The Process Notes Assignment: Behind the Mic, Between the Lines

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1. Where are you in your soundwriting process?

As I write this, I’ve already finished recording my radio show. The script is finalized, the audio has been recorded, and now I’m reflecting on the entire process through this Medium post. At this point, all that’s left is reviewing final details, uploading everything, and hitting submit.

2. What’s been done and what’s still left to do?

The research, writing, revising, and recording are all complete. What’s still left is compiling my materials (like this process note) and making sure my Medium page and final submission are fully in order. I’m also doing a last check on timing and content to make sure everything aligns with the assignment requirements.

3. What are your biggest accomplishments and failures so far?

Accomplishments: As far as accomplishments, I’m proud that I created a full-length radio show that sounds like me. I took a complex, niche topic like procedural poetry and made it relatable by tying it into real-world systems like healthcare. I stayed committed to my tone and voice while keeping the content very informative.

Failures: The biggest challenge was hitting the time mark. My early versions were too short, and I had to keep expanding and slowing down while still sounding natural. Also, I originally struggled with how to transition between segments smoothly.

4. How do I feel about that?

Overall, I would say that I feel happy and a little sense of relief. Even though there were some hiccups along the way, I stayed with it and ended up with something thoughtful, personal, and most importantly, original!

5. What have you learned so far? I’ve learned that writing for sound is completely different than writing for the page. Shorter sentences matter. Pauses matter. And tone matters more than you think. It made me realize that it’s not just about information; it’s about rhythm, pacing, and presence. I also learned that my own voice is a powerful tool when I trust it fully.

6. What ideas did you grapple with? I grappled with how to explain procedural poetry in a way that made sense to people who’ve never heard of it. I also had to figure out how to connect it to healthcare systems without sounding too academic or too off topic. I really tried my best to make the segment interactive, especially because I didn’t want to bore the audience.

Problems I solved: Figuring out tone, transitions, and what details to include from the poets I analyzed. I think that I really made the form feel connected to lived experience.

Problems I’m still wrestling with: The Problem I’m still wrestling with is just making peace with the timing. I think it’s just a little hard to know exactly how long it will land when someone else listens.

7. How might I overcome that?

I think I would’ve continued practicing speaking with timing in mind, and lean into clarity and pacing rather than rushing to meet a number.

8. What decisions have emerged lately as you plan and work on your project?

I chose to expand on the poets I featured, especially John Cage and Joan Retallack. I also decided to cut one segment and instead add more reflections and vivid examples. I focused on the idea that poetry can model what power feels like, and that was a key shift in how I approached the tone for the entire show.

9. What is the next step in your composing process?

Next step is making sure everything is uploaded properly — this Medium post, the final script, and the audio file and. I also want to review my audio one last time to confirm that everything sounds clean and complete.

Rhetorical Situation Reflection

1. How are you feeling about your progress toward achieving your purpose?

I feel confident that I’ve met my purpose. I introduced procedural poetry, explained it clearly, tied it to systems of power while also connecting it to my major. I wanted my show to educate but also make people feel that they were in the room with me.

2. How are you feeling about your progress toward affecting your audience?

I’m proud of how the tone turned out. I kept things engaging and asked the listener to reflect. I’m hoping it feels relatable, even if they’ve never thought about poetry this way before.

3. How are you feeling about your progress toward situating your work in time and place of your context?

I honestly think I did great . The examples I used such as filling out health forms, applying for FAFSA , and navigating EHR’s is something I think was all part of the current moment. It doesn’t feel abstract; it feels more grounded.

4. How are you feeling about your progress toward following the expectations of your genre?

I’m feeling very good. I followed the structure of a radio show, used clear signposting, kept my pacing just right, and stayed true to my voice. I also included the required intro and outro script, so I know I did good with the formatting expectations.

While reflecting on my process, I consulted Chat GPT to help structure parts of my writing more clearly. It really helped me focus my thoughts and stay on track in this assignment

Helped brainstorm and revise my process notes and radio show script for the IN FORM project.” ChatGPT, April 2025 version, OpenAI, 30 Apr. 2025, https://chat.openai.com/chat.