I was going to post a real live post, but the long day and the heat hashit me suddenly, so here's teh gist of things and I'll go on in more detail tomorrow.
1. I now manage the store I work at, and basically manage the other one while a new manager for that store is being found and trained. I'm hoping the pay raise will help save even more for my last semester of gradschool (two to go, one's already paid for).
2. I'm probably going to be doing a 699 class with two other students--a directed reading class--which is fine except I don't quite have the best grasp of what that sort of course would entail, especially since usually it's one student to one professor, not 3 to 1.
3. In the past week, I've read Laurell K. Hamilton's "Blood Noir," Caitlin Kittredge's "Night Life," and Mark del Franco's "Unshapely Things." I enjoyed the first, more than "Danse Macabre," but a little less than "The Harlequin." I enjoyed greatly the latter two, to the point that I am looking forward to Kittredge's next book at the end of August/beginning of September--Hawaii seems to get new releases a week or two later than the expected dates. Werewolves in the modern have been done often now, but I like hwo this world is set up and the relationships, especially between Luna and her cousin is interesting.
Del Franco's I also devoured in a day or two. I know the second book is already out (actually I picked up the first because I'd read something about the second that sparked my interest), and the third is either out or will be soon, I believe. Alas, they didn't have any at my local Borders Express (it should be at the regular Borders, though, so I'll pick it up on Wednesday when I go to my writer's group).
4. In the meantime, I still have a stack of books borrowed from (read: foisted upon me by) my older sister, some library books and a few books I've bought recently that are calling to be read. I think I'll start with "Music to My Sorrows" by Mercedes Lackey, then to Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" (crazy I haven't read it yet), and the slew of comic books I picked up at the week-long book sale that started this past weekend. We always go the first day and I picked up an Edward Gorey book, Sandman and Books of Magic comics (the newer incarnation, I believe) as well as a few other books.
Completing collections and starting new ones.
5. Editing has picked up again. I'm just a few chapters from the end of editing Hounds, then one more read-through, then queries to agents. That's my goal this summer. Even if I don't have an agent by then, I'll feel good just getting on the road to having one.
Uh, heh, so I'm sure there was something else I'd planned to add, and this was all going to be shorter, a 'here's what I'll write about tomorrow, but I'm waving hello right now,' but my eyes are hurting so I'm signing off now. I feel like I've been getting a cold for over a week and sneezing for weeks, but can't really afford to take a day off unless I really need it. Ach, headache. We have Friday and Saturday off, but I could use Monday or Tuesday off, too. For now, I'll have to settle for sleep.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Life of a Grad Student
It's almost 1 in the morning, I am eating chocolate chip and cherry cookies that I baked earlier today and working on the first paper of three that is due this semester.
The key is that it must be anarcho-scholastic, utilizing both an academic and creative structure, blending the two in form and content. I'm working off of a desire to play with marginalia (incorporating the notes I'd scribbled in the margins into the body of the work) and letting the writing itself flow naturally.
Some students may be more inclined to the all-nighters, but I've never been good at them. Actually, my paper isn't due until Wednesday, but I work that day and I'd rather not put four hours on the bus on top of 5+ hours at work. So I'm doing most of the last of it now, but I think I'll leave the very last of it for tomorrow. My eyes are starting to get strained. (That's really my problem, not that I get so sleepy, though I do sometimes, but my eyes start to hurt and I can't read anything anymore).
I just thought I'd drop a line and say hello to all the people out there whose brains aren't turning into mush like my occasionally feels like it's doing (as evidenced by all the awkward phrasing).
Hello.
The key is that it must be anarcho-scholastic, utilizing both an academic and creative structure, blending the two in form and content. I'm working off of a desire to play with marginalia (incorporating the notes I'd scribbled in the margins into the body of the work) and letting the writing itself flow naturally.
Some students may be more inclined to the all-nighters, but I've never been good at them. Actually, my paper isn't due until Wednesday, but I work that day and I'd rather not put four hours on the bus on top of 5+ hours at work. So I'm doing most of the last of it now, but I think I'll leave the very last of it for tomorrow. My eyes are starting to get strained. (That's really my problem, not that I get so sleepy, though I do sometimes, but my eyes start to hurt and I can't read anything anymore).
