Tech Tip: Twitter Widget

I added a twitter widget of my twitter profile to my blog.

Story Lab: Advice to Writers

The most valuable piece I found was about how writing is all about selection. You begin your writing by selecting words. Then you select sentences and paragraphs. The power rests with the writer. If something is interesting to the writer, then it goes in the story. If not, then it goes out. Writing is all about selection. I found this an interesting thought to consider. Another valuable piece of advice was to forget yourself. You should look more closely at the world around you and gain inspiration from that rather than yourself. I think this will be a big help in my writing in the future. I am always trying to come up with stories that I can personally relate to. I need to work on breaking out of my comfort zone and writing about stuff as I see it rather than as I personally experience it.

Advice to Writers

Writing 

Reading Notes: Why The Owl is not the king of birds

This is the story of how the birds chose their king. It is stated that all the other animal groups had a king but the birds did not. The birds took time to think it over. This is when one bird suggested that the owl be their king. The crow protested this decision because the owl is sour looking in his opinion. The birds decided to choose the turtle dove as their king. This started the tradition of owls and crows fighting. I think this would be an interesting story on how a feud could start between two people. For example, two students are running for class president of their small school. The campaign turns ugly and they become enemies. In the midst of their fighting, it is decided that neither of them will become class president. Someday else is chosen. However, the feud between the students goes on long into the future.

Bibliography: Why the owl is not the king of birds.

Owl 

Reading Notes: The Foolish Timid Rabbit

I read the story about the foolish timid rabbit. This rabbit had a dream that the earth would be destroyed. Then, right as he woke up, a coconut fell behind him and shook the ground. Without looking, he took off running in fear of the earth being destroyed. When other rabbits saw him running, they joined him. Then, deer joined him. Other animals kept joining until the lion saw them and stopped them. He asked what they were running from, and eventually narrowed down the rabbit that started the running. He then took the rabbit back to where he said the earth was being destroyed and saw the coconut. It was clear that this was a false alarm that everybody fell for. The moral of this story is do not start a frenzy if you are unsure of the facts at hand. There are a variety of stories I could retell in this form. One idea is a story of a kid in a school who thinks there is an emergency but is unsure and starts an uproar that turns into a panic by students and teachers alike until the principal realizes that it was a false alarm.

Bibliography: The Foolish Timid Rabbit

The Lion and the Rabbit 

Learning Challenge: Reading

I read the article Can Reading Make You Happier?  While reading this article, I was intrigued how the author was talking about using reading as a source of personal therapy. I found this idea intriguing. I have noticed that when I go on vacation to the beach, for example, I always have a few light reads with me. Reading does improve my happiness, although I never really thought about it like therapy. I guess it truly is a form of therapy. After reading this article, I was encouraged to find more time for reading to relax rather than reading to learn dense science texts for my classes.

Reading  

Growth Mindset: Genius

I think the components of genius are dedication, perseverance, ambition, and openness to learning. I would give these attributes each a 25% rating because it is hard to have one without the others. I believe these four attributes are closely linked and key to success.

Tech Tip: Twitter lists

https://twitter.com/AndyMcdowell408/lists/sports

I made a list for my favorite sports teams' accounts. I added them so I could read just sports material in one place. I have never used lists before. In fact, I did not even know that this option was available. It does seem to be an efficient way to use twitter.