Updates and Stuff

I know that I've been slacking on posts this week. I apologize for that. I'm taking most of this week off for holidays and things, so I'm going to post again NEXT MONDAY with the full plan for next year. HUZZAH!

On Plans for the New Year

So I've made a few decisions for the new year with regards to this blog.  Hopefully they'll work!  Right now they're just in the "MAYBE THIS IS A THING I COULD POSSIBLY DO?" category.
Firstly, I'm going to try and do three posts per week.  For a whole year.  Though the whole Blog Twice A Week isn't going so well this year, that might just be due to my scheduling.  Or my laziness.  Or both.  Either way, keep an eye out for POSSIBLE NEW POSTING SCHEDULE????
Secondly, I've been thinking about doing some sort of long-term, overarching theme with the blog.  Less of a "HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED IN MY LIFE" blog and more of a "HERE ARE COOL ANALYTICAL THINGS" blog.  There are a few major things I can do with this; one of the things I was thinking was a "read along with me" series.  In order to get through the books that I want to read, the first books on the list would be A Game of Thrones.
This is all in the works, though. I'm going to figure things out and let you all know.

I'm Done With Finals!

Firstly, I apologize that this post is so late, and that I didn't post on Monday. This was finals week, so I was studying and doing other things of that nature. I'm glad to be home, to be honest. The food is better, the running opportunities are better, and I have a better chance of getting a good night's sleep. It's great! I'm excited!
Three weeks! AT HOME! HUZZAH!

I will be celebrating (and sleeping and eating well) over the weekend. We will resume regularly scheduled programming on Monday.

Things I Learned This Semester

So today was the last day of classes before the end of the semester, so it's time for the Semester Roundup, where I write about what I learned this semester and stuff.

ACADEMICS

1. In Shakespeare class, I learned that there are a bunch of different ways to insult people. One of those ways is to address someone as "thou," as opposed to "you." (I already knew this, but it's worth repeating). I also learned my new favorite oath: "OUT, VILE JELLY!" (from King Lear. Someone's eyes got poked out).
2. In Greek Historiography, I learned that Herodotus is allegedly the Father of History, but he was far more mythologically inclined than Thucydides. Thucydides is far more fact-based and wrote history in a manner that is closer to what we see today. Also, Xenophon wrote the Anabasis, or the March Up Country, which is about Cyrus trying to do some conquering, but gets killed 1/3 of the way through. The rest of it is about how people try and not get killed by residents of places where the army doesn't reside. Also, that Shakespeare drew some inspiration from Plutarch.
3. In Uses of the Bible in Literature, I learned that pretty much everything is a reference to either the Bible or Shakespeare. And sometimes Shakespeare alludes to the Bible. Also, Satan was never explicitly stated as being the Fallen Angel Who Was Mean To Everyone. He was referred to as The Accuser in the book of Job. He took over Judas's brain in the book of Luke and John. He is never described in detail, however, so the whole "Satan is Evil McEvil, the fallen red demon with a pointy tail and horns" description isn't entirely Biblical.
4. In Journalism, I learned how a proper news story (PUT HUMAN ELEMENTS FIRST), and how to write a personality profile. I learned that, as a blogger, my professor thinks I am narcissistic. I learned that there are two kinds of ledes (the lede is the opening paragraph or so): the hard ledes get the WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY out of the way immediately; the soft ledes tell a bit of a story about a person affected by the thing before you get to the news about the thing.

OTHER THINGS

1. It's possible for a college student to write a novel in 30 days.
2. That student may or may not doom themselves to carpal tunnel syndrome later in life.
3. back up your files. You never know when your computer is going to crash on you.
4. Sometimes, it's important to take a break and play with puppies.
5. It's hard to let people go - from relationships, from organizations, from life. That doesn't mean you can't talk to them again. That doesn't mean you have to be on horrendous terms with them. You still need to be civil, and it is possible to be so.
6. It's important to have someone to talk to, but it's also important to act. If you need to go on a tangent, do it. But when the tangent is over and your friend offers a solution, do your best to take it.
7. Talking to authorities can be intimidating. What could wind up being more intimidating is the consequences - is it worth freaking out now to have a terrible resume/ GPA/ whatever later?
8. Losing someone in a romantic capacity could lead to the romantic partner you never realized you liked.
9. DILIGENCE, PEOPLE.

On Surprising Spare Time

For five years, December 1st has felt weird. It's one of the only days guaranteed to feel a bit... too open. WHAT DO I DO WITH MY TIME?
I'll leave you with that until I figure that out.

