Blog 14: Independent Component 1

LITERAL

• (a) Statement saying: “I, Teresa M. Rodriguez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

• (b) I used NaNoWriMo, an annual writing contest for my individual component. As a student of Wordsmitten, we were offered the opportunity to receive an automatic AE if we managed to complete the 50,000 word quota of the competition, but given all my other priorities, that did not happen. Mrs. Edwards was in charge of the Wordsmitten students participating in NaNoWriMo.

• (c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours):

I do not have an hour by hour representation of each writing session I did but I do have this:

• (d) Explanation of what you completed.

I wrote a young adult narrative revolving around a boy named Justin, who lives in a destructive home with his parents and younger brother, Darren. Justin tries to cope with the voice in his head that tells him crude things or encourages him to harm others. Whilst doing so, he also tries to juggle his father's abusive relationship with his mother, his friends, and his new friend, Lena.

INTERPRETIVE 

• Total, I have approximately 35 pages worth of words with 19,125 exactly. If it takes about one hour a day to write up 500 words, I have approximately 38.25 hours worth of work. Each color indicates a new chapter or segment.

APPLIED

How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?  Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.

Whilst researching about NaNoWriMo and what people had to say about it, many said that it was a shoot or miss type of opportunity. One man had a list of 25 ways to complete NaNoWriMo and each step seemed to be asking a lot from writers. Most said that a writer must be disciplined in writing each day, though that is common advice for writers working in general. Each day required approximately 1,667 words minimum. With juggling this quota and other schoolwork, I found it extremely difficult to meet the requirements, which is why the total word count was as low as it was. 


This helped me better understand my senior project because it allowed me to experience what it may be like for working writers - those who write for magazines, newspapers, or book publishing companies. It really challenged me because while I do enjoy writing, I don't do it on a daily basis like I should. I lacked the discipline to write a minimum of 1,667 words. It became very frustrating to keep up with the competition because you have to start from scratch and coming up with a 50,000 word, 175-page minimum narrative is extremely difficult for someone who lacks the discipline to write so much in one day and juggle other aspects in life.
Ultimately, I do no think the competition was for me, like many others. I write when I need to or when I'm inspired, but to do it on a daily basis without proper preparation is too overwhelming for me. It was a nice try though.