Whew! I just worked through a particularly rough spot. After I got into it, I really wasn't sure how to make it work, but I made myself sit down and do it. And now I think it's FANTASTIC. (Can you tell how excited I am?)
So from 61 to 69 is basically all new. That's a lot of work. I'm up to 66.5, too.
And I couldn't have done it without the "PRAISE ME"s I got from you and Westxgirl. She even said she can't wait to read it. Well, do you think I'm about to turn down a new set of eyes, and potential "PRAISE ME"? Hell no.
So's I got's to finish it.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Kee and I were talking on the phone, and of course the topic turned to writing, as it almost always eventually does. *g* Anyhoo, we were talking about writing characters who are outside our personal experience. Of course it must be possible, or we wouldn’t have half the literature we do. But I think the question boils down to whether it is possible to write a *believable* character outside our personal experience.
This question has been poking me in the brain since our phone conversation, now quite some time ago, so while Hannah is off at a play date and before I have to put the last touches on proofreading job #4, I thought maybe I would try to work on it.
On the one hand, there’s the piece of advice “Write what you know.” But I think writers can use this advice to limit themselves: “Oh! I’ve never done X, Y, or Z, so I can’t write about them.” I’ve never been a dwarf or a dragon, but that’s never stopped me from writing about them. *hee!* How many statuesque, naturally perfectly blond/red-headed/auburn, perfect-skinned women do you personally know, yet how many show up in romance novels? Do you think every romance writer looks like that? I find that doubtful, or they’d all be underwear models.
BUT, if I were going to write about a specific job—like a policeman or a nurse, I sure would do my homework first. Those kinds of details you get right or wrong, and policemen and nurses (and others) reading my work would certainly notice any glaring errors. I can imagine myself as a beautiful blonde, and I don’t need any special knowledge to do it, but if I try to imagine myself as a beautiful blonde nurse, it’s a whole different story. So that’s one kind of “writing what you don’t know”.
What about writing about someone from a different culture—gangbangers or Japanese or what have you? Even within a “culture” there is no one single way for members to behave. But if you portray someone as being a non-typical member of the society, I think you have to point that out. And you can only do that by knowing about the culture they don’t “match” with, if that makes sense. I have never been in a gang, so I would feel weird writing about someone who was, but if I felt it was really necessary to one of my stories, I would figure out a way to do it: watch movies about gangs or read about them in books or newspaper articles, something.
I think where you start having problems is when you try to get around the problem by writing stereotypes. A stereotype is a very flat kind of representation of a person; I know that I want to write real people, so I have to always be careful not to use the “shorthand” of stereotype, unless I want to subvert it (which is my favorite writing game). Don’t tell me someone is “trailer trash”. I know lots of lovely people (including my mother!) who live in trailers; look beyond that to what makes that person tick. If your character is tacky and a total beeyotch, have her do some bitchy stuff where we (the readers) can see it and make up our own minds. Of course the author is steering the reader to think a certain way, but let the character speak for herself. And if she happens to be like Britney Spears without all the money and with more of an attitude problem, then so be it.
Ok, now I am getting into bossy mode. Sorry about that.
While I was doing the dishes, another thought occurred to me on this topic. I think it can be hard for writers to *allow* themselves to write about stuff outside their own personal experience. This kind of goes back to the “Write what you know” thing, but I think it is also painful in a way to stretch yourself like that. Maybe it would be uncomfortable for me to put myself in the place of a rapist murderer (1) long enough to write about one, but each person has to decide for himself or herself. Ok, maybe that is an extreme example, but still, it is going to be hard to write about a person who is unlike yourself if you are not willing or able to pretend to not be yourself. If that makes sense. It’s kind of nice to imagine yourself as attractive and admirable, but maybe not so nice to imagine yourself as Hannibal Lector. Obviously you are *not* Hannibal Lector any more than you *are* Naomi Campbell just by writing about one of them, but you do have to be able to relate to them, get inside their heads in some way to be able to write them convincingly, I think.
