Reposted from June 12 2009.
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a genre-whore ;)
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
Showing posts with label decisions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decisions. Show all posts
30 December 2009
12 June 2009
Writing Across Genres
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a genre-whore ;)
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
11 May 2009
Story Elements #6: Narrators and Tense
Stories are told, right? Seems like a pretty basic claim. However, in writing, it's a claim that's often fraught with difficulties:
Who's telling the story? Why? And how?
From various sources, collated on Dictionary.com, we get the following definitions:
Narrator:
One who narrates; one who relates a series of events or transactions.
A person who tells a story; in literature, the voice that an author takes on to tell a story.
To narrate is:
These are all things you need to consider when you're deciding who's going to tell your story. Will the narrator be seen or unseen? Reliable or unreliable? Are you telling it in first person or third, present tense or past?
The decision to tell a story is fraught with mines: step on one and you find that people have Really Definite opinions about stories should and shouldn't be told - and what's 'allowed', and what's not. Tell a story in present tense and you'll find a whole host of people ready and more-than-willing to expound to you about how present tense is 'unnatural' and 'difficult'. Tell a story in first person and then have the narrator die - and oh, shock! Oh, horror! People will be climbing over themselves to tell you how illogical your story is, how the narrator can't be narrating the story if they're dead, how they can't narrate events as they happen...
But here's the thing: All stories are equally illogical.
Because really, when you get down to it, unless you are absolutely 100% specific with your intent and audience, ANY story is implausible to tell. Unless you're going to frame your past tense narrative in terms of, for example, a journal, or a record for a specific purpose, then it's just as implausible, just as 'randomly floating out there'.
How does:
John sat at the piano, contemplating the neat rows of black and white, wishing his life was so ordered.
make any more logical sense in terms of 'being told' than:
John sits at the piano, contemplating the neat rows of black and white, wishing his life was so ordered.
?
Neither of them directs your attention to a specific audience, neither of them gives a 'reason' for the story being told, and neither of them, since they aren't in first person, has any trouble with the logicality of having the narrator narrate the events - the narrator can narrate them after the fact, or, since the narrator isn't actually the character and therefore isn't involved in the action, the narrator is perfectly capable of narrating the action as it happens.
Neither is better or worse, more logical or illogical, natural or unnatural. They are merely different tools, used for different purposes. And either can work well, if done well.
So next time you read a story, ask yourself - does the story actually address the question of who's telling the story and why? Most, I think you'll find don't. And really - does it even matter?
PS - The next poll is up in the sidebar. Please vote for your favourite sentence! (And yes, sorry, it's still black-on-black :S Just highlight the area in order to read the text. Think Top Secret Polls, remember? O:)) Results will be collated and announced after three polls.
Who's telling the story? Why? And how?
From various sources, collated on Dictionary.com, we get the following definitions:
Narrator:
One who narrates; one who relates a series of events or transactions.
A person who tells a story; in literature, the voice that an author takes on to tell a story.
To narrate is:
- To tell (a story, for example) in speech or writing or by means of images.
- To give an account of (events, for example).
| 1. | a category of verbal inflection that serves chiefly to specify the time of the action or state expressed by the verb. |
| 2. | a set of such categories or constructions in a particular language. |
| 3. | the time, as past, present, or future, expressed by such a category. |
| 4. | such categories or constructions, or their meanings collectively. |
These are all things you need to consider when you're deciding who's going to tell your story. Will the narrator be seen or unseen? Reliable or unreliable? Are you telling it in first person or third, present tense or past?
The decision to tell a story is fraught with mines: step on one and you find that people have Really Definite opinions about stories should and shouldn't be told - and what's 'allowed', and what's not. Tell a story in present tense and you'll find a whole host of people ready and more-than-willing to expound to you about how present tense is 'unnatural' and 'difficult'. Tell a story in first person and then have the narrator die - and oh, shock! Oh, horror! People will be climbing over themselves to tell you how illogical your story is, how the narrator can't be narrating the story if they're dead, how they can't narrate events as they happen...
But here's the thing: All stories are equally illogical.
Because really, when you get down to it, unless you are absolutely 100% specific with your intent and audience, ANY story is implausible to tell. Unless you're going to frame your past tense narrative in terms of, for example, a journal, or a record for a specific purpose, then it's just as implausible, just as 'randomly floating out there'.
How does:
John sat at the piano, contemplating the neat rows of black and white, wishing his life was so ordered.
make any more logical sense in terms of 'being told' than:
John sits at the piano, contemplating the neat rows of black and white, wishing his life was so ordered.
?
Neither of them directs your attention to a specific audience, neither of them gives a 'reason' for the story being told, and neither of them, since they aren't in first person, has any trouble with the logicality of having the narrator narrate the events - the narrator can narrate them after the fact, or, since the narrator isn't actually the character and therefore isn't involved in the action, the narrator is perfectly capable of narrating the action as it happens.
Neither is better or worse, more logical or illogical, natural or unnatural. They are merely different tools, used for different purposes. And either can work well, if done well.
So next time you read a story, ask yourself - does the story actually address the question of who's telling the story and why? Most, I think you'll find don't. And really - does it even matter?
PS - The next poll is up in the sidebar. Please vote for your favourite sentence! (And yes, sorry, it's still black-on-black :S Just highlight the area in order to read the text. Think Top Secret Polls, remember? O:)) Results will be collated and announced after three polls.
16 January 2009
When To Let Die, A Spoonful Of Soup, and Think Sideways
First up, the soup. What am I talking about? A mini version of Link-a-bet Soup, of course! :D
So, I and a few writerly friends are getting ready to query. Where do you go to research agents? Lots of places - but QueryTracker is a great start, and they even have a blog.
