I got my acceptance letter in the mail yesterday. It says that not only do I have an assistantship, but that assistantship comes with a tuition waiver. No more debt for me, beeyatch. AND it says that my assistantship is a 12-month assistantship, which I looked up on the website, and that means that I have a job all year round. Granted, it's sort of a crappy job (pay-wise; I don't know what I'll actually be doing yet), but I don't have to worry about getting temp jobs over the summers. The job technically starts July 1, so I guess it's a good thing we've decided to try to move in May. If we can ever get ahold of our landpeople to okay that, that is.
We've also decided to look into a small house instead of an apartment. For one thing, apartments in college towns are STUPID because they assume that if you're renting a two-bedroom, you have two separate people with the backing of two seperate family units and therefore can afford TWICE what you would normally pay for something like that. Not the case for us. And we really do need more space than we could afford if we were going to get an apartment. (What we're paying right now would get us something just barely SMALLER out in Murfreesboro.)
In the meantime, we're still hoping someone will call W.E. and give him a temp job or some contracty work for the two months before we move. He's got friends who are trying very hard to find him a job, so we'll see how it turns out. So far, despite the terribleness that was January and February, things are looking good. Maybe this lucky streak will hold and we'll make it to Murfreesboro in one piece and not broke.
For now, we're celebrating our 7-year anniversary AND my acceptance into MTSU tonight, so we're about to head out for a glamourous trip to the city and a nice-ish dinner.
More later.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Stats (I Tried)
Necromancer
New words: 165
Total words: 27,613
Favorite: Plants were the most chaotic things on the planet. They grew wherever they felt like it, even cropping up through cracks in paving, which had been put down specifically to stop plant life. They spread faster than a wildfire, and threw their seeds to the wind so it could propagate in still more places. Neron couldn’t think of anything more disorganized and annoying than plants.
Mean things: Botanophobic Necromancer in an orchard
----
I tried. Really. I got distracted. A lot. But at least I tried.
More later.
New words: 165
Total words: 27,613
Favorite: Plants were the most chaotic things on the planet. They grew wherever they felt like it, even cropping up through cracks in paving, which had been put down specifically to stop plant life. They spread faster than a wildfire, and threw their seeds to the wind so it could propagate in still more places. Neron couldn’t think of anything more disorganized and annoying than plants.
Mean things: Botanophobic Necromancer in an orchard
----
I tried. Really. I got distracted. A lot. But at least I tried.
More later.
Planning
The adrenaline from yesterday's discovery wore off fairly quickly (probably because I hadn't eaten in several hours by that point, so I didn't have the energy to support an adrenaline rush), and my worried-brain kicked in. My worried-brain is an idiot who has to second guess everything, including whether I heard the MTSU lady right and if I was making a big deal out of nothing. Unfortunately, my worried-brain doesn't shut up when I tell it to. It probably won't shut up until the letter is in my hands and I've completed my registration. Maybe not even then.
So here's how the whole thing went down. Yesterday, right as I was about to start my 3:00 class, my cell phone buzzed. I checked the caller I.D. and saw that it was W.E., calling from the house phone. Since my class was watching the last few minutes of I Am Legend, I got that started and went outside to call him back.
W.E.: We just got an interesting phone call.
Me: Okay (hoping it means he got a job).
W.E.: Some lady from Middle Tennessee State University wants to talk to you about your application.
Me: !!!!!!!! OMG! That probably means I got in! They don't call if they're going to tell you no!
W.E.: Don't pee.
Since I didn't have a pen on me and I wasn't going to interrupt my students by dashing back into the classroom to get one, I told W.E. I'd call him back after class and went to try to enjoy the last of the movie.
HA!
After the movie, the kids wrote their weekly logs on it, during which I tried not to fidget and scream "HURRY UP! I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT PHONE CALL TO MAKE!"
