I lived through workshop!

Even though I started my class reviews for workshop a week early, I still found myself struggling to think of things to improve on while staying up until four in the morning the night before class. Apparently, everyone else had trouble but they did not struggle through for comments. They just didn't give any. So I'm sure I look like I think I'm better than everyone because I put bad things but I was grasping. I was also the only one who typed up comment sheets and the only one who did a review of everybody's paper. If they didn't get someone's, they didn't ask for it they just didn't review it. Do I have issues? I must.
Anyway everyone had nice comments about my story. They thought it was funny. The females in the class particularly liked the teenage girls inner monologue as she struggles to fight evil as well as impress the guy she likes. I also got lots of compliments on my dialogue. So over all it went okay.

Reviewing peers

My novel progress has unfortunately slowed. I am no longer on track because I should be half way done by tomorrow. I am not. I'm close but not quite. I have been working on a few other things so I've been a little sidetracked.

The first thing that I've been working on is my class reviews. I have to read nine short stories that are written by my peers and review them. It is tough. I see things that I would change but I don't know how to word it. I don't want to offend anyone. I have a tough time reviewing famous literature. It's ten times more tough when you have to present it to the writer personally. This is something I know shouldn't bother me but I just don't like doing it.

Another thing I have been working on is entries for a writing contest. It's an LCC contest and whoever wins go to a state competition. There is no entry fee. You do have to get a teacher to sign off on the entry and submit it for you. The deadline is next Friday but since I won't see my creative writing professor next week due to the holiday I have to have them ready before Thursday. I'm submitting two of the stories I have been sending out to companies, but I want to give them a good revision. After all they didn't get picked up by anyone so maybe they could use some extra work.

I try getting to my novel when I can but it's been a busy week. Hopefully, I can make it.

Sharing your imagination

Another comic book show today and I couldn't stand to be there. No, I'm not getting tired of comic book shows or comic books. I'm getting tired of not being there to promote my own comic book. All I do is sell and by other stuff and it makes me feel gloomy. It's not that I want to make money, I have no expectation of making the big bucks or the small bucks for that matter, I just want to see my work done. I want to see my accomplishment. I want to see other people enjoying my work.
I've been thinking about my writing a lot this week. With the new Harry Potter movie drawing near it makes me think. This happens often when something I really enjoy comes into the spotlight. I get envious. Not because J.K. Rowling is rolling in piles of cash or bombarded with fan mail. I'm sure those things are great but I think about how much I love her books. When I come home from work or have stressful moments I jump into these things and I feel better. I leave the world and life I am tired of and enter these amazing places and become these amazing people. I have always had the imagination to create these places for myself but it's wonderful seeing others. Sometimes you get bored or in a mental block and you can't carry yourself away. That is when you engross yourself in someone else's imagination and you experience things and learn things. It's when you get the chance to experience happy times that you don't have in your own life right now, you get to see horrible things that make you realize your life isn't that bad, or you get to see that their are other people who face the same things you do. That is how I feel about the things I read and watch. I don't know if it is the same for everyone, maybe I over think things or don't think enough. Perhaps I am even bordering on insanity. All I know is that if there is one person or everyone in the world that feels the same way I do, I want to share my imagination with them for the times when they need help breaking away.

It's not that I write only for other people, I write for myself. If you told me no one would ever read my work, I'd still write everyday. I have so many thoughts in my head and I'm so afraid one day I'll forget them. I have to put them down. I don't need to be rich or famous, I've never had either and I have had a great life this far. Yet when I did have tough times I always had somewhere to go. Whether it was in my own head or in a book, when my parents yelled, the kids teased, or my heart was broken I didn't sit around and focus on how much I hated things. I ran away to a place that let me be free from troubles. Then things were good. It's those good things that give you the strength to face the bad things, because you know the good things will come again eventually. I want to give the good things.
That is why I write. I'm just getting anxious because I really want to share it with as many people as possible, if they want to read it. I think about how much I enjoy diving into worlds created by others when I need a break from my imagination as well as my life. If no one else wants to see it that's okay because I have it for myself. That is how it started and I still love it.

Short-short prose poem

Today I sat in class and after spending nearly half an hour making sure everyone received each others papers via e-mail, we got to the really fun discussion. The next two and a half hours went to figuring out the difference between short-shorts (very short stories) and prose poetry (poetry written in paragraph form). Once we read a few of each we discussed the differences, then wrote a paper on the differences. Our next assignment will be to write one of each by focusing on the characteristics that we used to define what made them different. Oh how exciting!

Feeling good again

I just sent my story to my classmates. I was stressed about it but I don't care. As I ranted to my awesome coworker tonight while we worked diligently, she made a great point. It went something like this. "Who cares if it's deep," then reflecting upon one of my favorite things she said "look at Harry Potter it's got young kids and it's full of magic and sci-fi. It's loved by millions of people." That wasn't an exact quote but generally it was like that. What she said was true and it made me feel slightly better, at least for now. We'll see how I do in class next week when everyone gives their comments.

I'm still cracking on the novel. It's getting tough now. I'm losing speed. I'll trudge on.

Also I signed up for classes next semester and on the writing side I'll be taking "Writing for Publication". Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Coming up short?

