought that is lost in another completely different thought.  Gossip of school intertwines with the stresses of work which affects the level of patience we have we our friends and pretty soon you have no idea where one thought or feeling began and where another ended. *

Ever since my last post my mind hasn’t been able to settle down with everything I want to do to gather in information!  I want to create quiz lets and google polls!  I want to survey campus, friends, family, strangers, everyone!  I want to talk with students, undergrads, graduates and professors.  I want to ask the world : WHY, no really, WHY do you read?

My Spaghetti mind has some unraveling to do before I think I’ll be able to pick my next direction… but until then.  I NEED HELP from all you other Waffles and Plates of Spaghetti!
This is what I am considering for a claim:

The definition of a “good book” is subjective to an individuals generation and is influenced by the books physical and textual aesthetics, character development and dialogue as well as moral lessons found within the book.  

Stay tuned for how I’ll work myself up to this point! 

If you can't figure out if your mind is a waffle or spaghetti.. it's ok! 

JUST

*Disclaimer: I understand that not all individuals are like this nor will ever be like this nor have the desire to be like this… but hey, it’s fun none the less! 

Why Do I Read?

On my way to school this morning I was talking with my fiancé.  With the usual mischief in his voice he confessed that he woke up extra early that morning just so he could finish a good book that he was reading.  (Yup, He’s an English Major’s dream). “I love fiction!  Reading fiction evokes the child-like feeling that every moment of life can be an adventure.”  As he gushed about the delightsome nature of fiction, my mind began to race.  

“What is it about books that people love so much?  I know when I read it is quite the experience: I am transported to other worlds, I meet new people, I simply get away!  I love the smell of books.  I love getting so consumed by words on a page that I don’t realize that I am reading anymore — the picture in my mind becomes so vivid and real.  But do all people who have at least a tolerance for books have a similar experience?”

Why Do YOU Read? 

My curiosity was peaked, and I wanted to know!  It was time to go to the masses… well as far as my Facebook friends go.

Tall Boy: “They are a portal to get away from reality!”

Long- Ago Classmate: “Reading books is like experiencing other people's adventures.”

Bearded Man: “Reading [a book] is like hanging out with an old friend. They're comforting, exciting, and can make me feel a wide range of emotions. Books are my favorite"

New Mom: “I love the sound of turning pages, the feel of the paper, the tangible ness of real books. I love the chance to learn about the world and myself, to see things through another's point of view, learn new words, and to just enjoy a good story.”

Recent Acquaintance: “I LOVE historical fiction.  It's a great way to learn about different kinds of people and experience life through their eyes! Books can help you experience things that you normally wouldn't have the chance to”

Books awaken is us a sense of adventure, intrigue, curiosity, courage, sympathy…

What Do Books Do for YOU?

Take a glimpse how one book sparked the flame of courage and confidence in me and helped me begin to rise above social prejudices of a new town.

The Blog That Binds

I put my idea for my thesis on Facebook, and at first I wasn't getting very many takers.  So, I started instant messaging my friends and begging for feedback.  I got responses that way, but no one seemed to really get excited about what I was writing.  Someone else on the blog (I'm sorry, I tried to find you but I couldn't remember who said it) mentioned that they received a "lukewarm response."  That's pretty much all I've been getting.  Then, I started chatting with a friend, and things started going somewhere.

My friend Crystal challenged what no one else had - she stepped up and told me that my thesis wasn't a strong one.  So, I went back to the drawing board and came up with something new.

And who doesn't like raspberry truffles?

One of my "general question" posts.

I didn't think my Facebook friends would respond well to an academic thesis post. Instead, I've been posting a series of very general questions like, "Who has read Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol? Tell me what you think about his writing." and "What's your favorite part of Ella Enchanted?" I found that these questions probably resulted in more responses than a specific thesis would have.

The most useful comment was a link to a book/movie review from my cousin. So awesome. I wouldn't have even known she had written it.

People care. Not just about what I am about writing about, but what I have to say about what they're writing about. On this group blog it's been neat to read posts with my name in them. It makes me feel like I really am helping other people with their papers. People want their opinion to be heard. This process has been fulfilling and validating for me.

I received some helpful comments on my tweethis statement blog post from Sophie and Annalee. Sophie suggested that I look at the literary techniques each author uses and how it affects their portrayal of decision-making and control. Awesome! I really liked that idea. Annalee also commented and suggested that I relate the idea of their lack of control to the male main characters.

Combining these comments made me think about how the gender of the writer plays a role in the perspective they each have on womanhood. From the beginning I have wanted to avoid feminism but it keeps cropping up and I'm considering it some more before I dismiss it entirely. I'm going to ask the Facebook community about feminism in young adult and children's literature and see what they have to say about it! #gettingexcitedaboutsocialproofs

At the beginning of this process, I've learned that ideas can fluctuate in importance. They come and go and create new ideas with different concepts. Sometimes I have to let an idea go so that a better one can take shape. Sometimes we need to pass up truffle in order to make way for a raspberry caramel turtle truffle.



This blog and the associated activities have already taught me a lot about how ideas work. 

They don't happen alone.

Is There Anybody Out There?

 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

It turns out that posting my "tweethis statement" on Facebook for all to see yielded not results. So I sent it to one of my friends in Kentucky that I haven't seen since graduation four years ago. She's an English major and I figured she'd have some good things to contribute. Unfortunately, she didn't reply to the message I sent specifically to her, but I still have hope! In the mean time, I did receive some good feedback from Kate and Tori who offered some good suggestions on how my thesis could be a little more specific. Every attempt I have ever made at a thesis statement always starts out far too broad, so I'm very grateful when people offer suggestions on how I can channel my ideas and make them more concise. In addition to Kate and Tori, I asked one of my roommates to read it and he offered some suggestions on how I might lead into it a little bit better. Ultimately, writing a thesis statement is the hardest part of the whole paper. Once I can nail it down, the rest of the paper is a breeze. I'm glad then to get some casual feedback about how I can improve this task that proves the most difficult for me.

The Power of an Audience

Creators need audiences.

By audiences I don't mean people who happen to pass by, merely glance at your painting and leave just enough time to mumble "how nice" before moving on. I refer specifically to friends, family and peers who loyally read anything you write, appreciate any music you compose, and compliment anything you draw. Without someone to please, it's difficult for the creator to produce anything creative and it's rarely any fun.

In fact -- and perhaps it's a little vain to say it -- I think one of the most important things an aspiring scholar, artist or babbling mad scientist can have is an attentive and loyal audience. 

I'll give you an example from my own life. For several years I've participated in NaNoWriMo, a yearly challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. It's been pretty fulfilling for me -- since my head is always stuffed to bursting with strange lands, silly characters and bad puns -- but I've mostly done it simply to prove to myself that I was determined enough to finish. I've never exactly had a huge audience, if I've ever had one at all. But that all changed one fateful semester in 2012, in my Physical Science 101 class.