This week, I'm going to register for classes for spring semester. Something that I have become increasingly aware of is that I'm actually in the last half of my college career. In searching the website of Classes You Can Take, I've been writing down the various courses I might take to fill my requirements - and then I've been looking back at the course descriptions and putting a mark in my notes by the ones that say OFFERED ALTERNATE YEARS. These classes have a higher chance of making it into my roster next semester, simply because I won't be in school the next time they're offered. Two of the five classes I hope to take next semester fall under the two categories of "THIS COULD BE IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO GRADUATE" and "THIS WON'T BE OFFERED IN 2016, WHEN YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE THEM, SO IF YOU WANT THEM SIGN UP FOR THEM ON WEDNESDAY MORNING." These classes are Archaeological Methods (which counts for a lab science and possibly also on the Classics minor) and Communications 225 (Media Writing) (I KNOW I'm already taking News Writing, but Media Writing is for all media, so it's going to have a broader spectrum. Also, I should probably have another credit on my journalism minor while I can get one).
I still have to get cleared for class registration, though. My advisor might completely nix everything except the required courses for the English major. I could not get the Archaeology course, so I'd have to scramble to find another science course in order to graduate. I could fail a major course (I HOPE I DON'T FAIL), and I'd need to get some more English courses under my belt in order to graduate with a major on time. Hopefully I don't have to do that. I think I'll be able to do everything on time, simply because it's getting to the crunch time where I can't afford not to do everything right and on time while I still can. There's only a certain number of semesters left in college, and that means I need to get good grades. That also means I need to come to terms with my imminent graduation. Also, that I need to get a job after college, which means that I need to get an English-based internship or something in order to look good on my resume in order to GET a job after college.
You know, I should really stop now before I stress myself out too much. I'm off to go and do my homework reading and graduate on time. And by "On Time," I mean "In Three Semesters." Hopefully.
Showing posts with label homework. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homework. Show all posts
Monday, October 20, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
On Procrastination
I'll be the first to admit: I'm a brilliant procrastinator (maybe because I like YouTube way too much. Let's be real here). I tell myself the same lies that all procrastinators tell themselves: oh, after this one video, I'll do a last review for my journalism midterm and type up my honors response and send an email to my Greek professor... but I don't. It's all little things, too - the study guide is abbreviated, the honors response is a page, the email is five sentences long.
Why do we do these sorts of things? It's difficult to say. As I am not the resident psychology major (that would be my roommate), I can't analyze anything, but it probably has something to do with habit. Establishing habits of doing stuff before 10:00 (and finishing before 8:00, probably) is probably a good life choice. And I still need to work on that. I did it for a while, but I need to get back into that sort of thing.
That lifestyle is stressful, though; I did it for my junior and senior years of high school. Admittedly, if my GPA during the last two years of high school had been my GPA for my first two years as well... I probably would have gotten into several more schools. What changed?
Part of it might be that I know that my current GPA is a lot better than the GPA of some other people I'm friends with. After all have the grades to stay in the honors program, to stay in my fraternity, to apply to most College-based jobs, and to keep my scholarships up. As long as I don't go too far below what I have now, I'll be able to keep doing all those things - and that's something that not all my friends can say. I think some of that mentality might have rubbed off on me.
The other thing that might have rubbed off on me is that I'm still in the mindset of easy courses. Last year, I could write a few essays, read a few articles, put in some time in the theatre shop and pull out a good grade in the course. This semester I'm in two honors courses, which involves a breakneck pace of reading that doesn't condone my level of procrastination. Again, my procrastination levels could be worse, but there is an inverse proportion between Number of Honors Courses Enrolled In and Condonable Procrastination - and I am not wholly used to that ratio being where it is.
I've got to get used to it, however. And hopefully I will - after I go to the bathroom and finish this video.
Why do we do these sorts of things? It's difficult to say. As I am not the resident psychology major (that would be my roommate), I can't analyze anything, but it probably has something to do with habit. Establishing habits of doing stuff before 10:00 (and finishing before 8:00, probably) is probably a good life choice. And I still need to work on that. I did it for a while, but I need to get back into that sort of thing.
