Chance

1) The technoliteracy memoir was at first a difficult project for me. I found it difficult to write informally for a formal assignment. By formal I mean that the assignment was given in a formal lecture class room. I had been taught through the whole of my education that a written assignment and class presentation is by definition, formal. I wrote several drafts of the memoir, highlighting and deleting each until I came to the conclusion that I was making too much of work of what should have been a relatively simple assignment. Over the next several days I tried to imagine what I would say if I were relating my memoir to a close friend. Mulling it over in my mind, I began to develop a semi-casual tone that I felt comfortable using in place of formal expository. When I began to write again I found that the language flowed far more easily than in my first attempts. Utilizing the casual tone in my writing had enabled and empowered me as a writer. Instead of writing for an audience, I felt as though I were conversing. Admittedly it was a one way conversation, but the invitation to converse via comments and informal critique was implied.

2) The twenty-first century seems to hold untold wonders for literature. I think that the rapid availability of literature via technology will prove to be of enormous benefit to our illiterate culture. Technology has been a great encouragement to writers, and with the abundance of writing available on the internet, it seems logical to assume that there will also be an increase in readers. I'm not just talking about readers of blogs and fan fiction, but readers who search the internet for substantial, 'meaty' literature that they can sink their teeth into. Hopefully the influence of important world literature will inspire the many millions of internet readers. The remarkable effect of the internet is that one can publish one's own literary works freely and quickly. Some critics would treat this as an abomination of the 'sacred text', which ought to be written by the 'hallowed author' alone. We are living in an age of abundance as far as literature is concerned. I think that as more culturally significant literature, complete with scholarly notes and commentary, becomes available and read via technology then the numbers of thoughtful and well read writers will increase significantly. One day in the late twenty-first century, the English geek could become the cool kid.

3) The text to web-text project dramatically changed the essay that I wrote over the first canto of "The Faerie Queen" by Edmund Spencer. I originally wrote the essay for an audience that was acquainted with the work as well as the life of the author. The first alteration that I made was the general format of the text. I had to arrange the text in an organized style that would allow a reader to traverse various pages based on subject, completely removing transitions. When I had formatted the wiki according to subject it was then necessary to reconstruct the text of each subject. I had to consider that the reader had not already read information about each character and therefore I created a general summarization of each subject and went on to create new pages that could reflect more in depth analysis of said subjects. When the project was complete the original essay had become a recycled hypermediated text. I had organized the text so that each page could stand alone as a blip of information on the web, or be used a complement to the rest of the wikispace.

4) This semester I've really been able to open up as a writer. Using hypermediated text in the projects has enabled me to keep the audience in mind while I write. Instead of concerning myself with the way that my audience will view me as the writer, I've learned that the medium can help to carry the message causing the reader to reflect on that message. The reader should not dictate the message, that is, I should not change my message to please the reader. As a writer, I can use different mediums to relay my message, but at the same time I must remember that a new medium requires that I speak or write in a way that is fitting to the medium. The greatest change that I've experienced as a writer this semester is that I feel much more comfortable writing for an audience. This class has really helped me to develop confidence. I do not think that I am a great writer at this time, but I am less inhibited in my writing. I feel that I can now convey my ideas coherently and without hesitation to a critical audience and learn a great deal more than I have been able to before now.

5) I found Aarseth to be the most interesting and understandable of all the theorists that we covered this semester. His introduction to ergodic literature was extremely interesting and he was relatively easy to understand. As I mentioned in my [|blog] Aarseth makes the connection between the mind and the writing space very clear, especially as it relates to the narrative. I would also like to note that Aarseth writing style is very inviting. I did not feel confused by his prose or language. Aarseth patiently and thoroughly defines and explains his theory smoothly and in a way that allows the reader to learn. After reading his introduction to ergodic literature I felt that I could participate in a discussion of his theory with confidence. I think that I would enjoy reading his work in its entirety.