Midterm Reflection Letter

Grace Olsen

While reading my diagnostic story, I found it to be boring. Even I as the writer was
unimpressed. The sentences were too similar, the plot too predictable, and overall, a bit too
fantastical to be a powerful and impactful work. Related, the ending was very cut off by my lack
of motivation. I was quick to call it quits once I was tired of writing.
Compared to my midterm story, I see a lot of improvement in my writing. I think that my
story is a lot more interesting. I find it to be more meaningful. My story has nondescript
meaning, something that was missing in my midterm. In my diagnostic story, I relied on fancy
words and story length to try and prove a point. In my midterm, I let the words stand for
themselves, confident in their quality and what I can do as a writer.
My writing process is a lot different now. As I mentioned before, my diagnostic story
was done all at once in one sitting and it shows. The ending is a cop-out, reflective of my
wanting to be done and to turn it in. It shows one of my weaknesses as a writer, but I didn’t do
anything to try and remedy it. I still struggle sitting down and writing for a long time, but now I
realize that my story does not need to be finished in one sitting. For my midterm story, I wrote it
over a few days and drafted it at least three times. I have removed the pressure I put on myself
and my writing sessions, and I think it is helping to produce higher quality writing.
The best part of this is the pride that I feel in my midterm story. When it comes down to
facts, I was ashamed of my diagnostic story. I would not willingly show that to anyone. I don’t
think it has any substantial value and it is not anything I want to share. My midterm story,
however, is something I am proud of. I think that it is a good representation of me and an
important part of my life. I think the difference shows in that I have willingly shared this with
others and have owned the fact that I created it.
With more time, I would want to flesh out the different experiences that I could have
endured without a sibling. I think that this idea has a lot of room to grow, and I can communicate
more than “I love my brother.” I could dive deep into the lives of my parents if they had not had
a second kid, rather than just keeping it self-focused. There are a lot of areas that my midterm
story that could be improved construction-wise. I would like to come up with an idea to make it
less imaginary and more traditionally story-like with a consecutive series of events. I also think
that adding more dialogue would make it seem more realistic and physical, compared to how
imaginative it is now.
Overall, I am proud of myself for who I have become as a writer so far. I think the
differences in the story topic, structure, and build make this evident. I feel pride in my writing,
more than I ever have before. This is a new experience for me, and I hope to gain even more
confidence in my writing and help this feeling of pride in my work to become normalized for
myself.