I feel like I didn't quite get to a place of conclusion or complete satisfaction with this chapbook due to the disruption of the end of this course by COVID-19. The final two classes of the quarter were canceled; my group and I met in the library to work on our final critique since there was no class in session, and soon afterwards school moved entirely online and such meetups were next to impossible. I got a good grade on the project and in the course, but it felt diminished in the face of the crumbling world all around. I hope that I get to return to these stories sometime later, receive more feedback and improve them further, get them to a place I'm happy with when writing stories feels like it can be something important again.
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This was my third Critical Reflection, the last one we winded up writing for the course. I don't know if I will end up continuing with these exercises, either to revise or expand, but I enjoyed working on them. This CR felt more like a miniature story than just an exercise, and moving into the end of the quarter and my final chapbook, definitely helped me to get in the mode of working on crafting stories.
This is the first draft that I wrote of my chapbook, alongside the reflective letter I wrote to my professor. At the beginning of the quarter, I was feeling very self-conscious about the work I turned in, uncertain that it met the standard that the professor had set for the class. However, the feedback I received on both my work and the thoughts I put into my letter were really positive. I think I need to stop doubting my abilities or allowing imposter syndrome to prevent me from pressing forward and continuing to share my work.
I actually began this assignment before receiving my score on my CR1, so I had not yet resolved to try harder on my CRs, but the form itself necessitated effort. I chose to write my story in the format of an Amazon order receipt. The constraints of this form made it quite difficult to write a complex story, so I went for a simplistic one, but I think the form made it interesting regardless. My professor had me read a portion aloud to the class, so it seemed she liked it as well - bolstering after my disappointment on the previous assignment.
This was my first creative assignment for this class, and I slightly misunderstood the stakes for this assignment. I viewed it as a warm-up exercise mostly for a completion grade (write a story using a list of rules, no more than 40 words a rule), but it turned out to be an assignment that was actually graded. I received a 2.8/3, which wasn't a bad grade, but I was upset that I hadn't poured more work into making this assignment my highest quality. I also was embarrassed that this was my professor's first perception of my writing abilities. I vowed to put more work into my next CR assignment, using each assignment as an opportunity to challenge myself and showcase my ability.
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