We had to create an e-lit piece for our final project, and surprisingly, I did it easily! When I first learned that we had to do this, I immediately knew I wanted to write a love story. If you’ve read my blogs, you know I love love stories. However, I don’t identify as a creative person, so I had no idea what exactly I was going to write. In moments like this, I always revert to writing about my own life. So I decided to write about my own love life. I was in a relationship all throughout high school, and I thought that might be an interesting thing to write about.

Initially, I had no idea how I was going to create my piece. I missed the class where they spoke about platforms we could use, so I was already behind. (Which is why I disappeared from blogging. With no direction of what I was doing, I had nothing to say.) The following week I overheard students talking about it and learned more. About a week later, I was informed of all the available resources and could finally start my project. In the midst of this, I had been writing some stuff and visualizing it in my mind.

When I learned of all the resources, I researched each of them and narrowed it down to two that I thought would work, one being Twinery. Last class, I saw two students using Twinery, and they told me how it works and how easy it was. With that, I was off. I started writing and creating my story. Thankfully, I had no hiccups, and it was a pretty seamless process.

Writing this was also easy since it’s my own life. I wanted to share my story poetically and authentically, and I’d like to believe I did that. I dwelled on what stories I wanted to share and how I would make them descriptive and creative without them being bland and black and white. I’d like to believe I achieved it.

Something I’m still struggling with is how to upload my project to the internet. I’ve been able to download it and send it through email, but I’m not sure if I can make it into a link and have it still work.

This piece was very interesting. It gave an authentic glimpse into mental health for many of us who struggle. I enjoyed the realism, even if it held up a daunting mirror to myself.

First, I liked that we could choose how to respond to Hana. It allowed me to be more conscious when going through the conversations. It made me think what would I want someone to say if I were Hana? It was an easy navigation and I liked that it didn’t take ages to get to the end. I was able to be engaged for the entire duration.

Anytime someone tried to help Hana, it would always have a negative spin once Hana internalized it. This was very powerful because that’s the reality that comes with mental health struggles. No matter how helpful people try to be, sometimes your mind can put you in a place where you’re not ready to receive or accept that, which results in constantly turning things into a negative.

At the end, after her mom got a call from the hospital, her mom said Hana always thinks about herself. I thought this was very poignant in depicting their relationship. Beforehand, Hana and Jen’s conversation alluded to the rifts that were there, but seeing it added new perspective. To me, it revealed that Hana was in fact the victim. If you’re in crisis and someone reacts like that, I can only imagine what Hana endured growing up and struggling mentally.

All in all, this was a sad yet realistic piece. It was hard to read, but overall I really enjoyed it.

I had the honor of presenting this beautiful piece, so here it is.

This piece was hauntingly beautiful. There’s so much to unpack, but it left me feeling heavy and yet lighter; I don’t know how to explain it. First, I want to start with the title. What’s its significance? The author said that one of the storylines is their own, so was c-ya-laterrrr the last text they received from the deceased? Was that something the two always said to each other? Just food for thought.

This was a page-turner for sure! I was enthralled the entire time, which is kind of hard to do. I want constantly holding my breath, waiting to see what was next. I gladly made it to the end, leaving me wanting more.

I loved how personal this piece was. Not only from it being a perspective piece, but even the subject matter is so personal. As soon as I read the editorial statement, I knew this would be a raw, vulnerable read. I also loved the simple format. I love picking the course of a storyline, so this was right up my alley.

I loved how realistic it was. Depicting the parts of the grieving process felt so real and relatable. Regardless of death happening, we’ve all had moments where we wished we could’ve done something different. We all play it out in our minds and guilt trip ourselves over stuff we have no control over. It definitely brought me back to moments when I’ve been there and faced death.

I found it interesting that this is from a man’s perspective. After reading, I discovered that the author is male, but for some reason, I expected it to be written from a woman’s point of view. I guess I subconsciously associate emotional and vulnerable topics with women.

When reading this, I imagined this is what a modern-day 9/11 would look like. I was only two months old when those attacks happened, so I only know what I’ve seen on screens and been today. Reading the chaos and emotions he went through made me think about what those families must’ve gone through.

On a very personal note, this made me think of my mom. My mom had to bury a child, and she’s told me how she was told to go home and get some rest after spending all her time at the hospital. The moment when the doctors call everyone into a board meeting to say to them we’ve done all we can; the ball is in your court. I couldn’t help but see my mom’s pain and life in this piece.

I’ve never written this much about a piece, which clearly indicates that this was hands down my favorite thus far. I know I’ve said that before, but I mean it this time.

Let me start by saying this might be my favorite e-lit piece so far. When I read the editorial statement, I was immediately captivated. Bonnie and Clyde? Love story? Say no more; I’m already invested. I also think it’s very fitting that Nicole picked this piece. Not that I know her very well, but this feels very much like her vibe.

I appreciated the simple navigation. I didn’t have to figure it out; it just was, making it much more enjoyable. I also liked the progress bar. Sometimes pieces feel like you’re going down an endless rabbit hole, which can be draining. Having a progression bar allows me to see how far I’ve come and how much is left, which definitely eased my mind. I noticed that the background color changed depending on whose phone we were looking at. This clearly indicated the situation and eliminated any potential confusion for me. I loved the little details and touches of this piece.

Overall, this piece was really funny. Watching these young people navigate this situation was hilarious, from the Instagram posts documenting everything to the realism of getting sidetracked and going to watch tv and play video games. It felt so real, as I could imagine a 21st-century couple being young and dumb doing this.

I must admit, the last part, “Sister, Sister,” was a bit of a drab, but I loved reading this. It was an amusing adventure that left me constantly wanting more.

