Recently in 7. Writing Process Reflection Category

From the beginning of this semester, my writing process has been changing and developing into something that I want it to be. The readings that we did, especially in the beginning, have helped me to find my own voice in the shape that I want it. I have experimented with alternative forms of knowledge in this class as well as others, which has primarily included poetry and a more personal voice throughout my writing. Because of this, I have been struggling with some self-consciousness. I am exploring methods of writing that are outside of my comfort zone, and because of that I have been extremely nervous to look at feedback and talk about the weak parts of my pieces. The great thing about it is that I have had primarily positive feedback!! Not to say that the feedback is not constructive, but the nightmare of a paper covered in red pen criticism has not happened! This has been a large part of self-confidence in my writing and has encouraged me to continue taking risks and have more faith in myself.

My paper has been coming along nicely. I am enjoying analyzing the survey, but it is difficult because I have only analyzed other surveys, in which I do not know the subjects of the questions. Nevertheless, it has been really interesting. I need to keep in mind my position through all of this and why I choose to highlight certain responses while not including others. I plan to work especially hard on my transitions between paragraphs but also between theoretical and personal parts. While I re-read and re-read again, I will make sure that my points are clear and explained thoroughly. Even though it scares me a bit, I think I will have some trusted friends and family members read it.

My entire year, especially this semester, has been consumed with this project. I have a tumultuous relationship with writing and my final "product" is significantly different than what I originally set out to create. That said, I think the process has gone pretty well. I definitely had a hard time getting started, but once I did, things came together pretty fast. I struggled (and continue to struggle) with the amount of ideas I am trying to synthesize into one, cohesive unit. My paper is already quite lengthy and I'm trying very hard not to make it much longer.

I am currently struggling with the revision process because in many ways, I feel like I am already done. After turning in such a complete first draft, I've found it difficult to go back and dig in to the writing process once again. To be completely honest, I'm just worn out and ready to move on. I have learned a lot throughout this process and in many ways I already feel like I have moved on from this particular piece. There are many new things I am interested in writing about/working on but they are outside the scope of this project.

Although some parts have been difficult, I have enjoyed the opportunity to explore some of my creative writing and experiment with different forms of academic writing. This is the first time I feel even remotely successful in that endeavor. I am also grateful for the times I spent with students and teachers in workshops or in conversation. These were certainly the most meaningful learning experiences for me.

The process of peer review was helpful since it was the first time anyone read the meat of what I was working on all semester. It was nice to get feedback, both positive and critical, to push me towards the final draft.

This process has been very interesting for me. At the start, I felt like I had this great idea and was articulating it well... and a sensible paper would follow if I just continually reiterated my point. Well. That didn't exactly turn out to be the case. Because writing usually comes pretty easily for me, and my thoughts are typically much more concrete and focused, this has been pretty frustrating. By delving into my own thoughts and narrative, I have really gone outside of my normal writing process and have felt much of the time that I just get lost in trying to get the words from my brain to the paper (or computer). Also, there came a point a couple weeks ago where I realized that what I thought I was trying to say was not at all actually what I meant. I had to really rework my ideas for a while and search again for sources that fit with my arguments more cohesively... this was totally unexpected and was definitely a difficulty. Also, I feel like I am still in this stage and will be until my final draft is turned in. It has been a really different writing experience than any other paper I have written.
Also, schedule-wise, I had a total setback for a while that got me behind in all of my classes, which I only now feel like I am caught up in. But there is still a lot of work outside of this class that I need to finish in the next few weeks so that is a major obstacle.
All of that sounds a little depressing, but for me it has actually been really helpful. I wanted this project to be about self-reflection and where I stand at this point in my life as a feminist and what complications there are in that. Although it sounds a little selfish, I think everyone needs to do this to ground themselves. So in the end, I think I am getting more out of this rather difficult writing process than if this paper was a breeze and I didn't have to go through this introspective phase.
I think that this paper will continue to be a challenge intellectually and schedule-wise for me until it is completed, but I am not totally overwhelmed. It will happen, and it will be chaotic, but hopefully will be a good paper when I am done.

