The End

Dear Class,
Thanks for a great class this summer. I had so much fun reading your fiction and talking about fiction writing. You are a brilliant bunch of students, and I hope that you keep writing.

Stay cool in the Tucson heat.

Yours,
Rachel Y.

Hmmmm.

I making some last minute changes before everything is due. I hope it all works out. It's been a great class.

One Last Post

First of all, Happy fourth of July. I just finished everything for my portfolio. It feels good to be done. I will see most of you tomorrow at the Auld Dubliner. I've enjoyed the class and I think might writing got atleast a little bit better. I will remember the lust and the hand most of all.

reading

i don't know what to read. agh! the excerpt idea is difficult, because where to cut?

Working on my portfolios for both of my classes....trying to find something not psychotic to read for the talk-off on Thursday....Revising....

Oh, Rachel, I forgot to ask you: when we turn in the portfolio, can the short story be more than 20 pages?

I'm cleaning at work, cleaning my new apt, moving, and cleaning the old apt. I'm glad that I have this class. Without it, I might clean myself into oblivion.

endings

endings are HARD. i'm getting nowhere fast, coming up with lots of ideas that just feel too "eh." hopefully something that works will hit me in the face soon. i kind of toyed with the idea of including parts from Sammie's perspective, but feel like that would be such a major change- since the whole story is through Lizbeth's eyes only right now and that's part of the point- so it might take too long to do right and/or it might just trash the whole feel. also, i guess my character's motivation came out not quite how i wanted it to... jealousy maybe overshadowed some of the other stuff i wanted to be more important... (which is funny- my last story was about jealousy too... hmmm... let's not think about that too much!). i'll keep fiddling with this stuff and hope it all comes together, meanwhile i'm tired. see you all soon, hope you had a great weekend.

Nearing the finishing line

Hey all, thanks for the help with my story. I've been going through and fixing the tenses. Geez, I'm amazed you people were able to read it at all! I'm adding a bit of backstory sooner in the story to make Morgan and Edward's relationship make more sense, and be a bit stronger. I'm taking out some small sections, and trying to get rid of those horrid chiche's (but really, how else do you describe that fluttery feeling in the belly?)

I'd really like suggestions on a title if you guys have any ideas. I was never happy with what I chose. Help?

Revised Ending

Dear Everyone,

Well, thanks to your generous ripping apart of my story (*wink*), I have revised various parts throughout and changed the ending pretty drastically. The good news is, she still vomits at the end, and this time it's graphic. Hooray!

Love,

Jax

P.S. For the curious, here's how it ends:

She decided to really paint today. She packed her duffel full of paints and palettes and pencils, grabbed a canvas, and headed to the park. As she approached the spot where she had painted the day before, she remembered her encounter there with Jonathan Hall. She remembered how he had held her left hand, rubbing the beads on her O-mamori. Her stomach clinched, and her saliva began to thicken. She thought about how happy seven years of marriage had been. Her vision began to blur. As she got closer, she remembered how hurt Alex had looked, laying on the bed, pillow covering his crotch. She remembered Jonathan Hall’s cold hand on her breast, and her guts twisted painfully. Her mouth tasted bitter, and fat droplets began leaving wet trails down her cheeks. Finally, as she reached the spot where she and Hall had stood toe to toe, she recalled how it had felt to sleep alone last night in a wide, empty bed, without Alex by her side. With that last though, Marcia’s canvas and painting supplies toppled to the ground, the latter scattering across the grass. Marcia doubled over painfully, grabbing her knees for support, and emptied the bitter, acidic contents of her stomach onto the fading imprints of two size ten Rockports.

Nota Bene: In the revised park scene, Jonathan Hall is described as wearing Rockports.

Thank you and a question for Rachel

Thank you everyone for the comments. I can say with absolute certainty that there will be no death. No dog paw sticking out of the suitcase. I'm all for a park image of Serena running free.
Rachel-for the analysis of our short story collection is it okay to include a kind of personal response as well? Sheehan's stories have the same themes I'm interested in writing about.

didn't write. Ate a burger instead.

Thanks Everyone!

I just read through everyone's comments on my paper. Thank you for all the tips and ideas!




I do apologize for it being so confusing to most, and it was my number one worry and will definitely be worked on. I wrote this as if I was a video editor (well, I do that anyways) and some of the tricks and such that film makers use don't necessarily translate well to creative writing. Ah, only if I could use Photoshop, Motion, and Final Cut to make a peice of creative writing (seriously, that's how my mind worked when I wrote this thing, like using a movie timeline and running at 24fps.) This is what happens when you have English 210 and Media Arts 497g back to back each day.

So I propose this. Each of the "memories" he has (which are in 1st person, present tense... and will stay that way) are false ways that Joy dies, none of which are true. He only conjures up these visions in order to explore if her death in a different way would ease his heart (which it does not). In order to step into these "fake memories" (sorry, that's the best term I can come up with) I think I'll take Daniel's advice and have some more objects in real life make him think more about the scenes his sad little mind produces. Then, start to transition, like a "Dip-to-Black" transition (when the screen fades out then back in) and come back in black and white. I thought that the POV change was enough, but I can work on putting in more of "His mind started thinking wildly when he saw the children, making ideas and acusations, false logistics as to how his wife Joy could have turned to death. He thought these in hopes it would ease his heavy heart." Literally, I'll make him view the "fake memories" in black-and-white, the only thing he sees in color will be the actual death by car.
Will this work to make the difference of reality, and imaginary less confusing to the reader without having to state the fakeness outright?

(Again, can you tell I think behind a camera? Dang... been doing this stuff for far too long already.)

As for my character development, I would rather keep him from developing too much. He is to be "motionless" in this sense, showing how some people just can't fully get over it. As for the ending, I'll be changing that, having the knife that does not kill her be more pronounced and obvious so that we realize that he does not kill her, only held it as he ran outside.

I'm still struggling with him moving forward in his life. I don't really want him to move too far, and have him realize that thinking of other ways she could have died, will never bring her back, and never make the sadness go away. Only accepting it will allow him to move on. I dunno, it seemed really cool when I wrote it. Now, seems like a dark Film Noir script that doesn't go places.

[Thanks to Marissa for the cool drawing!]

UGH. Brain hurts. Need sleep.

I read four chapters last night and crammed for my Psychology test that I have...in an hour.
Still managed to read all the stories, though since I'm so out of it I'm not sure how much help I was. Can barely keep my eyes open.

Stories

I'm done reading for the night. The stories are good. The house is hot
cluttered with boxes, and the Russian set his dinner, which he always
seems to have at midnight, to boil on the range top. He left the room- I
hope he remembers that he's cooking. See ya'll tomorrow.
--andersonwj

Whew.

Okay, so I'm posting for all the days I haven't posted recently. After taking ENGL 209 and 210 at the same time this summer, I'm considering changing my major to something that has nothing to do with creative writing whatsoever. Like llama ranching, though I doubt they offer that at the UofA. Anyhow, I don't know if writing critiques is considered writing, but I'm doing a lot of that. I'm also trying to revise my short story so it's more polished (a.k.a. doesn't suck quite as much as before). Er.....okay. Well, despite the fact that critiquing is a pain in the ass, I'm enjoying your guys' stories. Fulla talent!