As soon as everyone was done, I scooped everything up and almost ran back to my office, where I called W.E., got the rep's phone number, took a few deep breaths, and called her. She thanked me for calling back so quickly (I was thinking, "IT'S BEEN FORTY-FIVE MINUTES!"), and made me jump up and down while she looked for her list. At which point she informed me that they were offering me admission to the PhD program and an assistantship. I babbled for a bit, and she said, "It sounds like you're interested, then." I babbled a bit more. She told me that they were calling around because the dean had been out of town and hadn't had a chance to sign the letters (which are going out next week), but they wanted their candidates to know that they were in. Which I very much appreciate.
So I've spent today filling out my FAFSA (and W.E.'s; he's been conditionally accepted to Capella University, pending a bit more paperwork), poking around the interwebs for apartments and jobs, and trying not to think too hard about how we're going to afford this. Or packing. We've agreed that we need to contact our landpeople and ask them if we can shorten our lease so we can move at the end of May instead of the end of June.
And then we'll both be doctoral candidates.
This year might not be a complete wash, after all.
More later.
So here's how the whole thing went down. Yesterday, right as I was about to start my 3:00 class, my cell phone buzzed. I checked the caller I.D. and saw that it was W.E., calling from the house phone. Since my class was watching the last few minutes of I Am Legend, I got that started and went outside to call him back.
W.E.: We just got an interesting phone call.
Me: Okay (hoping it means he got a job).
W.E.: Some lady from Middle Tennessee State University wants to talk to you about your application.
Me: !!!!!!!! OMG! That probably means I got in! They don't call if they're going to tell you no!
W.E.: Don't pee.
Since I didn't have a pen on me and I wasn't going to interrupt my students by dashing back into the classroom to get one, I told W.E. I'd call him back after class and went to try to enjoy the last of the movie.
HA!
After the movie, the kids wrote their weekly logs on it, during which I tried not to fidget and scream "HURRY UP! I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT PHONE CALL TO MAKE!"
As soon as everyone was done, I scooped everything up and almost ran back to my office, where I called W.E., got the rep's phone number, took a few deep breaths, and called her. She thanked me for calling back so quickly (I was thinking, "IT'S BEEN FORTY-FIVE MINUTES!"), and made me jump up and down while she looked for her list. At which point she informed me that they were offering me admission to the PhD program and an assistantship. I babbled for a bit, and she said, "It sounds like you're interested, then." I babbled a bit more. She told me that they were calling around because the dean had been out of town and hadn't had a chance to sign the letters (which are going out next week), but they wanted their candidates to know that they were in. Which I very much appreciate.
So I've spent today filling out my FAFSA (and W.E.'s; he's been conditionally accepted to Capella University, pending a bit more paperwork), poking around the interwebs for apartments and jobs, and trying not to think too hard about how we're going to afford this. Or packing. We've agreed that we need to contact our landpeople and ask them if we can shorten our lease so we can move at the end of May instead of the end of June.
And then we'll both be doctoral candidates.
This year might not be a complete wash, after all.
More later.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Good News
I've been accepted to the PhD program at Middle Tennessee State University, complete with an assistantship.
I'm very excited.
More later.
I'm very excited.
More later.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Writing Updates
I know it looks like all I've been doing is playing with GIMP and not actually working, but that's not entirely true. My students have been watching movies in class this week and I'm using that time to outline Necromancer (and come up with quiz questions). No, I haven't had a chance to sit down and actually write--things are a bit distracting at home right now, and when I'm at work I'm grading or lesson planning--but I'm making progress on the plot at least. So I'm not a complete slacker. Just so y'all know.
Now I have to go finish this pile of papers on my desk so I can have lunch and go home. Blah.
More later.
Now I have to go finish this pile of papers on my desk so I can have lunch and go home. Blah.
More later.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
More GIMPyness
I learned that since I'm a prefect on the Buffy-Boards, I get a custom avatar. So I made one. And a matching banner. I'm very proud of them. They're pretty.