As I was working on my novel today something occurred to me. What if I finish writing my novel and it's not 50,000 words. It's possible, especially since this will be my first full novel. Generally a novel would be more than 175 pages but it doesn't have to be. What would I do? Should I just force more for no apparent reason, start something else, write a crazy introduction or epilogue or do I just finish and not complete my NaNoWriMo task? I hope that doesn't happen but it could. I guess I'll figure it out if I get there, but hopefully my novel is longer than that.

It's still going well, though. I'm still on track and hopefully it will stay that way. I have pretty much set aside everything else in my life. I barely watch T.V., reading has been limited and poor Kreeg( my canine companion) has been lacking on walks. Darn you NaNoWriMo, you've turned me into a writing monster. That's okay, I like it and it's only a month.

I also added a new friend to my list. My fellow co-worker has decided to attempt to complete the challenge. Of course, I read a bit of hers and it makes mine seem kind of boring. I was thinking about posting a preview either here or at the web-site but I'm not sure I want anyone reading mine. I know, what's the point? I'll probably put something up when I get to a more exciting part.

Stressed about being unique!

I had today off from my everyday job and school so I wrote, a lot. Not only did I manage to type 3000 words for my novel today but I actually got my homework done. I wrote a high school, science fiction story that was a whole ten pages (this is only an awesome amount because it only needed to be six)!
I am a little concerned with my story. I think it's cool and it's definitely a story idea that I would find interesting. The first story I wrote for my class was very realistic and serious, so I wanted to do something different. This story is really laid back and kind of funny. I'm worried because the class had to give outlines last week and from everything I overheard, everyone seems to be doing serious stories. Everybody but one person did a serious, realistic story last time as well. Anyway, my big fear is that when the whole class reads this story, they're are going to think my story is immature and cheesy. It's not deep and meaningful. It's just fun but I think everyone in my class seems really serious. I don't want to change my story idea just because it doesn't go with conformity, that's why I went ahead and wrote it anyway. I am just nervous that people will hate it and not give it a fair chance. After all I am the one challenging myself by writing something completely different from my last paper. I really shouldn't stress, but you know I will.

Can't stop!

My plan for tomorrow is to write my story for class and I absolutely cannot work on my novel until it's done. I never thought writing a novel could be so addictive but it is. All I want to do is post a higher word count. I haven't written anything yet today because I know once I start I won't want to stop until I am tired. Right now I am just killing time until I'm going to watch something on T.V., once that is over I'll be writing in my novel again.

Seeking Approval!

Today I made a pretty sufficient dent in my novel. I think I'm off to a pretty good start. I will probably work on it some more once I get done taking a little break. Not a break form writing but a break from the story.

I also wrote a little bit more in my hero story and I also have not forgotten that I have a story to write for class. It's just I'm so excited about writing a novel that I can't focus on much else. No worries about the class project though. I have the whole story worked out I just have to put it down. Knowing me that will happen an hour before I'm supposed to send it out to all my class mates.

I feel horrible because I didn't get the interview therefore I didn't get the article done. Normally I wouldn't care since I have grown to dislike journalism, but I feel bad because I let my editor down. So I probably won't be asked for another article, which I'm okay with. I just don't like to disappoint people.

Time consuming moron!

I just realized that if I took a word count on all the letters I have written to my fellow co-workers in the past few weeks about the newest employee who acts like an eleven year old, that I would probably have close to enough to meet my NaNoWriMo goal. That is obviously an exaggeration but I do feel like I get less time to work on stuff because I spend a lot of time writing lengthy e-mails recording his moronic behavior. It could make a good book but I unfortunately haven't been saving any of it. Although spreading word of his idiotic ways does make me feel better. I know, now everyone's wondering what this employee does that is so bad. Mostly he lies about being great, doesn't do anything I ask him to and tells me I'm mean when I tell him to do his job. Maybe I'll start posting my e-mails since they are works of writing and they are entertaining.

In creative writing class I got my poetry back and I think the best comment I got was "I can tell you are more of a short fiction person than a poetry person". Our big paper that we have to send to the whole class is due next Wednesday. Then I have to read everyone else's. That should be fun.

I still haven't gotten either article done and the paper goes to print tomorrow. I asked my editor for suggestions. What I got was to go to the meeting for the association tonight (Thursday). I have to work every Thursday and I got the message at the time the meeting was ending. That is partly my fault since I can't check my voice-mail at school because it gets no signal there. I don't want to let the editor down but I'm not sure how much choice I'll have.
Registration for the winter semester starts next week and I have to figure out what I want to take. Decisions, decisions.

Journalism down the drain.

ERR.... I am so frustrated with journalism, I would never want a career in it. I have been calling and e-mailing my article interviewees for over a week and I cannot get a reply. I am going to scream. My deadlines were yesterday. Now both the editors I was working with are going to hate me and never want to work with me again. While I am okay with not continuing with journalism, I am disappointed. I really don't like the idea of not finishing something I promised to do. Unfortunately, though, I just don't have the time to go to campus everyday and practically stalk people until they tell me what I want to know. I'm not saying that is what journalist do but I feel like that is what I would have to do to get these articles finished. Not that it matters now because I am way past deadline.

HAPPY NANOWRIMO!

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, which is probably everyone or no one since no one actually reads this, today is the start of National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge to writer's around the world to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I have decided to participate even though it means putting my current novel aside and starting a new one. Today I started and I did the math. I would have to do over 1600 words a day, everyday. Today I pushed myself to do at least that and I ended up doing 1867 words! I have a profile and progress report at http://www.nanowrimo.org/userinfo.php?uid=101540 .