Ugh

I like reading all of your stories but I'm burnt out!

Midnight Cowboy

Wahida, I would still watch Midnight Cowboy. I've never seen it before. Your story inspired me to finally rent it.

im starting to lose it. im reading and writing and im really bitter, almost all because of my writing lately. i do need to get my experimental going, i dont think that i'll have too much trouble with it. i might even have an idea, but i need to be sure on length. so much to do and never a second to breathe, but that's the way i need it. i'm thinking of starting two or three new projects and hopefully i can hit like i did three years ago and run three day projects, which i still like those things that i have written in the two day periods than anything i have written over a longer period. i hope by next May i can add an exception to that...my novel, but we'll see. the stories are coming out pretty well. i guess that's all i've got. have a nice day all

~chad nobert

omg

for anyone i've ruined the ending to "Midnight Cowboy" for, i'm sorry! i didn't even think about that, and now i kinda feel bad about it... but i think it's definitely worth seeing anyway, despite my thoughtless spoiler. meanwhile, bryce's story totally had me in stitches this morning, and i'm about to read brewster's which i know he said is very sad, so it looks like it's going to be a very emotional day. i always get excited to see what the stories are going to be about. it's hard not to peek... but i don't want to SPOIL it for myself, har har... ok, i really am sorry about ruining the end.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who participated in workshop today. I found all of your comments totally helpful and constructive. I hope i can work it all out in the short time i have to make my revision. on another note. i don't think i will be writing in my journal over the next couple of days. i'm trying to get all of the work for this class done by friday because i have to leave early to travel to northern California for my summer job. thanks again...LA PAz

Latest Stories

This morning I read four of the stories. They are still very decent. I could seriously relate to Bryce's Save-Mart employee. I feel that state of mind when I'm cashiering.

so...

stories were fun last night, i started some of the stories for tomorrow too. finishing up comments for today's now. why do they keep it so cold in these campus lounges? see you all soon, i'm excited to get feedback on my story (but i have a slight suspicion i might end up getting workshopped tomorrow!)

Refugee All Stars

there is a special on pbs right now about the Refugee All Stars, a band from Sierra Leone. they were in tucson playing at the rialto earlier in the year. i'm crying my face off.

Revision

Missed posting last couple of days, but did write. Trying to work on revisions for both flash and short story . . . especially the short story.

stories

Hey all. so far the stories i've read have been pretty good. i'm looking forward to reading the rest next week. i haven't been keeping up with my journal entries, but maybe tonight i'll do some writing...peace

Workshop Comments

Read three of the stories for tomorrow. I will have to do the last one tomorrow before class. I keep thinking of things I should have done better in my own story.

comments

yeah, so i was up late too, and i'm now finishing the comments for the last story. writing comments can be hard, it's going to be a long week. but reading the stories was a lot of fun and i'm excited to keep reading more. see everyone in a few hours... hope we all stay awake! : )

Finished reading the stories last night, and am doing the last feedback writeup now. I'll probably start on tomorrow's since I still have...three more hours before my first class.

Later!

If paper didn't cost trees....

Finished reading tonights fresh fictional faction of congnitive congruent caligraphy. (and attempting to have a bit of word play at such expence... or is it because its a bit too late for me to be up!)

We definitely have good writers in our class, and of such I am intimidated.

Makes me want to go back and re-do parts of my own story and turn it in before y'all read it. At 238 sheets of paper (or almost a half reem) that seems quite incorrigibly inconceivable.

See you all tomorrow, er, in 11 hours.

Finished reading

Wow. It's late. I'm going to write my comments in the morning. I hope
that I remember everything I want to say. I took notes. We'll see what
happens. I hope my comments are helpful.
--andersonwj

Comments are done

Okay so I know my comments were pretty bare last time, I think that's because I pretty much suck at commenting and because we were so pressed for time. I think they will be much more complete now and hopefully I don't have too much "fluff", AKA unnecessary material in them. Stories were fun to read, just took awhile!

Day 12

Hooray!!!! Your stories are all turned in. You guys are rock stars, truly.

As for blogging, feel free to keep on posting here if you'd like. I hate to be the one to point it out now, but there is still revision to be done on these stories (we'll talk more specifically about this on Tuesday or Wednesday). For now, let's focus on workshop, and you can focus on your portfolios this weekend.

Onward.

Are we supposed to keep blogging?

I am almost done writing my comments for tomorrow. Fun to read the stories, but so time consuming!

Enjoyed the stories

I finished reading and commenting on the stories for tomorrow. They were enoyable, fast reads also.
Just before I passed my copies out, I realized I should have changed bought to brought. I know it is not a big deal. Just a typo. But that kind of stuff annoys me.
Oh well, I'm starting a new book tonight, Murakami's "Kafka on the Shore." I'm in the mood after the experimental fiction discussion.

I am finally done! I know, one hour before class.....I was completely done last night except for one little part of one little scene. I was inspired this morning and finished it. I want to read it out loud one more time then go make copies. I can't wait to read every one's stories and get feedback on my own! See you guys in class.

Yesterday I got five pages. Today I got three and a half. Total: 15. Geez. I was planning for 12, but at page 6 I realized I hadn't gotten the characters out of the club yet. Whoops?

I'm not entirely happy with the way this turned out. It feels rushed at the end, at least to me. I'm really curious to see what you guys think of it. See you all in class!

Don't "over-read-into" my story, take it at face value

So I'm finishing up the last part of the story now. As I said before, there's no hidden meanings or anything like that in this story, at least none that I know of. I just tried to make this as action-packed as possible for a story of this length. I didn't feel like there was a lot of back story necessary because the characters told most of what was relavent anyway. Hope your entertained, that's the idea of stories, right? Here goes nothing.

Brian Kimball

finishing touches

i'm thinking i'll print out a double-spaced copy to turn in and single spaced copies for workshopping... does that sound okay? or single and a half? i'm so relieved the end is in sight, this IS hard! but rewarding : ) i'm excited about workshopping and reading everyone's stuff, hope you all have a good night. see you in the morning.

Finishing up...

I know, I haven't posted all weekend. In my defense, my manager changed my shifts around so I've been working a lot. I'm fairly pleased with my story and hope the ending is kind of a surprise. Hopefully it's good. I'm nervous.

?....

I finished my story. i'm fairly pleased with it. i hope it's as dark and twisted on paper as in my head. i had fun writing it. at times it kinda got under my skin. i figure the stuff that can give you the creeps is the stuff good literature is made of. i showed it to my mom this weekend and she read the 1st page and asked me to write a love story for her to read. i laughed. PEACE

I'm done except for one scene for which I have found myself in a rut. So I'm taking a break - going to chill then work on some other homework, then come back to it. I do my best work after midnight - so we'll see. Good luck to everyone else and see you guys tomorrow.

..also

also i had fun volunteering for the poetry reading, but the actual readings were kinda dull since there were none...they jut talked about language in general and about the indigenous people, I mean it was kinda interesting but I think it would have been more interesting if they had actually read some of their poetry.
As for the book of short stories each of us is supposed to read, i am reading one by A.M. Homes (i think thats their name) and I dont recommend it to anyone. I was going to get a different book instead but I think it's too late for that soo I'm just going to stick with it and then for the book report I'll just write about how bad it was! hahaha!
Oh Yeah! And I liked the note-cards activity!! I think it really helped me sort of in a way! And workshopping was fun too! ^_^

Finally...