Yay! I enjoyed making these.
More later.
Yay! I enjoyed making these.
More later.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Supernatural Wallpaper
I just spent a good bit of time that I should have been using to write or lesson plan or something making a wallpaper for a friend of mine.
Looky:
I like it. I think it's pretty. Hopefully my friend will, too.
More later.
Looky:
I like it. I think it's pretty. Hopefully my friend will, too.
More later.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
BB Goings-On
Recently I was elected prefect of my "house" on the Buffy-Boards. Meaning I'm in charge of a whole lot of inter- and intra-dorm stuff. The point being, I get to mess with GIMP officially now. Here's the thingy I made for our Member of the Month voting:
It looks pretty simple, but it took two different textures, some colorization, and lots of layers (I think there's 6 layers of images and textures in this thing). I'm glad I'm learning to do this, cause the last prefect is a MASTER with Photoshop, and I didn't want to be all lame and stuff.
But since I've been sharing all the other things I've done with GIMP, I figured I'd show this to you all, too.
More later.
It looks pretty simple, but it took two different textures, some colorization, and lots of layers (I think there's 6 layers of images and textures in this thing). I'm glad I'm learning to do this, cause the last prefect is a MASTER with Photoshop, and I didn't want to be all lame and stuff.
But since I've been sharing all the other things I've done with GIMP, I figured I'd show this to you all, too.
More later.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
GIMP (some more)
Messed around with GIMP a bit today after listening to the Repo! soundtrack some more. Here was my first attempt (clicking on these will take you to the full-size version, which didn't fit here):
I decided I didn't like that one too much--too blue, and I found some minor problems after saving it. So I did this:
Which I like much better. Not so scarily blue, the edges of the Graverobber picture aren't so sharp, and the words fit together better.
More later.
I decided I didn't like that one too much--too blue, and I found some minor problems after saving it. So I did this:
Which I like much better. Not so scarily blue, the edges of the Graverobber picture aren't so sharp, and the words fit together better.
More later.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Shameless Plug
So my 7th wedding anniversary is coming up in 2 weeks. For those who are wonderful and loving and want to buy me prezzies, I have 4 Amazon wishlists: one for books, one for DVDs, one for jewelry, and one for everything else.
More later.
More later.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Hangin' Out
Today I got to hang out with Lou, a friend of mine from the Buffy-Boards, and her son. It was a lot of fun, except for the rain, we got a great lunch, babbled about BB goings-on and other such stuff, and then they had to head back home (it's a 4-hour drive, which makes visiting difficult). But I got pictures! Took out the kid's face, though, for his own protection. He's just a lil guy.
Here's Lou in my living room, and of course the messy side of it is behind her so it looks like I live in a barn. Bleh.
And here we are outside the restaurant, getting rained on, and getting ready to say bye before they took off in their very high-tech Batvan to head back home.
Yay for visiting with friends! It was a lot of fun.
More later.
Here's Lou in my living room, and of course the messy side of it is behind her so it looks like I live in a barn. Bleh.
And here we are outside the restaurant, getting rained on, and getting ready to say bye before they took off in their very high-tech Batvan to head back home.
Yay for visiting with friends! It was a lot of fun.
More later.
Friday, March 13, 2009
In Need of Prayer
Or chanting, or human sacrifice . . . whatever you happen to subscribe to.
W.E. lost his job today.
There's not much I can say about it, except that it's good that he's out of there, but the timing stinks. He did manage to make some connections with people while he was there, so he's already got prospects, but the whole thing pretty much stinks.
More later.
W.E. lost his job today.
There's not much I can say about it, except that it's good that he's out of there, but the timing stinks. He did manage to make some connections with people while he was there, so he's already got prospects, but the whole thing pretty much stinks.
More later.
Stats
Necromancer
New words: 1,362 (phew!)