I just thought I'd drop a line and say hello to all the people out there whose brains aren't turning into mush like my occasionally feels like it's doing (as evidenced by all the awkward phrasing).
Hello.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Last Evening of My Spring Break
So this past week has mostly been filled with my job. I had two full days off, which I usually get because of my Tuesday and Friday classes--my own fault, I never got around to asking for the time off, but we were losing someone so we'd either be short-handed or training someone new, and I figured I wouldn't get the time off anyway--and opted out of my usual Sunday routine to get a third day free.
Tuesday and half of Friday was spent reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which I loved for so many reasons I can barely verbalize. (Mostly I'm stuck sitting here motioning with my hand, to pantomime the words are spilling out of my mouth as a tumble of letters, incoherent.)
Friday from 4 pm on was spent hanging out and taking to dinner another coworker who was leaving. I did read a few pages walking to work on Wednesday and Thursday and finished the last thirty pages Saturday morning/afternoon (just before and just after a five-hour work shift). Maybe I'm a little too pleased to have read about 300 pages each day for two days.
So I'm a few years late, considering it was published in 2001, but I've had it for a little while and just didn't have the time to read it before. Using it for a presentation for one of my classes is always nice motivation. One of my favorite parts of my workshop course this semester, we chose our own reading lists, and I added to my required 5--I read all three Patricia Briggs' Mercedes Thompson books, a couple of writing books, including Terry Brooks' "Sometimes the Magic Works," and the Dave McKean-illustrated children's books by Gaiman 'Goldfish' and 'Wolves'. Oh, and since I received the soundtrack to "Wicked" for my birthday in February, I read the Gregory Maguire book it was based on, as well as the sequel, "Son of a Witch," and found all 14 L.F. Baum Oz books for $2.00 each at a used bookstore. I'm on book 2 of that last one ("The Land of Oz"). I've also begun "Unshapely Things" by Mark Del Franco and "The Good Fairies of New York" by Martin Miller (which I bought before seeing a mention of it on Gaiman's website, who has an introduction in it, though I'd have picked it up even without the introduction, it's pretty interesting so far).
Needless to say, something about this semester has stimulated me into reading book-books lately (I talked about that strange aversion to it for a while, where all I wanted to read was manga, yeah, I like comics, but I love novels as much, if not more).
So American Gods: I think there's a combination of long story arc, as we follow Shadow following Wednesday, with the almost episodic, now we're traveling, now we're staying with Mr. Jacquel and Mr. Ibis, now we're in Lakeside, etc., that engages all my attention. I finished the last few sentences wishing it wasn't the end, which is a good sign for me, but I had a smile stuck on my face and I was content, even if I didn't know what would happen to these people next.
I was taking extensive notes while I read, which I thought would disrupt the flow of my reading, but which didn't, for the most part. And while not fully versed in mythology, I know a bit of almost everything, so it was fun to see a hint of something and either know what it meant or know it meant something important and excitedly read on to see what the something was. There's a line said to Shadow, page 483--it sums up my feeling about the end in a much more succinct way that I, with my rambly blogging ways, consistently fail to do--"Not only are there no happy endings...there aren't even any endings." The story's over but this isn't the end. That figure walks away, but he's also walking toward something, and just because the reader doesn't know what -that- something is, doesn't mean all the characters stop moving around once the book is closed.
(Think of that childhood wonder/fear some kids have, that when they leave the room their toys move around, have conversations and live, but as soon as someone walks back in, they are perfectly still and in their original positions. This book ends with a sense of the completete opposite.)
And then, to prepare for my presentation, and having recalled a few links in reference to AG on his journal (linked on the sidebar) I searched his archives and read up on the journal from when it was solely an AG blog. (And I noticed he started his blog a little more than a year before I started mine, not this one, though.)
And then my laptop decided it didn't like me or the warm weather and started giving me trouble, so I took a break for dinner, restarted the computer and went to finish up preparation for that presentation. Finalizing my other presentation will have to wait until tomorrow after work. I know what I want to say I just have to organize it.