AGHHHHHHHH!! Writing about why this project is important to me, and theorizing what I'm do is so hard. I like action, and to create, and I revel in the spontanious moments, feelings, and inspirations that are bubble up in the creative process. That is to say, I'm a little abstract. When ever I do a creative project it's really hard for me to articulate what it means to me or why it's important, because typically it means EVERYTHING to me.

I'm an anxious neurotic little creature, and the chaos of my thought process is somewhat elusive to the structure of the writing process right now. This class though has opened up space for me to see writing as a creative outlet that I just haven't really tapped into yet. We've done a lot to trouble the formality of the written product too, and to acknowledge the importance of documenting our important feminist work in a way the has longevity. Feeling that this work matters makes it easier to create for me.

Another frustration is that while I'm working on these solid deadlines, my all volunteer staff is not. So I feel like I'm trying to strike a balance between understanding that we're all very busy, and staying on everybody's case because I want to see results. While both my meetings went really well, and we have a great flow of creative energy, things aren't getting done as quickly as I would like. So, I just breath and put out positive intentions. I'm putting a lot of trust into other people, and the universe to help me realize this dream. Because this project is difficult, and it's testing the limits of my abilities, I know that it's worth doing. The hardest thing with collaborating on art is that there is so much emotional investment, I'm feeling very vulnerable and exposed through this process. Which is not a bad feeling necessarily.

This assignment is an informal check in via the blog since you all have had a class period off to focus on your writing. I would like you to post any thoughts you are having on the process behind completing your senior project. In general I want to hear how the writing process is going for you.

Particularly I would like you to think about the following questions:

• What has been difficult for you to accomplish and/or what has been going well?


• Have you faced any unexpected difficulties in crafting your argument?


• Do you feel as though the processes of peer review have helped your paper along in any particular way?


• How do you feel about the remaining work ahead of you? Is it manageable, are you excited? Can you envision your final product at this point?

Remember - for extra credit points respond to two of your peers' entries with comments.

well, i'm not done with everything of course, so right now i feel like i'm scrambling to get reading done so i can actually spit the rest out in a coherent fashion. but... the more i read the more i feel the need to add, which gets me frustrated and overwhelmed. it's hard to strike a balance when writing something for academic reasons, especially in feminism because there's so much theory and for the past two years i feel like all i've read are critiques of how other people's writing missed some huge important point - and i don't want to write something that can be torn apart in 30 seconds.

anyways, i have liked the class, but wish i had more time during the semester because i would have probably completed all the assignments in a more through way, which probably would have made the last leg of this process go smoother. it's crunch time for me - besides this class, working, moving, trying to decide on which grad school to go to, volunteering, and trying to have time for things like taking a shower, i have 2 more 10 page papers, a stats assignment and a stats test (which i hope i can do good on so i can actually graduate).

stress? what?

i will say this blog i'm writing right now has been the most therapeutic for me, as i get to vent for a few minutes... i am excited to actually have this whole thesis-thing done with and i know it will be a much better paper because of taking this class and having feedback, encouragement, deadlines, and shared stress.

Writing my senior thesis has been a frustrating yet interesting journey. On the positive side, I feel like this most recent set of edits has been very helpful. I believe I have a -real- way forward in order to finish my thesis in a way that resonates with me. It's taken a long time to get here. I've barely had a handle on what I was doing, and it's a little embarrassing. But I think that is part of the process: learning what questions to ask and then how to research/write about them!

In terms of more difficult aspects, sitting down to write is always hard. A project as big as this is inherently overwhelming. I have to set time aside. Additionally, I have a full-time job now, which is awesome for my finances and future, but it's making school difficult time-wise as well as interest-wise! Senioritis is upon me!

Despite all this, I'm glad to have all my readers to help me through this and be so supportive and understanding. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and now I just need to buckle down and churn out more pages!