A Weird Month

For me, April has been the month where I felt like my mind was all over the place. I don’t want to say that I’ve been scatterbrained; it’s more like my attention has been pulled into many directions and I’m trying to re-evaluate priorities.

For one thing, after the failure of last month’s writing project, I figured that I’d try again for April. My goal was to write every other day. It went well the first three times, but then I skipped the next two times, and then only wrote one other time. So all in all, I only wrote four days during the entire month. How sad.

Also, as you can tell, I did not post anything during the middle of April like I’ve been doing the last three months. Honestly, I was drawing a blank on what to write about and then I got caught up with Easter festivities.

But instead of writing, you were doing a lot of reading, right Amanda?

Yeah….no. After reading McGee’s book, I couldn’t bring myself to tackle another book. I finally did on the 27th, which means that it took me a whole thirty days before I reached for a new book. (AS I DARKEN by Kiersten White, in case you were wondering. I’ve only read 88 pages in it so far, so I can’t say too much about it just yet.)

I did spend twelve days binge watching a series on Netflix, though. Does that count for anything?

I guess you can say that I just spent the month “absorbing.”

I was excited to witness all the trees in my neighborhood bloom two weeks ago. The Michigan temperature has been subtly increasing, but not enough for me. Nonetheless, we’re in the middle of spring and I’ve been enjoying it. (Can’t wait to bring my bike out of storage in May.)

I’ve also had somewhat of a social life this month. And by that I mean I’m getting out of the house at least twice a week and seeing people who I’m not related to. It’s been great.

But overall, I get the sense that I wasn’t as productive as I should have been during April. (I wish there was a way to function without sleep.) Hence why I need to reorganize my daily life priorities.

A new month is on the horizon, so at least I can get another fresh start. How a third of the year slipped away is beyond me, though. I gotta work harder on my New Year resolutions.



Randomness: Remember how I mentioned waaaay back in Feb 2016’s post how I wanted to do something different with my hair? Well…I finally did it on the 22nd…

             

                 BEFORE

      AFTER

It’s so short now! I chopped off five inches. My hair is now ready for the summer. (Not that the impending warm weather was the reason why I cut it.)

March Writing Exercise - Fail

On the last day of February, I made the decision to try and write every day for the month of March. I didn’t create a set word count that I wanted to reach by the end. My only rule: I had to write at least one hour a day. As long as I was not distracted during this time, it didn’t matter how much words I conjured up in a day.

Based on the title of this blog post, I’m sure you can take a very good guess on how it went down.

During the first five days, it went great. I wrote 5,348 words during this time. I was pretty much pulling the stunt that I do for NaNoWriMo – just write about any vaguely interesting idea and see where it takes me. For two or three of my stories, I didn’t even finish them because I couldn’t quite commit to its ending (and figured that I’d write its conclusion another day).

But then I didn’t write the next day, which was my downfall. I started writing either every other day or every two days. Writer’s block had its grip on me and I had difficulty shaking free from it. And I chose to do other leisure things (like reading or watch Netflix) instead of facing it head-on.

The last day that I actually did some creative writing was back on the 18th. Basically two weeks ago. I only wrote 11/31 days this month (about 35.5%, for you math nerds) and only wrote a total of 10,187 words.

Here’s what I learned for the experience, though:

• I like structure. I should have known this about myself already. But when I set a strict goal for myself, I do everything I can to achieve it because I hate the idea of failing. (Gotta love being a perfectionist.) I do better at actually sitting down to write when I’m trying to complete a certain word count rather than setting aside a set amount of time. Nothing like imposing a deadline to force me to take my goal seriously.

• Despite the fact that I type more when I feel pressured for a word count, I write better when I stop worrying about how much words I need to accumulate. My syntax feels less choppy and I become more descriptive when I take my time. Which is good to know because the ultimate goal is to be able to improve my craft, after all. 

Hopefully this doesn't mean that I'm screwed. I have to find a way where I can compete against myself, but at the same time, not sacrifice the quality of my work.

But knowing all this now, part of me wants to create an April Writing Exercise. Round 2 of trying to write regularly. Kinda create my own version of Camp NaNoWriMo (which actually takes place during the month of April). Maybe I should set a rather low word count and just write every other day so I don’t burn out?

Part of me also wants to attempt a second draft of the main story that I worked on in NaNo ’16. But then my project from last July is also tugging on me as well.

Basically, I don’t know what stories I’m going to focus on in the near future. But, hey, I don’t know what I’m doing with my own life, so why would this be any different? (It all works out in the end, right? Please tell me that it does.)