And all of this to say that reading words by Neil Gaiman, whether it's his books or his journal, or listening to audio clips, really motivates me to write. In this instance, I ended up writing about him and books, but I finally feel like I accomplished something today.
Also, if you haven't read American Gods, find it, buy it and read it. I think it's available for free online (you can find the link on Gaiman's journal) for at least one more day.
Tuesday and half of Friday was spent reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which I loved for so many reasons I can barely verbalize. (Mostly I'm stuck sitting here motioning with my hand, to pantomime the words are spilling out of my mouth as a tumble of letters, incoherent.)
Friday from 4 pm on was spent hanging out and taking to dinner another coworker who was leaving. I did read a few pages walking to work on Wednesday and Thursday and finished the last thirty pages Saturday morning/afternoon (just before and just after a five-hour work shift). Maybe I'm a little too pleased to have read about 300 pages each day for two days.
So I'm a few years late, considering it was published in 2001, but I've had it for a little while and just didn't have the time to read it before. Using it for a presentation for one of my classes is always nice motivation. One of my favorite parts of my workshop course this semester, we chose our own reading lists, and I added to my required 5--I read all three Patricia Briggs' Mercedes Thompson books, a couple of writing books, including Terry Brooks' "Sometimes the Magic Works," and the Dave McKean-illustrated children's books by Gaiman 'Goldfish' and 'Wolves'. Oh, and since I received the soundtrack to "Wicked" for my birthday in February, I read the Gregory Maguire book it was based on, as well as the sequel, "Son of a Witch," and found all 14 L.F. Baum Oz books for $2.00 each at a used bookstore. I'm on book 2 of that last one ("The Land of Oz"). I've also begun "Unshapely Things" by Mark Del Franco and "The Good Fairies of New York" by Martin Miller (which I bought before seeing a mention of it on Gaiman's website, who has an introduction in it, though I'd have picked it up even without the introduction, it's pretty interesting so far).
Needless to say, something about this semester has stimulated me into reading book-books lately (I talked about that strange aversion to it for a while, where all I wanted to read was manga, yeah, I like comics, but I love novels as much, if not more).
So American Gods: I think there's a combination of long story arc, as we follow Shadow following Wednesday, with the almost episodic, now we're traveling, now we're staying with Mr. Jacquel and Mr. Ibis, now we're in Lakeside, etc., that engages all my attention. I finished the last few sentences wishing it wasn't the end, which is a good sign for me, but I had a smile stuck on my face and I was content, even if I didn't know what would happen to these people next.
I was taking extensive notes while I read, which I thought would disrupt the flow of my reading, but which didn't, for the most part. And while not fully versed in mythology, I know a bit of almost everything, so it was fun to see a hint of something and either know what it meant or know it meant something important and excitedly read on to see what the something was. There's a line said to Shadow, page 483--it sums up my feeling about the end in a much more succinct way that I, with my rambly blogging ways, consistently fail to do--"Not only are there no happy endings...there aren't even any endings." The story's over but this isn't the end. That figure walks away, but he's also walking toward something, and just because the reader doesn't know what -that- something is, doesn't mean all the characters stop moving around once the book is closed.
(Think of that childhood wonder/fear some kids have, that when they leave the room their toys move around, have conversations and live, but as soon as someone walks back in, they are perfectly still and in their original positions. This book ends with a sense of the completete opposite.)
And then, to prepare for my presentation, and having recalled a few links in reference to AG on his journal (linked on the sidebar) I searched his archives and read up on the journal from when it was solely an AG blog. (And I noticed he started his blog a little more than a year before I started mine, not this one, though.)
And then my laptop decided it didn't like me or the warm weather and started giving me trouble, so I took a break for dinner, restarted the computer and went to finish up preparation for that presentation. Finalizing my other presentation will have to wait until tomorrow after work. I know what I want to say I just have to organize it.
