Feedback Strategies

Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset

This article highlights the importance of letting something develop through feedback and having the mindset to grow from the feedback, whether it'd be positive or negative. We must elevate our final product to a high standard with feedback that not only makes the writer better but also feedback that makes you, the person giving the feedback, better.

Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?
Number one reason people leave their jobs is because they feel unappreciated. Managers feel stressed themselves and undervalued that they simply just don't find the time to give their employees feedback or praise. I haven't run into this issue since I work at a small company with 39 other people and our higher ups always praise us when we do outstanding work.

Manager Stress

Topic Research

I've somewhat settled on telling a story relating to the Trojan War.

Classical
The War with Troy has been told through a variety of different mediums. I want to do a new version of the story where the Trojans don't have to flee to Italy but rather beat the Greeks at the Gates of Troy and launched a counter attack on the city states of Greece as a result of a petty new king. An entirely new story, no one wants to be told the same story twice (cc: Sony with Spider-Man and killing Uncle Ben twice, we wanted a new take, thank you Marvel Studios)

Original Source
Original source material as well as the original story is here. I can use a multitude of things here to be relevant to my own telling of the story. I want to be original so things such as characters and locations will be borrowed from here.

The Iliad of Homer
Samuel Butler's translation of the core story of the Trojan War.

Myths of Crete & Pre-Hellenic Europe
This source there is a trade deal between Crete and Troy. I can build something into an outline that would include Crete.

Trojan War

Story of Week 3

Author’s Note:
This story is inspired by The Iliad which was adapted from The Iliad by Alfred J. Church
with new twists and allies for the Trojans.

Story:
Greeks and Trojans. Trojans and Greeks. Neither liked each other but tolerated each other. Greek ambition and the idea of Greek freedom.

The Greek General Menelaus had an alliance with the Trojans, much to the displeasure of his own brother Agamemnon. One night his city-state was hosting the Prince’s of Troy, Hector and Paris, for their collective triumphs on the battlefield. Helen, the wife of Menelaus, seduced the Trojan Prince Paris to her private quarters. There they plotted their elopement to return to Troy.

The next morning Helen boarded the ship to Troy and left her husband behind. The Trojan entourage was completely unaware that the had a stow away on board, much less the Queen of Sparta. The Spartan Imperial Palace Guards were notified of the Queen’s departure and informed General Menelaus who ordered the Spartan Navy to hunt down and sink the Trojan ship at all costs.

Due to the Trojans having better and faster ships the Spartans never caught up with them and docked safely in the Port of Troy the following week. Angered by this, Menelaus enlisted the help of all the city-states to attack Troy. They set sail for Troy with 50,000 ships and 2,500,000 soldiers on board.

During their journey to Troy they destroyed Mediterranean Trojan allies in Chryse that left thousands of civilian’s dead. The Chryse navy set sail for Carthage to inform the young Queen Artemis of the Phoenicia Empire of the invasion force headed for the beaches of Troy. Artemis ordered her Grand Armada to be ready and to set sail in a week.

Within the walls of Troy the Trojan army was getting ready for a fight as news of massacres of their allies in the Mediterranean Sea had reached their ears. The winds of the sea were carrying the Greeks closer to Troy and by weeks end the Greeks would have an invasion force marching for the gates of the city. Within these meetings the wife of Prince Hector, Andromache, raised concern for the amount of lives that would be lost defending the indecent relationship of Prince Paris and Queen Helen of Sparta.

A week later the Greek fleet was insight and preparing for a landing. Prince Hector readied the Trojan army for battle and charged at the Greeks when they landed while the Trojan war machines destroyed hundreds of Greek ships so the Trojan infantry on the beaches wouldn’t be overwhelmed. The Greeks were able to land the Myrmidons and their leader Achilles before the ship was lost. Achilles led his men on a crusade to destroy the war machines to allow the Greeks to land their entire army. By night fall the Trojan army was pushed back as the entire Greek navy had landed.

Not wanting to let the Greeks reach the gates of Troy, Prince Hector and Prince Paris led the Trojan army on a counterattack with the cover of darkness. With Achilles not wanting to fight again so soon his own cousin Patroclus led the Greeks into battle but perished when Hector impaled him with his spear.

The Trojans retreated to the city. Achilles ordered the army ready for battle. But little did the Greeks know that Phoenician Armada was about to land an hour after they left for Troy.

Engaging the Trojans in battle Achilles met Hector in one on one duel during the fight. Achilles was quicker and stronger than Hector, but the Prince of Troy was smarter. The wits of Hector would only last for so long as Achilles stabbed Hector in his chest.

The demoralized Trojan army was about to retreat when the horns of the Phoenician Army sounded and cut down the Greek army like corn.

With the deaths of all Greek Generals and the Death of Hector, Prince Paris was in charge of peace negotiations. The terms were unconditional and the Greeks returned to Greece with Trojan escorts so the Trojans took all of the city-states riches to pay for the war.

Prince Hector and Prince Paris of Troy

Week 3B Reading, Iliad

The Iliad by Alfred J. Church

Day B:
A total of 7 sections to read but in reality it's only three.

The Rousing of Achilles:
Achilles learns about the death of Patroclus and is angered about it. After not wanting to fight and staying on the sidelines this set him off and wants revenge on the Trojans and more specifically, Hector.

The Slaying of Hector:
Achilles is mad about the death of Patroclus and wants his revenge. Hector's family doesn't want him to get into the fight but he does anyways and well the man dies.

The Ransoming of Hector:
Giving the body of Hector back to the Trojans.

The Death of Patroclus

Week 3A Reading, Iliad

The Iliad by Alfred J. Church

Day A:
A total of 11 sections to read but in reality it's only six.

Of  How the War with Troy Began:
Helen picks Menelaus, a young Prince named Paris comes along and takes her back to his kingdom, Menelaus and his brother lead a nine year siege of the city, they got home sick, ditched a chunk of the army in Troy, and returned home.

The Quarrel (two parts):
On there way back to Greece the Greeks attacked and took cities such as Chryse and divided up the newly found wealth among the leaders of the army. This angered their gods.

What Thetis Did for Her Son:
Thetis asked Zeus to help the Trojans in the war so her son, Achilles, could lead them to victory and take the honor that Agamemnon had robbed him of.

Hector and Andromache (two parts):
A conversation between Hector and his wife. Highlights the fear she has of him dying in the Trojan War that her brother in law started over a girl.

The Embassy to Achilles (two parts):
Achilles is dormant and so are his men. The Greeks try to court him so that it could change the tide of the war but are not successful as he again chooses to stand down.

The Deeds and Death of Patroclus (three parts):
As Achilles did not want to fight, Patroclus did want to fight and pleaded with Achilles to let him fight as the Greeks were on the defensive at the beach. Later Patroclus lead the Greeks head on into battle against the Trojans. A Trojan soldier killed Patroclus by impaling him from behind with Hector taunting the young man as he died.

Patroclus Fights and Dies