Total words: 27,452
Favorite: “Now you try again, Alister.” Akasha opened her eyes carefully, wanting to watch him do it. She gasped at the ruby-red glow of energy that shone from Alister. It was completely contained within his chest, but so bright that he glowed like a small sun. As she watched, a rod of energy drove from him into the ground, not as deep as hers, but still firmly, and his shields blossomed around him.
----
This is the stuff that's the most fun for me to write--how the magic works, how they learn to use it--but will probably be the most boring for the reader. That's annoying. It's also annoying that I probably won't have any time to write again for several weeks, since school's back in on Monday. It's ALSO annoying that after all this, I'm still only about 1/3 of the way into the book. And that's if I'm aiming for 100,000 words. My novels seem to top out at 80,000 words, though, which means I still have 53,000 to go. Bleh.
I think I can do it, though. I might need one more big obstacle for Akasha to get through before the end of the book, but I'll think of something.
More later.
New words: 1,362 (phew!)
Total words: 27,452
Favorite: “Now you try again, Alister.” Akasha opened her eyes carefully, wanting to watch him do it. She gasped at the ruby-red glow of energy that shone from Alister. It was completely contained within his chest, but so bright that he glowed like a small sun. As she watched, a rod of energy drove from him into the ground, not as deep as hers, but still firmly, and his shields blossomed around him.
----
This is the stuff that's the most fun for me to write--how the magic works, how they learn to use it--but will probably be the most boring for the reader. That's annoying. It's also annoying that I probably won't have any time to write again for several weeks, since school's back in on Monday. It's ALSO annoying that after all this, I'm still only about 1/3 of the way into the book. And that's if I'm aiming for 100,000 words. My novels seem to top out at 80,000 words, though, which means I still have 53,000 to go. Bleh.
I think I can do it, though. I might need one more big obstacle for Akasha to get through before the end of the book, but I'll think of something.
More later.
Slayage
I just sent my Buffy paper, "Psychology of a 'Superstar': A Psychological Analysis of Jonathan Levinson" to Slayage Online. Here's hoping it leads to another publishing credit. 
Meanwhile, I'm waiting for Dr. G to get back to me about whether she has time to read my Labyrinth paper one more time before I send it in to Mythlore.
Hope is a weird thing. I'm trying very hard to be resigned to staying here for another year, not getting to start my PhD for at least another year, dealing with these darn Freshmen for another year. But there's this tiny little bit of me that still half-hopes that MTSU will admit me. I kind of wish it would quit it--it's making resignation very difficult. If I do get in to MTSU, I'd rather it be a suprisingly happy thing than "I knew it!"
One of my co-workers was talking about a friend of her dad's (I think) who applied to doctoral programs thirty times before he got in. Good grief. If I did that, I'd be in my sixties before I ever got to start doctoral work. No, thank you. I'll try again next year, and this time only apply to the smaller universities, not the big-name, snobby ones. And I'll apply to more small universities, possibly to places in Oklahoma and other points west. We'll see.
For now, I'm still stomping on that spark of hope that won't go away.
More later.
Meanwhile, I'm waiting for Dr. G to get back to me about whether she has time to read my Labyrinth paper one more time before I send it in to Mythlore.Hope is a weird thing. I'm trying very hard to be resigned to staying here for another year, not getting to start my PhD for at least another year, dealing with these darn Freshmen for another year. But there's this tiny little bit of me that still half-hopes that MTSU will admit me. I kind of wish it would quit it--it's making resignation very difficult. If I do get in to MTSU, I'd rather it be a suprisingly happy thing than "I knew it!"
One of my co-workers was talking about a friend of her dad's (I think) who applied to doctoral programs thirty times before he got in. Good grief. If I did that, I'd be in my sixties before I ever got to start doctoral work. No, thank you. I'll try again next year, and this time only apply to the smaller universities, not the big-name, snobby ones. And I'll apply to more small universities, possibly to places in Oklahoma and other points west. We'll see.
For now, I'm still stomping on that spark of hope that won't go away.