An example: I read Annie Proulx’s The Shipping News in college, and I just could not get into it. The main character wasn’t abhorrent, but I never connected with him. He didn’t seem able to have strong emotions at all, and I couldn’t *imagine* him in a way that I found satisfactory. (I seem to have lost my copy, so I haven’t been able to go back and see if he affects me differently these days.) I don’t think I would ever try to write a character like him; there has to be something in it for me, too, as the writer.
I know that I often suffer from “staircase wit”, where I think of a witty retort on the way to the car. But don’t think I don’t like to imagine myself as the person who gets in the witty retort as a parting shot. The thing about fiction is that characters aren’t *exactly* like real people; if they were, we wouldn’t need them, we’d just go back to people-watching in the park or at the mall. In most fiction (especially commercial fiction, I will go out on a limb and say), the characters have to have a little more going for them than the average person on the street--they manage to get in the parting shot--or they have to find themselves into a situation that is more dramatic than real life. No one buys a “memoir” about someone who gets married, holds a job, has kids, retires, builds birdhouses, and dies; look at that section of the bookstore: “My Life with no Legs”, “How I Pulled Myself out of the Gutter”, “The Prison Years” (all made up by me, except there was a book by a paraplegic that I saw in a bookstore in Sweden). My point is, readers don’t want “normal” characters, they want characters who are “normal-plus.” So we writers have to imagine those kinds of characters, even though we aren’t those kinds of people.
(1) I had this horrible dream in college where I was some kind of monster—raping and murdering—and I was going to write a story about it, but it was too upsetting for me, and once I got past the point of getting upset thinking about it, I couldn’t call up how it felt to be stuck in the dream anymore, and I wasn’t willing to push it. Without that feeling, the story would have been lifeless, so it never got written. Now I can’t remember all the details that made it so vivid the first time.
This question has been poking me in the brain since our phone conversation, now quite some time ago, so while Hannah is off at a play date and before I have to put the last touches on proofreading job #4, I thought maybe I would try to work on it.
On the one hand, there’s the piece of advice “Write what you know.” But I think writers can use this advice to limit themselves: “Oh! I’ve never done X, Y, or Z, so I can’t write about them.” I’ve never been a dwarf or a dragon, but that’s never stopped me from writing about them. *hee!* How many statuesque, naturally perfectly blond/red-headed/auburn, perfect-skinned women do you personally know, yet how many show up in romance novels? Do you think every romance writer looks like that? I find that doubtful, or they’d all be underwear models.
BUT, if I were going to write about a specific job—like a policeman or a nurse, I sure would do my homework first. Those kinds of details you get right or wrong, and policemen and nurses (and others) reading my work would certainly notice any glaring errors. I can imagine myself as a beautiful blonde, and I don’t need any special knowledge to do it, but if I try to imagine myself as a beautiful blonde nurse, it’s a whole different story. So that’s one kind of “writing what you don’t know”.
What about writing about someone from a different culture—gangbangers or Japanese or what have you? Even within a “culture” there is no one single way for members to behave. But if you portray someone as being a non-typical member of the society, I think you have to point that out. And you can only do that by knowing about the culture they don’t “match” with, if that makes sense. I have never been in a gang, so I would feel weird writing about someone who was, but if I felt it was really necessary to one of my stories, I would figure out a way to do it: watch movies about gangs or read about them in books or newspaper articles, something.
I think where you start having problems is when you try to get around the problem by writing stereotypes. A stereotype is a very flat kind of representation of a person; I know that I want to write real people, so I have to always be careful not to use the “shorthand” of stereotype, unless I want to subvert it (which is my favorite writing game). Don’t tell me someone is “trailer trash”. I know lots of lovely people (including my mother!) who live in trailers; look beyond that to what makes that person tick. If your character is tacky and a total beeyotch, have her do some bitchy stuff where we (the readers) can see it and make up our own minds. Of course the author is steering the reader to think a certain way, but let the character speak for herself. And if she happens to be like Britney Spears without all the money and with more of an attitude problem, then so be it.