Of course, if you're querying you're going to need to know How To Write A Great Query (whee, don't we love free downloads?!).
Secondly, the Think Sideways course. Hopefully by now you're all aware that I've been taking Holly Lisle's How To Think Sideways course, a writing course with a difference. I love it, I adore it, I want to marry it... *ponders the implications of marrying an online course* Er, okay, strike the last one O:) But anyway, I love it. I have a few reviews up - yes, I need to do more - but basically, let me assure you, it's pretty jolly awesome.
The course is open full time for enrolments, so you can enrol anytime you like. Don't forget that I offer a 20% rebate on any subscriptions made through my links (conditions apply).
HOWEVER. As of February 27th, the course will CLOSE to Charter Member enrolments. Which means that to get any of the cool bonuses that charter members (rah, go us guinea pigs who test-drive the course!), you'll have to pay extra.
If you've even been thinking about maybe taking this course, let me encourage you to do so before Feb 27 - I'll let you know what the bonuses are when I get the all, but I can assure you that they're going to be worth it.
And remember, you can drop the course at any time, no questions asked, and receive a pro rata refund for any month for which you've already paid. So sign up, already! :D
Right. On to the meat of the postiness.
It's a question that's been playing in my mind this week, what with my recent discussion about what I learned from the partial novels I wrote in '08: how do you determine when to keep on at something, and when to let it die?
I've come to a few conclusions, though they're not by any means all-inclusive.
First of all, I need to explain something. Yes, this comes back to my favouritest circle of topics: meaning, themes - and your legacy.
Legacy? I hear you ask. What on earth is our legacy, and why should we be concerned with it?
Well, you might not be. That's fine. But we all know that I'm striving for work that's meaningful in some way - I want to write something that Matters. So I'm concerned with it, because I want to leave an impression - I want my writing to have a legacy. Even if you don't have any particular desire to change the world, it's still important to consider the work you're writing as part of your eventual body of work. Not convinced? Think of this:
Any book you write, at any point in your career, for any reason, will be, at some point, the first book of yours that someone picks up.
Do you really want someone's first impression of you to be based on a book you hate but wrote for the money, or something that's nothing like any of the rest of your work, or, or, or...?
Don't give the reader another reason to switch off to you; they have enough already.
So, why do you ditch a book? Either 1) because it's not something you're capable of writing at this point in time, due either to lack of ability, or lack of distance from the subject matter, or 2) because it's not something you want as part of your legacy.
Reasons as to why you might not want something in your legacy include:
* It's just not a genre you see yourself being happy to write in long term. This covers books 2 and 3 in my original post, and to some extent book 5.
* The story itself is okay - but for whatever reason, you can't stand to write about the main character any more. It's okay to hate the main character - hate is a force of attraction, after all - but if you have no respect for your character, if nothing about them interests or engages you, it might be time to ditch the story. That's number 4 in my list of false starts.
* There are so many problems with the plot it's just not worth fixing - many first novels suffer from this, and remember, 'plot problems' can be all sorts of things: gaps of logic, plot bunnies, cliches, 'devices', etc. On their own, these things can be tackled; only you can decide where the boundary is between 'wrecked, but salvageable' and 'utter garbage; too much work to fix', and a lot of it will hinge on how much you love the story in other ways. Book #1 in my list comes here: it's a mess, but the underlying premise is fun, and one day I'll fix it.
But what about those borderline cases? What do you do when you can't quite decide if it's worth it or not (a la me with the whole concept of short stories right now)? And what if you want to work on something completely different just for the fun of it?
Of course it's okay to muck around with stuff that you don't actually intend to be part of your 'legacy': writing different styles and genres pushes out the boundaries of our ability, and helps us to learn and grow. But bear in mind that there's a fine line between playing around for fun to increase your ability, and wasting time on things you never intend to be serious about.
Personally, I think that if you don't intend to get involved in the style you're experiementing with (or genre, or voice, or whatever) in a big way, then you should at least be keeping an eye on what you're learning from the experience. The question is, are you a) going to learn stuff that b) no other story could teach you and c) will be applicable to the stuff you actually intend to make a career out of?
If you're not going to learn anything from it, or if what you learn could be learned by doing something more directly related to your career, or if what you're learning isn't going to be applicable to anything else.... Well, we're all allowed to do things just for the hell of it. Just realise that if what you're doing doesn't fit any of those criteria (which are, let's face it, pretty broad), you're probably not doing something which can be classed as 'work', in terms of writing ;)
And that, dear readers, is my random thought of the day. I'll be away all next week, so you'll get automated posts, bwa ha %-) But watch out the week after where I'll be back to completely contradict myself and discuss the importance of having 'just for fun' projects :D
For now - have you ever thought about your 'legacy', and the fact that every book you write will be someone's first glimpse at you as a writer? Does this matter? Does it or should it influence how you decide which projects to let die? Why have you let projects die?
So, I and a few writerly friends are getting ready to query. Where do you go to research agents? Lots of places - but QueryTracker is a great start, and they even have a blog.
Of course, if you're querying you're going to need to know How To Write A Great Query (whee, don't we love free downloads?!).
Secondly, the Think Sideways course. Hopefully by now you're all aware that I've been taking Holly Lisle's How To Think Sideways course, a writing course with a difference. I love it, I adore it, I want to marry it... *ponders the implications of marrying an online course* Er, okay, strike the last one O:) But anyway, I love it. I have a few reviews up - yes, I need to do more - but basically, let me assure you, it's pretty jolly awesome.