Ok so sorry about not blogging but i HAVE been writing! Well at least i know what im writing now but i'm just having a really hard time trying to lengthen it ugh i dont kno what to add to it to make it longer!!
So um you want us to put our other blogs or websites on here? um which ones? lol...take your pick: myspace, facebook, livejournal, fanfiction.net, um lets see....my fav is gaiaonline.com!! Gaia rocks!!! Ive spent a lot of time building up my profile on there and I feel like I kind of already have my own bog because I write in my 'journal' on gaiaonline at least once a day but sometimes even three times a day! I love gaiaonline! so yeah i will post the link to that sometime....and well, as for fanfiction.net i only have one story on there. its sort of an ongoing soap based on my favorite TV show "One Life To Live" but its only 2 chapters long and its not very good cuz i got a lot of bad comments about it from other people on the fanfiction site. Oh-well.

Side effects may cause depression and or anxiety.

In finishing writing my story, I think I've become a bit depressed about it. The writing itself is going swimmingly, believe me, its just flowing out!

Just the topic at hand really has hit me hard, writing from the standpoint of this guy who's wife dies, and comes up with other ways she could have died. I don't think I've felt emotions when writing before, at least none like this... so yeah. I had to call my girlfriend just to make sure she was alive and well and to hear her voice since my main character can't her the voice of his dead wife.

So suggestion, don't over kill your characters, you'll get sad.

And I'm sorry to everyone if my story makes you as depressed as I while you read it. My sincere apologies.


edit: Story done.

Day 11

Sounds like you all are keeping busy this weekend, and that your stories are moving forward. Today's the final push to your workshop draft for tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to reading your stories which I know you've all worked hard on, and contemplated at length. You're undertaking a tough challenge: writing a full story in a matter of about 10 days-two weeks. Thanks for all your work, and see you tomorrow.

Finished! Kinda...

I know I haven't posted for a few days, I've been in Phoenix. I'm done with my story, though. I just need to proof/revise.

Ok, so I know that I was supposed to stick with what I had on Wednesday and surely on Friday, but I have killed again. My story was about nothing, that is something that I cannot stand for, a story that is about nothing. This weill serve as my saturday post, I'll post again later for sunday, after I write more.

No Time!!

Yeah, didn't get anything more written yesterday. I slept most of the day (insomnia sucks) and went to work from 3-11 p.m. All I did manage to do was edit what I had already. *sigh*

Today will be difficult, since I need to finish the story. I also have to go last minute dress shoping for my cousin's wedding. I HATE shopping. Blech.

Anyway, good luck everyone!

A little late

Yeah, I forgot to get around to posting last night, too busy watching Arrested Development. "I think I've made a huge mistake." Anyway, this is supposed to be my posting for yesterday so here it is. Got lots to do today on my story, but it'll get done. I just need you guys to know that there's no special hidden reason to why Terrence wants to sell drugs. He's just trying to make some money and get high for free. And when you all you guys have to read this, don't read too deep into it. As I said, there's no hidden meaning or anything like that. Until next time.

Brian Kimball

Satisfaction

I finished my last revision before it is workshopped. I read it out loud to myself and I felt good. It is the way I want it. Good luck to everyone with the completion of their stories.

working hard

Almost ready for revision.
--andersonwj

florida

i'm going to compress the funeral into just a few sentences, there's going to be another bite and maybe an eyepatch... switching some scenes around, maybe... going to try to fine tune the conflict even more... think i'm starting to get things under control. might change the title? depending on whether i have time to develop the significance... one question i have is if the first person present tense is working, and if my transitions between flashback and dialogue are too choppy? hope you're all doing well with your stories. lunch was fun : )

..

I definantely did no writing today. i just got back from this joint by my house that serves excellent burgers and beers, and am off to meet up with my bro and some friends. needless to say i won't be writing today. however tomorrow i will be. by the way. how'z the heat out there?. i'm enjoying nice 70 degree weather. PEACE..

Day 10

From what I'm reading on the blog, it sounds like you all are really digging into your stories, that they are developing (albeit slowly), and you are really applying yourself to craft and structure considerations. Excellent, excellent.

I just started a new story last night. Geesh. Writing is DIFFICULT! After an hour, I had about 2 pages, and wasn't even that excited about them. I'm going to keep moving forward, though, skipping to scenes that I have in my head that seem exciting to me, and then seeing what happens from there. I find it hard to write chronologically. I just have to write whatever scene is the most interesting to me, and then, once I start to get a feel for the story, I start arranging things in time.

Do whatever works to keep you writing! Can't wait to see your stories on Monday.

Here is my question

What would someone do if they've just left their husband and they find his "I Love Amsterdam" t-shirt in the suitcase? I don't want it to be sentimental but at the same time I don't want to just end on a nothing kind of reaction. She has to leave him without nostalgia or murder.

friday

i am really, really done for the night!

O's Massacre

Today was a good day. I got good feedback on my story, the O's blew out the Dbacks and me and my buddy drank some beers before and during the game. And the games of beer pong go long into the night. No progess at all on the story though. That's for tomorrow. See you on Monday.

Brian Kimball

Friday

check

Ok I have another question to ask everybody - one of my main characters has obsessive compulsive disorder - should I state this or let the reader figure it out?

Ok, I'm working on a flash back and am unsure if I can mix past tense with past perfect (I think its past perfect). Like "he embraced" vs "he had embraced". If I can't, which one is better to use. I like the latter, but then if I only use that tense it feels repetitive to put 'had' in front of each verb. HELP.

Not enough time!

Ok, so I switched again from third person to first. Geez. I really am making my life more difficult. I sat down yesterday and crafted out an outline as to what happens leading up to the climax. I then realized I have absolutely no idea how this story is going to end. I'm hoping that it will work itself out in the action of the climax itself, or that while writing something will hit me.

This morning I wrote three pages, and changed a scene in the first page a bit. So yay, up to page five now. I need to be at least to page eight by the time I go to bed tonight, and then have to finish the story Saturday before work at 3:30. I need Sunday to study for my Psychology class. I did three pages this morning, I can do it again tonight, right?

I finally like my story

Mrs. Bennet was annoying me. She was a push-over. No clue why she was leaving. A lost character. Now I'm writing from the past tense. She's older, ready to leave, and looking back on what got her to this point. She still has her doubts though, which is where the conflict comes in. The dog is still the catalyst. Only now Mr. Bennet leaves the gate open. It's always the small things.
I also rewrote the beginning and I still have to change a lot of things but I like it better.

311 ROCKS

So as I said before, I didn't do anything on my story today. However, 311 was totally off the chain. But it was hot as shit there and I sweat through my shirt in like two songs. But the bars after that was weird. After I pounded two red headed sluts, this girl tried to reach up my pants. Like two minutes later, she did the same thing to my friend. What a weirdo. Then I took down a girl scout cookie and called up Terrence to see if I could pick up a bag of marijuana off of him. He didn't answer though, haha.