That lifestyle is stressful, though; I did it for my junior and senior years of high school. Admittedly, if my GPA during the last two years of high school had been my GPA for my first two years as well... I probably would have gotten into several more schools. What changed?
Part of it might be that I know that my current GPA is a lot better than the GPA of some other people I'm friends with. After all have the grades to stay in the honors program, to stay in my fraternity, to apply to most College-based jobs, and to keep my scholarships up. As long as I don't go too far below what I have now, I'll be able to keep doing all those things - and that's something that not all my friends can say. I think some of that mentality might have rubbed off on me.
The other thing that might have rubbed off on me is that I'm still in the mindset of easy courses. Last year, I could write a few essays, read a few articles, put in some time in the theatre shop and pull out a good grade in the course. This semester I'm in two honors courses, which involves a breakneck pace of reading that doesn't condone my level of procrastination. Again, my procrastination levels could be worse, but there is an inverse proportion between Number of Honors Courses Enrolled In and Condonable Procrastination - and I am not wholly used to that ratio being where it is.
I've got to get used to it, however. And hopefully I will - after I go to the bathroom and finish this video.
Friday, March 21, 2014
On Spring Break
While most college students have returned to school this week, I go to a school with a January-Term and a break after, so I'm leaving in the morning. HUZZAH!
Well, not really. Since I'm pretty much the only one from my hometown who has break this week (that I know of and who I am also willing to hang out with), it will be a week mostly of dealing with a lot of reading and writing. For homework. (Not for pleasure, unfortunately). Also, internships. The stereotype, of course, is that a group of my college friends who live near me would gather and go party at the beach, but that's probably not going to happen either - if we do hang out, we'll be going downtown for a day or so because we're nerds and there's a lot of museums in our area.
Maybe that should be my spring break goal... go to a museum every day...
But, alas, HOMEWORK! GAH!
In reality, my college spring break, at least this year, is going to be fueled by getting stuff done - catching up on studying, practicing for choir tour, sending a few forms to various places, getting a haircut and stuff. So, in other words, attempting to be a responsible adult. It sounds horribly dull, I know. Maybe I should try and blog every day to make it more interesting.
There is also another thing that I might be doing in April: Camp NaNoWriMo. I haven't decided whether I want to do it yet - so far, my attempts to write novels during college have wound up falling flat, by a lot. Maybe I should do Camp Finish The Novel You Started Three Years Ago Because You're Still Only Halfway Done. Or Camp Finish Writing The Story You've Been Working On For Five Years But Don't Want To Stop Because The Character Means A Lot And You Want To Bring Closure To The Story.
Intrepid readers, what camp of your own invention would you attend? Right now, I'm attending Camp Allergy, and I'm not having a very good time.
Well, not really. Since I'm pretty much the only one from my hometown who has break this week (that I know of and who I am also willing to hang out with), it will be a week mostly of dealing with a lot of reading and writing. For homework. (Not for pleasure, unfortunately). Also, internships. The stereotype, of course, is that a group of my college friends who live near me would gather and go party at the beach, but that's probably not going to happen either - if we do hang out, we'll be going downtown for a day or so because we're nerds and there's a lot of museums in our area.
Maybe that should be my spring break goal... go to a museum every day...
But, alas, HOMEWORK! GAH!
In reality, my college spring break, at least this year, is going to be fueled by getting stuff done - catching up on studying, practicing for choir tour, sending a few forms to various places, getting a haircut and stuff. So, in other words, attempting to be a responsible adult. It sounds horribly dull, I know. Maybe I should try and blog every day to make it more interesting.
There is also another thing that I might be doing in April: Camp NaNoWriMo. I haven't decided whether I want to do it yet - so far, my attempts to write novels during college have wound up falling flat, by a lot. Maybe I should do Camp Finish The Novel You Started Three Years Ago Because You're Still Only Halfway Done. Or Camp Finish Writing The Story You've Been Working On For Five Years But Don't Want To Stop Because The Character Means A Lot And You Want To Bring Closure To The Story.