Ok, now I am getting into bossy mode. Sorry about that.
While I was doing the dishes, another thought occurred to me on this topic. I think it can be hard for writers to *allow* themselves to write about stuff outside their own personal experience. This kind of goes back to the “Write what you know” thing, but I think it is also painful in a way to stretch yourself like that. Maybe it would be uncomfortable for me to put myself in the place of a rapist murderer (1) long enough to write about one, but each person has to decide for himself or herself. Ok, maybe that is an extreme example, but still, it is going to be hard to write about a person who is unlike yourself if you are not willing or able to pretend to not be yourself. If that makes sense. It’s kind of nice to imagine yourself as attractive and admirable, but maybe not so nice to imagine yourself as Hannibal Lector. Obviously you are *not* Hannibal Lector any more than you *are* Naomi Campbell just by writing about one of them, but you do have to be able to relate to them, get inside their heads in some way to be able to write them convincingly, I think.
An example: I read Annie Proulx’s The Shipping News in college, and I just could not get into it. The main character wasn’t abhorrent, but I never connected with him. He didn’t seem able to have strong emotions at all, and I couldn’t *imagine* him in a way that I found satisfactory. (I seem to have lost my copy, so I haven’t been able to go back and see if he affects me differently these days.) I don’t think I would ever try to write a character like him; there has to be something in it for me, too, as the writer.
I know that I often suffer from “staircase wit”, where I think of a witty retort on the way to the car. But don’t think I don’t like to imagine myself as the person who gets in the witty retort as a parting shot. The thing about fiction is that characters aren’t *exactly* like real people; if they were, we wouldn’t need them, we’d just go back to people-watching in the park or at the mall. In most fiction (especially commercial fiction, I will go out on a limb and say), the characters have to have a little more going for them than the average person on the street--they manage to get in the parting shot--or they have to find themselves into a situation that is more dramatic than real life. No one buys a “memoir” about someone who gets married, holds a job, has kids, retires, builds birdhouses, and dies; look at that section of the bookstore: “My Life with no Legs”, “How I Pulled Myself out of the Gutter”, “The Prison Years” (all made up by me, except there was a book by a paraplegic that I saw in a bookstore in Sweden). My point is, readers don’t want “normal” characters, they want characters who are “normal-plus.” So we writers have to imagine those kinds of characters, even though we aren’t those kinds of people.
(1) I had this horrible dream in college where I was some kind of monster—raping and murdering—and I was going to write a story about it, but it was too upsetting for me, and once I got past the point of getting upset thinking about it, I couldn’t call up how it felt to be stuck in the dream anymore, and I wasn’t willing to push it. Without that feeling, the story would have been lifeless, so it never got written. Now I can’t remember all the details that made it so vivid the first time.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Okay, remember how I have been feeling so good that I am working on RANSOM everyday. Well, I looked over the notes of how far I get each day. In 14 days I have only gotten to page 61.
Ugh......
In my brain, I know it's progress (61 pages I didn't have re-worked 14 days ago, yadda, yadda, yadda). But it's also screaming...61 PAGES..IS THAT ALL YOU CAN GIVE ME, DIRTBAG? (It's kinda in a hardass, drill sergeant voice.)
Granted, there has been a lot of new stuff added (I'm up to 65.5 k words) and a lot of stuff taken out. So...lots of work. But here's the thing. The beginning is the part that has had the most work already. And now it's taken 14 days just to read 61 pages into it. How long's it gonna take to work through the rest that hasn't had near as much work?
I shudder to think.
Can you tell I could use some "PRAISE ME"?
Ugh......