But seriously, why the hell did Miguel Tejada have to get injured the other day. I'm going to the Baltimore vs. Diamondbacks game tomorrow and the best player on my friend's favorite team gets beaned by some amateur on the Padres and breaks his freaking wrist. He started in 1,152 straight games and he gets hurt the day before I see him play. F that.

As for the story, if my headache allows for some extra revisions in the morning, well that should make for a more interesting story I guess. See you tomorrow.

Brian Kimball

P.S. I didn't see any of you at the show, so you are all lame for that. Go O's.

thursday

check

Oh Dear...

It seems I have been exposed as the purveyor of toilet humor that I am! I'm not sure whether to be proud or horrified. ;-)

As for writing... I just don't think I'm up to it tonight. I think I'll just have to double my commitment for tomorrow.

On a final note: Brewster, Wahida, and I are off to have a jolly good time doing something or other tomorrow afternoon (probably) details forthcoming (read: we don't have a plan). Suggestions welcome.
Please do join us.

Possible Lunch?

Just curious if anyone wants to grab food after class tomorrow. I'm usually really hungry by the time our class gets out, and I figure that it'd be kinda cool to get to know each other more than just on a "writing" level.

If not, hey, that's cool too!

And just for the record...

...I think that from now on I'm going to use Jackson's quiz answer to explain Point of View to my future students:

An omniscient 3rd person is like God. He knows everything. He knows what Jane is thinking and that Jack needs to poop. A limited 3rd person is restricted to knowing about one character. He knows what Jane is thinking, but not that Jack needs to poop.

Thanks, Bryce, for your "pooping up the mower" line, which started all this.

conflict

well, i think i've narrowed down the cause of my block here... what my character wants is too broad, not specific enough, involves too many extra characters- too big for a short story. so i'm going to scrap the new stuff i wrote today and last night, change some of the dialogue in my opening scene, and rework the direction of the conflict to be more focused... i'm going to try not to overthink it now and see if i can get back into the "zone." wish me luck...

on a personal note, my sister and i agreed it's just crazy for me to try to take the greyhound up there this weekend, which means i'll be stuck in tucson, sisterless, working on my story like i should. so if anyone is up for a little fiction chat/drink/coffee/whatever tomorrow evening or saturday evening, to get out of our heads for a minute, (just a minute), i'm up for it. jackson, i think you said you were interested? who else? my email is wahidaob@yahoo.com.

book

I've started reading Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger. Its killer writing and i'm totally stoked on it. i haven't writtne in my journal today but i have been working on my story. i think it's coming along nicely. i hope to have a good product for everyone to enjoy by monday. Adios.

Day 8

I hope that the story maps exercise today in class was at least a bit helpful for you all, showing you your stories in a new way, giving you a visual for the "shape" of what you're writing.

Remember: pivotal moments IN SCENE, so that you can slow them down and explore them more. Less important background information can go in SUMMARY. It's always better to have more SCENE than summary; more summary than scene is, well, bad.

Keep writing! Honestly, the best thing to do when you sit down to write is to try and forget all the stuff we've been talking about in class. (HA! Right?)

See you tomorrow.

Sorry I didn't come to class. I did, however, spend that time writing my story, which I've started writing all over again. I think Whitney was having trouble with hers too? I feel you. Anyway, I've done about five pages, and I'm going to work on it more tomorrow. See you then! No more skips!

Attempt 2

Ack, I keep forgetting to post here! Sorry folks.

Anyhow, I've changed my story to a man who's wife dies in a hit-and-run and comes up with other ways she could have died better. He comes to no real conclusion other than the death she did have was actually best. I've yet to fully figure out his actions as the time goes on... but I'm sure it'll work itself out. Afterwards he finds that really the images he painted in his mind were really ways he wanted to die, and then proceeds to continue to live and find other things to fill the void.

Something like that, yeah. I dunno, my orginial story just well.... sucked a lot.

Must it be so difficult?

I think I forgot to post again, which was silly because I logged on and read who posted, but didn't post myself? Yeah. I confuse me too sometimes.

Anyway, I wrote two pages of my story, two days ago. Since I'm starting over it was the first two. Though the more I wrote it, the more I hated it. Decided to switch from first to third person yesterday, and now it's actually working again.

I swear I'm making life harder for me than it already is. I'll try to have at least three pages for class today, but that depends on how fast I can finish off a paper for my psychology class.

The Revamp

This morning I reread my story for the first time. I added more to the scene where Mrs. Bennet searches for the dog, because that's pivotal for her. It wasn't enough just to summarize it. She's completely desperate. Rock bottom. And I just glanced over it too much. Now it is better. I also rewrote the dialogue in the confrontation between her and Ted when she's finally leaving. The dialogue between Brian and his girlfriend was great to hear.
Mrs. Bennet has to leave but I still don't know what is in the suitcase.

Readings

I sit on the couch that the apartment complex provides each unit, several patterns superimposed on one-another. With my text in hand, I read beneath the halogen torchière. Sweat pools and runs from my creased elbows. The central cooling never has worked well. The words on the page don't make any sense. I read half the story. What the hell is going on.
"Hey listen to this," I say. I quikly read a few passages.
"I don't like it," my roomate said.
I reach the end of the story with some understanding of what has just transpired. I reread. Ah. he's a drunk and the house is empty. I still don't like it.

"The Swimmer" by John Cheever really soured my mood, and has made my momentum slump for the evening, or maybe it's just late. I like the premise, but the story has fallen flat on its face for me. I pushed through the nexts two stories, such a delight. Well, I'm going to finish my writing at 5 this morning. I hope I'm more coherent when I awake than I seem to be now.

--andersonwj

I know technically I'm like 26 or so minutes late posting this, sorry. Anyway, I'm having trouble figuring out where to stick the narrator in the story. I thought it would make it more immediate if the whole story was told though dialogue between all the different characters as seen by a neutral observer that the characters don't see. Kind of like a ghost evesdropping or something. Because of that it 's a little awkward right now, but I hope to polish it up a lot by Monday afternoon. Until next time.

Brian Kimball

Amy Hempel's "The Dog of the Marriage"

ugh again. i need to totally revamp some things or i'll never get anywhere with what i've got- hopefully that works out before class tomorrow- time for drastic measures, kinda.

Wednesday

done

Day 7

Keep hope alive, friends. It's Day 7 of blogging, Day 13 of class (if you count the 2 cancelled days), and we have only 10 days left. Power up! Power through! You're all doing great jobs of revising, re-thinking, and crafting your stories. We'll be working more on structure on Thursday and Friday of class, and on Friday you'll have time to get feedback from each other about your drafts.

Be sure to bring a draft of whatever you have so far to class on Thursday. See you soon!

Just maybe...

I've got a new story 3 by this count. it is longer than the other two that were destroyed, this seems to have more potential. I just finished the exercise, and it might just make it or else I'll lie to myself and say that it will work. Thanks for the help Rachel. A little taste :

From the moment of my new passion, Ivich was my gateway into the consciousness of Silvia. But Ivich was more to me than this and I think that was why she went along with it. I was intent, all the information I could gather was the optimum goal. By this time even though I was not really using my folk psychological skills, I knew that I could use this information to determine how to execute the ultimate goal of obtaining Silvia. The problem was that I did not know how I would use this information and even to go about accomplishing the goal once the information was obtained. It turned out to be the case that there was no possibility of Silvia and I in a relationship but I figured it would result in something. It was the summer, we were teenagers and with hormones raging and nothing but free time, sex at least seemed plausible even if a relationship was not to be.

