donedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedonedone
with my second quarter at college!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Since everyone is fascinated by my life, I figured I'd give y'all (um, by which I mean no one) an update on my life. Maybe if I become famous someone will dig this up and talk about it . . . nahhh.
So, let's see. Lately I've decided that sucking as much as I do at geography is shameful for me. It's really important to understanding what's going on in the world, and I have no excuses for not knowing it. Therefore, I've decided to study/improve at it. (Because I'm a dork, in case you didn't catch that.) And, though I'm not terribly surprised, so far I actually love it. I can name all fifty states + capitals, and could place them on a blank map (as long as I didn't actually have to tell you where the capital was, I haven't got that down yet). I can also name all the provinces of Canada. I think this is a pretty good start to understanding the geographical world around me. Next I'm gonna focus in a little on the separate states and get general ideas about them. Did you know Oklahoma has four mountain ranges within its borders? Well, now you do. Nearly pointless trivia FTW!!
Also, I've decided to learn to play the harmonica. So far, 's goin' okay. I'll keep my empty blog updated.
I guess I should probably stop avoiding getting up and eat.
P.S. Daylight Savings Time is so much suck.
So, let's see. Lately I've decided that sucking as much as I do at geography is shameful for me. It's really important to understanding what's going on in the world, and I have no excuses for not knowing it. Therefore, I've decided to study/improve at it. (Because I'm a dork, in case you didn't catch that.) And, though I'm not terribly surprised, so far I actually love it. I can name all fifty states + capitals, and could place them on a blank map (as long as I didn't actually have to tell you where the capital was, I haven't got that down yet). I can also name all the provinces of Canada. I think this is a pretty good start to understanding the geographical world around me. Next I'm gonna focus in a little on the separate states and get general ideas about them. Did you know Oklahoma has four mountain ranges within its borders? Well, now you do. Nearly pointless trivia FTW!!
Also, I've decided to learn to play the harmonica. So far, 's goin' okay. I'll keep my empty blog updated.
I guess I should probably stop avoiding getting up and eat.
P.S. Daylight Savings Time is so much suck.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Gods above and below, printing stuff takes a lonnnnnng tiiiiiime. Stupid photo printers, they're like, "We're out of paper. All of us. At the same time. OH ALSO we need new ink. Nao. KTHX." So then everybody ha to wait for the poor lab monitor to fix everything AT ONCE. Now they're supposedly all fixed but geeze, I'm starving, and you're only allowed to eat at this one little table that's all the way over there.
SIGH.
Okay, I think that was enough whining.
FOR. NOW.
*dun dun duuun*
SIGH.
Okay, I think that was enough whining.
FOR. NOW.
*dun dun duuun*
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
2000 words attempted
I've recently decided that if I want to be a writer, I've got to start working on my writing habits, so I'm trying to write somewhere from 1000-2000 words a day. Figure that should set me up to finish the novel I'm working on about three friends split up for college in at least a couple of months. (I realized that it's basically something I have to write as soon as possible, because as I get older, it's not really going to have the same feelings in it.)
Let me tell you, my . . . singular to zero blog reader(s), some things I think about writing. Writing---for me, anyway---is not something that always comes easily. Sure, you have those moments where everything's going beautifully. "Ah!" you think to yourself. "It's all coming together! I see now why they went to the City in the Clouds on the back of a crocodile! Oh, this is just lovely for my character development, their interactions here are wonderful! I'm so happy, I---crap. What happens now?"
It took me kind of a long time to understand what Philip Pullman meant when he said, "There's no such thing as writer's block." I'm not entirely sure I agree with him, but definitely, after writing my first novel (that is still SO satisfying to say.), I get what he meant a lot more than I ever did before. Writing ain't easy, but eventually you've just got to force yourself past the difficult bits.
More often than not, writing is slogging through stuff you're unsure of rather than breezing through perfect scenes. Sometimes you know exactly what to do, but just like everyone else, writers do not produce life's work with a finger snap. (Shocking, I know.) And, though some people might scoff, it's bloody hard work, especially when you hit a wall.
Hitting a wall, as I define it: you either a) don't know what's coming next, b) don't feel like writing this boring part, or c) you just---want the book or story to be written, somehow, all the bits between where you are and the end filled in magically. (Sadly, no dice on that one.) "Writer's block" is a prolonged form of hitting a wall. For me, that's when I just sit at the wall after I hit it, staring bewilderedly at its mossy bricks and moaning about my terrible fate.
