The Last Blog

Wow, as I write this I’m pretty sure that this will be the last blog of my Master’s Degree process.  I have survived three semesters of hard work and dedication.  Ove the last year and a half I have digested every word from my instructors and was happy to ask for more.  I would like to able to say that I am not nervous about how all of this will end.  I know that some of the plans I had may not come true…and that’s ok.  I know that after all was said and done I learned more that I ever expected to and I created a product that I hope finds a place on a shelf somewhere either online or in a traditional brick and mortar book store. I have submitted a draft of my literature review to Dr. Zamora and I’m certain the feedback I’ll receive will only add to the quality of what I’ve developed. 

            My nerves are at an all-time high.  I’m usually not this late with my blog.  I really didn’t know what I was going to write about this week.  However, this space was to be used to provide a snapshot of the individual process each of us in the program was making.  I’m just fine-tuning everything little aspect I can think of.  But I’m still nervous about the outcome.  I’ve created four pretty cool websites to go with the stories…but I’m still nervous about how they’ll be received. Two months ago I was told I had a job within the Learning Center at Kean.  I had hope to use that time to create professional connections at the university.  Alas, the hiring managers have not gotten back to me.  I do not believe all is lost.  However, I am nervous that I might not be able to present my work like I had imagined. I can live with that.  There is always time to return at a later date to present my work – officially or otherwise.  My main concern and the reason for my nerves is that I want this to be publisher ready.  I don’t expect this work to go from this program directly to a bookshelf.  I’m hoping that editors more familiar than me in this genre can help define where some tweaks might be necessary before hitting the shelves. 

            Sometimes I have a habit of overlooking the little things.  I tried to make sure that I gave myself enough time to get my edits completed and put together my literary review.  My time in Doctor Nelson’s class gave me the insight to draft a literary review.  I was also able to reuse much of the review that I completed in his class on my final thesis project.  I borrowed my introduction and then the main piece of the review from the research paper we had to complete in his class. Still nervous I might be missing something or that I have forgotten to do something.  It reminds me of a recurring nightmare and a scary piece of my childhood.

            In the dream I’m running through the halls of my old high school.  I’m lost and I can’t find my locker or the class I’m supposed to be in.  If I get caught out in the halls in the dream, I’m now running for my life.  When I was a kid, my Highschool was right across the street.  The school’s property was two city blocks wide and almost four city blocks long.  Kids stuck to their part of the school property and didn’t stray into the worlds of others lightly. Sometimes at night my parents would get made if I had forgotten to do my homework.  My stepfather would demand that I run across the street and get what I needed from the school to get my homework done.  He knew as much as I did that much of the school was locked up for the night and that my only way in would be to risk crossing into another world.  “It’s good training,” he would say.  There were times I climbed up to the school’s roof and crossed over the riskier areas from above.  That method of procurement posed its own set of risks.  People who know me know I’m afraid of heights – but the fear of an ass kicking was greater than my fear of higher altitudes.  Sometimes things got ugly and sometimes things only got tough.  Then there were times things went off without a hitch.  I feel like I’m that kid trying to figure out how to beat the odds in a world full of risks.  I have no idea how this one is going to work out but here goes everything.     

Turkey Day Blog

The word that I’ve come to understand about this entire process is, “intimacy.”  My entire life I have been a stickler for details.  Whether it was writing or suggesting an artist add more to an image.  Intimacy is about details. Married couples understand the little details about their partners.  Parents know the finest details about their children – good parents anyway.  All of this is what intimacy is all about.  When it comes to my thesis project, I have learned that I have to be completely intimate with my characters and plotlines if I’m to pull this off. 

            Over the last week I have made sure that I know each of my stories top to bottom.  I have asked myself the “45 Questions” you should know about your characters. The questions came from a lesson in Professor Bhandari’s, Writing for Children and YA class. I know my characters as best as I can.  I now have a fuller command over all the plotlines.  I know my work rather intimately.  I took this stance with my work because I saw how some of my peers are a bit disconnected from their own writing.  For many it’s the stage of their project that they are in – and that’s all part of the process.  For others I’m not so sure.  Please don’t believe that I frown upon those that down have a sense of intimacy with their thesis project.  I only fostered mine because I believed it created a better product.

            I began to think about chefs who have an intimate relationship with food ingredients.  Some chefs are completely passionate about a particular cuisine.  These types of chefs turn food into art.  I love word play.  I always have.  I once watched a video tape my grandfather made of my cousins and I running and playing around his house.  I could hear myself being sarcastic; attempting to use big words to sound funnier. So, words and word play have always been in me.

