Further proof that I'm on the right path

I intended to take the time between the end of my final semester and the new year as a vacation, allow my brain time to reset, allow story ideas to percolate.

It's been 9 days since my semester officially ended, and I'm feeling the strong desire to write either a new draft of an existing story or start the note phase of a new story.

I do not write because I want to. I write because I need to, have to, don't know what else I would/could/should do.

I never felt this way about theater. Yes, I was a bit younger, but my passion for theater was never this soul-consuming. The need to write is a burning, nagging irritation in my mind. It is something I cannot get rid of and will not feel at peace with unless I give it room to grow and expand.

In short: I know I am on the right path with my life because, when left to my own devices, I find myself doing it anyway.

Rededication of self, amongst other things

Yesterday my writing professor--who is one of those amazing individuals that college professor movies are made about, and has the ability to transform a willing student into a far better person, student, and writer than he/she was before--told me that he thinks I would be a good writing professor, and encouraged me to go to graduate school for an MFA. He also encouraged me to continue writing and work to get myself published, because he thinks I can do it.

The effect that his has had on me is astounding, nearly 24 hours after this conversation I am still grinning like a stupefied moron with a shiny ball.

My fellow writing students have told me that they think I have what it takes to make it in the world as a writer, but my professors have kept their opinions separate and not, until now, shared them. This is a feather in my cap that has kept me thinking about all the stories I could write and seriously looking at how to bend the universe to my will in order to make it happen. To have the encouragement of a professor, but specifically this one, validates my long journey that is nearly complete. This quest, which has taken me 7.5 years and on a roller coaster of ups and downs, will in a month result in my possession of a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing. The nearer I have gotten to the end of my tenure as an undergraduate student, the more I have been wondering what I will actually do with my degree.

Last night I rededicated myself to my plan.

I am going to be a writer.

Universe, beware. In a battle of will, you will not win.

Completed Rough Draft

In 33 hours I went from idea to 9-page rough draft. I'm actually pretty happy with it. Especially considering that this was not the story I was planning on writing. Whoops. :-P

Next week I'll find out what other people think of it.

New Story

So, about that using my old story? Not right now.

I was half asleep and my brain just solved the puzzle of how to begin a story using a new idea I've been mulling over for several days.

So much for sleeping. I actually just said out loud, "Okay brain, you win. Let's do it." And as soon as I finish this I am switching over to Microsoft Word to begin typing it out.

Onward into my imagination!

Old Work, New Me

I am working on a story for my senior seminar class right now, and for this I'm trying to use a story from a writing workshop class I took a year ago. This particular story was written in September '08, and re-reading it/re-writing it now is giving me an acute appreciation for just how far I have come in that one year. My ability to self-edit is also greatly improved.

The art of writing is the art of re-writing, goes the old axiom of the field. And I must say that in the act of re-writing this I am able to observe within myself a certain ability to acknowledge the weaknesses of my writing without feeling diminished by them. It's quite nice.

I'm not sure how this story will come out, if I'll want to keep it or not, but I'm giving it a chance, at least for now. We'll see how this goes. If it fails, then I have a list of story ideas to explore.

On a related note, I have decided that this journal will be for my writing-related thoughts and life. My professional blog, if you will. My personal life shall continue to be chronicled elsewhere.

I also bought a new reference book yesterday. It's about the history of werewolves and shapeshifters throughout human history. I'd seen it before but always passed it by as too drab or cursory to be worth my time, but when I started leafing through it I was pleasantly surprised. Once I'm done with school perhaps I'll read it.

Oh, and today I bought a book about how to write short stories. It seems to be a theory-based book, almost a textbook. Very interesting. At the very least worth the $1 I spent on it. Gotta love used book sales on campus.

First Post

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Retrieving Greeting:

Greetings to any and all who stumble upon or into my madness. It is my sad duty to report to you that there are no maps of this territory and once you succumb to my madness there is little hope or chance of escape, and no one has ever been rescued.

I am not sure what I'm going to use this blog for, as I have a LiveJournal as well that gets most of my blogging attention. I may just cross-post, but I may use each separately with only some overlap.

At any rate, I am here now.

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I went with some friends to watch the meteor shower last night, and had several hours of enjoyment laying on my sleeping bag, looking up at the sky as I waited for it to burn. Good friends and great laughter made the night enjoyable and memorable, and hopefully photos will follow.

Later today, I get to meet Andrew Klavan!