Winner! Winner!

So, I just won NaNoWriMo!  Go me!  I successfully wrote a 50,000 word novel in less than 30 days!  Hooray!

The catch?  I'm still not done with my story.  I may have - oh, let's see... carry the one... another 25% of plot to complete.  Then I will go on a massive editing spree and make everything mesh and sound coherent (which may take the rest of my life or something) and then - I might be open to having people read it and critique, which will result in more edits and meshing and blood, sweat and tears.

But dudes - I WROTE A NOVEL!! And it is an awesome feeling!

For now, WE DANCE!



(I'd like to give a special thanks to my supervisors at work for turning the other way when I was writing in my little blue notebook during down times so I could meet the 50K mark by November 30.  And with this thanks, I ask that you continue to look the other way when I start in on the climax of the story - 'cause it's gonna get GOOOOD!!  I hope...)

Just Add it to the List of Crazy Things I've Done (or am currently doing)

I've done some pretty crazy things in the past few years.  At least, for me they were crazy at the time.  Putting my life on hold for 18 months to serve a mission for my church in heaven-knows-what corner of the world, talking to people who, at best, only want to me leave them alone and at worse scream obscenities at me for daring to approach them was crazy (though I survived it - strangely enough).  Applying for graduate school seemed a long shot at the time, but here I am two years after the fact and thisclose to being done.  Even applied for study abroad, which was a whole 'nother ball of insanity (I'll let you know how it goes when it's over).  But this next project takes the cake.

I just signed up for NaNoWriMo.

Those Who Know are applauding and cheering for yet another sucker participant in the annual write-a-thon.  Those Who Have No Clue are going "What??"  NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month and it happens every November.  The challenge is to write a 50,000 novel in 30 days starting on November 1 and ending at 11:59.59 on November 30.  You can't use anything you've written previously - everything has to be from scratch (you can do some outlining and character sketches to prepare, but no writing on the actual novel).  Many of my friends know that I've had this idea for a novel trickling in my head since high school, but very little has ever come of it.  Oh, I've had a few attempts at a draft, but they've all fallen by the wayside like so many... things that fall by the wayside.  I don't think I'll write the story that's plagued me for so long in November (I don't think I can, actually), but it would be cool to write something and actually finish it - even if it's utter crap (in which case I can polish it up after the challenge is completed and it will be awesome).

I've known about NaNoWriMo for a long time, but today one of the librarians when I'm doing my internship was talking about it as a program for the writing group she runs at the library.  I've mentioned maybe joining the writing group just for the heck of it, but today she really got me interested in this.  And it'll be nice to know that I at least made an attempt at it (even better if I actually finish the task).

So, if I go off the grid in November, you know why.  And if you have any writerly inclinations, you should sign up as well.  And please send good thoughts and feelings my direction this fall.

Because I want to write a novel, dammit.

I Guess Academia Really is Just a Bunch of BS

Maybe I'm the only one who will find this amusing.


This morning, I received an email from the professor from my Library Management class announcing that our research papers from last week had been graded and we could all look at the feedback he'd left us.  The email (which was generic mass email to everyone) expressed some disappointment in how a majority just summarized the paper in our abstracts and that, on the whole, our papers really weren't structured well and we all need to revisit proper APA style, etc., etc.


Now, I really have a low opinion of academic writing.  I don't enjoy doing it, I'd rather just tell you what I know, maybe reference a few quotes from other people but largely ignoring stylistic convention.  I certainly tell you where I got my information, but not in a formalized "Put the comma in the right place in your citation or you DIE!!" style that so many academic fields insist upon using.  I suffered through MLA formatting in my undergrad, but that was a cakewalk compared to the nit-picky, overbearing crap I have to put up with in APA style.  This paper was made even worse by the fact that it was for my Management class, which I have no interest in whatsoever and I wouldn't even be taking this class if it wasn't required for graduation.  But you do what you have to do and try to make the best of it.


Let me be clear *holds up index finger to show I'm making a point* - I have zero intention of ever doing research or publishing any academic article after my graduate work is over.  My efforts in my library career will be focused doing the best job within whatever library I work in, helping kids and teenagers (and maybe a few adults) with whatever information needs they have.  Whether it's a kid looking for material for a school report or looking for the latest Star Wars tie-in novel, I'm there.  I'm not getting in this career to impress a bunch of stuffy academic types in tweed jackets and turtlenecks (now, if it's a guy with a tweed jacket and a bow-tie - I may have to reconsider.  But show me the blue box, first).


I had a point... oh yes - so, when I wrote my paper I was writing it just to get it out of the way.  At this point in my academic career, I've pretty much abandoned the formal, high-brow style of writing and have opted for a much more relaxed style reminiscent of the way I blog.  As an example, this was my abstract:

"My paper is on marketing.  I’m going to talk about how it’s important to do proper marketing and advertising so people will actually see what the library is doing and decide to come.  I will be addressing different techniques and tools used in marketing as described in several scholarly articles by librarians from around who have used these tools.  I chose this topic because it’s a management topic that requires thought about patrons and potential patrons rather than focusing on things that are away from primary library functions."