The course is open full time for enrolments, so you can enrol anytime you like. Don't forget that I offer a 20% rebate on any subscriptions made through my links (conditions apply).
HOWEVER. As of February 27th, the course will CLOSE to Charter Member enrolments. Which means that to get any of the cool bonuses that charter members (rah, go us guinea pigs who test-drive the course!), you'll have to pay extra.
If you've even been thinking about maybe taking this course, let me encourage you to do so before Feb 27 - I'll let you know what the bonuses are when I get the all, but I can assure you that they're going to be worth it.
And remember, you can drop the course at any time, no questions asked, and receive a pro rata refund for any month for which you've already paid. So sign up, already! :D
Right. On to the meat of the postiness.
It's a question that's been playing in my mind this week, what with my recent discussion about what I learned from the partial novels I wrote in '08: how do you determine when to keep on at something, and when to let it die?
I've come to a few conclusions, though they're not by any means all-inclusive.
First of all, I need to explain something. Yes, this comes back to my favouritest circle of topics: meaning, themes - and your legacy.
Legacy? I hear you ask. What on earth is our legacy, and why should we be concerned with it?
Well, you might not be. That's fine. But we all know that I'm striving for work that's meaningful in some way - I want to write something that Matters. So I'm concerned with it, because I want to leave an impression - I want my writing to have a legacy. Even if you don't have any particular desire to change the world, it's still important to consider the work you're writing as part of your eventual body of work. Not convinced? Think of this:
Any book you write, at any point in your career, for any reason, will be, at some point, the first book of yours that someone picks up.
Do you really want someone's first impression of you to be based on a book you hate but wrote for the money, or something that's nothing like any of the rest of your work, or, or, or...?
Don't give the reader another reason to switch off to you; they have enough already.
So, why do you ditch a book? Either 1) because it's not something you're capable of writing at this point in time, due either to lack of ability, or lack of distance from the subject matter, or 2) because it's not something you want as part of your legacy.
Reasons as to why you might not want something in your legacy include:
* It's just not a genre you see yourself being happy to write in long term. This covers books 2 and 3 in my original post, and to some extent book 5.
* The story itself is okay - but for whatever reason, you can't stand to write about the main character any more. It's okay to hate the main character - hate is a force of attraction, after all - but if you have no respect for your character, if nothing about them interests or engages you, it might be time to ditch the story. That's number 4 in my list of false starts.
* There are so many problems with the plot it's just not worth fixing - many first novels suffer from this, and remember, 'plot problems' can be all sorts of things: gaps of logic, plot bunnies, cliches, 'devices', etc. On their own, these things can be tackled; only you can decide where the boundary is between 'wrecked, but salvageable' and 'utter garbage; too much work to fix', and a lot of it will hinge on how much you love the story in other ways. Book #1 in my list comes here: it's a mess, but the underlying premise is fun, and one day I'll fix it.
But what about those borderline cases? What do you do when you can't quite decide if it's worth it or not (a la me with the whole concept of short stories right now)? And what if you want to work on something completely different just for the fun of it?
Of course it's okay to muck around with stuff that you don't actually intend to be part of your 'legacy': writing different styles and genres pushes out the boundaries of our ability, and helps us to learn and grow. But bear in mind that there's a fine line between playing around for fun to increase your ability, and wasting time on things you never intend to be serious about.
Personally, I think that if you don't intend to get involved in the style you're experiementing with (or genre, or voice, or whatever) in a big way, then you should at least be keeping an eye on what you're learning from the experience. The question is, are you a) going to learn stuff that b) no other story could teach you and c) will be applicable to the stuff you actually intend to make a career out of?
If you're not going to learn anything from it, or if what you learn could be learned by doing something more directly related to your career, or if what you're learning isn't going to be applicable to anything else.... Well, we're all allowed to do things just for the hell of it. Just realise that if what you're doing doesn't fit any of those criteria (which are, let's face it, pretty broad), you're probably not doing something which can be classed as 'work', in terms of writing ;)
And that, dear readers, is my random thought of the day. I'll be away all next week, so you'll get automated posts, bwa ha %-) But watch out the week after where I'll be back to completely contradict myself and discuss the importance of having 'just for fun' projects :D
For now - have you ever thought about your 'legacy', and the fact that every book you write will be someone's first glimpse at you as a writer? Does this matter? Does it or should it influence how you decide which projects to let die? Why have you let projects die?
12 January 2009
InkfeverPLUS and Goals
First up, I'm playing with the back end of the site a lot in prep for a big change. Because of this, I've changed the url of the InkfeverPLUS site to http://inkfeverplus.blogspot.com - and because of this, all of the links on the InkfeverPLUS site are now broken.
I'm sorry about this in that it's a huge inconvenience to you all, but I'm not sorry in that it provides me the excuse I needed to do the site redesign I've been thinking about. So, from now until maybe the end of February, the InkfeverPLUS site will be down. I'll post again when it's back up again. Thanks for bearing with me :)
Now, on to goals...
Hmm. I haven't really had a chance to give this a lot of thought prior to right now. So I'm kinda making this up as I go along. I think, though, that I'm going to make them very simple; the year is going to be insane enough what with a new job, a new uni, a new course.... etc.
Right.
1) Finish Jesscapades. Edit. Polish.
2) Query Jesscapades to at least 5 agents. (Yes, I hope to do a ton more. But like I said - aiming simple: I already know 5 agents I wish to query.)
3) Roll out the new 'website' and get InkfeverPLUS up and running properly. This is not complex - just time consuming.
