Reflecting on my own reading and writing processes, I have come to see how I learned to read based on my school experiences, but I found a passion to write through my "kid art". Today, my reading shows a progression of gained insight and perceptions of how to read (at a fairly smooth pace, having reading stamina, etc.). Writing started at a young age for me, when I recognized I could transfer my thoughts, experiences, and feelings from my head to paper. From scribbles to spelling error filled words, I had something to say in my many diaries, kept safely in my pink metal Sleeping Beauty tin case. I recall it felt special to write at a young age, because it was both empowering and yet frustrating as I became older and started to worry about grammar rules. As a reader and writer, I now see how as I engage in these processes I move forward with the medium I am working with, at a pace that allows my thoughts to occur. As I read I often feel my emotions sparked by what I look at, and as I write my thoughts often spiral together to build on different ways of thinking/ideas. Based on how I move forward in my reading and writing with a purpose (to read for fun or to read to seek information, etc.), I feel that depending on the context I may/may not always consider the audience or genre and often my ideas may become more organize once I am able to contemplate what I have engaged with. In fact, I find my line of thinking to be much like the writing process, "invovl[ing] recurring cycles... personaliz[ing] the process to meet... [my] own needs and vary it according[ly]" (Tompkins, 2012, p. 6). Thus, at times I am more organized in following the "steps" to help guide my purpose and thinking, yet it also seems to me that these processes can muddle together. I will say, I do love acquiring goals, whether set out in my writing or not initially realized with my reading, as both "reader or writer may broaden, fine tune, redefine, delete, or replace goals" (Tierney & Pearson, 1983, p. 569). The challenge of doing prewriting, planning, and drafting activities, involves how much interest one has in a topic and how much motivation (based on how easy/natural ideas or reading is coming to one).
In preparing for the R/W Blog assignment, going forward with the reading strategies and writing strategies I will use, they will be my "normal" strategies in a new format. I have never read or posted a blog before, hence getting used to how to read on a blog reminds me a little of when I had to get accustomed of how to read graphic novels (during my undergraduate experience). With writing, I am tempted to number and bullet my ideas, but I also recognize that a blog is much like a paper (whether short or long) ideas are organized through paragraphs. The voice heard through my words will reflect my thoughts and a professional tone (versus texting language). Yet, I also feel that blogs are suppose to not sound like a paper, so I have to find a balance with my words representing my ideas and for my writing to adhere to a college level expectation. Besides being sure to prewrite and plan/draft, I am going to focus on the purpose being presented. I will do this by determining the language that is being used, is it "to entertain? to inform? to persuade?" (Tompkins, 2012, p. 6). In the stages of editing, I will also aim to take short breaks to enter the writing or a reading "with a fresh perspective" (Tompkins, 2012, p. 12). By focusing on the language style and stepping away from what I am engaging with, I create stronger bonds with the content and I also build on/better represent my knowledge of the topic.
As I think about the Genre Pieces Project, I will prewrite and plan by doing what feels routine to me. First, I will seek to sit somewhere quite (down at my desk) where I can focus and have my attention on the task at hand. With my writing, I will aim to find "the 'right' lead... proced[ing] to develop the plot, expositions, or descriptions" (Tierney & Pearson, 1983, p. 572). I will write down ideas as they come to me, because sometimes trying to brainstorm can be too much (as I start to overthink). I have found brainstorming for this project to be tricky so far. It will be my goal to continue to reflect on my insight and to think of who I am writing to and how to accomplish that. I may look to seek additional resources that will expand on my knowledge and thoughts of the topic I choose. I also love to express my creativity and will aim to put it to use in creating genre pieces that really match the audience and tone I am conveying.
P.S. I am curious if we are required to reference the texts, for entries that do not have authors names or quotes right in the question. For example, the prompt for entry 2 mentions multiple authors at the very top in the description section, yet the questions seem to be opinion/open-ended based. What do the before/after due dates mean exactly? Also, as we are writing 400-500 words (about 2 double spaced pages), I do not see a word count option on the blog. Should we include a word count like this: (# words) at the end of the blog text? Thank you.
References
Tompkins, G. E. (2012). Teaching writing: Balancing process and product (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