More later.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Stats
Necromancer
New words: 959
Total words: 26,088
Mean things: interrupted first kiss. Self-examination.
Favorite: “I’m reading this right, though, right?” she said softly.His grip on her hand tightened, and he pulled her closer, until their bodies were almost touching. Akasha looked up at him in surprise. “You’re absolutely reading this right,” he whispered. His other hand came up to rest on her shoulder, then slid toward her neck, his thumb resting on her chin. His head came down, and Akasha felt her heart speed up until it was pounding in her throat. She tilted her chin up to meet his lips with hers.
-----
Cleaned the house--well, most of it--this morning to get ready for a visitor, and maybe people who may eventually be coming in to fix our air conditioner--which has been broken for 4 months now. Have thoughts about my Buffy paper, but brain too tired to do anything with them right now. Still not sure this novel is going to end up at novel length, and I'm afraid of trying to pad it. We'll see how it goes.
For now, I'm tired and I'm going to go either take a nap or play video games for awhile.
More later.
New words: 959
Total words: 26,088
Mean things: interrupted first kiss. Self-examination.
Favorite: “I’m reading this right, though, right?” she said softly.His grip on her hand tightened, and he pulled her closer, until their bodies were almost touching. Akasha looked up at him in surprise. “You’re absolutely reading this right,” he whispered. His other hand came up to rest on her shoulder, then slid toward her neck, his thumb resting on her chin. His head came down, and Akasha felt her heart speed up until it was pounding in her throat. She tilted her chin up to meet his lips with hers.
-----
Cleaned the house--well, most of it--this morning to get ready for a visitor, and maybe people who may eventually be coming in to fix our air conditioner--which has been broken for 4 months now. Have thoughts about my Buffy paper, but brain too tired to do anything with them right now. Still not sure this novel is going to end up at novel length, and I'm afraid of trying to pad it. We'll see how it goes.
For now, I'm tired and I'm going to go either take a nap or play video games for awhile.
More later.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Stats
Necromancer
New words: 741
Total words: 25,129
Mean things: trouble learning basics. Snippy teacher/ghost.
Favorite: With a shock that almost rocked her out of her trance, Akasha realized she could see things, even with her eyes closed. Colored lights, mostly, but they were surrounding things she knew were there. Lowering her head, she could see her own hands outlined with purple-gray light. Streaks of light ran up her arms and wrapped around her heart, where she found the core that Damian was talking about. She gazed in rapt fascination for a moment, almost losing the thread of what Damian was saying.
---
Note to self: do not try to write with Buffy playing while in the IRC for the Buffy-Boards and talking on the phone. It does not work. That up there? That 700-some-odd words? That was FOUR HOURS of "work."
Tomorrow will be better.
More later.
New words: 741
Total words: 25,129
Mean things: trouble learning basics. Snippy teacher/ghost.
Favorite: With a shock that almost rocked her out of her trance, Akasha realized she could see things, even with her eyes closed. Colored lights, mostly, but they were surrounding things she knew were there. Lowering her head, she could see her own hands outlined with purple-gray light. Streaks of light ran up her arms and wrapped around her heart, where she found the core that Damian was talking about. She gazed in rapt fascination for a moment, almost losing the thread of what Damian was saying.
---
Note to self: do not try to write with Buffy playing while in the IRC for the Buffy-Boards and talking on the phone. It does not work. That up there? That 700-some-odd words? That was FOUR HOURS of "work."
Tomorrow will be better.
More later.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Stats
Necromancer (OMG!)
New words: 473 (yes, I suck)
Total words: 24,386
Favorite: Just having such a being in his possession would make the Council obey his every whim for fear that he’d turn the Askr Draugr on them—which he would, without hesitation. It wasn’t as efficient as the idea that he’d had a few years ago to kill the Council members one by one and resurrect them under his control—a plan which, unfortunately, would have been detected by the Healers and ended fairly quickly—but it would do.