In my brain, I know it's progress (61 pages I didn't have re-worked 14 days ago, yadda, yadda, yadda). But it's also screaming...61 PAGES..IS THAT ALL YOU CAN GIVE ME, DIRTBAG? (It's kinda in a hardass, drill sergeant voice.)
Granted, there has been a lot of new stuff added (I'm up to 65.5 k words) and a lot of stuff taken out. So...lots of work. But here's the thing. The beginning is the part that has had the most work already. And now it's taken 14 days just to read 61 pages into it. How long's it gonna take to work through the rest that hasn't had near as much work?
I shudder to think.
Can you tell I could use some "PRAISE ME"?
Friday, May 25, 2007
I'm at it.
Read, read, read. Write, write, write.
Everyday.
Even if it's just a teensy weensy two pages of reading. I tell myself that it's two more pages than the day before. It seems to be working. Because there was one day after I started my disciplined schedule that I skipped. I know, horror of all horrors. But actually it kinda was. There was sooooo much guilt involved. Then I worked extra hard the next couple of days just to make up for it. That's when it hit me that even just a little was better than nothing at all.
I think all the outside reading I have done since really picked up Ransom the last editing go-round has helped. It's not so much pulling teeth and hashing it out over every sentence. I think it might actually be starting to come a little easier. (Knock on as much wood as you can find.) But I think I read somewhere that it takes a person a million or so words before he's any good at writing-like 4 or 5 books worth.
Well I think I have probably put in that me in Ransom alone. It is definitely not the story it started out to be, but it is more saleable. And really isn't that why I am doing this in the first place. Not the money part, so much as the selling it part. I am writing to get something published. For the world to stand up and shout, 'You Rock!'
Could happen.
But not if I spend all night posting this.
Read, read, read. Write, write, write.
Everyday.
Even if it's just a teensy weensy two pages of reading. I tell myself that it's two more pages than the day before. It seems to be working. Because there was one day after I started my disciplined schedule that I skipped. I know, horror of all horrors. But actually it kinda was. There was sooooo much guilt involved. Then I worked extra hard the next couple of days just to make up for it. That's when it hit me that even just a little was better than nothing at all.
I think all the outside reading I have done since really picked up Ransom the last editing go-round has helped. It's not so much pulling teeth and hashing it out over every sentence. I think it might actually be starting to come a little easier. (Knock on as much wood as you can find.) But I think I read somewhere that it takes a person a million or so words before he's any good at writing-like 4 or 5 books worth.
Well I think I have probably put in that me in Ransom alone. It is definitely not the story it started out to be, but it is more saleable. And really isn't that why I am doing this in the first place. Not the money part, so much as the selling it part. I am writing to get something published. For the world to stand up and shout, 'You Rock!'
Could happen.
But not if I spend all night posting this.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
So I finished 2 of 3 proofreading jobs, for about 13-1/2 hours of work. I started on #3 today and am almost halfway through. I'll still have to go back and address some stuff I marked for looking up, but it is going much more quickly.
Then I have a proofreading/editing job for a different professor. I don't know how long that will take, but it is kind of long (at first glance), so we'll see.
I wrote about 2 paragraphs on my Godred story. *insert world's tiniest "woo!" here* I don't know what to think about writing at the moment, so I will pretend it doesn't exist unless whacked over the head with it, at least until my proofing jobs are done.
Then I have a proofreading/editing job for a different professor. I don't know how long that will take, but it is kind of long (at first glance), so we'll see.
I wrote about 2 paragraphs on my Godred story. *insert world's tiniest "woo!" here* I don't know what to think about writing at the moment, so I will pretend it doesn't exist unless whacked over the head with it, at least until my proofing jobs are done.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Well, I think I am motivated.
Remember, how I told you I got ahead of myself and sent the query before I was done polishing. It's gonna be a close call as to if I can finish before my self-imposed 10 day deadline. (I have queried this agent before. She was the very first one actually. And her rejection came 10 days from the date I sent it.) Maybe this time I won't get a reject. And if I don't, I don't want her to have to wait on a partial because I wasn't ready.