And all of this to say that reading words by Neil Gaiman, whether it's his books or his journal, or listening to audio clips, really motivates me to write. In this instance, I ended up writing about him and books, but I finally feel like I accomplished something today.
Also, if you haven't read American Gods, find it, buy it and read it. I think it's available for free online (you can find the link on Gaiman's journal) for at least one more day.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Lighter Side of Writing
In a class last week, the phrase "purple prose" arose, like a great, winged bird of description, overshadowing the smattering of plot-towns and roads of plot-threads. then someone asked where it came from.
As a person who loves to find new words (I am running into others' use of niggling again, still a great word, regardless of where it originated), I figured I'd look up the origins.
So,
Purple prose is defined as, basically, overly flowerly langauge, description that goes way beyond what's necessary and "draws attention to itself."
It originates from a passage from Horace, the Roman poet in his Ars Poetica (lines 14-21):
Inceptis grauibus plerumque et magna professispurpureus, late qui splendeat, unus et alteradsuitur pannus, cum lucus et ara Dianaeet properantis aquae per amoenos ambitus agrosaut flumen Rhenum aut pluuius describitur arcus;sed nunc non erat his locus. Et fortasse cupressumscis simulare; quid hoc, si fractis enatat exspesnauibus, aere dato qui pingitur?
(Your opening shows great promise, and yet flashy purple patches; as when describing a sacred grove, or the altar of Diana, or a stream meandering through fields, or the river Rhine, or a rainbow; but this was not the place for them. If you can realistically render a cypress tree, would you include one when commissioned to paint a sailor in the midst of a shipwreck?)
Purple was a rare dye to find, so it was only used by the wealthy. Apparently, some people in the time of the Roman Republic who wanted to be viewed as wealthier than they actually were, so they put patches of purple cloth on their clothes to play into that purple=rich. (Most people know that connection between purple and royalty.)
Information from Answers.com.
Happy writing.
As a person who loves to find new words (I am running into others' use of niggling again, still a great word, regardless of where it originated), I figured I'd look up the origins.
So,
Purple prose is defined as, basically, overly flowerly langauge, description that goes way beyond what's necessary and "draws attention to itself."
It originates from a passage from Horace, the Roman poet in his Ars Poetica (lines 14-21):
Inceptis grauibus plerumque et magna professispurpureus, late qui splendeat, unus et alteradsuitur pannus, cum lucus et ara Dianaeet properantis aquae per amoenos ambitus agrosaut flumen Rhenum aut pluuius describitur arcus;sed nunc non erat his locus. Et fortasse cupressumscis simulare; quid hoc, si fractis enatat exspesnauibus, aere dato qui pingitur?
(Your opening shows great promise, and yet flashy purple patches; as when describing a sacred grove, or the altar of Diana, or a stream meandering through fields, or the river Rhine, or a rainbow; but this was not the place for them. If you can realistically render a cypress tree, would you include one when commissioned to paint a sailor in the midst of a shipwreck?)
Purple was a rare dye to find, so it was only used by the wealthy. Apparently, some people in the time of the Roman Republic who wanted to be viewed as wealthier than they actually were, so they put patches of purple cloth on their clothes to play into that purple=rich. (Most people know that connection between purple and royalty.)
Information from Answers.com.
Happy writing.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Reexamining my Life at the end of 23
I don't work at the part-time job until the afternoon today, so I've had these early hours to do some stuff with my computer I've been meaning to do and never got around to doing. That didn't really work out, so I was site-surfing. Drifting over to Justine Larbalestier's blog (I never did post about her Magic trilogy, but suffice it to say, I enjoyed all three and it was interesting to see the shift between the viewpoints and understanding of language--that's an awkward way to put it, but I mean the difference in the POV of the two Australian characters versus the New York one), and she writes about blogging.
For some reason, that got me thinking about my life. My birthday is coming up in just a few days. Not the end of the month (I get that question a lot), but near enough to still receive the jokes. I'll be turning 24. I am a graduate student in the English department, working towards a master's degree with a concentration in creative writing, mostly as an additional impetus to keep me writing. I work part-time at a retail shipping/packing/copy and fax place. And I have not mailed out a single query letter yet despite finishing drafts for two novels.