----
I planned to get a lot more writing done today, but then I discovered Castle, and worked on the paper I'm writing about Jonathan Levinson from Buffy, and I still have to finish Stardust within the next day or so to prepare for lesson plans for next week. And I still have to clean up this apartment so I'm not embarrassed when a friend comes to visit on Saturday. Spring Break my tushie. Sheesh.
More later.
New words: 473 (yes, I suck)
Total words: 24,386
Favorite: Just having such a being in his possession would make the Council obey his every whim for fear that he’d turn the Askr Draugr on them—which he would, without hesitation. It wasn’t as efficient as the idea that he’d had a few years ago to kill the Council members one by one and resurrect them under his control—a plan which, unfortunately, would have been detected by the Healers and ended fairly quickly—but it would do.
----
I planned to get a lot more writing done today, but then I discovered Castle, and worked on the paper I'm writing about Jonathan Levinson from Buffy, and I still have to finish Stardust within the next day or so to prepare for lesson plans for next week. And I still have to clean up this apartment so I'm not embarrassed when a friend comes to visit on Saturday. Spring Break my tushie. Sheesh.
More later.
Monday, March 09, 2009
ESP?
Must have a sixth sense that tells me when bad news is coming.
I got rejected from UTK and UNCG today. Way to coordinate, guys. Seriously.
That is all.
I got rejected from UTK and UNCG today. Way to coordinate, guys. Seriously.
That is all.
2nd Draftiness
Kosmic Zombie has read and critiqued "Dragon in a Mall," and it's now in the second draft phase and getting ready to get kicked through Critters. And also another writing forum I'm on now. It's a bit longer than I expected, and it got even longer in revision (not terrifyingly long, but longer). So we'll see how that goes.
Also, last night I outlined the next 3 chapters of Necromancer, so I'll work on that probably tomorrow.
I'm about to go check the mail; I've been putting it off all afternoon because I'm afraid of bad news, but not knowing doesn't mean I'm not rejected, so I guess I'll go do that. Sigh.
More later.
Also, last night I outlined the next 3 chapters of Necromancer, so I'll work on that probably tomorrow.
I'm about to go check the mail; I've been putting it off all afternoon because I'm afraid of bad news, but not knowing doesn't mean I'm not rejected, so I guess I'll go do that. Sigh.
More later.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Stats
"Dragon in a Mall"
New words (over the last 3 days or so): 2,488
Total words: 6,062
Deaths: lots of anonymous people. The dragon.
Mean things: surprise, if somewhat horror-cliche, ending.
Favorite: He led the other two out into the open space, picking his way among the grisly remains of the dragon’s victims. As they neared the mall, he noticed that the asphalt was sticky, then nearly liquid from the heat. He shuddered at the memory of the sense he’d had that first day, when he was sure the asphalt would swallow him whole. He quickened his pace, and they reached the concrete, which was singed and cracked but not melty, in a few seconds.
----
It's done. Yay! And I've sent it off to Kosmic Zombie, Mr. Horror Buff himself, to read over for me while I rest my brain from it and work on outlining the rest of Necromancer and possibly the idea I've had for a series of 4-8 books (most likely 6) that should be just plain fun.
But for the rest of today, we're doing brainless fun. W.E. and I plan to use a Barnes & Noble coupon to get the 4th season of ST:TNG, then we're gonna go out and eat, and then we're gonna go see Watchmen. Hopefully the reviews I've read are dead wrong and it will be awesome. *crosses fingers*
More later.
New words (over the last 3 days or so): 2,488
Total words: 6,062
Deaths: lots of anonymous people. The dragon.
Mean things: surprise, if somewhat horror-cliche, ending.
Favorite: He led the other two out into the open space, picking his way among the grisly remains of the dragon’s victims. As they neared the mall, he noticed that the asphalt was sticky, then nearly liquid from the heat. He shuddered at the memory of the sense he’d had that first day, when he was sure the asphalt would swallow him whole. He quickened his pace, and they reached the concrete, which was singed and cracked but not melty, in a few seconds.
