Week 8 Comments and Feedback

     Reading the comments left by my peers on my stories was daunting at first--even though I knew that they weren't going to be rude, you feel vulnerable reading about the criticisms that others may have for work you have created.  After reading through the comment wall and other comments left on my stories, I was pleasantly surprised! People have left me detailed comments which talk about different aspects from the stories' presentations to the plots.  Most of the comments have had very kind things to say.  None of them have been criticizing, more so the comments leave nice and thoughtful advice about things that might enhance the story.  It is nice to read these comments from the reader's perspective as opposed to thinking about my story from my own perspective.  I have enjoyed getting to read different strategies employed by the different people commenting, especially the "Let's Pretend" strategy.  It makes me smiling reading those comments because they can be quite goofy, but it's also a different way to look at how I could write differently or add new details.  I think I have been doing a decent job of giving thoughtful feedback as well! It was difficult to know what to say at first; it can be hard to give constructive criticism or even advice when I know my writing is not very great.  However, using a couple of the strategies presented to us has helped tremendously.  My favorite strategies have been the WWW and TAG commenting strategies. I think these strategies give me a blueprint to leave a thoughtful comment that addresses several aspects of the stories that I read.  I like that it is always feedback, and there is room for emphasis on what I really liked within the stories I read.  Commenting on other people's stories has broadened my thoughts on how to create stories with a new twist compared to the original stories that we read.  I wouldn't have thought of many different ideas that I have seen my peers use.  It is fun to see!  I like that we can read people's introductions before reading their stories.  It makes interacting with their posts online seem much more personal.  The introduction allows us to the see the personality that goes into creating their stories.  Looking back at my introduction and comment wall, I don't think there is anything I would want to change :) I think it is a good start towards getting to know me and the stories that are on my blog.  I like the way my blog is set up as well! In the future, I think I want to get more out of comfort zone while giving feedback strategies.  It is very easy for me to be passive.  I like what I have given and received so far, but I am looking forward to progressing more in the future.  I think I want to try the "Pretend" strategy more--it is fun, creative and distinct from the other feedback strategies. 

I chose this picture because it stuck out to me the most out of all the cat memes.  It's simple, but I love how positive it is.  As my dad says, mistakes are just learning lessons :)

Source: cheezburger