Intrepid readers, what camp of your own invention would you attend? Right now, I'm attending Camp Allergy, and I'm not having a very good time.
Monday, February 24, 2014
On King Arthur (again!) - Merlin
Yes, another post about King Arthur! HUZZAH!
I know that this is an easy way to do things because I'm writing similar things for class, but I find it kind of interesting - so I'm writing about Merlin today.
Right, so Merlin. In the three accounts we have read so far - Geoffrey of Monmouth, Thomas Malory, and Lord Alfred Tennyson - Merlin has pretty much been Uther's wingman; his sole purpose seems to be to turn him into Gorlois (and, later, to whisk Arthur off to a humbler upbringing). As far as we've gotten in Arthur's upbringing, that's Merlin's only relationship to Arthur.
Then we get to T. H. White's The Once and Future King. If any of you have ever seen Disney's The Sword in the Stone, this is the same Merlin that shows up in the book (I'm pretty sure the movie is based on the first third of the book, in fact). The Once and Future King is obviously more of a kid's book than the others - there's no mention of wingmen or sex of any level of consent - and the early pages focus more on Arthur's early life than the other works thus far. (this is probably because, again, it's a kid's book, and probably wants to relate to the target audience and everything). Here, Merlin is Arthur's teacher, mentor, and the resident hooligan of the castle. He's got powerful magic, turning Arthur into a fish and a hawk for various ordeals. Outside of Uther's relationship with Ygerne, this is the first real mention of Merlin's magical abilities.
Merlin, in White's tale, gets a lot more description than in the earlier works; whatever classic Wizard trope you have in your head - that's what Merlin is in this book (also, look up The Sword in the Stone; they do a good job of animating him). Interestingly, this is one of the only descriptions of the wizard we have - or any character, for that matter. It shows a bit of the values for the time - White was writing a narrative story for kids in the 1930s, not a history of kings from a monastery in Wales in the 12th century, as Monmouth was. White spends more time describing interests and places and things - the typical fare that you need to comprehend a novel. Monmouth does the same, but focuses more on the battles than the people. Merlin is more of a presence in T. H. White's novel as well - that could just be because Arthur hasn't properly pulled the sword out of the stone yet; maybe Merlin leaves after that. I don't really know.
The third major thing that White added to Merlin's character is that he ages backwards. As Merlin has only had a few lines of text among all three of the previous authors, it's a lot easier to expand on his character and his hobbies. Here, White uses Merlin's backwards aging as a source for comedy and bringing in time-irrelevant things (Merlin tries to draw his pointed wizard hat from thin air, for example, and goes through several iterations, including a sailor's hat, before he gets it). At the same time, there's so much potential for something darker - but, of course, remembering one's audience is important. (Maybe White might go into that... but... we haven't gotten there yet).
I know that this is an easy way to do things because I'm writing similar things for class, but I find it kind of interesting - so I'm writing about Merlin today.
Right, so Merlin. In the three accounts we have read so far - Geoffrey of Monmouth, Thomas Malory, and Lord Alfred Tennyson - Merlin has pretty much been Uther's wingman; his sole purpose seems to be to turn him into Gorlois (and, later, to whisk Arthur off to a humbler upbringing). As far as we've gotten in Arthur's upbringing, that's Merlin's only relationship to Arthur.
Then we get to T. H. White's The Once and Future King. If any of you have ever seen Disney's The Sword in the Stone, this is the same Merlin that shows up in the book (I'm pretty sure the movie is based on the first third of the book, in fact). The Once and Future King is obviously more of a kid's book than the others - there's no mention of wingmen or sex of any level of consent - and the early pages focus more on Arthur's early life than the other works thus far. (this is probably because, again, it's a kid's book, and probably wants to relate to the target audience and everything). Here, Merlin is Arthur's teacher, mentor, and the resident hooligan of the castle. He's got powerful magic, turning Arthur into a fish and a hawk for various ordeals. Outside of Uther's relationship with Ygerne, this is the first real mention of Merlin's magical abilities.