----
It's done. Yay! And I've sent it off to Kosmic Zombie, Mr. Horror Buff himself, to read over for me while I rest my brain from it and work on outlining the rest of Necromancer and possibly the idea I've had for a series of 4-8 books (most likely 6) that should be just plain fun.
But for the rest of today, we're doing brainless fun. W.E. and I plan to use a Barnes & Noble coupon to get the 4th season of ST:TNG, then we're gonna go out and eat, and then we're gonna go see Watchmen. Hopefully the reviews I've read are dead wrong and it will be awesome. *crosses fingers*
More later.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Stats
"Dragon in a Mall"
New words: 387
Total words: 3,574
Favorite: It had moved.And it wasn’t the water this time; Thomas had seen the right front claw grip the base of the statue more firmly. Odd ribbons of color rippled down the dragon’s sides, turning it from slate-gray to a blue-green. The dragon’s jaws closed on the egg, and yolk dribbled between its teeth and down its throat to drip on the floor.
Mean things: the dragon's up.
Deaths: the idiot who woke it up
-----
It doesn't look like I did a lot of work on it, but I was mostly revising the last scene I'd written. Mr. Zombie gave me a really cool idea for how the dragon wakes up, and I had to get it in there. I'm liking this story.
Of course, I've liked them and had confidence in them BEFORE and look what's happened. . . .
Okay, enough negativity. Bedtime. Night!
More later.
New words: 387
Total words: 3,574
Favorite: It had moved.And it wasn’t the water this time; Thomas had seen the right front claw grip the base of the statue more firmly. Odd ribbons of color rippled down the dragon’s sides, turning it from slate-gray to a blue-green. The dragon’s jaws closed on the egg, and yolk dribbled between its teeth and down its throat to drip on the floor.
Mean things: the dragon's up.
Deaths: the idiot who woke it up
-----
It doesn't look like I did a lot of work on it, but I was mostly revising the last scene I'd written. Mr. Zombie gave me a really cool idea for how the dragon wakes up, and I had to get it in there. I'm liking this story.
Of course, I've liked them and had confidence in them BEFORE and look what's happened. . . .
Okay, enough negativity. Bedtime. Night!
More later.
Yet Another
Just found out that I didn't get in to Vanderbilt, either. I thought April was supposed to be the cruelest month. February sucked, and so far March isn't looking much better. Sigh.
More later.
More later.
Self Doubt
I'm in a bad place, self-confidence wise, right now. One of the Critters is reading Stars Without Name for me, and he doesn't like it. He's being very nice about not liking it, and has really good reasons for not liking it. So good, in fact, that I'm doubting my abilities as a writer. Maybe I suck. Maybe I can't write worth a hill of beans.
Maybe I should give up.
Sure, I've got the drive and the discipline to finish a novel--two, in fact--but they both suck, apparently. So where do I go from here? All the honing in the world won't help if I don't have the inherent talent to do this in the first place.
But then what do I do with myself? I still have all these ideas, and I still want to write, but like Sylvia Plath said, I want to see it ritualized in print. I don't have enough time or energy to waste it--if this is, indeed, a waste.
Any other writers out there go through this? What did you do? How do you deal with it? Comments, please!
More later.
Maybe I should give up.
Sure, I've got the drive and the discipline to finish a novel--two, in fact--but they both suck, apparently. So where do I go from here? All the honing in the world won't help if I don't have the inherent talent to do this in the first place.
But then what do I do with myself? I still have all these ideas, and I still want to write, but like Sylvia Plath said, I want to see it ritualized in print. I don't have enough time or energy to waste it--if this is, indeed, a waste.
Any other writers out there go through this? What did you do? How do you deal with it? Comments, please!