A Kiss was my favorite. For starters, I am biased since I identify as a romantic. So the concept of it surrounding a kiss and two people’s interactions automatically piques my interest. I liked how easy it was to navigate; it reminded me of Twelve Blue by Michael Joyce. As I made my way through, I eventually made my way back to the start, ready to start a new adventure. I really have nothing to say; I loved this piece.

The Infinite Woman is a creative concept. I liked that there were endless possibilities to choose from, and you could rearrange the lines to create your own poem. The adaptability made it really appealing and allowed one to make this their own. The lines were thought-provoking and truly challenged your thinking since you’re making a poem that makes sense to you. It also made my mind work 10x’s faster since I was trying to quickly read the lines and see if they made sense with my poem. I definitely struggled to do this, but I liked the challenge. The only thing I didn’t like about this piece was the fog. I didn’t understand the significance of the fog, so it just came off as distracting. I found myself constantly clicking reset fog so that I could enjoy the piece. Outside of that, I liked this.

First, I want to say I love that both the pieces were Chinese. Not only did it give a sense of cohesion, but it also is beautiful that Melanie and Xinyu will present these. I’d like to believe these people will resonate differently with that, which made this experience even more charming.

Starting with Zui Yong Shi, I thought the concept was incredibly creative. I’ve never experienced something like that, which made it interesting. As someone who’s a big music lover, that definitely hooked me from the beginning. However, the language barrier was frustrating. Though translations were provided, it didn’t help much. Personally, it didn’t offer much clarity. I wish I could understand since I really loved the idea of merging poetry and melody.

With Peaceful Dreams, I was faced with some of the same roadblocks. I couldn’t truly interact with the piece since I couldn’t understand it. However, it was very visually engaging, and that kept me interested. The images and audio were peaceful, befitting of the name. I also thought it was interesting that it was in a video format. When I think of electronic literature, I think of a certain aspect of engagement, but I couldn’t get that in this format. I still enjoyed it, nonetheless.

Starting with Letters to X, I really enjoyed it. After reading the work summary, I thought it was interesting and looked forward to diving into it. When I started clicking around, I immediately thought of Mad Libs. I loved how it gave that nostalgic feeling and allowed us to make the letter our own. My favorite letter was the love one, but I’m a sucker for love. I also love letters, which is why I enjoyed this work so much.

Now here are my questions about this piece. What was the significance of allowing the letters to be layered? Why could we only fill in the blanks for the letters in the second column? The summary discusses how this catalyzes a “new” social media for people to speak about topics they wouldn’t usually email, text, or post. However, I didn’t get that from this piece. Though the topics were more unconventional than typical social media topics, saying it’s a catalyst for a “new” social media seems like a stretch to me. Lastly, what did the new project feature do? Not sure if it was just me and my computer, but the new project feature brought me to a blank page, and there was nothing to type or click on. I was so confused since I was looking forward to seeing what it did. All in all, this was a delightful piece to explore.

I started with Everything Is Going To Be Okay, and I loved the aesthetic. Visually it is incredibly eye-catching and made me feel nostalgic, from the titles to the graphics. When I read the introduction, it mentioned how it has dark humor, which honestly was off-putting. I am not a fan of dark humor, so automatically, I was weary of this piece. However, when I entered the games, it said I had to download everything. This makes this piece not the most accessible because not everyone has the space to download multiple files. I also thought the asking for donations was interesting, but I understand everyone has to eat. Since I had to download all the pieces, I decided not to read them. I simply did not have the capacity for all the downloads, but I am excited to learn more about it. After seeing the site, I cannot wait to delve into it today.

Before experiencing the Blackout Poem Tool, I was familiar with a blackout poem. I remember in middle or high school doing them for class, so I went in with a good understanding of what would happen. I liked that it had poem mode options, so you decide if you wanted to create something or let the bot do all the work. I like that blackout poems have endless possibilities, but they are also one-sided. Though you can create countless poems, at the end of the day, it is only one poem. I feel eventually, it can get repetitive and not as engaging.

Though I was not able to be captivated by these pieces, I am looking forwards to hearing more about these pieces and how others interacted with them. Once I hear other perspectives, I will probably gain a different outlook on them and be able to appreciate them more.

This was an enjoyable experience. The website was easy to navigate, had seamless transitions from page to page, and was very aesthetically pleasing, which made it easy to hold my interest.

First, I want to talk about the aesthetic. For starters, the color scheme was perfect. Not only did it fit the Chinese vibes, but it also was incredibly calming and relaxing. I also liked how the visuals portrayed a city and the poems matched. Having the poems coincide made it a much more understandable piece. I also appreciated the subtle touches, like having the same characters in multiple locations. It felt like with each place, their stories were developing more and more. Or how when one poem speaks about the grandpa spitting when he sees certain signs, and then you see a visual of spit flying. The little touches really set it off for me.

The visuals made me question their significance. For example, the “home page” was located on a back. What exactly does that mean? Or Canada was an arm showcasing veins with specific spots to click on, so what’s the meaning of it? At one of the points, it talks about ancestors, so does that mean our ancestors live within us? The visuals made this a thought-provoking and enjoyable experience.

Now here’s what I didn’t like about this. One, the words sometimes move too fast. Not everyone is a fast reader, so I wished at times it didn’t disappear so quickly. Two, sometimes, the words overlap the images, which isn’t the most visually appealing. With this problem, this isn’t the most accessible for you if you have sight problems. Lastly, I was not too fond of the videos. This was a relaxing piece, and the videos felt disruptive and unnecessary. It didn’t match the energy that the experience gave off.