Holy smokes, it's nearly been a month of this crazy ROW80 life!
Since I don't particularly feel like complaining how I've only written 200 words this week, I would like to take this opportunity to talk about all the wonderful things I feel ROW80 has brought me. Even if this particular week wasn't particularly productive in terms of the actual challenge, I do think it's a good example of how ROW80 has extended its influence into all parts of my life.
Truthfully folks, and this is brings me a bit of shame to admit, I haven't really Been a Writer in a number of years. That is to say, I haven't regularly written/revised/brainstormed/etc. for any period longer than a couple of weeks since I was about fourteen. I guess I can blame this on high school or something, but there are plenty of people out there who maintain full-time jobs and write routinely, so I think it's a failing of my own character for the past few years.
So now that I'm starting the process of writing routinely again, I've noticed a few things. The first of which is that it makes me happy. Really, truly happy. I don't just limit this to good days of writing, either. Obviously a day where I can sit down and mash out 2,000 words in two hours is going to be a good day. But there's a much more long-term effect going on. I feel productive. I feel like a person who is contributing to the world in some way, even though so far I'm the only one reading the crazy things I write. I feel like an interesting person. I feel more engaged with other people. All of these "side-effects" may not come as a surprise to you, but they did surprise me.
So, while my ROW80 goals may have fallen by the wayside this week, I do not feel that I have failed myself in any way. I'm finishing up my semester. I'm making awesome plans for the summer (see post below on how I scored a paid internship in LA!) I feel like I've got a handle on life in a way that I haven't before. I'm attributing this, in part, to ROW80 for encouraging me to have goals and make plans and stop just waiting around for things to happen. When I'm writing, I'm making things happen and asserting my control in this weird, fictional universe, but I think it's bleeding over into my actual universe. In the best possible way.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Search for an Internship 2011
Well as some of you may know, I'm finishing up my freshman year of college at the best public university in the WORLD (yup, University of California Berkeley, that's us!) so I've been frantically trying to iron out some plans for summer.
Usually my summers go like this:
1) Hang out with my family (10%)
2) Sit around and watch TV. Usually go through one or two seasons of some show each week. (30%)
3) Sleep (20%)
3) Occasionally see my friends. Usually in the capacity of going to see a movie or eating some kind of delicious food. (5%)
4) Hang out with my cats (20%)
5) Babysit for a couple of weeks in order to keep up with my astronomical spending on Starbucks coffee and tea as well as my insatiable desire to buy clothes (10%)
6) Write/do other productive things (5%)
So, awesome in terms of my laziness/relaxation, not so awesome in terms of like, my future and general contribution to society. This summer, I decided, would be different. I was going to do something. I was going to get a job. I was going to have a PLAN.
This was all about half a month ago. Immediately after this, I got an e-mail from my old college counselor at my high school with a list of 74 PAID summer internships in the arts. WOOHOO! It was a dream come true! But -- I didn't have an up-to-date resume. I've never done anything awesome enough to get me an internship! There were probably a million more qualified, more awesome students applying to the EXACT SAME THINGS. What was I to do?
What I did was this: I made my resume. I made it super nice and awesome looking and amazing. I reminded myself of all the worthwhile, productive things I'd ever done in my life. There were more than I thought! I wrote cover letters. I wrote more cover letters. I went to see the Dodos play in Memorial Glade (wait...). I read Overqualified by Joey Comeau to remind myself that I was by far not the first person to get frustrated with the whole applying-for-jobs process.
I sent my applications. I waited. Two hours after sending them in, one organization got back to me. They wanted to have a phone interview with me. An interview! I was excited. I was nervous. I convinced myself I was one charming motherfucker and they'd be lucky to have me.
Apparently it worked, because the next thing I knew I was getting an e-mail saying that out of all the interviews they'd conducted, I was the best fit. BEST FIT! They wanted me! It took me, oh, about two seconds to accept their offer, and there you have it. I have an amazing opportunity waiting for me in LA when I return for the summer. I could not be more thrilled.