NaNoWriMo Day 30: On Winning And Thanks

Current Day: 30
Current Page: 166
Winning Page: 166
Final Line: "Eva and Galen lived reasonably ever after."

I feel like that's a bit of a cliche ending. It could very well be too cliche of an ending. I don't really know. Right now, I'm just happy I won. I've validated, and I've written a story that concluded within a 30-day time frame. (By that, I mean that I finished it in 30 days. The last novel I finished took over a year, and that's partly because half of it was in my friend's trunk for six months). I'm excited, but I'm also terrified.
Why?
Now I have to type the whole thing up.
And then I have to edit.

NaNoWriMo Day 29: Apologies and Nearing The End

Current Day: 29
Current Page: 154
Target Page: 160-1
Pages Until 50,000: 10-13 (Depending on how much I fudge my averages)
Place in Story: Goal has been achieved. After persuading, cajoling, bribing, pleading, stealing, and getting really mad at princesses; after Eva kicking Jasper in the ribs on purpose in an act that may or may not wind up being the real climax of the novel; after three days and three nights of Eva not sleeping and Ekito the Fairy staying up with Eva to make sure she finished the unicursal hexagram, the work is finally done.
My work isn't done, however. I still have around 3,000 words left to write. The trouble is, I don't know if I have 3,000 words left of story. I'll be able to wiggle a little with the word count averages (um... of COURSE I've been writing at an average of 305 words per page, not 300... that was just a miscalculation... obviously...), but that still gets me to the 3,000 remaining words instead of 4,200.
I've achieved several of the goals I set for the month, however (or I will by tomorrow, anyway). Firstly, I will probably write "THE END" before midnight tomorrow. I have surpassed last year's word count, and possibly the year before's as well. I'm pretty sure the story is concise, and it just needs to be edited for themes and consistency. (That's a whole different matter, though.)

I apologize for not posting at all this week - it was partly because I have been busy with school, but I've also been busy writing a lot. I had a twelve-page Tuesday this week (10k is not very achievable when writing by hand), and another 3,000 word day this week as well. My word count, in other words, has been climbing a lot thanks to Thanksgiving break. I'm very thankful I have such a good home to come back to and for the ability to create so much.
I'll post again tomorrow, hopefully, for the FINAL COUNTDOWN.

NaNoWriMo Day 22: Relying A Lot on Thanksgiving Break

Current Day: 21
Current Page: 111
Target Page: 116
Page I Should Be On: 120
Place in Story: Still Looking for gemstones. Nothing new here.


I'm moving way more slowly than I should be, but that's college. I have to wake up early to work on homework tomorrow, which sucks, but I need to do work.
That's all for tonight.

NaNoWriMo Day 21: Winds of the End

Current Day: 21
Current Page: 109
Target Page: 114
Likelihood of Hitting That Page: 1/3
Place in Storyline: Three weeks since Eva entered the palace.  Three weeks until Winter Solstice/ New Year/ That Time When Eva And Jasper Must Be In The Same House And Not Try To Kill Each Other.  Four of the gems have been obtained, out of six that are needed.  I know Jasper's got one of them, and I just need to figure out how to get the other one without underdoing my word count.
HUZZAH!

NaNoWriMo Day 20: Pushing On, Because Why Not?

Current Day: 20
Current Page: about to start 104
Target Page: at least 107, but hopefully 108-9
Likelihood of hitting that: 37:82.
Place in Story: 3 gems achieved, 4th in the process, 2 left to go.
This is starting to feel like a higher fantasy novel than I intended, but I like it.
My word count isn't what it needs to be - it's about 2,000 words behind - but I'm going to target 6-10 pages a day. I'm near the end of the Week of Terribleness, and I've got a strategy to work out my last two things. (Today: major things on Bible essay. Tomorrow: major things on Shakespeare proposal. Saturday: edit proposal. Sunday: edit Bible. DONE.)
Next week, I'm going to mostly focus on Really Big Targets. I have an entire list worked out:
Surviving The Weekend Sunday (write at least 1000 words)
More Words than Yesterday Monday (write 2000 words)
10k Tuesday (target 10,000 words or get carpal tunnel in the attempt)
Write A Lot Wednesday (target 2000-3000 words)
3k Thursday (target 3000 words, even though that might not happen)
5k Friday (because this is really the only day I'm going to write over break, so I'd better make it a good one)
6k Saturday (to compensate for the lack of writing over break)
Schooltime Sunday (in which I write a lot and validate)

I HOPE THIS WORKS.