4) Blog regularly.
5) Start and finish Jesscapades' sequel.
6) READ. 50 books in the year would be good; I think I did about 35 last year. I'll settle for 40, though, if the year gets crazy on me O:)
7) Oh yeah, big one - finish 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, and get it out there for sale! :)
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it, I think. It doesn't look like a lot - but on the other hand, blogging regularly is pretty big for me, and the list does include finishing two novels, which is one more than I finished last year :D
I'd also like to increase my total word count again, and hit 200,000 words. If I finish both novels that will give me ~140,000 right there, so it should be doable...
Wish me luck! :D
--> What's your top goal for the year?
I'm sorry about this in that it's a huge inconvenience to you all, but I'm not sorry in that it provides me the excuse I needed to do the site redesign I've been thinking about. So, from now until maybe the end of February, the InkfeverPLUS site will be down. I'll post again when it's back up again. Thanks for bearing with me :)
Now, on to goals...
Hmm. I haven't really had a chance to give this a lot of thought prior to right now. So I'm kinda making this up as I go along. I think, though, that I'm going to make them very simple; the year is going to be insane enough what with a new job, a new uni, a new course.... etc.
Right.
1) Finish Jesscapades. Edit. Polish.
2) Query Jesscapades to at least 5 agents. (Yes, I hope to do a ton more. But like I said - aiming simple: I already know 5 agents I wish to query.)
3) Roll out the new 'website' and get InkfeverPLUS up and running properly. This is not complex - just time consuming.
4) Blog regularly.
5) Start and finish Jesscapades' sequel.
6) READ. 50 books in the year would be good; I think I did about 35 last year. I'll settle for 40, though, if the year gets crazy on me O:)
7) Oh yeah, big one - finish 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, and get it out there for sale! :)
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it, I think. It doesn't look like a lot - but on the other hand, blogging regularly is pretty big for me, and the list does include finishing two novels, which is one more than I finished last year :D
I'd also like to increase my total word count again, and hit 200,000 words. If I finish both novels that will give me ~140,000 right there, so it should be doable...
Wish me luck! :D
--> What's your top goal for the year?
08 January 2009
The Late 2008 - Shine in 2009
Like my cheesy title? *grin*
So, given it's what everyone else is doing*, I thought now would be a good time for my 2008 recap.
Raw stats first.
In 2008, I:
* wrote 161,207 words of fiction.
* finished a draft of TBAEO.
* did preliminary edits and replotting of TBAEO.
* worked on The Black Gates, then retired it at about chapter 5 - the plot Needs Work.
* started Logan. Wrote 10 chapters only to realise the story started at chapter 11. Put aside, as the MC was too boring.
* learned how to write short stories - hoorah! Total of 8 in various stages.
* edited my first 'proper' play. Wrote several others, including an 8 act one to be performed in a week's time.
* began The Project. Wrote half, outlined the rest, realised I hated the MC and put it aside.
* signed up to write a self-pubbed non-fic ebook, to be completed this month.
* began several MG novels for nano, none of which behaved, so they've been temporarily put aside.
* started Jesscapades, which I adore, and which at this point I'm planning to be my debut novel.
My main goals for the year were to make 10 submissions and have 3 complete manuscripts. Sadly, the year has been fraught with false starts, so I have only one :( As for submissions, I've done 12 :) So that's a success. Granted, a lot have been resubs, and I've had no bites yet though a couple of commendations and personalised rejections, but hey - I did more than 10 subs :) Rah!
Although on the one hand I feel like the year has been a bit of a failure - I haven't completed any novels that I'm happy with - on the other hand, my total word count is up by 60% on last year's count. And more importantly, I've learned a lot. Sure, I've had a lot of false starts - but I know why they were false starts, and each time, they've been for a different reason - which means I'm learning.
And now I've hit on a novel that I like, with a reasonably strong voice, a fun plot, a great MC... Mind you, I'm not halfway yet, so I'm hoping like mad that I like the book because it really is good (this is what the beta readers are saying) and not because I just haven't hit the wall yet (what my brain is saying).
So, this is what I've learned from each of my false starts this year:
1) TBAEO - not a false start, but something that DEFINITELY needs work before it can see the light of day. From this I learned perhaps my biggest lesson of the year - that I can finish a complete novel, and that I can dissect it and replot it to make it stronger.
2) The Black Gates - this is actually my first novel. I've been working on it off and on for years - and because of this, it's fraught with beginner mistakes - not least of which was a lack of original, interesting plot. I fixed that by introducing some great twists - but I'm yet to figure out how on earth it all goes together. It's not complex enough - but it's too complex. Gack.
3) Logan - heh. From this, I relearned the importance of having not only a strong MC, but one who has enough tension and internal conflict to drive the plot. Logan, the MC, was not strong enough to be a driving force - instead, he was someone who was driven, being forced and manipulated into making his decisions instead of reacting to the situation himself - and so he was boring. It was about now that I also realised that I didn't actually want to write traditional-style fantasy after all...
4) The Project. If TBAEO could be called an exercise in character development, then TP is its opposite: an exercise in plot. I set out to write this deliberately as a pot-boiler, simply to force myself to learn how to keep up the pace and tension, how to introduce stumbling blocks and small problems - in short, how to keep the middle from sagging. I succeeded pretty well, but unfortunately in doing so sacrificed character, and the MC turned into someone whom I didn't like, couldn't identify with, and just plain didn't want to write about.
5) The Edge and Gem series - I only made a tiny start on these at the beginning of Nano, but it reinforced for me the necessity of knowing your character's voice before writing the book.
