Enlightenment
Due Date:
February 7, 2017 February 10, 2017 February 15, 2017 February 20, 2017 February 25, 2017 March 2, 2017 March 7, 2017 |
To Do:
Research about Irish folklore has been completed and I know more about it than I will ever need to know for my novel. Have a detailed character development sheet ready, do not give names to the character, remember them by their personality and actions. Make sure to intertwine their histories to add more depth. Create your world, your setting, your masterpiece. See with your mind and not with your eyes. Have the story line all mapped out but don’t go into such great detail. Let the character map guide you. Find the voice for the story. Word Count Goal: 10,000 words Word Count Goal: 20,000 words Word Count Goal: 30,000 words Word Count Goal: 40,000 words Word Count Goal: 50,000 words |
UPDATE- Through my trial in trying to write a novel, a very important lesson has occurred to me. Writing a quality novel with 50 thousand words is not feasible in a month, so these word count goals are very unrealistic.
Group Worksheets:
Individual Worksheets:
Progress and Goal Accomplishments:
What I Have Learned:
Story Plot Planning: I have always been a fan of writing, and I have written many stories that had a decent word count, but truth be told, none of those writings with high word counts were any good. They lacked some of the most important aspects of storytelling, like feelings, detail, and unique story line. This term has given me some perspective as to what would help me acquire these skills because it gave me the opportunity to plan. Arguably the most important part of writing a novel, it also takes the most time because a great amount of thought, research, and imagination is how any best selling novel ever achieved it's fame. I underestimated planning the story plot in the beginning of this unit, which is also why I struggled so much in this unit. It lead to severe writer's block, bland and tasteless writing that did not progress the story. I realized this mid way through the term and realized that I needed to go back and take my time with my story map.
Writer's Block: The arch-nemesis of anyone who has ever written a paper, story, novel, poem, you name it. This was my BIGGEST struggle during this project because there was a combination of stress due to deadlines, mood, and environment that lead to the perfect storm that is writer's block. If you have nothing to write, or can't put it into words it leads to major setbacks. I learned that you can't set yourself up for failure by setting a time limit on your writing. I found way to fight through it by referencing my research, rereading some of my favorite books, and finding different places to write.
Character Development: This was by far the most fun that I had writing my story. I found a few techniques online that helped set me up for success.
Tip #1- Don't give your characters names until you have made up their personality, appearance, and life story. This way you don't focus defining them based on what you have named them, but give them a name that suits who they are.
Tip #2- Intertwine characters backgrounds. It makes for interesting character development and can help progress the story.
Tip #3- Give every character an important part in the story.
Writer's Block: The arch-nemesis of anyone who has ever written a paper, story, novel, poem, you name it. This was my BIGGEST struggle during this project because there was a combination of stress due to deadlines, mood, and environment that lead to the perfect storm that is writer's block. If you have nothing to write, or can't put it into words it leads to major setbacks. I learned that you can't set yourself up for failure by setting a time limit on your writing. I found way to fight through it by referencing my research, rereading some of my favorite books, and finding different places to write.
Character Development: This was by far the most fun that I had writing my story. I found a few techniques online that helped set me up for success.
Tip #1- Don't give your characters names until you have made up their personality, appearance, and life story. This way you don't focus defining them based on what you have named them, but give them a name that suits who they are.
Tip #2- Intertwine characters backgrounds. It makes for interesting character development and can help progress the story.
Tip #3- Give every character an important part in the story.
My Grade Suggestions:
Problem Solving: I found ways to get through my writer's block and to improve my novel, like going back and redoing my planing.
Critical Thinking: I had to think about what an audience would like to read from me and I found several errors within my writing that made it so bland. I had think critically about what I could do to improve my novel.
Reasoning: While I was choosing what project I would like to do for the term, I started to think about my future, and my reasoning for picking this project was that I saw being an author as a possible career option.
Systems Thinking: Writing a novel is a system. There is many parts within successful storytelling that need to be paid attention to like story plot, setting, character development, and voice. I need to plan each of these things out in order for the system to function.
Global Awareness: I had to research Irish folk lore and understand their ways of thinking, which gave me insight to there morals and values.
Critical Thinking: I had to think about what an audience would like to read from me and I found several errors within my writing that made it so bland. I had think critically about what I could do to improve my novel.
Reasoning: While I was choosing what project I would like to do for the term, I started to think about my future, and my reasoning for picking this project was that I saw being an author as a possible career option.
Systems Thinking: Writing a novel is a system. There is many parts within successful storytelling that need to be paid attention to like story plot, setting, character development, and voice. I need to plan each of these things out in order for the system to function.
Global Awareness: I had to research Irish folk lore and understand their ways of thinking, which gave me insight to there morals and values.