Week 8 extra credit reading

 Overall, I love the reading and writing assignments.  I like the readings especially because we were able to pick out the readings that interested us most in the week 2 reading overview assignment.  So far, I have been very happy with my selection! I knew I wanted to write about heroes or adventurers so I sort of picked out readings with that in mind.  I have also appreciated the feedback that I have gotten.  Laura recommended that I check out Sinbad's adventures as I had left it off of my reading overview, and luckily I ended up deciding to read about Sinbad for extra credit.  As it turned out, I think those stories have been my favorite up until this point in the semester.  They reminded me of the Odyssey! So I thought that was really neat :) The Sinbad stories also inspired me to write a story about a sailor--and I have really enjoyed working on this story.  In fact, it's the current story in my project.  So yes--I love the readings and the writing has been going well.  I love the creativity that goes along with writing stories.  Writing stories is so different compared to 98% of the other writing that I have done throughout college.  I found it really refreshing to get into a different frame of mind than I normally use for writing research papers or lab reports.  I think I am slowly getting better about how I take notes when it comes to the readings.  At this point, I sort of know what kinds of information I am most interested in.  If I come across something that sparks that interest to write a story in my brain, I like to take notes about it.  I think I especially like learning about new characters or settings that I can use in my own stories.  I also enjoy taking notes on the predicaments certain characters get into--such as encountering a cyclops or stepping onto an island that is actually a whale.  I am looking forward to reading and writing new stories :)

  An island off the coast of New Zealand that is commonly referred to as "Whale Island."

source: commons