6) Jesscapades. With luck, this one won't be a false start. So far (about 1/4 of the way in) it's got a great combination of character AND plot, and I'm excited to see just how much better this is than anything I've done before.
And that, my friends, was 2008. I know, I haven't talked about my goals for 2009 yet - but to be honest, I can't really get my head around the idea of new goals until this big camp (Jan 16-24) is over, and the dog book is written. I'll think about goals, and post them either in the final week of Jan, or in early Feb.
In the meantime - what's the biggest thing you learned in 2008?
* I was going to do it anyway. It just seemed like a good excuse O:)
So, given it's what everyone else is doing*, I thought now would be a good time for my 2008 recap.
Raw stats first.
In 2008, I:
* wrote 161,207 words of fiction.
* finished a draft of TBAEO.
* did preliminary edits and replotting of TBAEO.
* worked on The Black Gates, then retired it at about chapter 5 - the plot Needs Work.
* started Logan. Wrote 10 chapters only to realise the story started at chapter 11. Put aside, as the MC was too boring.
* learned how to write short stories - hoorah! Total of 8 in various stages.
* edited my first 'proper' play. Wrote several others, including an 8 act one to be performed in a week's time.
* began The Project. Wrote half, outlined the rest, realised I hated the MC and put it aside.
* signed up to write a self-pubbed non-fic ebook, to be completed this month.
* began several MG novels for nano, none of which behaved, so they've been temporarily put aside.
* started Jesscapades, which I adore, and which at this point I'm planning to be my debut novel.
My main goals for the year were to make 10 submissions and have 3 complete manuscripts. Sadly, the year has been fraught with false starts, so I have only one :( As for submissions, I've done 12 :) So that's a success. Granted, a lot have been resubs, and I've had no bites yet though a couple of commendations and personalised rejections, but hey - I did more than 10 subs :) Rah!
Although on the one hand I feel like the year has been a bit of a failure - I haven't completed any novels that I'm happy with - on the other hand, my total word count is up by 60% on last year's count. And more importantly, I've learned a lot. Sure, I've had a lot of false starts - but I know why they were false starts, and each time, they've been for a different reason - which means I'm learning.
And now I've hit on a novel that I like, with a reasonably strong voice, a fun plot, a great MC... Mind you, I'm not halfway yet, so I'm hoping like mad that I like the book because it really is good (this is what the beta readers are saying) and not because I just haven't hit the wall yet (what my brain is saying).
So, this is what I've learned from each of my false starts this year:
1) TBAEO - not a false start, but something that DEFINITELY needs work before it can see the light of day. From this I learned perhaps my biggest lesson of the year - that I can finish a complete novel, and that I can dissect it and replot it to make it stronger.
2) The Black Gates - this is actually my first novel. I've been working on it off and on for years - and because of this, it's fraught with beginner mistakes - not least of which was a lack of original, interesting plot. I fixed that by introducing some great twists - but I'm yet to figure out how on earth it all goes together. It's not complex enough - but it's too complex. Gack.
3) Logan - heh. From this, I relearned the importance of having not only a strong MC, but one who has enough tension and internal conflict to drive the plot. Logan, the MC, was not strong enough to be a driving force - instead, he was someone who was driven, being forced and manipulated into making his decisions instead of reacting to the situation himself - and so he was boring. It was about now that I also realised that I didn't actually want to write traditional-style fantasy after all...
4) The Project. If TBAEO could be called an exercise in character development, then TP is its opposite: an exercise in plot. I set out to write this deliberately as a pot-boiler, simply to force myself to learn how to keep up the pace and tension, how to introduce stumbling blocks and small problems - in short, how to keep the middle from sagging. I succeeded pretty well, but unfortunately in doing so sacrificed character, and the MC turned into someone whom I didn't like, couldn't identify with, and just plain didn't want to write about.
5) The Edge and Gem series - I only made a tiny start on these at the beginning of Nano, but it reinforced for me the necessity of knowing your character's voice before writing the book.
6) Jesscapades. With luck, this one won't be a false start. So far (about 1/4 of the way in) it's got a great combination of character AND plot, and I'm excited to see just how much better this is than anything I've done before.
And that, my friends, was 2008. I know, I haven't talked about my goals for 2009 yet - but to be honest, I can't really get my head around the idea of new goals until this big camp (Jan 16-24) is over, and the dog book is written. I'll think about goals, and post them either in the final week of Jan, or in early Feb.
In the meantime - what's the biggest thing you learned in 2008?
* I was going to do it anyway. It just seemed like a good excuse O:)
27 November 2008
Unwhelming: More on priorities
Right now, the mouse is my best friend.
Odd way to start a post, but nonetheless painfully true. Very painful. And consequentally, today's post will be brief.
I was talking to a friend yesterday and discovered that I (attempting to) follow 91 blogs. A few months ago I counted over 40 queues that I was a member of on CC. And we all know what my TBR pile looks like. Add to that the fact that we're mid-reno in preparation to sell our house, and everything else in my life right now, and it's no-jolly-wonder I've been feeling perpetually behind on EVERYthing.
[Right about now, I'm chickening out. You'll see what I mean at the end; but my sentences can now be longer again O:)]
But anyway, what I was saying. Given the round of blog posts last week on finding your priorities, etc, it all got me thinking. Why do I feel the need to (attempt to) follow so many blogs? Why so many queues? In short, why, in all areas of my life, am I over-committed?
And I think it's because, once again, of fear. Fear that I'll miss out on something worth having, something worth knowing, something worth reading and doing and seeing and experiencing...