Usually my summers go like this:
1) Hang out with my family (10%)
2) Sit around and watch TV. Usually go through one or two seasons of some show each week. (30%)
3) Sleep (20%)
3) Occasionally see my friends. Usually in the capacity of going to see a movie or eating some kind of delicious food. (5%)
4) Hang out with my cats (20%)
5) Babysit for a couple of weeks in order to keep up with my astronomical spending on Starbucks coffee and tea as well as my insatiable desire to buy clothes (10%)
6) Write/do other productive things (5%)
So, awesome in terms of my laziness/relaxation, not so awesome in terms of like, my future and general contribution to society. This summer, I decided, would be different. I was going to do something. I was going to get a job. I was going to have a PLAN.
This was all about half a month ago. Immediately after this, I got an e-mail from my old college counselor at my high school with a list of 74 PAID summer internships in the arts. WOOHOO! It was a dream come true! But -- I didn't have an up-to-date resume. I've never done anything awesome enough to get me an internship! There were probably a million more qualified, more awesome students applying to the EXACT SAME THINGS. What was I to do?
What I did was this: I made my resume. I made it super nice and awesome looking and amazing. I reminded myself of all the worthwhile, productive things I'd ever done in my life. There were more than I thought! I wrote cover letters. I wrote more cover letters. I went to see the Dodos play in Memorial Glade (wait...). I read Overqualified by Joey Comeau to remind myself that I was by far not the first person to get frustrated with the whole applying-for-jobs process.
I sent my applications. I waited. Two hours after sending them in, one organization got back to me. They wanted to have a phone interview with me. An interview! I was excited. I was nervous. I convinced myself I was one charming motherfucker and they'd be lucky to have me.
Apparently it worked, because the next thing I knew I was getting an e-mail saying that out of all the interviews they'd conducted, I was the best fit. BEST FIT! They wanted me! It took me, oh, about two seconds to accept their offer, and there you have it. I have an amazing opportunity waiting for me in LA when I return for the summer. I could not be more thrilled.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
ROW80 April 20 Check-in
Well...I more or less managed to get nothing done so far this week. I've been caught up in a flurry of cover letters, resumes, phone-interviews and bouts of anxiety as I try to secure a internship in Los Angeles for the summer. A summer that is creeping up on me quicker than I expected! I honestly can't believe my freshman year of college is almost over, but I suppose that's for another post.
In any case, I can't quite get away with saying I did nothing on my ROW80 stuff this week, because I am still faithfully taking pictures every day (although I was sadly without my camera for one of the best moments of today--catching a squirrel red-handed as he snuck into the open window of a parked car!) Additionally, I got a lot done Sunday, which according to the way we Americans read the calendar, is the beginning of the week. So THERE. In fact, I wrote over 2,000 words on Sunday alone, and got some more out of 101. I'm starting to see the broader picture of that story. Maybe. I also tried out a new coffee shop to write with. I'm not sure it was an entirely positive experience, but perhaps one day I might go back.
Anyway, I realize it's been a while since I actually linked the ROW80 website, so here it is. Go give those guys some encouragement instead of this failure!
In any case, I can't quite get away with saying I did nothing on my ROW80 stuff this week, because I am still faithfully taking pictures every day (although I was sadly without my camera for one of the best moments of today--catching a squirrel red-handed as he snuck into the open window of a parked car!) Additionally, I got a lot done Sunday, which according to the way we Americans read the calendar, is the beginning of the week. So THERE. In fact, I wrote over 2,000 words on Sunday alone, and got some more out of 101. I'm starting to see the broader picture of that story. Maybe. I also tried out a new coffee shop to write with. I'm not sure it was an entirely positive experience, but perhaps one day I might go back.
Anyway, I realize it's been a while since I actually linked the ROW80 website, so here it is. Go give those guys some encouragement instead of this failure!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
ROW80 April 17 Check-in
Good, good week! I got to see one of my favorite bands play on campus yesterday which was extremely fun and wonderful. If you've never heard them, you should definitely check out The Dodos. My favorite song is Red and Purple, but pretty much all of their songs are winners. Horny Hippies is also good. (I have gotten a lot of really good music lately and I think it's contributed somewhat to the excellent writing sessions I've been having.)
As for writing, things are still going well with Zombies!!, but can't say the same for 101, which is officially on the back-burner as of right now. I had to devote a lot of time to applying for internships in LA for the summer this week, but despite that I managed to surpass my word goal for the week!