So....I have been working everyday on my stuff. The first few days were kinda slow with lots of revisions. But now I seem to be moving along a little faster. The kids have the day off tomorrow so I plan on getting a lot done then.
I was really, really motivated after finishing a book this afternoon that I picked up on my lunch break. It was from a BIG name, contemp romance writer. I have been reading a little by each publisher to see what each one is putting out there. Well, this one was AWFUL. I actually cried after I finished it because it was so bad and still got published.
Then I got up and knocked out 14 pages in editing/rewrite.
The power of motivation. And so on I go.
Remember, how I told you I got ahead of myself and sent the query before I was done polishing. It's gonna be a close call as to if I can finish before my self-imposed 10 day deadline. (I have queried this agent before. She was the very first one actually. And her rejection came 10 days from the date I sent it.) Maybe this time I won't get a reject. And if I don't, I don't want her to have to wait on a partial because I wasn't ready.
So....I have been working everyday on my stuff. The first few days were kinda slow with lots of revisions. But now I seem to be moving along a little faster. The kids have the day off tomorrow so I plan on getting a lot done then.
I was really, really motivated after finishing a book this afternoon that I picked up on my lunch break. It was from a BIG name, contemp romance writer. I have been reading a little by each publisher to see what each one is putting out there. Well, this one was AWFUL. I actually cried after I finished it because it was so bad and still got published.
Then I got up and knocked out 14 pages in editing/rewrite.
The power of motivation. And so on I go.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
I've finished the first proofreading job except for a couple of fact-checking bits, so I have spent today hanging out with Hannah (it's Christ Ascension, so she is out of school). My Cinderella story is knocking on my brain, so maybe I will work on it after dinner.
I love a feeling of accomplishment!
I love a feeling of accomplishment!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Now that my paper is dead and gone(1), I have other writerly things to take up my time. I am halfway through my first proofreading gig for the English department and should have 2 more articles coming through on Friday. I have a volunteer proofreading gig on the back burner but will probably get to it this week. And some of my stories have been poking me in the brain, so it's time to get back to them.
(1)This makes me think of the news reporter in the South Park Movie: "It's been six weeks since Saddam Hussein was killed by a pack of wild boars and the world is still glad to be rid of him."
(1)This makes me think of the news reporter in the South Park Movie: "It's been six weeks since Saddam Hussein was killed by a pack of wild boars and the world is still glad to be rid of him."
Monday, May 14, 2007
Ding dong! The paper’s dead! Woot!
Yes, I finished my paper, and my professor agreed to take it, so I’m golden. I’m actually moderately proud of my paper, if I don’t look too closely at the conclusion, which was a bit rushed and not as elegant as I’d hoped it’d be, but since when have conclusions been my forte? At this point, I’ll be glad just to pass.
I keep going back and forth on how I should feel about my accomplishment. On the one hand, my paper was *6 weeks late.* On the other hand, only 11 people even tried to get a grade in the course, out of at least 40 warm bodies that attended class. But I don’t just want to be one of the few students who toughed it out. I want to be the shiny-gold-star student. So with that in mind, I’m starting my paper for the course I’m currently taking next week. (No shit—I already have a possible topic and will be at my prof’s office hour next week to discuss it.)
So what was the total damage on my paper?
= 29 pages handed in
What did I clear off my desk in the sunroom afterwards?
= 414 sheets of paper juggled by yours truly over the life of the paper
This is what *just the notes/handwritten content* looks like in shredded form.
And now I am going to watch Muppets with Hannah with a clear conscience!
Yes, I finished my paper, and my professor agreed to take it, so I’m golden. I’m actually moderately proud of my paper, if I don’t look too closely at the conclusion, which was a bit rushed and not as elegant as I’d hoped it’d be, but since when have conclusions been my forte? At this point, I’ll be glad just to pass.