For Philip Pullman, there's no writer's block because he forces himself over the wall. He (as he admits freely) of course spends some time "whinging", but after a certain point he just sort of sighs and forces himself to write something. In the end, a lot of writing is about being able to force yourself over those walls. A lot of the time, that means letting yourself write utter crap just to get past it. (If that wasn't so hard, more people would do it.) And it's not something you can just learn to do perfectly. Sooner or later, you're going to hit another wall and have to whine and then push yourself over.
So, writing is like fighting. (Whoohoo similes!) Some days you battle the beast and emerge victorious, brandishing its head---and some days you tumble out of the cave with a dented helmet and a concussion.
Today I battled the beast and came out all right, actaully. I'd say maybe a few scrapes on my armor, and I've only got a few scales to show for my efforts, but hey, I forced myself past a couple hard bits, and that's something.
Um, I'm sure I had some eloquent conclusion to this, but astonishingly enough, my sparkling brilliance begins to diminish at 2AM, sooo, you'll be left without one. Dreadfully sorry, chaps and ladies.
Side note: it's funny when you go back and read over something you hated writing and discover it's not something you hate reading. This is what happened with me and Devon, a character in above-mentioned novel. His voice is hardest for me to get, because it's least like my own florid style, so at first I was like, "BLAARGH. Too plain, but must not embellish." Reading over, it's actually one of my favorit bits, which surprised no one as much as me. Go figure. Still, I'm not convinced he won't prove difficult later. I'm watch you, Dev.
Let me tell you, my . . . singular to zero blog reader(s), some things I think about writing. Writing---for me, anyway---is not something that always comes easily. Sure, you have those moments where everything's going beautifully. "Ah!" you think to yourself. "It's all coming together! I see now why they went to the City in the Clouds on the back of a crocodile! Oh, this is just lovely for my character development, their interactions here are wonderful! I'm so happy, I---crap. What happens now?"
It took me kind of a long time to understand what Philip Pullman meant when he said, "There's no such thing as writer's block." I'm not entirely sure I agree with him, but definitely, after writing my first novel (that is still SO satisfying to say.), I get what he meant a lot more than I ever did before. Writing ain't easy, but eventually you've just got to force yourself past the difficult bits.
More often than not, writing is slogging through stuff you're unsure of rather than breezing through perfect scenes. Sometimes you know exactly what to do, but just like everyone else, writers do not produce life's work with a finger snap. (Shocking, I know.) And, though some people might scoff, it's bloody hard work, especially when you hit a wall.
Hitting a wall, as I define it: you either a) don't know what's coming next, b) don't feel like writing this boring part, or c) you just---want the book or story to be written, somehow, all the bits between where you are and the end filled in magically. (Sadly, no dice on that one.) "Writer's block" is a prolonged form of hitting a wall. For me, that's when I just sit at the wall after I hit it, staring bewilderedly at its mossy bricks and moaning about my terrible fate.
For Philip Pullman, there's no writer's block because he forces himself over the wall. He (as he admits freely) of course spends some time "whinging", but after a certain point he just sort of sighs and forces himself to write something. In the end, a lot of writing is about being able to force yourself over those walls. A lot of the time, that means letting yourself write utter crap just to get past it. (If that wasn't so hard, more people would do it.) And it's not something you can just learn to do perfectly. Sooner or later, you're going to hit another wall and have to whine and then push yourself over.
So, writing is like fighting. (Whoohoo similes!) Some days you battle the beast and emerge victorious, brandishing its head---and some days you tumble out of the cave with a dented helmet and a concussion.
Today I battled the beast and came out all right, actaully. I'd say maybe a few scrapes on my armor, and I've only got a few scales to show for my efforts, but hey, I forced myself past a couple hard bits, and that's something.
Um, I'm sure I had some eloquent conclusion to this, but astonishingly enough, my sparkling brilliance begins to diminish at 2AM, sooo, you'll be left without one. Dreadfully sorry, chaps and ladies.
Side note: it's funny when you go back and read over something you hated writing and discover it's not something you hate reading. This is what happened with me and Devon, a character in above-mentioned novel. His voice is hardest for me to get, because it's least like my own florid style, so at first I was like, "BLAARGH. Too plain, but must not embellish." Reading over, it's actually one of my favorit bits, which surprised no one as much as me. Go figure. Still, I'm not convinced he won't prove difficult later. I'm watch you, Dev.
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