More later.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Stats (Again)
"Dragon in a Mall"
New words: 385
Total words: 3,187
Favorite: Jason gave the three of them another one of those inscrutable looks and dropped the book onto the bench in front of him. A second later, he drew a knife from his pocket and, before Thomas could react, slashed a deep cut on his palm. It bled freely, scarlet liquid flowing down the heel of his hand to his wrist, trickling to his elbow and dripping on the floor.
Mean things: The dragon is about to awaken. Mwaha.
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This space intentionally left blank.
More later.
New words: 385
Total words: 3,187
Favorite: Jason gave the three of them another one of those inscrutable looks and dropped the book onto the bench in front of him. A second later, he drew a knife from his pocket and, before Thomas could react, slashed a deep cut on his palm. It bled freely, scarlet liquid flowing down the heel of his hand to his wrist, trickling to his elbow and dripping on the floor.
Mean things: The dragon is about to awaken. Mwaha.
-----
This space intentionally left blank.
More later.
Stats
"Dragon in a Mall"
New words: 509
Total words: 2,788
----
Nothing really special about this batch; just getting set up for the big dragon awakening here in a second. I'm starting to worry a bit that there's too much setup, but I haven't hit 3,000 words yet, so maybe I'm okay. I'm sure Mr. Zombie will tell me if I need to slice it down--or add stuff in.
I'm very hungry.
More later.
New words: 509
Total words: 2,788
----
Nothing really special about this batch; just getting set up for the big dragon awakening here in a second. I'm starting to worry a bit that there's too much setup, but I haven't hit 3,000 words yet, so maybe I'm okay. I'm sure Mr. Zombie will tell me if I need to slice it down--or add stuff in.
I'm very hungry.
More later.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Truck Fixiness!
The mechanic people poked at the truck and did a high-mileage engine flush and an oil change, and it's purring like a kitten. Yay for fixy trucks! I canceled the store trip--I'll go tomorrow--but I'm all cozy on my couch watching "Earshot" and I'm gonna start lesson planning here in a second, and try not to be mad at all the students who are trying to wriggle out of class on Friday (Spring Break starts on Saturday). I think lunch comes first, though. Yep, lunch. Yum, lunch.
And maybe a tad bit less caffiene. . . .
More later.
And maybe a tad bit less caffiene. . . .
More later.
Snow Day!
Since I'm up and dressed, I may as well do stuff even though classes are canceled. Here are my plans for today:
1. Take the truck over to the mechanic and see what they can do with it, if anything.
2. Watch Buffy.
3. Lesson plan for A Midsummer Night's Dream.
4. Watch Buffy.
5. Work on "Dragon in a Mall" and/or Necromancer.
6. Watch Buffy.
7. At some point, go to the grocery store because we're out of bread. And pistachios.
8. Watch Buffy while eating pistachios.
Sounds like a full day to me!
More later.
1. Take the truck over to the mechanic and see what they can do with it, if anything.
2. Watch Buffy.
3. Lesson plan for A Midsummer Night's Dream.
4. Watch Buffy.
5. Work on "Dragon in a Mall" and/or Necromancer.
6. Watch Buffy.
7. At some point, go to the grocery store because we're out of bread. And pistachios.
8. Watch Buffy while eating pistachios.
Sounds like a full day to me!
More later.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
It's Snowing!
And I have pictures! There's LOTS of snow! Probably not enough for the school to close down (there will never be enough snow for THAT), but still quite a bit. The camera didn't pick up the actual snow falling, but you can see how much is already on the ground, and it's falling pretty thick and heavy right now.
The weird shadow across the first two pictures is a leaf from my plant; I moved it off the windowsill for the third picture.
If I wasn't so sniffly and tired, I'd go outside and have a snowball fight.
More later.
The weird shadow across the first two pictures is a leaf from my plant; I moved it off the windowsill for the third picture.
If I wasn't so sniffly and tired, I'd go outside and have a snowball fight.
More later.
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