I keep going back and forth on how I should feel about my accomplishment. On the one hand, my paper was *6 weeks late.* On the other hand, only 11 people even tried to get a grade in the course, out of at least 40 warm bodies that attended class. But I don’t just want to be one of the few students who toughed it out. I want to be the shiny-gold-star student. So with that in mind, I’m starting my paper for the course I’m currently taking next week. (No shit—I already have a possible topic and will be at my prof’s office hour next week to discuss it.)
So what was the total damage on my paper?
- 23 + pages
- cover page
- an anti-plagiarism statement
- an index
- 2 pages of bibliography
= 29 pages handed in
What did I clear off my desk in the sunroom afterwards?
- 6 reference works
- 21 copied articles (7 of which I didn’t end up using in my paper), for a total of 226 sheets of paper, most of which were 2 book pages per sheet, so 294 book pages
- 27 pages copied from reference works I didn’t want to lug home from the library
- 35 pages of my paper’s contents, printed out and marked up
- 126 pages of notes and handwritten content, plus a small pile of pages off the phone pad, a couple of envelopes, strips off a sheet of paper, and even 1 page from a Sudoku game
= 414 sheets of paper juggled by yours truly over the life of the paper
This is what *just the notes/handwritten content* looks like in shredded form.
And now I am going to watch Muppets with Hannah with a clear conscience!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
I woke up to waffles and flowers for Mother's Day, but then dutifully sat down to type up the 6-1/3 pages I had written out yesterday. I'm now at the top of the 19th page, and still have plenty to add.
I went to bed late (for me), read a little, then couldn't fall asleep. Just as I was dozing off, Hannah came upstairs with a tummy ache, so I scooted over to let her in the bed, and the rest of my night's sleep was not the best I've ever had. So I may be moving *very slowly* today. I hope extra coffee will help, because I really need to have this paper done by noon tomorrow (my prof's next office hour), or I will go MAD.
I went to bed late (for me), read a little, then couldn't fall asleep. Just as I was dozing off, Hannah came upstairs with a tummy ache, so I scooted over to let her in the bed, and the rest of my night's sleep was not the best I've ever had. So I may be moving *very slowly* today. I hope extra coffee will help, because I really need to have this paper done by noon tomorrow (my prof's next office hour), or I will go MAD.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
I had to take a break to eat--is that ok with you, KEE?--and say hello to Hannah, who has been gone with her friend all afternoon, so now I am posting an update before I go back up to my "office" in the sunroom.
I have most of 5 handwritten pages.
Have I mentioned that I am writing this paper in German? Could you write 5 pages of German in one day? I thought so. :-p
I have most of 5 handwritten pages.
Have I mentioned that I am writing this paper in German? Could you write 5 pages of German in one day? I thought so. :-p
Friday, May 11, 2007
I am *so* running out of steam on this paper. And I feel like I am coming down with something (in my throat).
To report for today:
Corrections and a few new words. I'm now on the top of page 17.
I must whip my notes into 1 sub-section, 1 full section, and a discussion/conclusion section, then I am done.
*sigh*
To report for today:
Corrections and a few new words. I'm now on the top of page 17.
I must whip my notes into 1 sub-section, 1 full section, and a discussion/conclusion section, then I am done.
*sigh*
Thursday, May 10, 2007
She wants an update...so's I'll give her an update.
I have been tossing around a query letter for Ransom. It kinda came to me and I am going with it. I am actually (eek!) going to send it out before I think Ransom is perfect. Otherwise I might be old and gray and living with my seester before I get anymore done on it.
Oh, and I don't think I'd survive it if my friend (who has read my goods and announced today that she is writing a book..I don't think romance) gets published before me. She is just the kind of go-getter to get it done, too. Woe to me to be a slacker.
So you write said paper and I will come home tonight and write said query.
Right now I have to return to the land of the employed.
