I had two interesting experiences with backstories today.
The first was when walking to a meeting about volunteering today, I passed the girl who was my best friend in elementary school. We didn't greet each other - I half-smiled, but I'm pretty sure she didn't recognize me. (To be fair, I was wearing sunglasses, and I have far shorter hair now than I did in fifth grade). She and I have barely spoken - we said a few words in middle school when we still had mutual friends, but in high school she and I saw each other maybe twice, and each time was completely by chance. It could be a situation of interesting backstories, because our paths have diverged so much. Our family situations are completely different, for a start, but we haven't been in the same school since fifth grade, and our personalities have probably developed to be completely different.
The second event concerning backstories was after the volunteer meeting. Since the place was on the way to Starbucks, I stopped there on the way home. I sat down with my pound cake and drink and tried to discreetly observe everyone and made up a back story for each of them. I will type them up here later.
Backstories are the important part of the character in a novel - it can haunt a character; it can come back to bite them; they can avoid or pursue a certain thing or feeling if they've had a certain experience with it in the past. We see it in everyday life; for example, I now avoid insects that sting with a passion because I've discovered that I will swell up and be miserable for the better part of a week if I get stung by something. Because of that unfortunate experience with Things that Sting, I avoid them at all costs. Interestingly, all the unfortunate things that have happened to me have not been when I'm abroad; I've sprained my ankle before black belt tests and before hiking in Switzerland; I've gotten allergic reactions at home but not in Peru. Interesting how things work out.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
an exercise confession
I admit, I haven't been going out for a run as much as I should (this heat wave is a big factor). So I decided (five minutes ago) to do something else: a Writer's Workout.
It's one of those things where you do some sort of workout every time you hit a goal. As I'm typing up a novel (and I have 45 minutes before I go out with my boyfriend), my workout is as follows:
It's one of those things where you do some sort of workout every time you hit a goal. As I'm typing up a novel (and I have 45 minutes before I go out with my boyfriend), my workout is as follows:
- finish a page - 10 jumping jacks
- every 5th page - 10 jumping jacks and 10 sit-ups
- every chapter end - 10 jumping jacks, 10 sit-ups, 10 push-ups
I dearly hope this works.
Monday, July 15, 2013
On Goals and the Supervillains to Productivity
The last few weeks, I've realized, I've been in a bit of a writing rut. I just don't know what to write about - nothing of the creative spark I had in high school has decided to manifest itself.
It's easy to point fingers at certain situations.
I've spent a year in college, away from a secure environment where I'm allowed to manifest my creativity. I actually have to get up every day on my own, get myself to the dining hall, get myself to class, stick myself in the library for a few hours a day, go to clubs and service events and a bunch of activities that take up time I could normally use for writing. Now I've been around lots of people who take 'no' for an answer, who allow themselves to make excuses, and maybe don't push themselves to 100 % capacity. At the end of my senior year, I definitely felt like I was not that sort of person - I was the one who, with half a glass of coffee and a few pens, was determined to do what I needed to do to get stuff done.
But, shifting over to this summer in particular, the increase in free time has lead, I think, to a decrease in motivation for doing stuff like writing, but also other things. I admit, my summer diet is not exactly healthy. I hardly eat breakfast, and lunch is normally fruit, goldfish, and trail mix. Sometimes not even that much. I can see why my parents have started to get on my back about things like getting out of the house and seeing people and having some sort of structure to the day - it helps a lot with productivity. The danger, of course, is that the mindset of Eternal Free Time - only having to leave the couch and my yarn to get some more food or to maybe go for a run in the evening, and nothing in between - is the worst enemy of productivity; I might even contest that it's ranked higher on the Supervillain list than procrastination. At least with procrastination, you can recognize that you actually have a goal in mind, but you're just choosing not to pursue it. With Eternal Free Time, the original existence of a goal is questionable.
As the next big chunk of free time looms over the horizon, I realize that I need to refocus my goals - and make sure that the goals are established in the first place. That's the real trick to getting any sort of anything done.