Sometimes it feels as if I'm thinking too far ahead for where I'm at right now. (I'm not quite sure how this connects to Justine's post, just that the thought came to me then). At the same time, I am still working towards my goal, and in terms of blogger, I'm not the complete lurker I used to be, reading everything and never participating in the conversation. Introverted much?
But anyway, I'm almost 24 and have been writing since elementary school. I want to make it a career. I feel like I need to set some goals for myself.
February is almost over, but let's say, I will finish this round of editing by the end of March and will finish reading both writing books and at least two of the novels on my immediate list of things to read (I found Mark Del Franco's website and blog via his agent's blog a few weeks ago, and yesterday found and bought his first book, Unshapely Things). Often it feels like I have no time to read novels after work, school and homework, but my manga kick has slowed considerably, though I still enjoy it, and I find that I really want to pick up novels again. The prospect of 300-400 pages doesn't make me balk like it had been for a while there (I don't really know where that feeling came from, but I'm glad it's going away).
And it's twenty minutes later than I meant to be online, so I'll post this and then I'm off to edit for a little before doing some reading for one of my courses.
For some reason, that got me thinking about my life. My birthday is coming up in just a few days. Not the end of the month (I get that question a lot), but near enough to still receive the jokes. I'll be turning 24. I am a graduate student in the English department, working towards a master's degree with a concentration in creative writing, mostly as an additional impetus to keep me writing. I work part-time at a retail shipping/packing/copy and fax place. And I have not mailed out a single query letter yet despite finishing drafts for two novels.
Sometimes it feels as if I'm thinking too far ahead for where I'm at right now. (I'm not quite sure how this connects to Justine's post, just that the thought came to me then). At the same time, I am still working towards my goal, and in terms of blogger, I'm not the complete lurker I used to be, reading everything and never participating in the conversation. Introverted much?
But anyway, I'm almost 24 and have been writing since elementary school. I want to make it a career. I feel like I need to set some goals for myself.
February is almost over, but let's say, I will finish this round of editing by the end of March and will finish reading both writing books and at least two of the novels on my immediate list of things to read (I found Mark Del Franco's website and blog via his agent's blog a few weeks ago, and yesterday found and bought his first book, Unshapely Things). Often it feels like I have no time to read novels after work, school and homework, but my manga kick has slowed considerably, though I still enjoy it, and I find that I really want to pick up novels again. The prospect of 300-400 pages doesn't make me balk like it had been for a while there (I don't really know where that feeling came from, but I'm glad it's going away).
And it's twenty minutes later than I meant to be online, so I'll post this and then I'm off to edit for a little before doing some reading for one of my courses.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Writing in Hawaii
I was just over at Patricia Wood's blog and it got me thinking. She often mentions about living in Hawaii. I rarely do. In fact, I rarely write about this place. That old adage to "write what you know" seems to suggest I should try writing with Hawaii as a setting for some stories, if it fits, but I almost never do. Actually, I don't think I ever have. I have one drafted novel with a character from Hawaii, but I have yet to finish a story set here.
One might call it ignoring available resources. I've lived on Oahu since I was six (almost 24 now) and know quite a bit of it, despite a horrible sense of direction. But despite today being a generally gray day, raining for most part, and weather the past few weeks being much of the same, or that weird gray and rainy one minute, bright and muggy the next, I feel like every time I start to write about Hawaii, the steroetypical image of the idyllic tropical paradise comes to mind. Bikini-clad skinny chicks on the beach, tourists with cameras and bright sunny days called "perfect." I know that's not the way it is here and yet somehow, I feel like if I don't immediately set up a contrasting image, that's what the reader will see. But I don't like starting stories with a description of setting.
It's just interesting to see one's own prejudices, what one will or won't write about, and to examine why that is.