But it's the old maxim: try to please everyone, and you please no one. Try to do everything, and I end up totally overwhelmed, paralysed, unable to do a thing because there are too many options.
So, as of today, I'm unwhelming. My priority, first and foremost, is my family. Second to that, my writing. As in actual novel writing, getting words on a page, acheiving word counts, writing. Not reading about writing. Not learning about writing. Writing.
To that end, I'm going to wade through my blog roll and unsubscribe to all those that I never actually end up reading anyway - and I'm going to do a queue tidy-up on CC.
I'm also doing something I've been toying with for months now, but have been too afraid to leap into: I'm changing my keyboard layout to dvorak. I've used it all morning at work yesterday (which is when I wrote the beginning of this post), and I'm using it again here at work today (in all windows except this one O:) Yes, I discovered you can be tricky and manage it so you use qwerty in some windows and dvorak in others!).
It's challenging. I've read this post in particular about dvorak many times before - it's what first gave me the idea - but this time, I nearly cried. It's the kind of thing you don't understand until you're actually doing it. The way you can be thinking the same thoughts, having the same ideas, but be totally unable to express them; the way you avoid chatting; the way you start to censor what you're saying for length and brevity, the way you mentally edit everything into as few words as possible... It's probably good practice for writing crisply, but boy is it frustrating.
It's so going to be worth it though. I've been using it off and on for maybe a few hours all up, and already I'm in love. It's so much gentler on your hands and wrists, so much more logical and intuitive... And for someone who is prone to wrist pain, it's simply brilliant.
Thankfully, I have a good memory and can read fast, so I already 'know' where all the keys are, and when I can't remember fast enough, I can read quickly enough to find it on my little chart without spending hours searching. Apparently I'm doing about 19 wpm (compared to my usual ~81wpm on qwerty).
What's been really amusing is how much it's confused my poor brain: I'm trying to maintain proficiency in qwerty as well, so it's like learning an additional language, instead of a replacement one. This morning, checking requests at work, I was using windows that were qwerty, windows that were dvorak, AND hand writing. Never expected it to confuse my handwriting, but a couple of times I had to stop and remember that I was writing, not typing :D
How is changing the way I type related to unwhelming? Because it's something that, in the long term will both preserve and improve my ability to type. I'm abosolutely confident that I will eventually be able to reach far faster speeds with dvorak than I have have with qwerty, simply because of the superior layout; less distance and movement between letters in a word means you can type it faster. For me, this is, like writing, one of those terribly important but not so urgent things that can all too easily be swept to the side to make room for urgent-but-not-important things.
From now on, I'm not letting it.
Thus, my unwhelming, clearing the unnecessary, and focusing on the important. What things are you spending time on that you could cut out, and where could you look at investing time now to make things more efficient in the future?
Odd way to start a post, but nonetheless painfully true. Very painful. And consequentally, today's post will be brief.
I was talking to a friend yesterday and discovered that I (attempting to) follow 91 blogs. A few months ago I counted over 40 queues that I was a member of on CC. And we all know what my TBR pile looks like. Add to that the fact that we're mid-reno in preparation to sell our house, and everything else in my life right now, and it's no-jolly-wonder I've been feeling perpetually behind on EVERYthing.
[Right about now, I'm chickening out. You'll see what I mean at the end; but my sentences can now be longer again O:)]
But anyway, what I was saying. Given the round of blog posts last week on finding your priorities, etc, it all got me thinking. Why do I feel the need to (attempt to) follow so many blogs? Why so many queues? In short, why, in all areas of my life, am I over-committed?
And I think it's because, once again, of fear. Fear that I'll miss out on something worth having, something worth knowing, something worth reading and doing and seeing and experiencing...
But it's the old maxim: try to please everyone, and you please no one. Try to do everything, and I end up totally overwhelmed, paralysed, unable to do a thing because there are too many options.
So, as of today, I'm unwhelming. My priority, first and foremost, is my family. Second to that, my writing. As in actual novel writing, getting words on a page, acheiving word counts, writing. Not reading about writing. Not learning about writing. Writing.
To that end, I'm going to wade through my blog roll and unsubscribe to all those that I never actually end up reading anyway - and I'm going to do a queue tidy-up on CC.
I'm also doing something I've been toying with for months now, but have been too afraid to leap into: I'm changing my keyboard layout to dvorak. I've used it all morning at work yesterday (which is when I wrote the beginning of this post), and I'm using it again here at work today (in all windows except this one O:) Yes, I discovered you can be tricky and manage it so you use qwerty in some windows and dvorak in others!).
It's challenging. I've read this post in particular about dvorak many times before - it's what first gave me the idea - but this time, I nearly cried. It's the kind of thing you don't understand until you're actually doing it. The way you can be thinking the same thoughts, having the same ideas, but be totally unable to express them; the way you avoid chatting; the way you start to censor what you're saying for length and brevity, the way you mentally edit everything into as few words as possible... It's probably good practice for writing crisply, but boy is it frustrating.
It's so going to be worth it though. I've been using it off and on for maybe a few hours all up, and already I'm in love. It's so much gentler on your hands and wrists, so much more logical and intuitive... And for someone who is prone to wrist pain, it's simply brilliant.
Thankfully, I have a good memory and can read fast, so I already 'know' where all the keys are, and when I can't remember fast enough, I can read quickly enough to find it on my little chart without spending hours searching. Apparently I'm doing about 19 wpm (compared to my usual ~81wpm on qwerty).