It's easy to point fingers at certain situations.
I've spent a year in college, away from a secure environment where I'm allowed to manifest my creativity. I actually have to get up every day on my own, get myself to the dining hall, get myself to class, stick myself in the library for a few hours a day, go to clubs and service events and a bunch of activities that take up time I could normally use for writing. Now I've been around lots of people who take 'no' for an answer, who allow themselves to make excuses, and maybe don't push themselves to 100 % capacity. At the end of my senior year, I definitely felt like I was not that sort of person - I was the one who, with half a glass of coffee and a few pens, was determined to do what I needed to do to get stuff done.
But, shifting over to this summer in particular, the increase in free time has lead, I think, to a decrease in motivation for doing stuff like writing, but also other things. I admit, my summer diet is not exactly healthy. I hardly eat breakfast, and lunch is normally fruit, goldfish, and trail mix. Sometimes not even that much. I can see why my parents have started to get on my back about things like getting out of the house and seeing people and having some sort of structure to the day - it helps a lot with productivity. The danger, of course, is that the mindset of Eternal Free Time - only having to leave the couch and my yarn to get some more food or to maybe go for a run in the evening, and nothing in between - is the worst enemy of productivity; I might even contest that it's ranked higher on the Supervillain list than procrastination. At least with procrastination, you can recognize that you actually have a goal in mind, but you're just choosing not to pursue it. With Eternal Free Time, the original existence of a goal is questionable.
As the next big chunk of free time looms over the horizon, I realize that I need to refocus my goals - and make sure that the goals are established in the first place. That's the real trick to getting any sort of anything done.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Back from ASP!
Right, I know it's been a few weeks since I last posted (and longer since I posted something that wasn't related to Peru), and for that, I apologize. I'll try to start posting more regularly now that I actually have time and stuff.
Last week, I went with my church's youth group (even though I've technically graduated) on Appalachia Service Project, which is perhaps my favorite mission project. For those who don't know what ASP is, it's a mission project similar to Habitat for Humanity, but focused in central Appalachia. This year, we went to help families in Mitchell County, NC; interestingly, this is the first summer in several years (maybe even decades) that ASP has served in North Carolina.
Every night we do evening gatherings; my favorite is normally Tuesday night, or Culture Night. This year was particularly interesting. Normally, a local band (usually bluegrass) is hired to play; this year, we went to a historic apple orchard (which has been a functioning apple orchard since 1908), and which now is an orchard and a historic preservation area. The man who runs the place, a retired engineer who helped put people on the moon in the 60s, told some stories about how he got the place and things that happened in the general area. For example, the turning point of the Revolutionary War occurred near-ish to the orchard, and it turns out that the owner of the orchard is descended from one of the men fighting in that battle.
In all, it was a very good trip. It's kind of saddening that this was my last year, but hopefully I'll be able to apply to be on staff next year. This is all I have time for now, but I'll post at some point later in the month.
Last week, I went with my church's youth group (even though I've technically graduated) on Appalachia Service Project, which is perhaps my favorite mission project. For those who don't know what ASP is, it's a mission project similar to Habitat for Humanity, but focused in central Appalachia. This year, we went to help families in Mitchell County, NC; interestingly, this is the first summer in several years (maybe even decades) that ASP has served in North Carolina.
Every night we do evening gatherings; my favorite is normally Tuesday night, or Culture Night. This year was particularly interesting. Normally, a local band (usually bluegrass) is hired to play; this year, we went to a historic apple orchard (which has been a functioning apple orchard since 1908), and which now is an orchard and a historic preservation area. The man who runs the place, a retired engineer who helped put people on the moon in the 60s, told some stories about how he got the place and things that happened in the general area. For example, the turning point of the Revolutionary War occurred near-ish to the orchard, and it turns out that the owner of the orchard is descended from one of the men fighting in that battle.
In all, it was a very good trip. It's kind of saddening that this was my last year, but hopefully I'll be able to apply to be on staff next year. This is all I have time for now, but I'll post at some point later in the month.
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