On another note, I was just about to end this post with an "Anyways..." sentence, and I've noticed I do that a lot. Now I'm horrible with short stories because I can't seem to finish anything in a concise manner, and even after 300 pages, I'm hardpressed to find a neat way to tie up all the threads, but apparently, that fault has bled over into all my other writing as well, specifically blog and journal posts, and emails. On the upside, I am mostly okay with keeping the 'anyway's, 'really's, and 'right then's out of my fiction writing. I'm still a huge fan of 'just,' though. And pretty fond of 'though's, too.
One might call it ignoring available resources. I've lived on Oahu since I was six (almost 24 now) and know quite a bit of it, despite a horrible sense of direction. But despite today being a generally gray day, raining for most part, and weather the past few weeks being much of the same, or that weird gray and rainy one minute, bright and muggy the next, I feel like every time I start to write about Hawaii, the steroetypical image of the idyllic tropical paradise comes to mind. Bikini-clad skinny chicks on the beach, tourists with cameras and bright sunny days called "perfect." I know that's not the way it is here and yet somehow, I feel like if I don't immediately set up a contrasting image, that's what the reader will see. But I don't like starting stories with a description of setting.
It's just interesting to see one's own prejudices, what one will or won't write about, and to examine why that is.
On another note, I was just about to end this post with an "Anyways..." sentence, and I've noticed I do that a lot. Now I'm horrible with short stories because I can't seem to finish anything in a concise manner, and even after 300 pages, I'm hardpressed to find a neat way to tie up all the threads, but apparently, that fault has bled over into all my other writing as well, specifically blog and journal posts, and emails. On the upside, I am mostly okay with keeping the 'anyway's, 'really's, and 'right then's out of my fiction writing. I'm still a huge fan of 'just,' though. And pretty fond of 'though's, too.
Monday, January 7, 2008
(A Bit Belated) Happy New Year
So I haven't been on Blogger for a while, and it feels like it's been quite a while since I was on my computer at all. But it is a new year, so I suppose resolutions are in order. Not that the time of year makes a difference, but I think it's a good idea to look over the year and set goals, particularly when one has lots of stuff going on. Now's as good a time as any.
So I looked over my goals from last year, and I accomplished some of what I set out to do, but not everything.
So for 2008:
I finished one round of edits, and half of another, so firstly, finish the rest of that editing, and start querying agents.
I've already done a little research into which agents might be a good fit, now I need to narrow it down and organize myself, make sure I know which ones prefer email queries versus hard copy.
Survive my second and third semesters of graduate school (this spring I have two classes, one after the other, on Tuesdays and one on Fridays).
Finish the first draft of at least one of the two big stories I started last year--the urban fantasy or the pirate-ish maybe-YA fiction.
Plan out the plot/story arc for book two of the story I'm currently editing.
Here's to the new year, people.
Happy Writing,
Sabrina
And Writtenwyrdd, thanks for the New Year's wishes in the comments below.
So I looked over my goals from last year, and I accomplished some of what I set out to do, but not everything.
So for 2008:
I finished one round of edits, and half of another, so firstly, finish the rest of that editing, and start querying agents.
I've already done a little research into which agents might be a good fit, now I need to narrow it down and organize myself, make sure I know which ones prefer email queries versus hard copy.
Survive my second and third semesters of graduate school (this spring I have two classes, one after the other, on Tuesdays and one on Fridays).
Finish the first draft of at least one of the two big stories I started last year--the urban fantasy or the pirate-ish maybe-YA fiction.
Plan out the plot/story arc for book two of the story I'm currently editing.
Here's to the new year, people.
Happy Writing,
Sabrina
And Writtenwyrdd, thanks for the New Year's wishes in the comments below.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Update
There's a new post just below, but for the curious:
I fixed the link for Writtenwyrrd (from blogspot to typepad). I've also added a few more writers' blogs that I tend to frequent and another agent blog I like to check out from time to time.
Hope it helps.
~Sabrina
I fixed the link for Writtenwyrrd (from blogspot to typepad). I've also added a few more writers' blogs that I tend to frequent and another agent blog I like to check out from time to time.
Hope it helps.