What's been really amusing is how much it's confused my poor brain: I'm trying to maintain proficiency in qwerty as well, so it's like learning an additional language, instead of a replacement one. This morning, checking requests at work, I was using windows that were qwerty, windows that were dvorak, AND hand writing. Never expected it to confuse my handwriting, but a couple of times I had to stop and remember that I was writing, not typing :D
How is changing the way I type related to unwhelming? Because it's something that, in the long term will both preserve and improve my ability to type. I'm abosolutely confident that I will eventually be able to reach far faster speeds with dvorak than I have have with qwerty, simply because of the superior layout; less distance and movement between letters in a word means you can type it faster. For me, this is, like writing, one of those terribly important but not so urgent things that can all too easily be swept to the side to make room for urgent-but-not-important things.
From now on, I'm not letting it.
Thus, my unwhelming, clearing the unnecessary, and focusing on the important. What things are you spending time on that you could cut out, and where could you look at investing time now to make things more efficient in the future?
24 September 2008
Progress and the Weight of Decisions
In today's post, I was going to talk about progress, and how you know you've made it. It's something a friend of mine has been struggling with recently, and it's been making me think - about achievements, about goals, about motion and momentum and today, about decisions. The importance of decisions hit me in a big way today. And, in its own way, it relates to what I intended to say. Intended consequences, and unintended consequences. Once you've read this article, you'll know what I mean by that.
So today, you're getting what could really be two articles, smooshed into one. I hope it makes sense to you; it does to me.
Week ten of Think Sideways: the Law of Unintended Consequences.
I'm not going to go into it today, because I'll do that when I recap month three of the course (month two recap coming up later this week). But this lesson hit me in a big way, and I think is relevant to the whole notion of progress.
Progress.
For me, it's a very loaded word. On my bad days, it's one of two words that float around my head, leering at me, taunting, laughing, reminding me of my failures. (The other word, in case you're curious, is Productive). But nonetheless, it's something that's important, not only to writing, but to any career - and even to us as people outside of our careers.
Another way of phrasing it is growth. To get by in this life, we have to grow.
But how can we tell whether we're growing or not? What are the markers by which we can measure ourselves, by which we can compare and say, 'Yes, I have Grown'?
The first important thing to recognise is that usually, growth is a gradual process. Just like children, you don't notice their growth every single day, even though they are growing. You turn around one day after several months, and go, "My GOODness! I swear you didn't used to come up to my eyebrows!" Growth is often slow, and requires patience. Some estimates place the writer's 'aprenticeship' stage at ten years; that's a lot of patience.
But short of waiting out those ten years and realising how much you've done, how do you recognise growth, progress, when you see it?
Goals. And not just having goals, and reaching them. I'm talking here about the kind of goals you set, and how that changes over time. I keep a record of all my goals in a spreadsheet in my writing folder, and because of that I can have a real sense of progress even over the last year, just by examining the way in which my goals have changed. Sixteen months ago, I had never written more than 3,000 words together on any one project. Ten months ago, I had never completed a novel. Six months ago, I had never written a short story which I was proud of. Five months ago, I had never submitted anything for publication. By tracking the type of goals I've made, I can track the change in my focus, and that tells me a lot about where I am in my writing career.
Back to Think Sideways. This week is talking about the way in which you plan for surprises in your writing - because things that surprise you will most likely surprise your readers. To do this, the Law of Unintended Consequences comes into play: an action occurs, and most often we deal with the intended consequences. Bob gets the new promotion he's been after, Bob gets more money and sense of prestige.
But to make your writing surprising, you need to also look for the unintended consequences: Bob's new prestigious position requires more hours at the office; Bob's home life suffers; Bob's wife takes the children and leaves him. Or, if you prefer, Bob's promotion means he is now entitled to a secretary; Bob doesn't get so stressed out at work and can take time off knowing things will still be done; Bob takes his family on that holiday they've been planning for years; Bob's children grow up with fond memories of their times together.
What hit me most about this lesson was the moment where we were asked to consider our own lives. What moments in time do we have in our own lives where a decision was made, and unintended consequences ensued, and our lives, for better or worse, were changed?
Stop. Right now. Close your eyes, and think of a time when you made a decision. What did you intend to happen? What actually happened? How has this changed your life?
Here are some of my examples:
At the end of 2005, I realised law was probably not the career for me. I decided that if certain things happened, I would drop law, finish my arts degree, and go train to be a teacher. The intended consequences of this were that I would be able to study English in my arts degree; I would have a career as a teacher which is more family- and writing-friendly than law. The unintended consequences?
I thought long and hard about this one. And you know what I came up with? Nothing less than the entire health and stability of my marriage. And that affects me not only now, but well into the future, and will impact my children, and thus their children... How did this come about? You see, because I had already done some of my arts degree concurrently with law, I had only the equivalent of three semesters to go. Instead of doing that, and having to work for a semester before going to teaching, I decided to spread my subjects out, and do a three-quarters load for four semesters.
Last year, the final year of my arts degree, and my husband's final year of his architecture masters, was nothing short of a personal, private hell. Husband's uni was messy and complicated and draining and unfair and horrible in so many ways (some of his classmates were put onto anti-depressants due to the stress), and I was called upon in ways I could NEVER have anticipated when we were married to support someone who had always been MY rock, MY stability.
By the grace of God we got through, and I am here to tell you right now that if I had been doing not only a full load, but law subjects as well, we would not have survived.
One tiny moment, where seeing the right friend in the right place at the right time prompted me to do what I'd previously been too scared to do and switch courses, and our lives were changed. This time, thank God, for the better.