P.S. On Monday, I finished reading THE THOUSANDTH FLOOR by Katharine McGee. Guys, I highly recommend this book. It’s set a hundred years in the future, but it’s not a dystopian, and the world-building was fascinating. I typically don’t like drama/high society novels, but the interconnectedness of the characters and the world itself drew me in. I’m so happy to learn that it’s the first in a trilogy (the cover of its sequel was just released the other day).

Also, the book cover is extremely pretty. So there’s that, too.

Go Check Out My Guest Post: Part 2

Today is another very short blog post day. And as you can gather from the title, I have another guest post! Like last time, I wrote a little something for the Oakland Arts Review (OAR). In case you forgot, OAR is Oakland University’s international undergraduate literary magazine. I became involved with their team back in the autumn and, despite being a graduate now, I’m still giving them a hand with various tasks.

This time, I wrote about how to write without getting distracted. Because let’s face it. Sometimes you will find anything to do except to actually write. (My tips could also apply to homework in general or just trying to get stuff done on the computer.) You can find my post HERE.

Shameless plug: If you’re an undergrad and also a writer of fiction/non-fiction/poetry/comics, we would love to receive a submission from you. It’s totally free and it’s a great experience to get your work out there. And who knows? I might be one of the people reading your work. ;)

But in the meantime…head over to the OAR blog and read my post there. And then, if you feel inclined to do so, read some blog entries from my former classmates as well. They have great things to say, too.

Comic Books (specifically, The Kamandi Challenge)

This might come as a shock to some people, but comic books are not foreign to me. I blame my dad. He read them while he was growing up as a kid, faded away from reading them once he grew older, and then picked them back up again once I was born (and he has been buying them regularly ever since).

Therefore, I have all sorts of memories about comic books in general. When I was in elementary school, my dad would buy me and my sister red Swedish fish candy in a small brown bag that the store would sell next to the register. (It was super cheap and what kid doesn’t like candy? I used to look forward to these trips just for these sweets.) I’ve been recruited countless of times to assist my dad in stuffing the comics into their protective plastic covering. For the past few years, I’ve also been roped into categorizing all the comics into their particular series so that they can be grouped together in their cardboard boxes. (It’s like my family knows I like to organize things…)

Do I actually read any of these comics, you ask?

Well, I’ve occasionally picked up one or two here and there. Usually, it was just a thing my dad and brother did. It really wasn’t until fall 2015 when I started reading The Walking Dead series. And, yes, I have read all 164 issues. I look forward to the first Wednesday of every month in order to get my greedy hands on the next installment.

But last month, my dad recommended a particular series that just came out. And if you already read the title of this post, it’s called The Kamandi Challenge.

The story itself is intriguing: it follows the last man on Earth (Kamandi) and his journey during a post-apocalyptic world where animals are humanoid and in charge.

But what made me pick it up is the challenge of the actual series. Basically, there are 12-14 teams of artists and writers. Each month, one team creates the issue and builds off of the cliffhanger from the last team. Then, in the editorial letter in the back, the previous writer will explain how they would have gone about moving the plot forward and removing Kamandi from harm’s way after the cliffhanger. The challenge is being done in honor of the legendary comic, Jack Kirby, to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday this year.

For me, it’s super fun to try and guess what kind of direction the next writer will send Kamandi into. My dad and I also discuss which ending we prefer (the actual one or the one the previous writer would have done). It’s also cool seeing the variety of artwork in each issue.

I think it’s a really neat writing exercise, working on one particular story and making your own spin on it for a segment of it. (It reminds me of my role-playing days back in junior high and high school, haha.)

So if you’re not a comic book reader, I think you should take a journey to the nearest comic book store at least once and browse the shelves. The world-building that these writers do for these books is mind-blowing at times.

The only down side to comics is that they’re so short, so as soon as you finish the issue, you’re ready for the next one. But instead, you have to wait another week (or month) for the next one. The agony! How dare you make me wait!

Struggles of My Writer's Itch

I’m going to be honest with you guys…

I haven’t written anything creatively (i.e.: stories) since NaNoWriMo ended in November.

I tend to always take December off, but by the end of January, I’m usually back to writing again. It’s now the middle of February and I’ve actually been in the mood to write for the past couple of weeks. However, I’ve found that I’m really good at making excuses for myself on why I shouldn’t write just yet.

For a while, I didn’t really have any story/plot calling to me. I even have a Word document of possible opening lines and it still did nothing for me. There was a time where I doubted myself and wondered if I’m not an imaginative person after all and I’ve just been lying to myself for years.

Last week, I finally managed to jot down a few ideas in a notebook. But I’ve reached the point where I believe these ideas aren’t good enough and I don’t want to explore them further. Which doesn’t make sense because no one would read these stories, so who cares if they’re good or not?