Merlin, in White's tale, gets a lot more description than in the earlier works; whatever classic Wizard trope you have in your head - that's what Merlin is in this book (also, look up The Sword in the Stone; they do a good job of animating him). Interestingly, this is one of the only descriptions of the wizard we have - or any character, for that matter. It shows a bit of the values for the time - White was writing a narrative story for kids in the 1930s, not a history of kings from a monastery in Wales in the 12th century, as Monmouth was. White spends more time describing interests and places and things - the typical fare that you need to comprehend a novel. Monmouth does the same, but focuses more on the battles than the people. Merlin is more of a presence in T. H. White's novel as well - that could just be because Arthur hasn't properly pulled the sword out of the stone yet; maybe Merlin leaves after that. I don't really know.
The third major thing that White added to Merlin's character is that he ages backwards. As Merlin has only had a few lines of text among all three of the previous authors, it's a lot easier to expand on his character and his hobbies. Here, White uses Merlin's backwards aging as a source for comedy and bringing in time-irrelevant things (Merlin tries to draw his pointed wizard hat from thin air, for example, and goes through several iterations, including a sailor's hat, before he gets it). At the same time, there's so much potential for something darker - but, of course, remembering one's audience is important. (Maybe White might go into that... but... we haven't gotten there yet).
Monday, February 10, 2014
Spring Semester
Today is our first day of spring semester, and it has been interesting. I've only had two classes today, which is nice, but I'm not looking forward to having an 8:00 AM class every single day. Well, I might. My history professor seems cool enough, so I might be looking forward to his class. The other class I had today was the Greek Epic - in other words, Homer. This is going to be a challenge and a half.
I'm definitely not looking forward to his 18-page final paper, though. The last time I had a long paper, it was 10-15 pages for an honors class last semester, and I had 12 pages counting the bibliography (with a large-ish 12-point font... IT'S IN THE PAGE RANGE, OKAY). This, on the other hand, is a History 101 course. I understand that the 101 portion is designed to help the students with their writing, but I'm not sure if I can come up with 18 pages about the sexual revolution and/ or the LGBTQ+ movement in the 1960s. Those are topics I like, but still - Masau'u and other factors of Puebloan death mythology and their influence on Blood Meridian and its character of the Judge was also an interesting topic for me, but I could still only come up with eleven double-spaced pages on the topic. To be fair, there is probably more up-to-date literature about the sexual revolution and/ or the LGBTQ+ movement in the 1960s... and I can probably read it all the way through... (I didn't even finish Blood Meridian. Does that make me a bad Honors student?)
Anyhow, the other class I had today was The Greek Epic - we're translating The Odyssey from its original Greek. Greek is my fun-challenge course (except for the verbs), but apparently Homer is one of the more difficult writers to translate, especially coming from intermediate Greek that focused mainly on the Attic dialect. The reason for this will take a bit of explaining.
So, basically, there are a few major dialects of Greek - Ionic and Aeolic are two of them. I'm not sure where Ionic was dominantly spoken - I assume that it was more on the mainland of what we now call Greece, because Attic (from Athens) is a sub-dialect of that. Aeolic is more from the coast of what we call Turkey; it is, strictly speaking, the same language, but there are several differences in the rules for syntax and verbs. In The Odyssey, the Ionic and Aeolic styles are all jumbled up into lines that fit the meter. Since we're not actually sure who wrote the work down, it's easy to think that certain books of The Odyssey could be more dominantly Ionic and others could tend towards Aeolic - but it's not like that at all. Ionic rules and Aeolic rules are mish-mashed together into something that fits the meter. That's going to be a royal pain in the butt for me, because I've only recently gotten the hang of all the Attic verb indicators - the letters that indicate that a verb is imperfect or perfect or aorist - and now I'm reading Homer, who doesn't actually use any of those. Well, maybe I shouldn't throw away my Greek notes and textbooks yet - I might need them.
Tomorrow I have two honors classes (one involves yarn and one involves King Arthur, so that should be fun) and Journalism, which should not be fun because its textbook is expensive.
Anyway, I'll write again on Friday.
