Final-Li

6. In what way(s) have you surprised yourself this semester on your blog? Have you tried topics you didn't think you'd write about? Approached a familiar topic from an unfamiliar angle? Discovered more "depth" to a topic than you first thought was possible? Explain.

I surprised myself by blogging about random things. When I first started, I decided to blog about the environment and healthy foods. I thought that I knew a good amount of stuff related to the environment to keep me blogging for a while. But after the first month or so, I started to run out of ideas. So I decided to change my topic to technology and new inventions. Those two topics went really well until I ran into the same problem. I ran out of things to say and I had to change my topic again. I did not except myself to be stuck twice in row. So in the end I couldn't stay on the subject I planned to. Instead I jumped around and tried a little of everything.
I tried to a lot of other subjects that I wouldn't have thought I would have put into my blog. For an example I told myself that I wouldn't use any of the Quick Writes because a lot of other people were doing the same thing and I wanted to do something different. Then I changed my mind and posted a post talking about Multitasking. I posted that because I felt that it affects my life a lot too.
Then later on into the year I changed my topic again to things that happen to me. These topics includes things such as track, bad things that happen to me, and stereotypes. I did not think that I would go way off subject to things about my life. In the beginning I started off with the environment and then somehow I ended up talking about my own life.

7. What have you learned from your struggles with writer's block? Why do you tend to get stuck? How do you tend to get unstuck? Notice any patterns?

I have learned that you have to keep your options open when writing so you don't run into writer's block. In the beginning I tried to only focus into two main subjects. After a month I ran out of ideas so I had to switch. That happen to me twice until I finally gave up and just blogged about things that interest me. When I absolutely have nothing to write about I talk about random things such as my day.
I think the main reason why I get stuck sometimes is because I feel very repetitive when I talk about the same subject over and over again. So in the end I force myself to write about something else. I don't know if its a good thing or not but it has helped me get unstuck. Another way I usually get unstuck is to start typing about anything. I usually type for ten minutes and then I delete most of it and by that time I have thought of something really good to write about.
I noticed that you have to keep your opinions open so that you won't get stuck. Since we have one week to do the blog post, I usually brainstorm and write a little each day. By Friday if I really don't like something I can always change it because I have been thinking about the blog everyday.

8. How do you like having a blog? How has blogging changed the way you write, the way you think, or the way you think about writing?

I like having a blog because I can talk about things that has occurred in my life. I also like rant about technology and how somethings are overpriced. Bogging has now changed how I write because when I first started it felt like it was just homework and now its more like a hobby. In fact I have another special blog that I write on talking about my day. Its more of a diary and I rate the day from one to ten. So blogging now has opened up a wide range of topic I can write about. I don't have to focus and only talk about the thing I have planned to. So it is okay to go off topic as long as you write about something you like.
Blogging has influenced me to write more diverse things. I always thought that there is only one way to write but when more topics are introduced there is actually no wrong way to write. Now blogging has made me want to blog more often. Whether it is about my day or really important things that happen.

10. Where do you get your ideas for blog post topics? What inspires you to write?

I got my ideas from hearing from others and reading articles but most of the posts are my opinions. Some of them also include what I did and what has happen to be before. One blog in particular is the Quick Write that we did in class. The Quick Write is on Multitasking. I did not plan to put this on my blog however I did because I agree with it. I think multitasking is true and it can destroy you or help you in many ways.
What inspires me to write is the thought of looking back at all the post and begin to see improvement in my writing. What I usually do is just write and I throw my writing away but by blogging I get to keep my writing and I have the opportunity to look back at it. When I look back at my writing I might not agree with all of it and I might have lots of grammatical errors. At least I can see the growth and improvement in my writing. Another inspiration that makes me want to write more is seeing other people blogging or vlogging about their day. I thought that is kind of cool being able to write about your day and improve your writing skills. I can also express what I feel on the days and remember what had happen.