I actually wrote the most words last night, which was a surprise in a bunch of different ways. For one thing, I'd already accomplished my word goal for the week. For another, I had not planned on writing at all, in any way. I was just sitting at my computer (welcome to the world of my exciting Saturday nights) and suddenly felt ready to write the next scene. So I did. (To the excellent soundtrack of Sleigh Bells' Treats .) And I managed to do that thing where I leave off in a place I'll be excited to pick up at next time I sit down. I rarely accomplish this because my instinct is just to keep writing until I don't have anything left. But I happened to get interrupted last night so...hooray for interruptions? I guess they can be a good thing every now and again!
As for writing, things are still going well with Zombies!!, but can't say the same for 101, which is officially on the back-burner as of right now. I had to devote a lot of time to applying for internships in LA for the summer this week, but despite that I managed to surpass my word goal for the week!
I actually wrote the most words last night, which was a surprise in a bunch of different ways. For one thing, I'd already accomplished my word goal for the week. For another, I had not planned on writing at all, in any way. I was just sitting at my computer (welcome to the world of my exciting Saturday nights) and suddenly felt ready to write the next scene. So I did. (To the excellent soundtrack of Sleigh Bells' Treats .) And I managed to do that thing where I leave off in a place I'll be excited to pick up at next time I sit down. I rarely accomplish this because my instinct is just to keep writing until I don't have anything left. But I happened to get interrupted last night so...hooray for interruptions? I guess they can be a good thing every now and again!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
ROW80 April 13 Check-in
Today is a beautiful day!
I don't know if it's ROW80, the fact that it really feels like spring (finally!) or just all the coffee I've been drinking, but I am in the best spirits I think I've been in since the beginning of the semester. I am wearing adorable outfits, waking up early (well today not included), and just generally feeling like I am kicking ass and taking names. So that's all very nice.
This week in Zombies!!
I have already written a combined 4,000 words on Zombies!! and it's only Wednesday. I even took yesterday off from writing so I could trek out to SF to visit my cousin. Although I guess I didn't technically take the day off entirely because I did scribble out a skeleton of a scene while I was on BART. That then became the scene I'm currently entrenched in today. I'm hoping after I take care of a few dumb school things I can finish off that scene and maybe even reach my weekly word goal today!
Does that mean I'll be taking off the rest of the week? No, but I might have to take it easy with writing because I do have two papers due next week, so I imagine a big chunk of my weekend will have to be devoted for that, so it's just wonderful luck that I'm doing so well on word goals this week. I didn't even plan it or anything.
There is still no new progress on 101. I'm reading The Road right now though (as well as Their Eyes Were Watching God -- for the second time this year -- for English) and I'm hoping this will spark something for me for my short story. The Road doesn't have too much in common with my short story, but somehow they seem linked in my mind so we'll see.
I am hoping to post something on this blog that is not just ROW80 check-in business. Might not happen this week (because of aforementioned papers) but we'll see.
I don't know if it's ROW80, the fact that it really feels like spring (finally!) or just all the coffee I've been drinking, but I am in the best spirits I think I've been in since the beginning of the semester. I am wearing adorable outfits, waking up early (well today not included), and just generally feeling like I am kicking ass and taking names. So that's all very nice.
This week in Zombies!!
I have already written a combined 4,000 words on Zombies!! and it's only Wednesday. I even took yesterday off from writing so I could trek out to SF to visit my cousin. Although I guess I didn't technically take the day off entirely because I did scribble out a skeleton of a scene while I was on BART. That then became the scene I'm currently entrenched in today. I'm hoping after I take care of a few dumb school things I can finish off that scene and maybe even reach my weekly word goal today!
Does that mean I'll be taking off the rest of the week? No, but I might have to take it easy with writing because I do have two papers due next week, so I imagine a big chunk of my weekend will have to be devoted for that, so it's just wonderful luck that I'm doing so well on word goals this week. I didn't even plan it or anything.
There is still no new progress on 101. I'm reading The Road right now though (as well as Their Eyes Were Watching God -- for the second time this year -- for English) and I'm hoping this will spark something for me for my short story. The Road doesn't have too much in common with my short story, but somehow they seem linked in my mind so we'll see.