I have been tossing around a query letter for Ransom. It kinda came to me and I am going with it. I am actually (eek!) going to send it out before I think Ransom is perfect. Otherwise I might be old and gray and living with my seester before I get anymore done on it.
Oh, and I don't think I'd survive it if my friend (who has read my goods and announced today that she is writing a book..I don't think romance) gets published before me. She is just the kind of go-getter to get it done, too. Woe to me to be a slacker.
So you write said paper and I will come home tonight and write said query.
Right now I have to return to the land of the employed.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Ok... so maybe I was a little premature with all that gung-ho stuff yesterday. I'm still plodding along, but it seems like the more I work, the more I find that I still need to stuff in there. The goal is 20 pages, and I'll be lucky if I can keep it within that.
I toted the whole thing along with me to Hannah's ballet class this evening, but the sight of the inch-thick stack of articles and notes (that's not even including the inch-plus stack of finished stuff at home) made the gorge rise in my throat. Trying to sit on a narrow bench and shuffle through 50 pages of notes to find my place is not really conducive to work, but I'll be getting back to it, tea in hand, in just a minute.
*sigh*
I toted the whole thing along with me to Hannah's ballet class this evening, but the sight of the inch-thick stack of articles and notes (that's not even including the inch-plus stack of finished stuff at home) made the gorge rise in my throat. Trying to sit on a narrow bench and shuffle through 50 pages of notes to find my place is not really conducive to work, but I'll be getting back to it, tea in hand, in just a minute.
*sigh*
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
A quick paper update:
I just typed up 4 handwritten pages and am now at the top of page 15. I have been scared to set myself a deadline, because of how slowly I have been working, but I am now aiming at being done by Thursday pm. My professor has office hours starting at 5:30, and I plan to be there with paper in hand to take my scourging for tardiness like a man. So to speak.
Wish me luck!
I just typed up 4 handwritten pages and am now at the top of page 15. I have been scared to set myself a deadline, because of how slowly I have been working, but I am now aiming at being done by Thursday pm. My professor has office hours starting at 5:30, and I plan to be there with paper in hand to take my scourging for tardiness like a man. So to speak.
Wish me luck!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Friday, May 04, 2007
Just a quick update on the paper.
I worked on it off and on over the course of the whole day (it's after 8 pm as I write this), revising what I have so far. I got through 7 typed pages out of 10 and managed to add a whole page just from fleshing out the content of those 7 pages. Yay me!
I am pooped now, so maybe I will read while Hannah plays on the computer.
Ps. Thanks, Kee, for your encouraging note. It has helped me to stay on track today.
I worked on it off and on over the course of the whole day (it's after 8 pm as I write this), revising what I have so far. I got through 7 typed pages out of 10 and managed to add a whole page just from fleshing out the content of those 7 pages. Yay me!
I am pooped now, so maybe I will read while Hannah plays on the computer.
Ps. Thanks, Kee, for your encouraging note. It has helped me to stay on track today.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Here it is May, and I haven't finished my paper that was due the last day of March. I am pretty sure my professor will still take it (I hope), but I feel like a total jackass for letting it drag on this long. At one point, I had like 8 pages, typed, but I was still feeling out the organization of the thing, and I ended up chopping out large chunks and trashing them. I am sure John will be horrifed by such a confession, but I did it. Now I am up to 10 complete pages that I am currently proofreading, but I need to add two sections and a conclusion. I am *bad* at the conclusion part, usually because I feel like I have laid out all my evidence in the paper, and the conclusion should be self-evident, but this is not always the case. Also, professors like you to spell it out for them, in detail.
They say confession is good for the soul; I am hoping it is also good for making me force myself to finish the goddamned thing, because I am getting sick of thinking about it. Maybe if I continue to post my shame here... I'll think on that.
They say confession is good for the soul; I am hoping it is also good for making me force myself to finish the goddamned thing, because I am getting sick of thinking about it. Maybe if I continue to post my shame here... I'll think on that.
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