            I was once told by a person I consider a mentor that if I really wanted to be a writer that I should do everything I could to master my craft.  For sixteen years I taught the value of words in public high school.  I have an Associates in Creative Writing. I have a BA in Literature with a minor in Creative Writing.  I’ve been published in fiction and non-fiction works several times over.  Now I begin the conclusion of my Master Degree in English Writing Studies from Kean University.  I have gone above and beyond in life experiences and in my quest to master my craft as a writer.  Intimacy was the only thing I was missing and I found it when I believed I had nothing left to give of myself to this project.

            If there is any advice I can share with others and with myself (I like that blogging allows me to talk to myself without it being weird.), I would say that if you wish to just get a Master’s Degree to better your pay grade or allow for that promotion at work, then God love ya and do what you need to do. All of us are out for different things in life.  I am no one to judge.  As a matter of fact, my past disallows me from judging anyone harshly.  But If you want your Masters’ Thesis to be something that you wish to share with others; something that can go beyond the degree and into the real world, pop-culture or into the halls of academia, then a sense of intimacy is what one must have with their work. I would also say to anyone thinking of getting their Masters, to go into it with an idea of what your final thesis will be and begin the process of growing into the intimacy that is required of having a great product that can go beyond the degree and into the real world.

            This time has gone by so quickly.  I just hope that when my work is completed and on display, I hope that everyone can see that I truly sunk my entire life into this process.  I gave it my all and then some.  I took risks that may or may not have paid off they way I would have hoped for, but I’d do it all the same.  Sure I made mistakes along the way – but that’s what builds intimacy.  Intimacy: making the effort, taking the risks, making mistaking and still learning all the way toward building something that can live beyond.  That’s all I want.  I think that idea was delivered rather intimately … if I do say so.   

10^th Blog

Where I am in my thesis project: nearing the end and attempting to do the most difficult aspect – the editing. In order for my project to work and become a publishable product, I have to make sure that all details are properly conveyed.  I ask myself over and over have I made sure that each of my characters is someone or something readers can care about?  Then or course the dreaded grammar and punctuation checks are what can drive me insane.  Finally, there are the formatting issues.  All of these things take an enormous amount of time. 

            Now that all of the stories have been completed, I am making sure that details where readers can connect storylines and customize the adventure for themselves have to be identified and clarified within the text. I have to make sure that the way I described one item in one story, carries over the same way in all of the others. I have come up with a color key idea for readers:  I color code certain lines of text.  When the sentence or paragraph is clicked on, the activated link (portal, as we are going to call them.) carries readers to one of the other stories where the plotline for that event picks up elsewhere.  For instance, when I watch Star Wars, there are some of those movies where I only want to watch the scenes with Luke.  I can skip over the Han and Princess Leia romance and not lose out on the overall idea of the story.

            I am also mindful of my language after Diana’s presentation last week.  I have some foul language in my work, but I find myself removing much of it as I edit.  I have to keep my audience in mind.  I think a few instances can be forgiven by readers, but somethings or over-usage I’m certain will not. When I was a kid I used the N word out of anger.  My stepfather beat the crap out of me for it. Later that evening we talked about what had happened and why.  That word, I was told, is probably “the most ugly word” there is.  My stepfather, fresh out of the Vietnam War said, “If you were in a burning wreck, or stuck, or hurt and the hand that reaches to help you is a black hand…you gonna use that word then?  Now you’ll remember to never use it at all.”

            However, times have changed greatly.  While the word still holds some very ugly feelings for me, it is part of this country’s culture – for better or for worse.  I am not judging.  Using any language found unacceptable by the masses is a rick writers have to take in order to portray realism.  It’s a catch 22.  We as writers do have a choice to not use the really negative words.  We as writers should be able to give the ideas that unacceptable language and beliefs are prevalent in our characters. But I’m coming to the conclusion that we can do it in better ways than having to use the offensive idioms themselves. I think in these instances we can let the readers work a little bit and formulate what negative words characters might say in their own minds.   

            Grammar, punctuation and formatting… oh my.  This goes without saying.  I discovered that at various points in my writing I threw caution to the wind in order to get it all on the page.  Now I’m going back through it all cleaning up the rough language.  This process also allows me to discover any weak points in the story.  I’ve also used the grammar checks to look for “portal” locations within each story.  As I find one and make the connection, further grammar inspections leads to another one.  Now I have to decide if I may have too many or perhaps not enough.  I’d like each story to have an equal amount. 