This is when I know it’s been too long since I last wrote something. I become fearful that, maybe in the past three months, I lost all my writing skills and I’ve now regressed to where I was three years ago.

Sigh. I put too much unnecessary pressure on myself.

But to go back to what I was saying about story ideas…

A few weeks ago, I thought about all of my major writing projects that I have worked on throughout the years. And I realized, generally speaking, I’m writing about the same thing over and over again. The central genre, the organizations within the stories, and even certain personality traits found within my protagonist. (Although, I’ve noticed that over the last two and a half years, my protagonists are beginning to evolve into anti-heroes. I don’t know what that says about me.)

I’ve been told that this is common among other writers/authors. Some people are okay with this about themselves; others, they’re bothered that they’ve boxed themselves in. For myself, I’m not sure what to think. The fact that I’m basically writing the same thing, time after time, must mean I’m still trying to work the idea out. Obviously something about it must still interest me. But on the other hand, I wonder how it’s challenging me as a writer if I’m not working on new ideas.

Blah.

So anyway, to sum my ramblings up, I’ve been itching to write but I don’t know what stories to work on. And I think too much.

But what else is new?

A Busy Month (Another Life Update)

January signals the beginning of the year. Sometimes, I like new beginnings. It’s nice to get a fresh start in your life once in a while; things become exciting and new. Adventure blooms before your very eyes. (Can you tell that I’m ready for spring already?)

But if you’re experiencing the start of something new, then it signals change. Sometimes change isn’t fun. It’s difficult and anxiety-inducing. Sometimes you’re forced into this new beginning, not feeling very prepared, but you have to do it anyway.

As you may remember, I graduated from college again last month. Once the new year started and everyone began to trickle back to their work/school obligations after the holidays, I only had to return to my internship. I quickly churned out my manuscript reading for them due to my increased free time and simply because I missed the act of it.

I have also agreed to help OAR (Oakland Arts Review) out for the semester. Despite the fact that the class ended and I graduated, I hate seeing projects unfinished. I wanted to see it through before bowing out. I originally told myself that I’d pitch in with the little tasks, like mailing the booklets out in March. However, once our first meeting of the semester concluded, I was dumbfounded at how I managed to pick up extra roles. Hello, more submission readings! (For the record, I’m not complaining about my additional tasks. I was just very surprised that I ended up with more work for myself than expected.)

And between all of that, I’ve also been stalking job search websites and applying to a couple of places. It’s tiring work, crafting cover letters and whatnot. But I’m determined to find something. (Oh, if I only lived in New York. Then I could apply to work in a literary agency office.)

But that’s not all! I have also been more involved in my church this month because, for most of last year, I had to take a step back due to school getting in the way. It’s nice meeting new people again (and this is coming from an introvert).

So basically, contrary to what some (real-life) people may think, I’ve actually been pretty busy lately. But I don’t mind being busy. I find that, if I spend a lot of time doing nothing, I get too content and end up being afraid to step outside of my comfort zone for a while.

I just hope I can carry this momentum into February.



Randomness: I managed to read an entire novel this month, too. THE POISONED BLADE by Kate Elliot, in case you were wondering. I’m also about a third into THREE DARK CROWNS by Kendare Blake. (It’s so good, from what I’ve read so far!)

Maybe I’m on track to read more than nineteen books this year? I’ve already read more than I did last year around this time, so that’s reassuring.

Super Quick Post! (aka: Go Check Out My Guest Post)

Happy 2017 everyone!

Just wanted to share with you the guest post I did for the Oakland Arts Review. You can find it HERE. I talk about ways on how to tackle your jealousy toward another writer’s work.

The Oakland Arts Review is an international undergraduate literary journal from Oakland University. (So, yes, now you know where I earned my second degree.) I had a great time working with my class last semester, trying to get the second edition of the journal off the ground. I can’t wait to see the final product this spring.

If you’re an aspiring writer and also an undergrad, we would love to receive a submission from you! (It’s free, after all!) Unfortunately, I won’t read anymore entries due to the fact that I’m a graduate, but it’s a great experience as a writer to get your work out there. The act of sending your stories/poems/essays teaches you how to write cover letters, along with dealing with rejection (which is inevitable in the writing world). Plus, if your work is accepted, it’s a nice thing to include on your resume.

So hop over to read my guest post on the OAR blog. And if you have the time, read some of my classmates’ blog posts as well. They’re a talented group of people, discussing a variety of topics involving writing and books. I hope you learn something new.



P.S. Happy Martin Luther King, Jr Day! For those of you who had school or work cancelled today, I hope you enjoyed your day off and made the world a little brighter.