I'm definitely not looking forward to his 18-page final paper, though. The last time I had a long paper, it was 10-15 pages for an honors class last semester, and I had 12 pages counting the bibliography (with a large-ish 12-point font... IT'S IN THE PAGE RANGE, OKAY). This, on the other hand, is a History 101 course. I understand that the 101 portion is designed to help the students with their writing, but I'm not sure if I can come up with 18 pages about the sexual revolution and/ or the LGBTQ+ movement in the 1960s. Those are topics I like, but still - Masau'u and other factors of Puebloan death mythology and their influence on Blood Meridian and its character of the Judge was also an interesting topic for me, but I could still only come up with eleven double-spaced pages on the topic. To be fair, there is probably more up-to-date literature about the sexual revolution and/ or the LGBTQ+ movement in the 1960s... and I can probably read it all the way through... (I didn't even finish Blood Meridian. Does that make me a bad Honors student?)
Anyhow, the other class I had today was The Greek Epic - we're translating The Odyssey from its original Greek. Greek is my fun-challenge course (except for the verbs), but apparently Homer is one of the more difficult writers to translate, especially coming from intermediate Greek that focused mainly on the Attic dialect. The reason for this will take a bit of explaining.
So, basically, there are a few major dialects of Greek - Ionic and Aeolic are two of them. I'm not sure where Ionic was dominantly spoken - I assume that it was more on the mainland of what we now call Greece, because Attic (from Athens) is a sub-dialect of that. Aeolic is more from the coast of what we call Turkey; it is, strictly speaking, the same language, but there are several differences in the rules for syntax and verbs. In The Odyssey, the Ionic and Aeolic styles are all jumbled up into lines that fit the meter. Since we're not actually sure who wrote the work down, it's easy to think that certain books of The Odyssey could be more dominantly Ionic and others could tend towards Aeolic - but it's not like that at all. Ionic rules and Aeolic rules are mish-mashed together into something that fits the meter. That's going to be a royal pain in the butt for me, because I've only recently gotten the hang of all the Attic verb indicators - the letters that indicate that a verb is imperfect or perfect or aorist - and now I'm reading Homer, who doesn't actually use any of those. Well, maybe I shouldn't throw away my Greek notes and textbooks yet - I might need them.
Tomorrow I have two honors classes (one involves yarn and one involves King Arthur, so that should be fun) and Journalism, which should not be fun because its textbook is expensive.
Anyway, I'll write again on Friday.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Day 12: stress?
Current Page: 67
Target Page: beyond that
Written today: nothing
What's going on: a lot of things.
Right now, the internet on my computer is being really dumb - for some reason, it won't connect to the server, so I can only access a few academic sites as well as Facebook and Twitter and, occasionally, the NaNoWriMo site. (This is the reason that I haven't posted for the last two days. My apologies for that.)
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to write too much over the last few days. I've been involved in a lot of things with my fraternity, and I have an essay due tonight at midnight (I'm mostly done with it, which is nice). Additionally, homework is starting to get to me, because all my professors have realized that there are about three weeks before finals (if you count the rest of this week and the two days before Thanksgiving as one whole week), and so they've all decided that now is the time to give out ALL OF THE ASSIGNMENTS. So I had an econ test yesterday, an honors essay tonight, a Greek test on Friday (as well as a bunch of translations), and a bunch of math quizzes before finals begin. Needless to say, there's been a lot going on.
Hopefully I'll find the time to write today and tomorrow and catch up - I'm now running behind, even on NaNo terms, so that needs to get fixed.
Finals. Gah.
Grades. Gah.
Target Page: beyond that
Written today: nothing
What's going on: a lot of things.
Right now, the internet on my computer is being really dumb - for some reason, it won't connect to the server, so I can only access a few academic sites as well as Facebook and Twitter and, occasionally, the NaNoWriMo site. (This is the reason that I haven't posted for the last two days. My apologies for that.)