            The reality is that at this point in my thesis, time is of the essence. I need all the time I can muster and focus on getting it all wrapped up.  I’m not worried about the stories.  I believe in them. As I edit they get stronger.  I have faith in the websites I’ve created.  The text needs to be edited on the websites, but I have faith in them to do their job – promoting the stories themselves.  And like any relationship, time strengthens faith which leads to an everlasting love.  That’s what I want for my stories.  I want them to be everlasting loves for some time to come.      

Next Blog November

So I can honestly say that I am right on track.  I have completed the last website and now I all I have left is to tidy up all loose ends.  I can say that one thing that has helped me get this far is having a plan and sticking to it.  All plans change and mine certainly did – the overall product remained the same, however.  I know that I have about six weeks remaining before I have to turn in my completed thesis, but for once in my life, I’m in a good place and I don’t often find myself in a good place – so I’m also a bit uncertain.

            Over the last two years I have been through so much.  I have seen my world and my life turned upside down.  I have had my freedom taken from me, given back only to have two attempts made to take it away once more.  My journey toward getting my Masters Degree has been the only thing to truly take me away from all of the negativity I’ve had to endure.  The websites I finished that go along with the novellas I’ve written may not be the best websites around – but they are the very best I could do.  I have to edit some of the text on the site.  Editing the website content is also helping me find flaws in the original work as well.  In attempting to save space on the website, I’ve rewritten a few elements from the novella only to find that the rewrites work great in both locations. I’d love to find a web expert that could help me design my pages just a bit better.  I need a web page to host the novella.  That is one thing I can’t do on my own.  Keeping to my schedule will allow me the time to find that person. 

            The other thing about making sure that I stick to the schedule I’ve created is that there can be no surprises that can and/or will be so shocking that they can’t be overcome.  I’m at that point where I’m hoping those that are looking over the site with me find things that are broken or unclear.  If I didn’t have this time built in, then what I’m working on won’t or wouldn’t be the very best it could be. The other thing I’m hoping my schedule does is give Dr. Zamora enough time to read everything I’ve got going on.  The website(s) will make the process of understanding the entire project easier.  That’s why I put so much pressure on myself to get them done.  Time is so tight for everyone that getting the time to dive in deep detailing my project just isn’t foreseeable.  However, with eh websites completed, anyone who wants to understand what I have going on can do so at their leisure.

            This project of mine has changed a great deal.  Not all the characters were initially envisioned in the same manner as they ended up in the final drafts.  Settings changed and the universe in which I created expanded.  I have to be careful not to let it expand beyond control.  However, keeping all of what I’ve been speaking about together is what has me for the first time in a very long time – in a good place.  While my future is a bit uncertain, I still believe I’m in a good place and moving in the right direction.

Seventh Blog of the Seventh Blog, which is the eighth blog. 

And as the title of my blog may suggest I have done something rather mystical in nature – I have met my own personal deadlines and I am right on schedule.  Before Halloween I was able to finish the first draft of the final of my four stories.  In the day or two leading up to Spook-fest, I began to look back over the other three, establishing connections between them all within each story. I also continued my mission of beefing up some scenes and deleting others.

            I would honestly recommend that all authors look at their work objectively once a first draft has been completed. I think of my thesis like a product.  I have a deadline to get my work on the shelf in time for Christmas.  I want to be able to go live by then as well.  I keep seeing different avenues for products and off-shoots to the infinite degree.  Thank God my son is my target audience.  I bounce ideas off him in regards to being “lame” or not. 

            The next step of my thesis now involves technology and making the proper connections within each tale so that readers can almost make their own way, completely unguided in the universe I’m creating.  So I’m searching through all of the novellas indicating text in red so that I can establish links. 

            The next thing I’ve done is collect appropriate songs from the 1960s to today that fit the context of the stories.  You…I’m creating a soundtrack.  All of the big movies from my childhood had them.  I know I couldn’t wait for a good sound track from a movie with plenty of action to stimulate my own imagination.  I also thought that some of the songs I’ve chosen to be a part of my thesis have such timeless themes that I couldn’t resist.  For instance: Merl Haggard’s, “Momma Tried,” a brilliant song about a young man doing life, regretting all of his life’s decisions.  My personal dealing with wrongful incarceration is reflected in my tales.  It was a perfect match.  I also chose Aretha Franklin’s, “I say a little prayer.” In this song, Aretha never mentions where her love is, but we know he’s not with her.  The idea that people incarcerated wrongfully or rightly still miss their loved ones on the outside. Loved one miss those who are locked away.  I thought this was a perfect match as well fo cross the many themes I have going on.  Also, with this idea of my thesis being thought of as a product, I thought I might be able to capture another type of reader if I offered music that stands the test of time.  I’d hate to refer to this group as, “older readers,” but hey…it is what it is.