~Sabrina
Milestones, or some variation thereof
Okay, so technically, this is my big news for Thursday, because I didn't touch my computer yesterday. As of this past holiday, I finished the first big round of editing on Hounds, the urban fantasy I've been working on. I had my printed out copy that I'd gone through months ago, making notes and changes, and on Thursday said I was taking a break from my week of school work (seminar papers, oh the joy) to edit for fun.
I finally reached the last page, and then even decided to haul out the other hard copy covered in green ink (I just don't like the look of all that red ink) and editing notes. I actually breezed through the first eight chapters or so on that one, however. It was a copy of the pages as I brought them to my writer's group. After receiving their verbal and written commentary I compiled it all onto my pages and put all those copies into its own folder. From title to "The End." I'd started off incoroprating those changes a few days (a week at the latest) after the meeting where I received them, but then I fell behind, so when I went to incorporate the changes the other day, I didn't have any big changes until chapter 6. Makes the 'I edited eight chapters in one day' claim a little less impressive.
Anyway, that's all good stuff for me. My first semester of graduate school is winding down. I took this past week off work to focus on my papers and research. I feel like the time has gone by far too quickly, though. I have a 4-5 page paper, as well as an outline or some semblance of knowing what I'll talk about, which I can email my Thursday class professor for a presentation on Thursday. Both need to be in by Monday. And the bulk of my time, not spent doing homework for the Monday and Wednesday classes I still had despite the holiday (only the Thursday class was cancelled) was researching for a draft of a 20-page seminar paper which I need by Wednesday.
One week is not enough.
Even this post is a small detour from research on the presence, or lack thereof of "minority" characters in science fiction and fantasy (I use quotation marks because I live in Hawai'i, where African-American, Asian and Pacific Islanders are anything but the minority) for this 5-page paper due Monday. I probably won't get to typing it tonight (I wouldn't want to, even here I feel like my writing is confused and convoluted), but if I have my research done and my notes organized, typing it tomorrow shouldn't be too bad. Then research for the presentation, which I bega last week, and an outline about that, then see about some research on the gendered body of Joan of Arc (for my Wednesday class, Medieval Women Writers, it just sounded like so much fun). But that last will depend on what time I finish the other two tasks. At least, at this point, there's no more required reading for my classes (except this last week in the Thursday class).
(And why does a 5-page paper, or 20-page for that matter, seem like such a big deal when I finished the first drafts of two novel-length works? Not that I'm bragging, I just don't quite get how being able to achieve that, plus the countless other essays I've written as an undergraduate, and still the prospect of these graduate papers fills me with dread.)
Then again, I go back to work Monday. Ugh. It wouldn't be so bad except I know I'll still be really busy, school-wise, the next few weeks and work is going to be busy, too. That's okay. I'll hang it there. Just don't be surprised if I look like a zombie by the time Chrsitmas hits (I'm also making two things for friends as Christmas gifts, so those need to be done soon so I can mail them out and I haven't even really begun).
And look at all the love for the parentheses tonight.
Yeah, definitely gonna be a zombie.
Good luck to the rest of you. Happy writing.
I finally reached the last page, and then even decided to haul out the other hard copy covered in green ink (I just don't like the look of all that red ink) and editing notes. I actually breezed through the first eight chapters or so on that one, however. It was a copy of the pages as I brought them to my writer's group. After receiving their verbal and written commentary I compiled it all onto my pages and put all those copies into its own folder. From title to "The End." I'd started off incoroprating those changes a few days (a week at the latest) after the meeting where I received them, but then I fell behind, so when I went to incorporate the changes the other day, I didn't have any big changes until chapter 6. Makes the 'I edited eight chapters in one day' claim a little less impressive.
Anyway, that's all good stuff for me. My first semester of graduate school is winding down. I took this past week off work to focus on my papers and research. I feel like the time has gone by far too quickly, though. I have a 4-5 page paper, as well as an outline or some semblance of knowing what I'll talk about, which I can email my Thursday class professor for a presentation on Thursday. Both need to be in by Monday. And the bulk of my time, not spent doing homework for the Monday and Wednesday classes I still had despite the holiday (only the Thursday class was cancelled) was researching for a draft of a 20-page seminar paper which I need by Wednesday.
One week is not enough.