Getting somewhere.

Well, I'm done for now. I spent a long time plotting and quite a bit of time writing today. I think this story is finally on track. Here's a taste:

She wanted to apologize for taking a swing at him, or for putting his sport coat in mortal peril. But she suddenly found her mouth dry, and air was filling her lungs only reluctantly. Instead she said, “Hello, Jonathan.” The second word was a whisper.

Now I just need to work on my dialogue. And I need to figure out WHO Jonathan is. So far, he's just a stand in for a real character.

Continuing....

Just putting more work into the revision/middle/maybe starting my ending tonight. Who knows? I'll see where the writing takes me and where Tess ends up.

hard work

I've been working all morning on this dialogue between my to main characters. this stuff is tough. i'm trying to create a strong conflict through this dialogue in the first three pages. I'm trying to make the intial conflict an internal one in each of my two main characters, and then later in the story and going to attempt to transform the conflict to an external one between the two. we'll see what happens..PEACE

A Slight Stall

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet just confronted each other just before her departure. The dialogue was decent to write. The exercises have made me feel more comfortable. I just don't know if she still goes away or not. I want her to truly escape.

Frustration

I landed 45 again, not really a big deal. But I became dissatisfied with one incarnation of my work so I destroyed it. I came up with a new incarnation completely different and I hate it, I think it will get destroyed soon as well. I think I'm running out of ideas and all the rest are pretty genre fiction heavy.

Story

I'm changing my setting. The story plods along and doesn't have enought
conflict.
--andersonwj

almost forgot to blog tonight

i'm so tired! writing done for the night, met my goal and i'll work more before class tomorrow. i really enjoyed the characterization exercises, too, and i also thought the last one was especially useful (that's one i'll reuse for sure, and it helped me clarify a couple of ideas for my story). i had fun with the dialogue prompt, which kind of stumped me at first, then i overheard a bit of conversation and took it from there. i'm probably going to be taking the bus up to sedona after class this friday to see my sister, since she's on a rare visit from boston, which means i need to either get most of my story really down now OR face the prospect of trying to write for five hours each way on a greyhound bus... frightening, but intriguing... i better get moving... hope things are going well for everyone.

Tuesday

Check. I thought this was pretty good:
http://img502.imageshack.us/my.php?image=comicvj6.jpg

Here's another one

So it would be really cool if you gave us the day off on Friday, but I'm not expecting it. If you change your mind, just let me know. As for the writing, this is getting tedious. Maybe I should read more just to help pay for writer's rent because if they have half as much trouble as we do, then they definitely need the money to help pay for all their ink cartridges.

As for my story, I don't really think that this story can "write itself" because I already have such a clear picture of what will happen. I saw the handout said to let our preconceived notions go, but I think that this story has enough conflict and all that already, I just have to spit the thing out onto paper. Maybe we could talk after class and discuss it so that I'm more comfortable with what direction I'm taking the story as I'm heading in to the weekend.

And I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm probably not going to write tomorrow or the next day and I'll be lucky to blog since my buddy is coming in town, but I'll see what I can do. Once again, here's to underachievers.


Brian Kimball

Completing my story....

I've decided my story needs more conflict. Now that the beginning portion has been written the middle needs to be revised to fit the beginning. Hopefully after that the ending will just fall into place. Wish me luck...

Writing goal met...

From the Beginning

So I've decided to scrap my 5 page story. It's just not working for me this time, and I came up with an idea that really seems to want to be written instead. Which is good I suppose, though it does mean extra work. (That's what I did yesterday btw. Again, bad habit of doing this every other day.)

I really liked the character exercize we did near the end of class, and I've been playing around with it for the two main characters of my story. Since I'm not sure who's point of view it will turn out in the end, I consider it time well spent. Yay!

Now off to work on my essay.

Day 6

Day 6. Keep truckin', everyone. Your stories--fully developed, rife with conflict and transformation--are due in all their literary glory on Monday. We're right in the middle of this summer session, heading into the final stretch come next week. Please hang in, keep writing, and allow yourself to change your "ideas" about the stories that you are writing. Allow yourselves to throw out whole chunks, whole pages; embrace the concept that writing is "expensive." You're off to great starts. Now's the time to consider what we've been talking about in class and actually apply these techniques and craft tips to your stories. If you're writing from real life, don't stay married to the "facts" of the story; maybe it would be more interesting if the main character (in real life, you) decided against calling your ex (which didn't happen) as opposed to calling him (which did). Or what if you added, say, a dog into the mix? Or a mother-in-law? Allow the story to move where it will, letting go of preconceived notions as much as you can.

And in the meanwhile, if you're interested in revising and entering your flash fiction in a contest, here's an opportunity:

(I'd be happy to discuss any short shorts that you want to revise further with you one-on-one; just let me know.)

Newport Review Flash Fiction Contest 2007
Newport Review will sponsor its Third Annual Flash Fiction Contest. We offer awards of $100, $75, $50 and publication in our prestigious small journal, 25 years in print, now online.

Deadline: Postmarked by October 1, 2007
Guidelines: Short-short stories up to 750 words
Entry fee: $7 per story, 3 for $20

Mail manuscripts w/check or money order made out to Newport Review to:
Newport Review Flash Fiction Contest
P.O. Box 126
Tiverton, RI 02878

Include business-size SASE for notification of contest results. Manuscripts will not be returned unless requested; include SASE with sufficient return postage. Please include name, mailing address, phone and e-mail on all manuscripts. Unfortunately, we are not set up to accept PayPal or e-mail contest submissions at this time.

..

i did a little entry in my journal this morning, now i'm gonna work on the dialogue after a pot of coffee.

Conflict Finally!

I wrote for a half hour this morning. Mr. Bennet doesn't die anymore and I found what the conflict would be. The secret was the dog. It sounds kind of lame just to tell it but just as she's about to leave she discovers that her beloved dog is missing. It still needs a lot of work. As I write this, I'm still questioning if that's the right conflict but the dog was everything to her. I like my story but it's frustrating this morning.

monday

about an hour tonight thinking about where i might be able to go with my story (happier about what i ended up with, after i finally quit trying to "plan" - but now i have no plan!) and working on the dialogue exercise. plan to get a couple hours in before class tomorrow. hope you're all having a good night.

Monday

Missed yesterday - wasn't at home. Though, I made up for it today by writing for over an hour.

Another entry

So I didn't get around to writing yet today, but I'm about to. I don't really know what to do about the writing dialogue exercise. The five pages I turned in today were all dialogue so I think I got a lot of practice with that. I guess I'll figure something out before class tomorrow. All this writing is starting to drain me, but I there's not too much left so I imagine I'll live. Until next time.

Brian Kimball

Day 5

Workshop today was great, everyone. You're smart readers and critiquers, and your specific comments and suggestions not only help each other but also demonstrate how you're really beginning to consider the "craft" of the stories, how they are constructed. You're thinking like writers! Whoohoo!

