MLA Format is Somewhat Lacking

I've spent most of the last three days wrestling with MLA format. MLA does not have guidelines for a paper with headings and an outline, for how to cite software, for how to cite multiple pages from one website, for how to cite hypertext narratives (no surprise there), or how to cite picture books. That last one doesn't directly relate to my critical thesis, but the rest do. I've just been making things up the best I can.

Hypertext narratives usually have page titles rather than page numbers (whatever shows up in the blue bar at the web browser, for example). My current citation solution is to put the page title in brackets where the page number would normally go. Thus a citation after a quote from Michael Joyce's afternoon, a story would look like this: (Joyce [preface]). We'll see what my mentor says. . . .

In addition to that, MLA has changed the works cited formatting this year quite a bit. Now, we're required to put the medium after every works cited entry (web, print, CD, etc.), and we don't have to include URLs. I've been bouncing back and forth between Diana Hacker's website and the OWL at Purdue trying to make sure I get everything right.

Now that my thesis is mostly done (for this packet), I should get to my creative writing. I don't know how I'm going to switch to my creative brain after so much critical thinking.

P.S. For some reason, blogger won't let me post a comment, so here is my reply to Lina:

You might enjoy it, although not everyone will like nonlinear stories.

I actually liked the book better when I read it out of order.

I'm doing pretty well. My allergies always seem to act up right

before I have a packet due. Maybe they're stress related. . . .

How are things going with you?