I am hoping to post something on this blog that is not just ROW80 check-in business. Might not happen this week (because of aforementioned papers) but we'll see.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
ROW80 April 10 Check-in
Official Round of Words in 80 Days site.
So not a lot has happened since the last check-in, except I decided to re-orient how I do these check-in things. Rather than go day by day, which invariably results in some pretty boring commentary about my day-to-day life, I'd rather just talk about how each of my projects is going between check-ins. Cool? Cool.
To recap, these projects include:
1. Zombies!! Full-length novel. The plan is to complete 50,000 words of the manuscript by the end of ROW80
2. 101 short-story. The plan is to have this first draft finished by the end of ROW80
3. Write 5,000 words total each week, split up however I want between these two projects.
4. Take a picture every day!
Zombies!!: So, things have been progressing nicely for Zombies!! and I think the entirety of my word count total for this week came from that (which says something about how short-story writing is going for my perennially short-story-phobic brain, but more on that later). I am currently 9,000 words into the manuscript, although I should provide a little bit of a caveat to that number and say that around half of that was written before ROW80 even started, and that most of these 9,000 words are essentially 2nd, 3rd or even 4th drafts of things I have already written in the past. There are a few areas where I have literally just lifted passages of texts that existed in earlier incarnations of this project. So the numbers for this first section are a bit misleading, but even taking that into account, this is going smoothly. Since last check-in, I have added a total of 3,100 words to the manuscript, although like I mentioned before some of that was technically written before. I am just getting to the point where I can move beyond where previous “drafts” of this have left off, so that’s quite exciting.
101: Now that this project is no longer a shiny new idea, I have started to realize that, oh, okay, I need to actually be getting at something with this, and so far I just haven’t hit upon what that is. So this project has been a little stagnant this week, but I haven’t lost hope or interest. I feel like I just need to wait and be patient to figure out what is tying this thing together. So far it stands at a loopy, disjointed 1,500 words.
Pic-A-Day: My picture-diary project is going swimmingly. I have held true this week and taken (at least) one picture every day, including a bunch of this nice drive I took with some friends last Sunday (technically before ROW80 started I guess but oh well!) Pictures can be perused on my Tumblr. They’re kind of mixed in with some other silly things, most of which have very little to do with my actual life, so there’s an interesting juxtaposition there.
Before I go try to tackle today’s writing session, I just want to quickly thank any and all of you fellow-ROWers (and any non ROWers) who have stumbled onto this little blog. Thanks for giving me a read, and thanks to everyone who has popped in to give me words of encouragement! I am trying to be a little more open about reaching out to people in this crazy world, and that includes internet-people too! So I may be stopping by some other ROW blogs and I might just leave a comment or two.
So not a lot has happened since the last check-in, except I decided to re-orient how I do these check-in things. Rather than go day by day, which invariably results in some pretty boring commentary about my day-to-day life, I'd rather just talk about how each of my projects is going between check-ins. Cool? Cool.
To recap, these projects include:
1. Zombies!! Full-length novel. The plan is to complete 50,000 words of the manuscript by the end of ROW80
2. 101 short-story. The plan is to have this first draft finished by the end of ROW80
3. Write 5,000 words total each week, split up however I want between these two projects.
4. Take a picture every day!
Zombies!!: So, things have been progressing nicely for Zombies!! and I think the entirety of my word count total for this week came from that (which says something about how short-story writing is going for my perennially short-story-phobic brain, but more on that later). I am currently 9,000 words into the manuscript, although I should provide a little bit of a caveat to that number and say that around half of that was written before ROW80 even started, and that most of these 9,000 words are essentially 2nd, 3rd or even 4th drafts of things I have already written in the past. There are a few areas where I have literally just lifted passages of texts that existed in earlier incarnations of this project. So the numbers for this first section are a bit misleading, but even taking that into account, this is going smoothly. Since last check-in, I have added a total of 3,100 words to the manuscript, although like I mentioned before some of that was technically written before. I am just getting to the point where I can move beyond where previous “drafts” of this have left off, so that’s quite exciting.