            Another idea I came up with to make additional connections t the music and the storytelling is to write stories based on the music.  As an example, I might take, “Down on the Corner,” by CCR and instead of a story about kids enjoying their childhood, maybe these guys are hitmen for the mob.  These connections can also be used in educational settings.

            Music is a perfect way to teach word association.  For those of us old enough to remember, School House Rock, the songs and jingles have helped so many learn ideas and concepts from a variety of topics.  This idea of mine brings that application/concept into the 21^st century. I think my thesis can be applied to students with additional needs.  As I get closer to the end, I want to talk about how I plan to use this concept of mine in VR for entertainment and education.  See…I think I’m on to something here.         

Seventh Blog

Vaccinations and Boosters…It all you ever hear about these days.  Those two words take over the news hours and further divide the people of this great nation.  However, my brain right now has only one track.  The singular track is focused on completing my thesis and making it the best product it can be.  That is my second point of discussion for this blog…but I digress.  At the time of this writing I am wrapping up the final story.  I have me t my schedule.  Next week I can begin the creation of the final two websites. To put on my evil genius voice for a moment but, “All is going according to plan.  Soon the universe will be mine.”

            So with all of this talk about vaccinations and boosters I decided that I would apply those very same words to my own writing.  Write now … oops, right now I am vaccinating my work against opportunities missed.  As I complete the final story, I am forced to go back and look at the connection and portals I have made in all of the works.  I don’t want to miss a chance at adding a vital detail or offer more of a description in some location of the text.  This is my idea of vaccinations.  I need only positive outcomes.  Anything negative must go.  Then comes the boosters.  I am doing what I can when I can to give certain scenes a booster.  I’m also taking parts of the story away as a means of boosting other sections.  My sixteen-year old son serves as a great sounding board for ideas.  I’m often asking he and his girlfriend for advice on ideas I have and whether or not they’d buy into it. Or even better, whether or not they would buy it – period.

            This is not only my thesis, but a project I hope to have published.  I’ve spoken to some friends in the publishing industry about my work.  I’ve even invited some to see my work presented when the chance arrives. My thesis work is now a product.  It is a product of who I am.  My work is a product of the education I received at Kean.  My work has application across video games, movies, books, graphic novels toys and so much more.  This work has aspects that can be applied to education.  To have my work become an product used in schools would be a crowning achievement.  As with any product, no man is an island.  I think of all the good I could do with my product coming to market.  Artists would be employed aside from myself. Money could be made as well as donations. St. Jude is a particular favorite of mine.  This product of mine has the potential to impact a great many.  Right now I’m at the snowball stage.  I can’t wait to see the avalanche. 

            My next phase will be to commence with the construction of the final two websites.  Creating and building each of these sites will also help me locate holes with my stories. During web design, I’ll also be creating the portals so that readers and audience members can jump between tales as they wish.  I’m hoping that readers will chose to customize how they experience the product I’ve created. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.       

Sixth Blog

I am now officially on a roll.  My page counts have really turned a corner. I have made a routine of looking over my notes to ensure that what I’m thinking now is married with my original ideas.  I’ve also made sure to go back into my notes from the Summer’s Writer’s Retreat. I must make sure to ensure that all of those helpful comments are also incorporated.  Again, I focus on ensuring that all of my characters can be cared about.  They do evoke feelings from the reader.

            I am also mindful to not over-write. I went back to look over yet another master of Science Fiction, Richard Matheson.  He wrote such classics as, I am Legend (my personal Fav) and about a ga-zillion short stories.  All of his works thrust readers right into the setting, forcing them to do the work readers like to do – playing a bit of catch-up.  Having readers play catch-up is like setting the hook in fishing: not enough bait and the fish loses interest.  Too much bait and a school of smaller fish comes along and eats it all.  The perfect bait has the right fish swallowing it whole. The right fish represents my target audience.  Matheson was incredibly aware of who his audience was. He knew that his work could cross boundaries and could be adapted for future audiences.  I am Legend was recreated in print and film over a half dozen times.  Vincent Price, Charlton Heston and Will Smith have all played, Robert Neville, the sole survivor of a global apocalypse. In the original, Neville is just an ordinary Joe bent on killing vampires.  Heston and Smith added intellect to the character and in both of their versions, Neville is the only man who can save the world. I’m drawing on these aspects to make sure my characters have unlimited flexibility as well.