Even this post is a small detour from research on the presence, or lack thereof of "minority" characters in science fiction and fantasy (I use quotation marks because I live in Hawai'i, where African-American, Asian and Pacific Islanders are anything but the minority) for this 5-page paper due Monday. I probably won't get to typing it tonight (I wouldn't want to, even here I feel like my writing is confused and convoluted), but if I have my research done and my notes organized, typing it tomorrow shouldn't be too bad. Then research for the presentation, which I bega last week, and an outline about that, then see about some research on the gendered body of Joan of Arc (for my Wednesday class, Medieval Women Writers, it just sounded like so much fun). But that last will depend on what time I finish the other two tasks. At least, at this point, there's no more required reading for my classes (except this last week in the Thursday class).
(And why does a 5-page paper, or 20-page for that matter, seem like such a big deal when I finished the first drafts of two novel-length works? Not that I'm bragging, I just don't quite get how being able to achieve that, plus the countless other essays I've written as an undergraduate, and still the prospect of these graduate papers fills me with dread.)
Then again, I go back to work Monday. Ugh. It wouldn't be so bad except I know I'll still be really busy, school-wise, the next few weeks and work is going to be busy, too. That's okay. I'll hang it there. Just don't be surprised if I look like a zombie by the time Chrsitmas hits (I'm also making two things for friends as Christmas gifts, so those need to be done soon so I can mail them out and I haven't even really begun).
And look at all the love for the parentheses tonight.
Yeah, definitely gonna be a zombie.
Good luck to the rest of you. Happy writing.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Writers on Strike
(Dang it. I had this all typed up and then my laptop copped out on me. Anyway.)
I first heard about this a few days ago on Neil Gaiman's blog (scroll down to the first question in bold). I figured I'd share it here for those who didn't know. Since Gaiman writes within both the publishing and media industries, he is affected but not wholly.
Essentially, writers in the media industry have gone on strike, as of Monday I believe. They're protesting in order to receive a portion of teh revenues garnered from DVD sales and internet shows and films. The first shows to be immediately affected are the late night talk shows, like "The Daily Show." These programs rely on up-to-date commentary from that same day, thus have no scripts on back-up. They immediately went to reruns.
Next up are the half-hour comedies, which, although they have scripts, tend to alter them over teh week they're filming (if my understanding is correct). This includes shows like "The Big Bang Theory" and "'Til Death."
After that come the hour-long dramas, which generally have scripts through November, but at least some of them don't have scripts for the end of the season, so if the strike doesn't end soon, the last episodes of the season may be affected for these programs. "Desperate Housewives" falls under this category, as would "Heroes," I suppose (and this week's was such a good eipsode).
So here are a few other places with information about the strike:
CNN (from Monday, November 5)
NPR (from Tuesday, November 6)
MSNBC (from Wednesday, November 7)
And here are some pictures from The Guardian.
I first heard about this a few days ago on Neil Gaiman's blog (scroll down to the first question in bold). I figured I'd share it here for those who didn't know. Since Gaiman writes within both the publishing and media industries, he is affected but not wholly.
Essentially, writers in the media industry have gone on strike, as of Monday I believe. They're protesting in order to receive a portion of teh revenues garnered from DVD sales and internet shows and films. The first shows to be immediately affected are the late night talk shows, like "The Daily Show." These programs rely on up-to-date commentary from that same day, thus have no scripts on back-up. They immediately went to reruns.
Next up are the half-hour comedies, which, although they have scripts, tend to alter them over teh week they're filming (if my understanding is correct). This includes shows like "The Big Bang Theory" and "'Til Death."
After that come the hour-long dramas, which generally have scripts through November, but at least some of them don't have scripts for the end of the season, so if the strike doesn't end soon, the last episodes of the season may be affected for these programs. "Desperate Housewives" falls under this category, as would "Heroes," I suppose (and this week's was such a good eipsode).
So here are a few other places with information about the strike:
CNN (from Monday, November 5)
NPR (from Tuesday, November 6)
MSNBC (from Wednesday, November 7)
And here are some pictures from The Guardian.
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