Got about 45 minutes of writing done tonight. It was all spent on writing the dialogue prompt, but I made use of it. I wrote one half of an argument between two of the characters from my story, it helped me develop the main character some.

There and Back Again.

I apologize for my lack of blogging for the past two days. I was up in phoenix picking up my girlfriend from the airport who had been in Europe for a month. As you can imagine, I missed her so terribly.

Anyhow, I did keep writing during that time, and my story has its beginning and premise. I'll keep this brief since we have class in... a half hour. So see you all there. Man am I rushing... I did just get into Tucson from Phoenix a few minutes ago, so if I come in all raggady haired (well... that's normal) and smell really bad, I apologize. I swear, I'll keep room between me and you all as to not stink up the place.

Chao!

Writing 5 pages

This post is for the last 3 days. I had computer issues. I completed 5 pages on one story between Friday and Saturday. I woke up Sunday morning and scrapped it. It was more of a vignette. I decided it probably wouldn't sustain 20 pages. So I started over. I have a new 5 pages that I'm happier with.

Indecision

I have never been this indecisive. I story freewriting my new idea and it was so unsatisfying. I didn't feel connected at all to my characters. So I started freewriting again back to my short short and here I am 45 minutes before class trying to finish up my 5 page assignment because I can't make up my mind. I have actually done so much writing this weekend my fingers are tired. Granted it, it was all freewriting, so I wasn't very productive with actually starting my 12-page story. But I feel successfull in the sense that I feel like I know my characters better from my short short. They feel more alive to me.....I just have to commit to this story and stop changing my mind. See you all soon....

Joys of Handwriting

I wasn't at my computer this morning, so I just used my notebook. There is a lot to be said for handwriting a story. I consider each word more carefully. Things are still progressing decently.

awake....

....and blogging/writing/and reading

Another late night entry

So basically I wasted my time rooting for Tiger Woods and putting off my assignment, but oh well. I'm currently banging out my story, and I have a good idea of how it will end. The only thing I'm struggling with is the format. I think I might be able to tell the whole story without a narrator, just from conversations between different characters, but it might not work. I think it does for now, but I'll be interested to see what people have to say tomorrow in class.

I'm scared to admit it, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of this "realism" and "literary fiction" writing thing. Turns out if you alter a little bit from your own personal crazy experiences it can make for a hell of story. Until next time.

Brian Kimball

Journal writing

I wrote on paper today. I found it rather gratifying.
--andersonwj

and counting...

45 minutes reached, frustration level rising! see you all tomorrow.

Whoops

Alright, so I know I was supposed to be blogging, but I completely forgot... I remembered as I was writing my 5 pager for tomorrow. I have never blogged before and so this is my first entry...EVER! Dun dun dunnn. Even though I just cued the dramatic music, it doesn't seem nearly as difficult as I thought. I think I am going to title my story, "The Essential" I hope your guy's Father's Day was great! I'll make sure to remember to blog from now on. OH! I almost forgot, I valuanteered (totally not spelled right) at the Poetry symposium for the weekend and it was really cool. I'll tell more about it the next blog! 'Till tomorrow my classmate-izzles.

Finally!

Finally something came out of my fingers today! I worked on figuring out who my characters were for a few hours today, before I started writing. It made all the difference. The story moved along much more quickly after that, although I still think I'll need a lot of revising.

Lack of computer!

So it's pretty tough not having my computer right now, I miss my laptop. I guess the saying really is true then- you never miss something until it's gone.

Anyway since we haven't had class but I've worked the every day since I haven't had much time to get online or start my 5 pages! I'm about to start them now. I think I'm going to continue with the story I have but create a new beginning, make the current story the middle, and then create a new ending. Seems like a weird progression but I think I can make it work and it'll be better than what it is now.

Posting Time

Well, it seems I'm creating a habit of posting every other day. I blame this on not actually being in school over the weekend.

Yesterday all I was able to get was the opening of the story, which I really like and a bit more of an outline.

Today I wrote three of the five pages I need. I'll probably finish the last two before bed. I'm not sure I like the order in which I'm doing things, as it feels a little bit strung out. It could just be my pacing. Or the lack of sleep. Oh well.

Day 4

I just got back to Tucson and am looking forward to finishing up our workshopping tomorrow, and starting in on characterization through dialogue. Be sure you bring a copy of your 5 pages tomorrow, and to have read at the very least Chapter 3 in Writing Fiction, along with the stories at the end.

If you're at a point where you like your 5 pages, great. If you think that you might throw them out and start over, great, too! Just getting something down, "showing up" every day so that the magic can happen is what this is all about.

See you all tomorrow!

Starting Over

I was going to continue expanding on my short story "Vision in Red" and turn it into the longer 12-20 page story - I even wrote my first 5 pages. However, at work today I was talking with a variety of people and I came up with this new idea I want to explore instead that deals generally with growth through pain. Anyways, I'm going to free write 5 pages when I get off work at 11 tonight. Don't expect much for tomorrow though....

Yeah I haven't been writing or blogging...I've been away form my computer for the last few days. However, today 45 mins. that's all I got for this week, but I will have my goal made by next week. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Oasis. Without your amazing musical talent my writing this week would have been really difficult. You have taught me the importance of being idle. Ha!

20 minutes done.

Ok today I'm posting for today and yesterday. I decided I just want to expand on my other story. So I just expanded a lot on the characterizations of the guy and the girl. However, tomorrow will be just a really rough copy, guaranteed.

sunday

i didn't get a chance to write this morning, cuz i had errands and stuff to do when i got up. hopefully i'll get some time to work on my story tonight...

Revising

I know it's probably to early to revise but I looked at what I'd written over the past few days and tried to make it stronger and coherent. I still have no idea how to end it. I will get there though. I hope everyone else enjoys what is left of the weekend.

Day Three

. . . check.

Day Three Post

I didn't really get around to writing today. I broke my glasses before I was able to get out of bed, still not sure exactly how I accomplished that one, but I did manage to get to Wal*Mart and get them fixed so that's good. Plus, Tiger Woods went crazy today so I had to watch. But I promise, I'll get those 5 pages done by Monday. Here's to underachievers.

Brian Kimball

saturday

still not exactly sure where i'm trying to go. i bought a new journal to try to help ease things out- it's kind of working. i'm already over my 45 min. goal (that's time spent working towards writing, playing with ideas and jotting things down, not necessarily actual coherent composition... not so much of that yet...) and i'm still going. i want to have at least one page of actual "story" written tonight so i'll have something to jumpstart me tomorrow. i've been working with the characterization and dialogue ideas too. i really like the book. but i'm feeling intimidated by the length of the final piece and trying to think ahead maybe too far, which is maybe tamping down my "white hot..." (ha ha, kinda). agree that i need to start with a character, thinking too much about the abstract (forgiveness?). i'm going to have a little saturday night drink here and see if that loosens things up. wish me luck!

Charcters

I wrote for about 40 minutes today, well over my goal. Very little got typed, even though I know of know the direction I'd like to take the story. It was really hard to get the words to come until I realized that I don't really know who my characters are. I did a little thinking about that, which helped some, but I think I'll have to do a few characterization exercises before I really understand them well enough.