            Robert Heinlein was another author who captivated his target audience with tales that dropped readers onto distant world wrought with strife and discontent.  Starship Troopers had audiences wondering why mankind had to hate the Arachnoids who were inhabiting Human colonies across the cosmos.  Audience members then had to read further as to why a third alien race was the source of empathy within the novel.  As many of my classes have spoken about readers want to do a little work.  It’s the work that gets the audience hooked.

            And as I wrap this blog up for the week I have leaned that all of what I described means noting if if all doesn’t come together in one neat package that leaves the readers with the same feeling like they just had a great meal. I have finally figured out how to connect all four stories in this thesis of mine and in doing so discovered another set of audience members who just might be interested in reading my tales.  I now have all I need and I am pushing to meet my self-imposed deadlines.            

Fifth Thesis blog

I am writing at a feverish pace.  The START and STOP activity from class really helped.  It forced me to start positive writing behaviors and abandon reckless and time-wasting ones. The big takeaway for me during that exercise involved the use of my notes when writing.  I have this nasty habit of just begging to write blindly – even though I have a set of notes that I carefully put together in order to make the story-telling easier on me.  Why I neglected to follow my notes is beyond me.  I choke it up to a desire to get it done.  A reckless desire. However, now I’m back on track.  Looking over my notes even helped me connect all of the stories in my thesis into one cohesive package. 

The next thing I’m working on with the help of my notes is to make sure that elements of the research I conducted are present and evident.  I’d hate to waste a ton of good work.  I have begun to implement aspects of my research regarding the First Fleet into my work.  The First Fleet was a group of 12 British ships that set sail to create a prison colony on the continent of Australia during the mid-1700s.  As with any act of colonialism perpetrated by westerners to any land usually proved disastrous.  Mine is no different.  My research showed that if I differ too much from actual events of colonization, those still impacted by such an event would be insulted if not further traumatized.  Can’t have that. However, my research showed that if I can show, even in some form, that the plight of those impacted by colonization is still very real, then I can lend a hand to the cause.  It is a very fine line though.  My Literary Review will show all about this claim and my work will show how I handled it as best I could.  My research has also shown that no one can be 100% on the mark when it comes to dealing with all aspects of colonization. 

Then there is all the religious research that I had to accomplish.  I read the Book of Enoch twice and I’m doing it one more time.  Why?  Because as Dr. Zamora mentioned this thesis evolves.  It takes on a life that either couldn’t have been imagined or was difficult to imagine at the start. Oh, sure we all have a general concept, but until you get right in there and start making connections between components, you never really know what you might do or accomplish. 

The last thing I discovered about my writing this week is my desire to meet the constraints I have placed upon myself.  For instance, I am striving that each of the four stories meets the criteria for being considered a novella.  I so wanted to honor the work and technique brought to us from the Canadian North by Professor Levine.  I wanted to show him that I could bring home the Canadian Bacon and fry it in a pan…so to speak … when it came to honoring the work we did regarding writing within constraints.  Now my only constraints will be that I must tell a compelling story with characters readers will care about.  So now that I reread my own blog, I believe that perhaps I am still honoring that work we did with the man from where they pour maple syrup on snow and call it candy. 

Bradbury and Lewis both did such an amazing job in such a short amount of space.  Perhaps I was looking at my thesis all wrong regarding length of each story?  It is something I will revisit – but as of right now, completion of the story(ies) is paramount.

Fourth Thesis blog

So in my mission to complete the last of the four novellas by the time class arrives has me channeling the great spirit of Ray Bradbury. I could not comprehend why the final story was not taking shape like the other three.  I kept going over and over the pages wondering what wasn’t fitting together.  I took a breath and looked to the masters for help.  I began to read Ray Bradbury.  I started to watch film adaptations of his works.  I also delved into classic outer space adventures.  The one thing that I noticed about Bradbury’s work is that he skipped the traditional first act and went right for act two and the climax.  Ray Bradbury never set the stage – he dropped readers right into the middle of an enormous problem, that began with just as much confusion as the readers were dealing with in trying to figure out what is going on.  Then, only a few sentences and paragraphs later, the reader is caught in the storyline and finds themselves invested and wanting to be a part of the story.  This is what I want for all of my stories within my thesis project. 

