In general I think the feedback I've gotten has been pretty helpful, though there have been more than a few comments on Samael where the main feedback was, "Please write more of this character in the future and give us more information about him," with suggestions on what they'd like to know, which isn't really helpful unless I write more Samael. I'm committed to experimenting, however, so I don't think that will happen in an official class capacity. The especially useful comments regard ways I could tighten up the story in terms of word count or areas where the reader found it confusing or difficult to read, as those are more concrete. I understand how other feedback, particularly when the reader wants more backstory, can sometimes be useful, but at the same time it sometimes feels like that's the easiest kind of feedback to come up with when you're just trying to get the assignment done, and it's hard to incorporate it without compromising plot. I already know I'm going to get at least one comment on my story about Princess Otohime that asks how she ended up in the palace and why she can't leave. It's a purposely left out detail meant to accentuate the her tragedy because she does not know, but also is obvious to ask as a, "what if you told us this?" to check that box on the feedback assignment.
I'll be real, the feedback and blog comment posts are the first thing to not get done if I'm having a busy week (I'm preparing to go hard on the extra credit assignments in the coming weeks), so I haven't left as much as most of the class probably has. My preferred feedback strategy is to express what I like (that comes to mind first), then point out any issues that really stuck out to me, normally if a plot point doesn't make sense, or if I notice a contradiction or a place where the author seems wordier than necessary. Honestly, I don't comment on grammar and spelling as much as I'd like to, and it's something that really bothers me, especially given that spelling and grammar checks are a literal part of the assignment that people seem to ignore? It's one thing to miss or add a comma here and there, but blatant misspellings and run-on sentences make me so sad, and it's hard to say anything without feeling like you're coming across as "that person."
I have really enjoyed reading people's introductions and getting a sense of who my classmates are. Personally, I think my own introduction gives a general sense of me, though the way I organized it is weird. I tend to be a fairly private person, so that's part of it, and I've also just always found it difficult to describe myself. It's not that I don't have interests or a life or a personality, it's that I forget all of these things any time I try to define them and can't think of anything. The aesthetic of my blog definitely fits my personality though. I was very excited to find that template because I like it so much.
Well, I need to do the feedback assignments earlier, that's for sure. I have a tendency to prioritize my more immediately due assignments over things that aren't due yet, which is of the type that's hard to get ahead on, because if I do a reading more than a day or two ahead, I won't have as much to say in class about it, and my Latin homework is always assigned the night before it's due, so there's no chance there. Other than tinkering with my homework schedule, I might mess with my blog some for some sorely needed extra credit, but I'm generally happy with how it presents me.
I particularly like this feedback cat because it's a good reminder that even when you think your work is at it's best, there's usually room to make it better in some way I strive to constantly improve not only the specific story I'm working on, but also my storytelling from week to week.
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