Edited by Christopher Douce, Wednesday 8 April 2026 at 09:24
8 March 2026
I’ve got pretty much a whole day to spend on the next assignment, which is due in about a month’s time. I’ve got a set of definitions to look up, a few articles to search for, and then I’ll begin to collate all the highlights and notes that I’ve scribbled on my Kindle. I’ll begin by having a look at the assignment guidance again.
I finished read William’s Orwell book yesterday. Essentially, it’s a book of criticism. Each chapter addresses a different theme or topic. It goes into Orwell’s progression as a writer, and discusses some commonalities in his novels of the 1930s which is useful. This has led to a couple of ideas that I’m going to add to my notes.
One other thing to do is to listen to a workshop that is all about writing an assignment, and preparing an argument. I’m going to try not to get distracted.
9 March 2026
I’m nearly through writing up all my ‘Kindle scribble’ notes into a Word document. My next step is to move towards digging out quotes from both text that I might want to use. It is gradually taking shape.
When I read the Rhys text over the summer, it immediately resonated me but I wasn’t quite sure why. I couldn’t quite get my head around its fractured narrative structure (if that is the right word to use), but I think I’ve figured out the reason for my emotional response. The narrator, Sasha, shares a devastating phrase that was said to her ex-husband. That phrase very closely resembles a phrase that was said to me by my ex-wife. The text reflects grief, and confusion. I’ve realised that reading Rhys is cathartic.
I’m going to read it for the third time. The more I read it, the more I ‘get’ it, and the more I like it. It’s just taken me a while to get there.
13 March 2026
I went to a really helpful tutorial about Calvino, Salih and Thomas last night. Although I’m not choosing the option to which the texts relate to, I thought I ought to go, just in case I choose one of the texts for the EMA. There was a lot of materials about the concept of metafiction and the metanarrative. Our tutor also threw in a few Greek words for good measure, such as diegesis, which I’ve never heard of before.
Over the last few days, I’ve been rereading the second text (also for the third time). I should be done by the end of today. Tomorrow, I hope to corral together a set of quotes from both texts, which should begin to form the backbone of my essay. If I can get a draft together by the end of next week, I’ll be happy. I feel as if I need to keep the momentum going.
I also tried to apply for the MA in English Lit, but it looks like I’ve got to finish my current qualification first.
15 March 2026
I’ve nearly finished making notes.
I’ve marked a couple of things I need to find out with the word TODO. There’s two points from each text, and a bunch of page references from some secondary reading that I need to pin down. My notes file is certainly going to end up being more than double the length of the essay, but I’m okay with that. I’ve got to know both texts backwards, and forward. I’ll probably add even more words to my notes file as I figure out what my argument is going to be. Hopefully all this preparation will make my writing easier.
After I’ve sorted out my couple of TODOs, I’ll re-read the guidance, and get cracking. I need to find space for the EMA reading, which I hope to do over the easter break.
18 March 2026
TMA 4 has gone in.
Everything came together unexpectedly well. I feel as if I’ve inadvertently uncovered a useful process: read the texts, read secondary sources whilst annotating them at the same time, return to the question, re-read the texts again, go for a few walks and cycle rides, type up a large set of quotes from all the sources, and stir over a couple of days.
This morning, I jumped ahead to read a short section about the digital texts that we have coming up towards the end of the module. This took me towards a collection of online literary texts. This immediately provoked a question: how accessible are these? I’ll leave this question hanging as I return to my day job.
24 March 2026
I’ve had a quick read of book 3, and I’ve been through all the audio/visual materials. I really liked the recording of Thomas reading a fragment of Under Milk Wood, and the video about verbatim theatre.
Although I have a lot of reading ahead of me, I’m now starting to consider the EMA. I quite like the topic, but I fear it’s going to take a bit of figuring out. Although I don’t digital texts, what I might do is have a quick browse the texts that were referenced in the last chapter of the book. I don’t like them since they age, they can appear clunky, and there are likely to be issues with their accessibility. It is as if the machine can be used to do some of the important imaginate work that the reader could be doing.