So with this final story that has me racing to get across the FINISHed line that is what I am striving to accomplish this week.  I know how fast time flies by and that is always and will always be in the forefront of my mind.  I’m hoping to be introduced to those who are in charge of the technology I would love to learn more about within the Kean Learning Commons. I think it will aid in the final developmental stages of my thesis. 

My personal life and COVID had me forgetting what being part of a community was like.  I find myself gravitated toward it.  I have no family to really speak of outside my own immediate loved ones.  I’m starting to feel like Kean is a community I can be a part of.  I say all of this because it’s that sense of community and belonging that I need to convey in my stories.  Ray Bradubury placed every one of his readers in a community.  Every character, no matter length of story, was invested in the life and lives of the other characters.  C.S. Lewis did the same in many of his own tales.  That’s the sense I need in my stories as well.  I have always written about the things I know.  I forgot community, and the investment we all make in each other’s lives.  Now those investments can be negative.  I have no room for rose-colored glasses.  While the majority are pleasant it is the mix of both that makes community.  Enemies are made by those who cannot communicate and effectively share ideas within a community.  I need those too….my stories do.  I have enough enemies for us all. 

My next source of inspiration for this week in writing came from another master of storytelling, C.S. Lewis.  I found an old copy of the “Screwtape Letters,” and I began to read.  Like Bradbury, Lewis brings you right into the turmoil faced by a new demon who has a hard time turning “patients” away from Christianity. The reader has to play a bit of “catch-up” at the beginning in order to fathom that the hierarchy of Hell is sending letters of reprimand to a lower level demon who has had not done his full job in converting enough people to rage against the so-called “enemy,” which is organized religion. One of my tales involves this very idea…to some degree. However, the last tale, the one I’m struggling to finish so that I can begin to tie everything together involves the idea of one trying to sway the thoughts of many and to use a higher authority/higher power as justification.  “Our ancestors would want us to seize upon this moment to become a great power in the universe.  There has never been another time like this,” as one line reads from my final book in the thesis, “The Queen and I.”   

Third Blog of Thesis

So, last week during my presentation I was given some incredible feedback.  Diana and Susan really stepped up in showing me things that would certainly make my storytelling far better.  I recognized who my target audience really was and I also understood how I can further make use of my thesis as a learning tool for classrooms everywhere.

            Regarding the feedback I received last week in class – I’m still thinking about it and how to apply it.  I’d like to honor those who chose to help.  For speaking up and offering the feedback, I’d like to give those classmates a stake in this game as well.  The first bit of feedback came in the form of how I was describing some of my characters upon introduction to the story.  I, like many writers, have struggled to find “that voice.” I was also taught to write the way I speak – as I’m quite the storyteller already.  I did not fully agree with what Diana and Susan were saying, but the advice made sense.  It was sound advice.  Over my time in the Masters Program I have learned that while I may not fully agree, there are just some ideas that are better than others.  Same must be true for my own work.  I know, while a small part of me believes I am surrendering, that the advice will only make for a better and more acceptable read.  I’m learning that all of my own feelings may not need to be considered if this thesis of mine is to be as great as I’d like it to be. Sacrifice!

            The next thing the feedback from last week’s class showed me is that my target audience was right in the room with me.  There were a few in the room that would either read my work or knew of someone who would.  That is very reassuring.  There are only 12 in our class; if I’m correct, three to four had an interest in my project.  That’s a third.  Those are good numbers for presenting my thesis to a marketing house or publishing company. It is also a solid forecast for age ranging my audience.  Also, by incorporating the ideas brought up by Susan and Diana, if I lost any audience members because of the syntax usage, I’m hoping that by incorporating what they offered, that perhaps I can get those people back on my side…for lack of a better term.

            The final thing taken away from last week’s class and my presentation is that I am on to something when I say that my thesis will present ideas that can go beyond.  The ideas I’m trying to cook up can help with presenting literature in a variety of different ways.  The technology Kean is so graciously introducing me to can help students learn in the 21^st century.  That environment was so cool.  Teaching anything and everything it that type of playground would only make learning all the more immersive.  I hear and see what’s going on in my son’s high school.  I know first-hand what is going on in other high schools.  I think I’m on to a new way of teaching.  It has nothing to do with the subject matter – it has everything to do with deliverance.  The old ways no longer effectively give students what they need to survive.  As teachers we should be at the cutting edge of technology.  As writers we need to show more now than ever before when we tell a story. Video games, the internet all have words and images mixed that come to life right before your eyes.  Why doesn’t classroom teaching do that?  It can.  I think after I’m done with my thesis, I want to show the world how.