So. Progress. How does this relate to the idea of progress? Decisions. Goals. Simply by dint of the fact that every single thing you do, every single choice you make, can impact your life in ways that you will never, ever appreciate until they happen. You might feel stuck in a rut, you may feel like your talent has plateaued, like you've been banging your head against a brick wall for so long now and nothing is going to change...
But change is the only constant in life. Things will change. And they will change based on the consequences, intended and unintended, of what you are doing right now.
Go. Write. Trust that, like children growing, any movement is motion even if it's too small to see. Trust the consequences of your actions, and have faith in their ability to spiral.
Oak trees from acorns - massive success or failure based on one tiny moment in time.
You can be all that you ever hoped - or you can not.
The choice is yours.
Decide.
So today, you're getting what could really be two articles, smooshed into one. I hope it makes sense to you; it does to me.
Week ten of Think Sideways: the Law of Unintended Consequences.
I'm not going to go into it today, because I'll do that when I recap month three of the course (month two recap coming up later this week). But this lesson hit me in a big way, and I think is relevant to the whole notion of progress.
Progress.
For me, it's a very loaded word. On my bad days, it's one of two words that float around my head, leering at me, taunting, laughing, reminding me of my failures. (The other word, in case you're curious, is Productive). But nonetheless, it's something that's important, not only to writing, but to any career - and even to us as people outside of our careers.
Another way of phrasing it is growth. To get by in this life, we have to grow.
But how can we tell whether we're growing or not? What are the markers by which we can measure ourselves, by which we can compare and say, 'Yes, I have Grown'?
The first important thing to recognise is that usually, growth is a gradual process. Just like children, you don't notice their growth every single day, even though they are growing. You turn around one day after several months, and go, "My GOODness! I swear you didn't used to come up to my eyebrows!" Growth is often slow, and requires patience. Some estimates place the writer's 'aprenticeship' stage at ten years; that's a lot of patience.
But short of waiting out those ten years and realising how much you've done, how do you recognise growth, progress, when you see it?
Goals. And not just having goals, and reaching them. I'm talking here about the kind of goals you set, and how that changes over time. I keep a record of all my goals in a spreadsheet in my writing folder, and because of that I can have a real sense of progress even over the last year, just by examining the way in which my goals have changed. Sixteen months ago, I had never written more than 3,000 words together on any one project. Ten months ago, I had never completed a novel. Six months ago, I had never written a short story which I was proud of. Five months ago, I had never submitted anything for publication. By tracking the type of goals I've made, I can track the change in my focus, and that tells me a lot about where I am in my writing career.
Back to Think Sideways. This week is talking about the way in which you plan for surprises in your writing - because things that surprise you will most likely surprise your readers. To do this, the Law of Unintended Consequences comes into play: an action occurs, and most often we deal with the intended consequences. Bob gets the new promotion he's been after, Bob gets more money and sense of prestige.
But to make your writing surprising, you need to also look for the unintended consequences: Bob's new prestigious position requires more hours at the office; Bob's home life suffers; Bob's wife takes the children and leaves him. Or, if you prefer, Bob's promotion means he is now entitled to a secretary; Bob doesn't get so stressed out at work and can take time off knowing things will still be done; Bob takes his family on that holiday they've been planning for years; Bob's children grow up with fond memories of their times together.
What hit me most about this lesson was the moment where we were asked to consider our own lives. What moments in time do we have in our own lives where a decision was made, and unintended consequences ensued, and our lives, for better or worse, were changed?
Stop. Right now. Close your eyes, and think of a time when you made a decision. What did you intend to happen? What actually happened? How has this changed your life?
Here are some of my examples:
At the end of 2005, I realised law was probably not the career for me. I decided that if certain things happened, I would drop law, finish my arts degree, and go train to be a teacher. The intended consequences of this were that I would be able to study English in my arts degree; I would have a career as a teacher which is more family- and writing-friendly than law. The unintended consequences?
I thought long and hard about this one. And you know what I came up with? Nothing less than the entire health and stability of my marriage. And that affects me not only now, but well into the future, and will impact my children, and thus their children... How did this come about? You see, because I had already done some of my arts degree concurrently with law, I had only the equivalent of three semesters to go. Instead of doing that, and having to work for a semester before going to teaching, I decided to spread my subjects out, and do a three-quarters load for four semesters.
Last year, the final year of my arts degree, and my husband's final year of his architecture masters, was nothing short of a personal, private hell. Husband's uni was messy and complicated and draining and unfair and horrible in so many ways (some of his classmates were put onto anti-depressants due to the stress), and I was called upon in ways I could NEVER have anticipated when we were married to support someone who had always been MY rock, MY stability.
By the grace of God we got through, and I am here to tell you right now that if I had been doing not only a full load, but law subjects as well, we would not have survived.
One tiny moment, where seeing the right friend in the right place at the right time prompted me to do what I'd previously been too scared to do and switch courses, and our lives were changed. This time, thank God, for the better.
So. Progress. How does this relate to the idea of progress? Decisions. Goals. Simply by dint of the fact that every single thing you do, every single choice you make, can impact your life in ways that you will never, ever appreciate until they happen. You might feel stuck in a rut, you may feel like your talent has plateaued, like you've been banging your head against a brick wall for so long now and nothing is going to change...
But change is the only constant in life. Things will change. And they will change based on the consequences, intended and unintended, of what you are doing right now.
Go. Write. Trust that, like children growing, any movement is motion even if it's too small to see. Trust the consequences of your actions, and have faith in their ability to spiral.
Oak trees from acorns - massive success or failure based on one tiny moment in time.
You can be all that you ever hoped - or you can not.
The choice is yours.
Decide.
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