101: Now that this project is no longer a shiny new idea, I have started to realize that, oh, okay, I need to actually be getting at something with this, and so far I just haven’t hit upon what that is. So this project has been a little stagnant this week, but I haven’t lost hope or interest. I feel like I just need to wait and be patient to figure out what is tying this thing together. So far it stands at a loopy, disjointed 1,500 words.
Pic-A-Day: My picture-diary project is going swimmingly. I have held true this week and taken (at least) one picture every day, including a bunch of this nice drive I took with some friends last Sunday (technically before ROW80 started I guess but oh well!) Pictures can be perused on my Tumblr. They’re kind of mixed in with some other silly things, most of which have very little to do with my actual life, so there’s an interesting juxtaposition there.
Before I go try to tackle today’s writing session, I just want to quickly thank any and all of you fellow-ROWers (and any non ROWers) who have stumbled onto this little blog. Thanks for giving me a read, and thanks to everyone who has popped in to give me words of encouragement! I am trying to be a little more open about reaching out to people in this crazy world, and that includes internet-people too! So I may be stopping by some other ROW blogs and I might just leave a comment or two.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
ROW80 April 6 check-in
Well, the time has arrived for my first official Round of Words in 80 Days check in!
I actually slightly changed my goals since my first post on Thursday. I got a little more ambitious, what can I say?
So to recap, my goals are:
1. Work on short-story (working title: "101")
2. Write first 50,000* words of full length novel Zombies!!
3. Write at least 5,000** words per week
4. Take a picture every day!
*this used to be 25,000 words
**this used to be 2,100 words
Monday -- So, I have to admit I got very excited after officially signing up on Thursday. I started writing stuff before the official start date. Which was good because I didn't get a whole lot done on Monday since I had a psych test the next morning. I did manage to get some writing done in the hour I had between English and my study date (at Cafe Strada, of course. I may have to dedicate an entire blog post about Cafe Strada soon, but just trust me, it's....it's magical) so that's good! I do not have an actual word count on what I got done Monday, because I am atrociously bad at keeping track of word counts. More on that later.
Tuesday -- My amazing roommate's 19th birthday was Tuesday so I had to spend a good amount of time taking care of IMPORTANT BIRTHDAY THINGS, but in the evening she had to get some work done, so I made her go to Strada with me where I spent 90 minutes happily pounding out the end of Chapter 3 of Zombies!! I also had time to transcribe the notes I'd jotted down for 101 during lunch.
Wednesday -- This is today. I've just sat down to write in the library. Probably could have spent the afternoon being more productive, but I really want to finish Breakfast of Champions before my dad sends me my copy of The Road so I spent a moderate amount of time reading (and napping).
Total word-counts since last check-in:
1. 101: 500 words
2. Zombies!!: 685
So far so good!
I actually slightly changed my goals since my first post on Thursday. I got a little more ambitious, what can I say?
So to recap, my goals are:
1. Work on short-story (working title: "101")
2. Write first 50,000* words of full length novel Zombies!!
3. Write at least 5,000** words per week
4. Take a picture every day!
*this used to be 25,000 words
**this used to be 2,100 words
Monday -- So, I have to admit I got very excited after officially signing up on Thursday. I started writing stuff before the official start date. Which was good because I didn't get a whole lot done on Monday since I had a psych test the next morning. I did manage to get some writing done in the hour I had between English and my study date (at Cafe Strada, of course. I may have to dedicate an entire blog post about Cafe Strada soon, but just trust me, it's....it's magical) so that's good! I do not have an actual word count on what I got done Monday, because I am atrociously bad at keeping track of word counts. More on that later.
Tuesday -- My amazing roommate's 19th birthday was Tuesday so I had to spend a good amount of time taking care of IMPORTANT BIRTHDAY THINGS, but in the evening she had to get some work done, so I made her go to Strada with me where I spent 90 minutes happily pounding out the end of Chapter 3 of Zombies!! I also had time to transcribe the notes I'd jotted down for 101 during lunch.
Wednesday -- This is today. I've just sat down to write in the library. Probably could have spent the afternoon being more productive, but I really want to finish Breakfast of Champions before my dad sends me my copy of The Road so I spent a moderate amount of time reading (and napping).
Total word-counts since last check-in:
1. 101: 500 words
2. Zombies!!: 685
So far so good!
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