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to write too much over the last few days. I've been involved in a lot of things with my fraternity, and I have an essay due tonight at midnight (I'm mostly done with it, which is nice). Additionally, homework is starting to get to me, because all my professors have realized that there are about three weeks before finals (if you count the rest of this week and the two days before Thanksgiving as one whole week), and so they've all decided that now is the time to give out ALL OF THE ASSIGNMENTS. So I had an econ test yesterday, an honors essay tonight, a Greek test on Friday (as well as a bunch of translations), and a bunch of math quizzes before finals begin. Needless to say, there's been a lot going on.
Hopefully I'll find the time to write today and tomorrow and catch up - I'm now running behind, even on NaNo terms, so that needs to get fixed.
Finals. Gah.
Grades. Gah.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Preparations
Well, it's nearing the end of my first year of college, and there are several things going through my mind right now.
Firstly, I'm thinking about how I really should go to bed early tonight, because I lost sleep last night.
Secondly, I'm thinking about how that probably won't happen because I have to study for my finals.
Thirdly, I'm thinking that going to bed early is very unlikely, because I need to go get shots tomorrow, and that takes time.
Fourthly, of course, is finals.
The trip to Peru is going to happen in 12 days, and typing that made me realize just how close that is.
3 days until the end of classes.
8 days until my first final.
10 days until I go home.
12 days until I leave home for Peru.
I found out today that going to Peru means I need more shots than I thought I did, so I'm going to a walk-in clinic tomorrow. Then there's the fact that I need to sign and mail some stuff for Turkey this week, but I don't have any paper for my printer, but that got fixed when my friend agreed to lend me some. Then there's the fact that I'm depressingly underprepared for Peru. It's just now setting in that in a little less than two weeks, I'm not going to be in the country. I'm not going to be in the Northern Hemisphere. I'm going to be in the mountains of FREAKING PERU in less than two weeks.
AAAHHHH!!!
Needless to say, I'm going to be a wreck for a few weeks.
I need to go freak out some more, and maybe go to the gym.
Firstly, I'm thinking about how I really should go to bed early tonight, because I lost sleep last night.
Secondly, I'm thinking about how that probably won't happen because I have to study for my finals.
Thirdly, I'm thinking that going to bed early is very unlikely, because I need to go get shots tomorrow, and that takes time.
Fourthly, of course, is finals.
The trip to Peru is going to happen in 12 days, and typing that made me realize just how close that is.
3 days until the end of classes.
8 days until my first final.
10 days until I go home.
12 days until I leave home for Peru.
I found out today that going to Peru means I need more shots than I thought I did, so I'm going to a walk-in clinic tomorrow. Then there's the fact that I need to sign and mail some stuff for Turkey this week, but I don't have any paper for my printer, but that got fixed when my friend agreed to lend me some. Then there's the fact that I'm depressingly underprepared for Peru. It's just now setting in that in a little less than two weeks, I'm not going to be in the country. I'm not going to be in the Northern Hemisphere. I'm going to be in the mountains of FREAKING PERU in less than two weeks.
AAAHHHH!!!
Needless to say, I'm going to be a wreck for a few weeks.
I need to go freak out some more, and maybe go to the gym.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Homework...
Well, I got homework on the first day of J-term. For once, I am actually kind of excited about doing my homework (being excited about doing homework? Yes, that can happen. Who knew?).
As I may or may not have mentioned, my J-term course is called "The Playwright's Process," where the final is a one-act that is fully written, edited, and thought out. This is turning out to be (in the one class I have attended of this course) more of a workshop environment than one of instruction - there will be a lot more peer editing than I expected, and a lot less of the professor saying, "LET ME TEACH YOU HOW TO WRITE A ONE-ACT!"
About an hour ago, I went to have a meeting with my professor about my one-act - everyone has to, just to brainstorm ideas about what each of us is going to write about. From that, the professor has given us each an assignment that is supposed to help us figure out what we are going to write about further (at least, that is what is happening for mine, because I need to work some details out). I have to do two scenes: first, a scene in which the murder victim is the main character, and has to persuade the murderer not to kill them; second, a scene in which the being tasked with the murder is the main character, and, to maintain the secrecy of their mission and society, they must convince a relative of the victim to kill the victim. This is supposed to be to help me decide which side I want to focus on - the secret society, or the being who investigates it (and who may or may not wind up dead).