(This was actually better than my first version of my abstract which was this: "I chose to write my paper on marketing the library and different ways to do it. I chose it because all the other management topics were boring and I hate business-type buzzwords because it all sounds like a bunch of ass-kissing to me." It's really a shame I had to edit that out).

So when my professor mentioned in his email that he was disappointed in our abstracts, I figured I had lost some points for my cavalier attempt and I probably didn't get a very good score on it (so, I'm saying that things I tell my own students actually apply to me???  Really? /sarcasm).  Imagine my surprise when I read the feedback he left me (emphasis added):


"You discuss the importance of marketing strategies for libraries. I was pleased to see good evidence of your analytical skills in looking at previous work, as your arguments were clearly built upon the work of previous researchers and theorists. Your abstract got things off on the right foot, being precise and clear and very indicative of what you would be discussing in your paper. Your paper is structured in such a way that it progresses logically with relevant and recent citations. I really like your strong introductory and concluding sections, providing a great counterbalance at the beginning and end of your paper, allowing the reader to easily absorb the information. I very much enjoyed reading your paper—great work!"


The amazing thing?  I got the full 20 out of 20 points for it.


So... it's really okay to be that brutally honest in your abstract?  Evidently so.  But what amazes me even more is that I totally BS'd my way through this whole thing.  Sure, I found some good articles to cite, but I only cited each one once (more or less), just so I could get back to blathering on about what I wanted to say.  I figured that would have showed up (okay, maybe I wasn't that terrible, but read some academic journal articles - I don't understand how people manage to read through all that smarmy, stilted crap).


Maybe I ought to rethink my whole outlook on academic writing.  If snark and irreverence is actually looked upon kindly in academic circles...  (pfft... yeah right)


Eh - whatever.  It's full points - I'll take it!

Taking an Early Weekend

As I left school today, I told the kids that I would see them on Monday because I'm not going to be there tomorrow.  One of the kids quipped that I was taking a three-day vacation, to which I replied that I was taking off early because I've got school this weekend.

I dunno... it was funny when it happened.  We've got our family Halloween party on Saturday, which I'm excited for.  My Tenth Doctor costume is nearly finished and I'm happy about that.  And I've been writing my little fingers off this week, which accounts for the lack of blog posts (some of the stuff I've come up with really surprised me... I'm wondering if I should share it... it's a little... strange, really.  Not my usual style of story-telling either and it kind of weirds me out.  But at the same time... I really like it.  Maybe I will finish it  *shrugs*).

But, life is grand ^_^

ETA: Oh, Stick Man Theatre (which I thought had gone defunct) posted a new "Twilight" parody, which pretty much cracked me up.  I have to admit, I have not read the Bree Tanner book because it's like... why?? (seriously - she was in "Eclipse" all of - what - two sentences?  If that?)  But I did catch the Cleolinda recap, which was brilliant and probably more than enough to enjoy Stick Man Theatre.  Since I like to pimp out internet things that make me laugh, this is worth a spot in my "I'm-not-dead-I-just-don't-have-anything-significant-to-post-about" update.

Why I Love Facebook

(x-posted from LiveJournal.  I don't usually post things in such quick succession, but this was too good to pass up).

For all the weirdness and crap that gets put on Facebook (not to mention the associated shenanigans), there is one good reason to love Facebook.  That is - when you have a friend that says "I know a guy that you should totally meet," you can check out said friend and see if truly he is all that he's cracked up to be.  Over the weekend, a friend of mine linked to a blog that belongs to a (male) friend of hers and told me to read it and maybe sometime, if I was interested, I could meet this friend.  Well, I looked at his blog, which was okay.  I mean, it's not anything real snazzy, but it's heartfelt and honest.  Then I got the wild idea to check and see if he had a Facebook.  I found that and started looking at a few things there - he seems nice enough.

There's nothing groundbreaking here.  And I know that someone's going to come back and say "But doesn't it bug you that people can look up your information or find out what you're doing?"  And honestly, it doesn't.  I mean, I don't post anything too personal (though some might debate that) and most of what I post is stuff I want people to read and (hopefully) respond to.  To be sure, I still have things I keep personal and private, but I keep that in a pen-and-paper journal I have stashed... somewhere in my room.

I have ideas and thoughts I want shared.  And the beauty of the internet is that I don't have to dink around with a publisher to get them out there.  I type it out, put a picture or a video to illustrate and go on my merry way.  And it's a ton of fun.

(That actually turned into two good reasons to love Facebook.  I love a tangent ^_^)

Video: This has nothing to do with anything here, but it came up in a Facebook discussion I had with some of my Emporia colleagues (weird word, colleagues - anyway...)

