Reading Response #4

One of the things which first captured my eye was the portion of revision where Burroway discussed unexpected juxtaposition; the chapter on Story felt bland, especially after the dissection of Cinderella I witnessed in my other English class. I guess it’s the concept of strangeness, in which concepts paradoxically fit into a single harmonious image, which interests me the most. It also reminded me of my love of puns, which most of my family and coworkers dread by this point. But it was the research that really got me. I’ve always been unsure of how to write period pieces without it sounding forced, yet the thought of research has never really made sense to me for fiction. Certainly, for non-fiction you need to know details of who was there, what happened, etc. How to similarly weave that tapestry so that it authentically mimics a zeitgeist while also adhering to the mental image in my head has eluded me. I’m now wondering if JSTOR or similar electronic databases would have the primary sources available, or if I would need to rely on Mason’s libraries; while still extensive, I can’t access them from home as easily. Either way, it will be interesting to add something new to my writing.