So far, I think I like this course. The professor is interesting, and the discussion today really helped with just generating ideas. I came in with half a plot I threw together in ten minutes, but came out with something that I can actually work with (I'm not saying what it is, because I haven't finalized it yet, but I'm excited). The main parts of the story - a secret society and a murder - are things that I don't normally write, because I feel that I'm really bad at coming up with plot twists and good reasons for a secret to be kept (she did once say that a secrecy motive I suggested was boring, which is really true. I don't remember what it was, but I remember agreeing with her).
Anyway, I have to go forth and do cool stuff. Farewell.
As I may or may not have mentioned, my J-term course is called "The Playwright's Process," where the final is a one-act that is fully written, edited, and thought out. This is turning out to be (in the one class I have attended of this course) more of a workshop environment than one of instruction - there will be a lot more peer editing than I expected, and a lot less of the professor saying, "LET ME TEACH YOU HOW TO WRITE A ONE-ACT!"
About an hour ago, I went to have a meeting with my professor about my one-act - everyone has to, just to brainstorm ideas about what each of us is going to write about. From that, the professor has given us each an assignment that is supposed to help us figure out what we are going to write about further (at least, that is what is happening for mine, because I need to work some details out). I have to do two scenes: first, a scene in which the murder victim is the main character, and has to persuade the murderer not to kill them; second, a scene in which the being tasked with the murder is the main character, and, to maintain the secrecy of their mission and society, they must convince a relative of the victim to kill the victim. This is supposed to be to help me decide which side I want to focus on - the secret society, or the being who investigates it (and who may or may not wind up dead).
So far, I think I like this course. The professor is interesting, and the discussion today really helped with just generating ideas. I came in with half a plot I threw together in ten minutes, but came out with something that I can actually work with (I'm not saying what it is, because I haven't finalized it yet, but I'm excited). The main parts of the story - a secret society and a murder - are things that I don't normally write, because I feel that I'm really bad at coming up with plot twists and good reasons for a secret to be kept (she did once say that a secrecy motive I suggested was boring, which is really true. I don't remember what it was, but I remember agreeing with her).
Anyway, I have to go forth and do cool stuff. Farewell.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
finals week
I know that finals week is perhaps the worst week in any college student's career - there is a lot of stress, and you realize how much you should have been studying (I know I have), and the prospect of the train/ car/ bus/ plane home is the only thing that might be getting you through the end of exams.
As this is my first finals week ever, I don't know how much I can relate to the feelings of going home being great - does the prospect get better? Worse? Stay the same? Obviously, I'll be excited to go home, but the only thing I'm really stressed about is my Greek final, as Greek is my hardest subject and writing "It's all Greek to me" instead of a verb I forgot is probably going to get me a failing grade. Of COURSE it's Greek to you, dummy! This is a Greek test! The professor will think as she grades the exams. Sometimes I wonder how many first-semester Greek students she teaches would dare to put that on one of the tests or quizzes.
The first quiz? Maybe.
The final? Never. Unless you WANT to fail.
Anyway, finals week could make a good climactic sequence for some story - the story of one's first semester of college, most likely, or the story of one's final semester. Each are equally admirable - for one, it is the conclusion of a new adventure, and leaves the door open for many more to come; the other is the conclusion of the adventure, and is probably a story about moving on.
You know what would be really interesting? To write a series of eight novels (or twelve, if your school does a January term), about the eight (or twelve) semesters of college. Same characters, different stories, and the end of each is finals week; the finals are the Final Test (see what I did there?).
Maybe I should do that. That would be really cool. I like that idea.
Now, if I only didn't have about five other novels going at the same time, and a Greek exam to study for, I would totally be willing to keep going with it.
But I have a Greek final to study for. And then I'll work on it.
As this is my first finals week ever, I don't know how much I can relate to the feelings of going home being great - does the prospect get better? Worse? Stay the same? Obviously, I'll be excited to go home, but the only thing I'm really stressed about is my Greek final, as Greek is my hardest subject and writing "It's all Greek to me" instead of a verb I forgot is probably going to get me a failing grade. Of COURSE it's Greek to you, dummy! This is a Greek test! The professor will think as she grades the exams. Sometimes I wonder how many first-semester Greek students she teaches would dare to put that on one of the tests or quizzes.
