Incoherent Scribblings

On Writing

Now that my novel writing class is over, I hope to have more time to write about something other than stitching here. It isn’t that I haven’t had time to write these past months, rather I felt that if I was going to write something creative it should go towards my novel rather than the senseless babbling that I do here.

So… what did I learn in my novel writing class this semester? The simple answer is a lot. However, that doesn’t make for a very interesting blog post so I will expand.

I think the most important thing I learned in my novel writing class was that I finally got over my reluctance to let other people read what I write. Now, I am sure those of you who have been reading my blog for the past 4 years (If there is actually anyone out there that has been reading that long!) are probably thinking, “What the hell is she talking about? People have been reading what she writes all along.”

Well, I suppose that is true, but I will admit that for a while I turned comments off because even though technically I knew people were reading, it wasn’t until they started leaving comments that I really knew they were reading.

But when you write fiction and people read that… well, it’s different somehow.

Granted, when I write in my blog there is a certain amount of creativity that goes into each post, but at the same time I am reporting what is going on in my life and my life is not that much different than anyone else’s. I go to work, I dabble in my hobbies, I show off pictures of my children cats, I complain about things that irritate me, etc.

But when you write fiction, it’s art.

You pour your heart and soul into this creative process. You think about the characters you create and you become emotionally attached to them. Some days when you write you go places that you would never dream and other days you can’t believe the garbage that has flowed from your fingers. You know the story you are trying to tell and you do your damnedest to set it free. Although I have never given birth, it is the only metaphor that I think can probably do justice to the creation of such a thing.

And like a child, I want to protect my creation. I don’t want other people to criticize it. I don’t want other people to make fun of it or be mean to it. And so, if I keep my creation safe and secure in my drawer or on my hard drive there is no chance to expose it to the unsavory elements.

But eventually you realize that by protecting it (and yourself) you might be doing more harm than good and so you take a chance and you let other people read what you have done.

And that is what my novel writing class did for me. We were all in the same boat. We were all telling stories that meant something to us and as a result, we were sympathetic to one another’s hopes and fears about our writing. Our criticisms were productive and the ones I received only made my subsequent drafts better.

Now, I am not naïve enough to think that everyone that reads my manuscript will be as considerate as my classmates, but I believe now I have a thick enough skin that I can take whatever criticism comes my way.

Booking Along

Such an appropriate post title: My weekend was all about books in one form or another!

First up, here is the progress that I made on “The Bookshelf” this weekend. I have now added the authors’ names. At first I thought it was odd that Oscar Wilde was a member of this group of female authors (well, if you know anything about Oscar Wilde, maybe not) but then I realized it was Wilder as in Laura Ingalls Wilder, not Oscar Wilde!

And because I am a stickler for accent marks over letters in words (perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my first name has one of those elusive babies) I added the umlaut symbols over Emily (or Charlotte or Anne) Brontë’s name.

I also read this weekend. I finished reading John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold for my novel writing class. I must say that out of all the books we have read this semester I was most dissatisfied with this one. Although I did find the glimpse into East Germany in the late 50s/early 60s slightly interesting from a personal point of view, overall I guess spy novels just don’t do anything for me.

Of course, considering that May is nearly here, the semester is quickly coming to an end. This means that tomorrow I have to hand in a portfolio of everything I have written this semester. This includes 45 pages written towards my novel, 16 “elements,” and any other writings that we included in our journal. Next week we hand in our final assignment which includes 15 polished, revised pages that (more or less) comprise a chapter of our novel and a reworked copy of our midterm project: A proposal to a publisher.

When we began the semester Dr. B. warned us that by the end of the term we would be sick of looking at our novel and at this stage I whole heartedly agree! Although I hope to take my novel and turn it into my Master’s project (aka “thesis”), I am also ready to take a bit of a break from it. Right now I feel that the story and the characters are a bit stagnant.

I think I need a new perspective on the manuscript. I am not sure which will help me more though: A month’s break from it or a pitcher of margaritas!

More “Harvest Witch”

As I was making some final revisions tonight on the big project that I had due last week that will be turned into tomorrow for the actual grade, it dawned upon me that the reason this project is due tomorrow is because it is mid-term already! How did that happen? I mean, I knew mid-term was just around the corner, but it seems to have sneaked up on me nevertheless.

Anyway, since I made most of the revisions to the project yesterday I was able to work on my Sunday SAL with Dawn today for a good three and a half hours. This latest picture of “Harvest Witch” not only includes today’s progress, but also the progress I made when I stitched on her for a couple of hours last Monday evening during my make-up session.

Brain-Dead

Even though I am pretty much brain-dead from working on the homework for my novel writing class and can barely put together a cohesive thought for tonight’s post, I thought I would take a moment to show this week’s progress on “Harvest Witch.”

Here she is. Enjoy.

Second Chances

If you have ever taken the time to read my 100 Useless Things About Me or browse through my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, you will know that it has always been a goal of mine to continue my education. For many years I have wavered between getting a second Master’s Degree in English or going full-steam ahead and tackling a Ph.D. in Information Science. I have different reasons for wanting each of these, but will not go into them here tonight.

West Texas Town University does not have a library/information science program, but they do offer a Master’s in English so as the fall semester drew to a close, I began browsing the offerings for the upcoming spring semester. As luck would have it, I came upon a class that sounded interesting and so I began pondering the idea of taking the course.

Though my eventual goal is to acquire another degree, it has been a long time since I have taken classes and I have never taken classes while working full-time. Therefore, I thought perhaps I would use the spring semester as sort of a trial run: I would take one class as a non-degree seeking student, see what sort of time and effort was needed to succeed in both the class and my job, and when I was finished determine whether or not I was interested in pursuing the matter further.

I contacted the right person and was told to fill out a form and submit copies of my degrees. Once that was completed I would be admitted as a non-degree seeking student and be able to register for the class.

I filled out the form, had my diplomas copied, and waited patiently to get the letter that would officially say that I could register. A couple of weeks later I got a letter in the mail. It said my form had been received but before I could register, copies of my transcripts were needed.

Confused, I contacted the registrar’s office and told them what the letter had said. Had I misunderstood and only thought they said copies of my diplomas when they needed my transcripts instead? I was told candidates for the program needed their transcripts, not their diplomas. I reminded them I was going to take the class as a non-degree seeking student. They told me the form I had filled out indicated that I wanted to enter the program, not merely take classes as a non-degree seeking student.

I went back and looked at the copy I had made of the form and, sure enough, I had checked the box for candidacy into the program, not that for a non-degree seeking student. I was informed I could still be a non-degree seeking student, but would have to resubmit the form.

At this point I thought a bit about the mistake that I had made and decided that perhaps fate was telling me something: Maybe I should just go ahead and start working on my dream sooner rather than later. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that it was a sign.

I verified that the copies of my transcripts that were already on file (I had to have them sent to the school when I accepted my job) could be submitted and gave permission for them, along with my application, to be sent to the department for review.

While it may not be guaranteed that the department will accept me into the program, the chances are high, so once my file is returned to the registrar I will not only be able to register for the class that started it all, but I will finally begin my journey towards that second master’s degree that I have always craved.