Day 3

Way to totally rock the blogging everyone. I've been slammed up here in Prescott, helping to plan classes for a new school that's starting. I briefly showed the founders our class blog and some of the comments that you wrote, and they were amazed and awed by your insights and engagement with your writing and writing process. No doubt something like this will get incorporated into this new school, so thanks for making this blog really *work* in a fabulous way.

I've been working on revising a traditional essay as well as a "lyric essay," which teeters on the line between nonfiction and poetry. Fun stuff.

Keep on truckin'. See you soon.

Morning writing

I wrote this morning shortly after waking up, a streching of the mind. I
saw my whole day planed before me. I'll definitely be making this a
trend.
--andersonwj

Stared at the screen today....couldn't think of anything to write...probably because my AC is so darn loud and I'm freaking out about a project that's due in my other class....I did end up writing for a whopping five minutes though.

Rachel - I was noticing that Pam is continuing to work on her short story - are we allowed to use our short short as the longer 12 page story? I was going to continue revising my short short anyways, but it would be awesome if I could expand on it.

done

i did a little writing this morning. nothing to exciting to report really. i did some last night as well, but it wasn't that legible. oh well. have a good weekend everyone

The Creation of a Scene

Today I worked on creating a scene between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. I'm proud of it. I used some of the dialogue suggestions in the textbook. She also picked what book she's taking when she runs away. It sounds like a small thing but it was actually a huge decision for her. I ended the half hour by working on my book slut essay. That essay is just fun to write.

Ok - so I did some freewriting and I came up with my idea/abstraction and I have some idea of a story but not so much. I want to focus on the idea of Nature vs. Nurture and the profound effect nature/environment has on our behaviors/personalities despite any genetic predisposition to either. I think I might consider the most obvious choices of alcoholism or domestic violence.... Any ideas/comments feel free to post! ;)
Good night everyone.

day two . . . check

30 minutes done

i wrote tongiht

....tonight i wrote..althogh not before i went to sleep literarly, it is before i go to sleep figuratively. more so, i'm on my way to a long night, which will prove to be further inspiriaton in my writing. but I did WRITE TONIGHT,,,,,,,LA pAZ...??????????????

Second Day Post

This has nothing to do with the blog, but I couldn't find any of the books that I wanted to read for that book report thingy. The Raymond Carver book was at the library, but in the "special interest" section which meant I couldn't take it out of the library. I tried to find some Woody Allen stuff from the list, but none of them were available so I got one called "Play It Again, Sam" by Woody Allen. Hope that's ok, I'll bring it in on Monday to show you, Rachel. As for the writing, slow and steady shall complete the assignment. Until next time.

Brian Kimball

Literal Figurativity.

I've had this vision of creating a short film thing (mind you, I'm a TV guy not film, so this is a stretch) that involves a tree, a wooden doll (the ones that artists use to practice drawing. I love them since they have no expression and you can create an expression for them through a "lens" both literal and figurative) and a world about to be destroyed by human kind. Would it be appropriate to write a story of this adventure for this Realism Fiction, or should I choose something else to write about (I rode the SunTran today to gain some inspiration from some of the people aboard just in case.) I won't write the story in screen-play style, but a normal story that I hope to adapt for screen later on. Again, appropriate?

(On going photo project to show you what I am working on. Click Here)

argh

hmm, well, my laptop and i had coffee together for about 20 minutes earlier today. i wouldn't say much actual "writing" came out of that towards my story, but i'm thinking really hard about the forgiveness prompt. the whole concept of forgiveness is something that i've been thinking a LOT about lately (as in, months), so i thought it was kind of fateful to see it mentioned there. i wrote a whole facebook blog about it a while back, but i can't figure out how to post a link. so here's a quote about forgiveness, instead:
"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."
-Mark Twain

so i've got a few things bubbling and at least another 25 minutes to work on it tonight. i'm thinking about tea and telephone calls right now... but first we're taking my brother to the movies. hope everyone's having a good weekend. and marisa, i'm sure lots of us like coffee-related places, too : )

Day Two

Loved reading all your posts today. I'll try to comment on some of them tomorrow. If you haven't already noticed, there's a "Comments" feature at the bottom of every entry where you can respond to people's posts; this is where I'll write feedback if I have any.

Also, if any of you are interested in reading a story I published, "At the Center" is online at The Cimarron Review's website. Also, some poetry of mine is up on juked.

If any of you have stories, poetry, art, music, other blogs, whatever, post the links! It would be great to see other creative projects that you're working on.

Writing Goals

Okay - I guess my writing goal well be 30-45 daily. I'll be posting my writing for yesterday and today later tonight when I finish......although I have been writing/attempting to create my premise for my story aaaaaaall week!!! I've become obsessed with it and I still can't think of anything!!! So I'm trying some exercises from our book. More later....
~Les

I need some comments on this.

I started writing my story today. I didn't get a whole lot, but I liked what I did write. Here's an excerpt:

She had met him only the day before... but she already knew that she loathed everything about him. She could tell because whenever she thought about him her face flushed, snow geese migrated in her belly, and her heart felt like it was strapped to rodeo bronco.

So, for the record, my description of her feelings doesn't sound anything like hate, does it? It's not supposed to.

Input greatly appreciated.

On writing

I read On Writing, a memoir by Stephen King a couple of years ago. It's a fun read, a glimpse of his writing career and thoughts on writing. I thought I would add it to the list.

Where to start?

Last night, I sat down to write what I thought would be an exceptional scene from my story. After 45 min, I found myself staring at the shortest paragraph. It must have been a great idea too shy to be put to paper. So I relinquished the idea, and decided to give it a rest- midnight's a little late for me. Wham! The perfect scene, "You lojacked my car!"

I started from there today. I had a great time writing this scene, like pouring cake batter into a pan.

Pens are Better!

I'm posting for yesterday as well. My goal is that I sit down for at least a half hour a day, and if I don't actually write anything, I need to be thinking about WHAT to write.

Yesterday I spent about 15 minutes staring at my computer, gave up and grabbed a pen and paper. That seemed to help, because by the end of the time I had actually managed to come up with an idea for the paper.

Today I've constructed an extremely rough outline, and debated about if I'm going to try writing in first or third person. Now currently at 45 minutes, and the computer seems to be my enemy.

I know I was supposed to blog yesterday! My computer crashed over the weekend so I've been limited on the time I have on my friend's computers and last night for some reason I couldn't set up the account. I'm on now though! My goal is to try and write a half hour a day, whether that be writing it or typing it since I don't have a computer right now.

the next day

so i accomplished my writning this morning when i woke up, which was about 20 minutes ago. apparently i was tired or somehting. i just wrote a little piece about my thoughts and theories of the world. basically about the abstractions of societies cruelty and the need for really good sedatives to keep those of us who see it sane. i laughed, but then my head hurt, so i drank water, and now i want to back to bed...PEACE

Checklist for today

Waking up and realizing it's 10:22 and you missed your 9:00 class because the person who was supposed to wake you up is an idiot......check

Spending half an hour thinking of ways to exact your revenge.....check

Deciding to instead make some coffee and eat cereal in front of the TV......check

Writing for 20 minutes after that about the idiocy of men......check

I read that post by Jax about chilling outside of class, and however much I would love that, I'm not 21 yet so I can't legally do anything on 4th avenue of the sort. Oh, the times I wish I had a fake ID!