The first quiz? Maybe.
The final? Never. Unless you WANT to fail.
Anyway, finals week could make a good climactic sequence for some story - the story of one's first semester of college, most likely, or the story of one's final semester. Each are equally admirable - for one, it is the conclusion of a new adventure, and leaves the door open for many more to come; the other is the conclusion of the adventure, and is probably a story about moving on.
You know what would be really interesting? To write a series of eight novels (or twelve, if your school does a January term), about the eight (or twelve) semesters of college. Same characters, different stories, and the end of each is finals week; the finals are the Final Test (see what I did there?).
Maybe I should do that. That would be really cool. I like that idea.
Now, if I only didn't have about five other novels going at the same time, and a Greek exam to study for, I would totally be willing to keep going with it.
But I have a Greek final to study for. And then I'll work on it.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Day 21: in which hope for my wordcount is rapidly receding
Well, it's day 21. I should be around the 35000 word count now, but I'm still sitting morosely at 30750, and I'm not happy about it. I'm not happy about it at all.
I should be studying. I should be writing. I should be doing whatever it is one does on breaks... I don't really know what that is, but I should be doing it. I have readings and translations and tests and projects starting on Sunday night, and it's not okay. I thought break was a time to relax, for goodness sake.
Or to catch up on all the stuff you've been missing.
Or to do something productive, like catch up on your novel's word count.
But no, I'm sitting here, blogging, and wishing I didn't have such a crap word count, and so much homework due by Tuesday. I'm realizing how much I complain about this, and how little I actually do something about it. It's not like I can't do anything about it, for goodness sake. I'm an autonomous individual, or so society would have me believe. Even if I say I'm leaving to do something productive, I normally just goof around for a while before I actually make any headway in anything.
Which kind of sucks, when you think about it. Just being a goof all the time. It gets nothing done.
It doesn't help that I have commissions due, too. Yep, I have to knit four scarves in three and a half weeks, because it's not like I don't have a ton of stuff already.
Right, I really need to stop complaining. I took my leave today and yesterday - I hung out with my friend earlier today and my boyfriend before that; yesterday, I didn't actually get much homework done and pranced around my empty hall with a friend, singing Christmas music at the top of our voices and not caring that it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, and posting random videos on our other blog, and doing stuff of a highly nonproductive nature.
It was great.
But now it's time to work. The funtime has ended, and it's time to actually do something. Time to stop trolling along online and not writing or studying or anything.
I should be studying. I should be writing. I should be doing whatever it is one does on breaks... I don't really know what that is, but I should be doing it. I have readings and translations and tests and projects starting on Sunday night, and it's not okay. I thought break was a time to relax, for goodness sake.
Or to catch up on all the stuff you've been missing.
Or to do something productive, like catch up on your novel's word count.
But no, I'm sitting here, blogging, and wishing I didn't have such a crap word count, and so much homework due by Tuesday. I'm realizing how much I complain about this, and how little I actually do something about it. It's not like I can't do anything about it, for goodness sake. I'm an autonomous individual, or so society would have me believe. Even if I say I'm leaving to do something productive, I normally just goof around for a while before I actually make any headway in anything.
Which kind of sucks, when you think about it. Just being a goof all the time. It gets nothing done.
It doesn't help that I have commissions due, too. Yep, I have to knit four scarves in three and a half weeks, because it's not like I don't have a ton of stuff already.
Right, I really need to stop complaining. I took my leave today and yesterday - I hung out with my friend earlier today and my boyfriend before that; yesterday, I didn't actually get much homework done and pranced around my empty hall with a friend, singing Christmas music at the top of our voices and not caring that it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, and posting random videos on our other blog, and doing stuff of a highly nonproductive nature.
It was great.
But now it's time to work. The funtime has ended, and it's time to actually do something. Time to stop trolling along online and not writing or studying or anything.
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