Welcome to the Imagi-Nation!

**This is meant for any of my writer friends or others who considers themselves an intellectual or creative type. Even if you don't think you are, chances are you'll find an application here anyway.**

Wow - had an excellent Institute class today (given - I've never had a non-excellent Institute class. I've long since determined that, like Apparating inside Hogwarts or outrunning Edward Cullen or the Detroit Lions having a winning season, this is impossible). I gained some great insights that apply to me and quite possibly a lot of people and I feel compelled to share them.

Currently, I'm in a class on the Pearl of Great Price. It's a short book, but it's chock full of great doctrine, if you dig deep enough (oh boy, do we ever dig!) Right now, we're talking about the Creation and how science and religion add up, but that's not what intrigued me today. It's something our teacher said. At the beginning of class, he held up a brick and asked us all to list as many uses for a brick as we could in 60 seconds. So, we did - at the end of the time, he asked us to tell us how many things we thought of - the class average was around 15. To illustrate the point, when he would do this exercise as a student, the class would come up with 30-50 uses.

Conclusion: we are less creative and imaginative nowadays. We let other people be creative and we just be entertained by their creativity.

To tie all this into the Creation, he asked us a series of questions: What does God imagine? What kinds of things does God daydream about (inasmuch as He would daydream - just go with me here)? What does the Greatest Creative Genius in the universe imagine in His free time? And how does that show our potential as His children?

He said some things that really struck me that I want to share. Of all God's creations, we are the only ones that have the ability to imagine - to create literature and art, to build a space station, to develop the Internet, to reason, to philosophize. BUT - what does that amount to in each of us?

And this is the one that hit home: Are you letting someone else's imagination stifle yours?

I had to think on that one. I've been working on a novel since high school that has gone through so many incarnations, for better or worse (I hope better). Sometimes, when I find a fellow writer friend, I will share some of my ideas because I am so in love with this story and the characters and I really, really, REALLY want to write it and I want to have a sounding board. But sometimes (not all the time, but now and then) the person I share it with says "Why did you call your town X? That sounds a lot like the town from book Y." Or even - I'll read a new book and there'll be something in the plot that resembles something I've included in mine, and that'll frustrate me because I feel like I'm the last one to the table and I can't do that now because someone else did. For instance: I picked up a book that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the women in the story and one of the characters had a piece of jewelry that resembled something I had one of my characters own. And I'd never read this book before - it was pure coincidence! (not to mention, English majors are conditioned to be deathly afraid of anything remotely resembling plagiarism. It's like the swine flu of the literary world).

Sadly, I concluded that I do let others' imaginations stifle my own. And it's not solely reserved for my writing, either. I've wanted to pursue a Masters degree since I knew it was something I could do, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to study - I had a boatload of options and Masters degrees in any field of English are highly specialized. You have to pick Medieval Literature or Studies in 20th Century American Folklore or Literary Fiction or Poetry ... the list goes on.

While I was on my mission, I decided that I wanted to do it in Library Science. So, when I got home, I started researching programs, picked one that felt right and began applying. I am in the ending phases of the application process and I am very pleased with myself and there are others who are happy for me. But - there are a few that give me funny looks when I tell them I'm getting my Masters degree to become a librarian. It's like "You'll have spent six years in school just to be a librarian?"

Honestly - it hurts. And I started to second-guess my decision, just like I second-guess my story decisions. Decisions that I have pondered long and hard on (yes, I think LONG and HARD on my story - I've worked on it this long, it's going to be good, gosh dang it!) And I hate second-guessing my decisions - makes me feel like all the work I've done is a waste and I'm no good at anything. And even though the criticism might not really be worth my time or even energy, somehow it gets stuck. It's something I have to deal with - that's when I go to the people whose opinion really does matter - usually a member of my family or a close friend and they put me straight and all is well with the world.

But the lesson in Institute really helped. It's nice to know that part of my purpose is to be creative (shoot, creation is one of God's hobbies, why can't it be one of mine? Maybe not on the plane that He operates, but I can work in my own sphere. "Worlds without end" "My words never cease" - sounds like a pretty creative God to me).

I have a really creative mind, you know (at least, I like to think so). I don't mean to sound prideful or full of myself, but I'm a good writer and it's something I enjoy (and I love books and nothing would thrill me more than to be a professional bookworm ^_^). I just have to stop taking what other people say to heart as much as I do (unless it's warranted - but that's on a case-by-case basis).

That's my story - hope it helped any of you creative-imagination-driven types out there. What do you think? Let me know! (even if it's bad - hey, if I'm ever going to be published, I need to get used to negative feedback).

And I'm going to post this now before it gets any longer. But it's something good to muse about (ha ha - "muse" - no pun intended ^_^)