Ms. Kelly Anthony
14SP-ENG-101-W05
March 2nd, 2014
Reflection
I took on this blogging project with many challenges, as well as successes. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to go about it at first. I didn't know if I should just randomly babble about my thoughts, or if I should give myself a topic or prompt to write about. I decided that you can find a nice balance of each. Sometimes, when I found myself about to free-write, I would decide on a topic to keep myself on track. However, there were times where I had so much going on in life that it was nice to be able to just vent what was on my mind. I enjoyed this project, although it came with many challenges.
My first challenge came when I began my first post. I got about three sentences into my writing and I realized I had no idea what to write anymore. I was trying to force myself to write, as opposed to letting it flow out. I found help in re-reading Freewriting by Peter Elbow. When I re-read this piece I remembered that free-writing gives you the freedom to write what you want, even if it isn't usually acceptable. This helped my words flow because I became less worried about being judged. I think that is my favorite part of free-writing; that it is more for the writer than the reader, and you can express yourself freely.
My second challenge began after about fourteen freewrites. I was unable to think of anything to write about. I would just stare at the blank page open on my laptop, hoping for something to come to me. This problem was not easily solved at first. Then I looked at a list of freewriting prompts, which allowed me to get some ideas. After finishing my first internet prompt, I began brainstorming some of my own. As we end this project, I am doing much better at choosing my own topics.
It wasn't all challenges, though. I noticed some successes with my writing as well. I think through working on this project I have gained more of a voice in my writing. Knowing that I was writing for me, helped me further develop and show this voice. Also, I think my ability to write more without pausing has vastly improved. I am someone who will take three hours just to get an introduction right. However, during this project we had to not pause to think, but just write. I think this helped me improve my writing style. Now I would rather write a flowing paragraph, then edit out the little stuff instead of taking ten minutes, trying to craft a sentence to perfectly fit someone's expectations.
Through these successes and challenges I've learned my likes and dislikes for blogging and freewriting. First off, I really like the freedom to state my own opinion. Sometimes in my normal writing I feel bad for stating my opinion because I don't wish to offend anyone. However, with this project, I felt good in being able to express my true feelings. I also liked this project because you gain writing practice without all of the pressure of a paper. When writing a normal English assignment, you must worry about MLA formatting, spelling, and grammar. Those things can put a lot of pressure on a writer, and they lose focus of the main point. This project eliminates a lot of that pressure and allows them to focus on that main point: the contents. I really enjoy this project.
However, it wasn't all good. I didn't like that I always had to pick my topics. I don't think that the project would keep all of its benefits if you made prompts for the writers, however, it would have been less frustrating. That is really the only thing I didn't particularly like about this project. I would suggest keeping this project the same and continuing to assign it to students.
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