A335 Journal – March 2026
8 March 2026
I’ve got pretty much a whole day to spend on the next assignment, which is due in about a month’s time. I’ve got a set of definitions to look up, a few articles to search for, and then I’ll begin to collate all the highlights and notes that I’ve scribbled on my Kindle. I’ll begin by having a look at the assignment guidance again.
I finished read William’s Orwell book yesterday. Essentially, it’s a book of criticism. Each chapter addresses a different theme or topic. It goes into Orwell’s progression as a writer, and discusses some commonalities in his novels of the 1930s which is useful. This has led to a couple of ideas that I’m going to add to my notes.
One other thing to do is to listen to a workshop that is all about writing an assignment, and preparing an argument. I’m going to try not to get distracted.
9 March 2026
I’m nearly through writing up all my ‘Kindle scribble’ notes into a Word document. My next step is to move towards digging out quotes from both text that I might want to use. It is gradually taking shape.
When I read the Rhys text over the summer, it immediately resonated me but I wasn’t quite sure why. I couldn’t quite get my head around its fractured narrative structure (if that is the right word to use), but I think I’ve figured out the reason for my emotional response. The narrator, Sasha, shares a devastating phrase that was said to her ex-husband. That phrase very closely resembles a phrase that was said to me by my ex-wife. The text reflects grief, and confusion. I’ve realised that reading Rhys is cathartic.
I’m going to read it for the third time. The more I read it, the more I ‘get’ it, and the more I like it. It’s just taken me a while to get there.
13 March 2026
I went to a really helpful tutorial about Calvino, Salih and Thomas last night. Although I’m not choosing the option to which the texts relate to, I thought I ought to go, just in case I choose one of the texts for the EMA. There was a lot of materials about the concept of metafiction and the metanarrative. Our tutor also threw in a few Greek words for good measure, such as diegesis, which I’ve never heard of before.
Over the last few days, I’ve been rereading the second text (also for the third time). I should be done by the end of today. Tomorrow, I hope to corral together a set of quotes from both texts, which should begin to form the backbone of my essay. If I can get a draft together by the end of next week, I’ll be happy. I feel as if I need to keep the momentum going.
I also tried to apply for the MA in English Lit, but it looks like I’ve got to finish my current qualification first.
15 March 2026
I’ve nearly finished making notes.
I’ve marked a couple of things I need to find out with the word TODO. There’s two points from each text, and a bunch of page references from some secondary reading that I need to pin down. My notes file is certainly going to end up being more than double the length of the essay, but I’m okay with that. I’ve got to know both texts backwards, and forward. I’ll probably add even more words to my notes file as I figure out what my argument is going to be. Hopefully all this preparation will make my writing easier.
After I’ve sorted out my couple of TODOs, I’ll re-read the guidance, and get cracking. I need to find space for the EMA reading, which I hope to do over the easter break.
18 March 2026
TMA 4 has gone in.
Everything came together unexpectedly well. I feel as if I’ve inadvertently uncovered a useful process: read the texts, read secondary sources whilst annotating them at the same time, return to the question, re-read the texts again, go for a few walks and cycle rides, type up a large set of quotes from all the sources, and stir over a couple of days.
This morning, I jumped ahead to read a short section about the digital texts that we have coming up towards the end of the module. This took me towards a collection of online literary texts. This immediately provoked a question: how accessible are these? I’ll leave this question hanging as I return to my day job.
24 March 2026
I’ve had a quick read of book 3, and I’ve been through all the audio/visual materials. I really liked the recording of Thomas reading a fragment of Under Milk Wood, and the video about verbatim theatre.
Although I have a lot of reading ahead of me, I’m now starting to consider the EMA. I quite like the topic, but I fear it’s going to take a bit of figuring out. Although I don’t digital texts, what I might do is have a quick browse the texts that were referenced in the last chapter of the book. I don’t like them since they age, they can appear clunky, and there are likely to be issues with their accessibility. It is as if the machine can be used to do some of the important imaginate work that the reader could be doing.