Day 2

I wrote for about twenty five minutes today. It felt like rambling but it was nice to write without worrying about how it sounded. I experimented with writing from Mr. Bennet's perspective just for the fun of it. I don't know if I will use any of it. I also started another humorous piece about book infidelity and how I can't commit. I keep reading five books at once. I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Writing aim...shoots

Okay so since I'm very busy this summer, I'm going to make my writing goal 20 minutes, but if I have the time or inspiration I'm not going to limit myself by any means.

Day One

Thanks for all your posts today! I got so excited when I logged on up here in Prescott and was able to read all of your thoughtful, reflective, and funny entries. Your writing goals look great, and I'm glad that some of your tailored them to what you know works best for you, e.g.-a cumulative goal for the week, or goal to write in both the morning and the evening.

My goal is to write for an hour a day. Sadly, I have not yet accomplished this today but hey, I've still got an hour and fifteen minutes to get my writing done. Better get crackin'.

Writing goal

Set writing goal at a conservative 30 minutes a day. Still, finished today's writing.

Writing Goals

well, i was going to go with something like an hour minimum since it usually seems to take me at least 2-3 hours to write a regular assignment anyway. but obviously that's not going to happen on nights when we're workshopping! so i'll say 45 minutes minimum on a daily basis and expect to give myself a break (20 minutes) when we're workshopping each other's stuff... i always end up staring at the screen for at least 20 minutes before i even start writing, anyway, unless i already have something to work with. i like the idea of having a fiction hang-out sometime, but my 14 yr. old little brother's here with us until sunday, so no bars for me this weekend : ) also, i really like this blog idea, it's a nice way of making sure i keep tabs on myself... and it's fun to see what everyone else is doing/thinking... so anyway, good luck writing!

Writing Goal

I think my goal will be to write about 30-45 minutes a day, maybe longer depending on how its going. I'll probably try switching it up between freewriting and focusing on putting together the short story. I've got some ideas for it already so hopefully everything will come together well.

Freewriting

Well, I did my writing today. It was about 40 minutes, I think. I'm actually pretty sure we weren't even required to do the writing until tomorrow, but I needed to just freewrite a bit. I'm just feeling a lot of pressure lately, having some personal issues. I felt like I needed to get them off my chest, even if just into a word processor, before I could write fiction.

It helped too. Freewriting about my issues centered me some, made me realize how insignificant those problems really were. I'd recommend it, if anyone is feeling a little off-balance.

The good news is, my freewriting from today seems like some good fertilizer (emotional excrement, get it?) to plant a story in.

Sidenote: Anyone up for an afternoon beer/hangout session on University or 4th this weekend sometime? Seems like it'd be fun to get to know each other outside of class. Let me know.

Writing Goal

My goal is to write every morning for at least 30 minutes. I'm trying to tone up my writing muscles so that I can go for longer stretches of time. Good luck with the writing. I look forward to reading your short stories. Thanks, Nancy

I'm posting

Yes I am posting....I'm not sure what my writing goal will be. I guess that I will commit to the minimum of 30 mins a day. However, I will commit to the goal of writing 4-5 hours a week, and this is the one that I am more committed to.

First Post

My writing goal is at least 30 minutes each day. I'll try to get at least a page or two done for this long story that we have to write, so hopefully this will help me out. Here goes nothing.

The First Page

I am a morning person. I usually do my best writing while others are still in bed. For the time being, I'm still writing about Mrs. Bennet. I started writing in the first person and imagined how she met Mr. Bennet. My question is why would someone like her ever marry him and how do I write something fresh about a woman completely unsatisfied. I don't want her to just be another crazed housewife.
Here is a part that may have some potential:
I met my husband because he smoked. I worked at the corner drugstore and he would come over on his breaks to buy a pack of Marlboros. At first, I refused to talk to him, staying in my catatonic register state. When he said I was beautiful, something in me paused for a moment. It had been so long since I heard those words. Later in our marriage I hoped he would get lung cancer but it hasn’t happened so far.

I hate that him saying she was beautiful to her but I like the abrupt transition from beautiful to wanting him to die of lung cancer. I want it to be dark domestic humor/tragedy, like American Beauty.

THe future

I'm not big on placing time constraints on writing. The inspiration comes and goes you know. However I will attempt to write in my journal every morning with my waking delirium and before i go to bed at night. I have always found i'm at my best at these times. i've began working tonight on my 20 page paper with a post-apocalyptic theme that hopefully will prove to be entertaing. PEACE

Okay, so I'm about an hour early...

I know this isn't actually due until Thursday, which is about an hour from now, but this ninja showed up, and he was like "blog now or I'll seriously flip out!"

Ninjas flip out ALL the time.

So here I am. I'm exhausted and ninja-strained, so I think 20 minutes a day will have to be enough for my writing goal.

Cheers, Jax.

Target Audience

I spend usually about a half hour to an hour writing each day. Though, I assume the purpose of this writing goal is to be writing towards our 12 page paper due at the end of the session. I'll put 20 minutes a day to said writing. Make that in addition to the other writing I do during the day (e-mail, personal blogs, other things), and I should be pretty good for a bit.

This should at least be fun, seeing other people's one liners. Also, its interesting taking a class like this to see what interests people, what aspects of humanity they want to explore. Just a slightly interesting aspect which I'm sure we all know already.

Writing Goal

Yeah! My first time blogging. I've read them, but never tried one. I'm
sure this will be exciting. I'm also trying this from my email, which
means I can take it mobile =-). I'm excited about that because I'm
always on the run or driving. But I'll refrain from typing while I'm
driving. That's a new kind of madness better saved for the next
generation.

So enough. I want to write for 45 min a night, but I will hope for more
and probably hit 20.

haha

hahaha oh i get it now. now wonder i couldn't find the blog! This IS the blog. It didnt really look like a blog...i thought it was just the main page! Ok well now that I get it, I decided I am going to write for 30 minutes everyday. ^_-

Ready, Set...

Hey everyone,
Thanks for your intelligent and thoughtful comments today in workshop. I know that you have a big chunk of work over these two nights to get everything read and commented on, and I appreciate all the time that I know you are putting in to this class. Your hard work really does show.

Thursday nears. Ready your keyboards. The commencement of the blogging is oh so near.

See you tomorrow.

Welcome

Hi and welcome to our class blog! Beginning Thursday of this week, your assignment is to blog daily on this site.

Your first assignment, for Thursday, is to post your daily writing goal. This should be a minimum of 20 minutes a day, but also not so ambitious (like 3 hours) that you always fall short of your goal.

Set a realistic goal, post it here on Thursday, and then, starting Friday, post daily after you've written. Your daily post can be as simple as "Writing for today - check!" or just your favorite line from your writing that day, or it can be longer, discussing your ongoing struggles with a scene, breakthroughs, questions about a story ending, etc.

Please feel free to post comments to your classmates blog entries, and to use this a forum for discussing writing and your writing process.

Onward!