Sorry all. Can’t blog today. Seeing Star Wars. 😀
Leave me a comment! What did YOU think?
Category: Blog (Page 13 of 13)
Something I don’t think I’ve talked about on here at all (which is crazy, since I’m a little nutty about it) is my love of all things theater.
It stemmed from when I was a kid, when I used to dance and perform in my school plays. And heck, when I used to put on plays for my friends and family on my front porch. I was never very good… I was okay, but I LOVED it. (In a way, I think my writing comes from that. I’m not telling stories on the stage, but rather on the page… Okay, I didn’t mean to make that rhyme.)
Since high school, I’ve become kind of a theater watcher. Which is good. I’ve seen over 60 shows on Broadway. I listen to lots and LOTS of showtunes. And I watch every musical I can get my hand on. In fact, my current novel is about some (made-up) Broadway actors. And it’s been a lot of fun letting myself live in that world.
There’s something about the theater that transports you. For two hours, you’re in a different world. You’re moved by words and music. You forget the outside for a while. You see magic (sometimes literally) on the stage. And it’s stories. Beautiful stories, all wrapped up in a neat package. A beginning, middle, and end. Satisfying or not. Told by someone gifted, who becomes the character on stage. Can you tell it’s one of my favorite things?
I don’t live in New York, though I try to get down there as much as I can. So I love it when shows are filmed and put on DVD. Or TV (wasn’t The Wiz fantastic? And I’m no fan of that show.) Or the Web. Tonight, I am watching the “first-ever” live theater livestream. And it’s great. So far, Daddy Long Legs is a beautiful musical. I hope there are more of these in the future.
There isn’t much to talk about today. Things have been crazy during preparations for Thanksgiving (my very favorite holiday!) and trying to get caught up on my NaNoWriMo writing. But finally, FINALLY, I did it. I hit my 50,000. 50,012 to be exact. There’s a bit more that I want to write before I officially put in to “win” NaNoWriMo, but I’m almost there. Even just seeing the 50,000 is one of the best motivations I know.
I’m a little nervous about finishing it, but I am even more nervous about revising it. I’ve always been absolutely terrible at revisions. It’s hard for me to take what I have written and deconstruct it and start anew. Does anyone have any good advice on revisions?
And if you celebrate it, I hope that you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And if not, have a wonderful day regardless!
I wish there were 25, 30 hours in a day. This past week I have been stressing myself out over everything I have to do, everything that needs to be done, and everything that I want to do.
At work, there is reams of paperwork to do, plus essays and projects to grade, plus lesson-planning to accomplish. All this on top of actually, you know, teaching. And interacting with the students and my colleagues.
When I get home, there is an apartment to clean (who knew I would be such a neat freak before I moved into my own place?), books to read, writing to do, generally more stuff from work that I brought home. Plus, I need to work out. And cook.
Of course, all of this is if I’m not tired. If I am tired? Forget about it. I don’t get anything done.
The worst is between the hours of 3 and 6. I feel so drained that I am lucky if I can do anything with myself besides stare at a computer screen. This three hours of dramatic nothingness puts me off schedule, which just stresses me out even more. Then I work to quickly get things done, and it’s always a mess.
How do we find more time? I want to write, I want to relax, I want to feel like I am not running from one place to another all of the time. I hate being stressed. I am done with being stressed.
So give me more time. Please?
There are always stories in my head. In fact, there are often more stories than I can keep track of most of the time. I’ve loved writing since I was a little kid with my nose stuck in my first chapter book. I’ve always written for fun, and I love it.
Unfortunately, I also love my day job. I’m a teacher, and as crazy and hectic as it can be, I love it. I love the kids and the struggles and the chaos. I love being that completely nerdy teacher that my students roll their eyes about.
But here is the problem. Teaching and writing don’t always mix. Even when I come home, my work isn’t done. There’s work to grade, emails to respond to, lessons to plan, and the general worry hanging over my head that I’ve messed up my students for life. It’s stressful.
The worst part about it all is that after a full 8+ hour day of teaching, I can’t do anything else. Words don’t want to come, and I certainly don’t want to sit up at a computer for hours and write a story. Even now, I am forcing myself to sit here and write this. My eyes are heavy and painful. I’m easily annoyed and brought to tears at the drop of a hat.
SO VERY TIRED.
And yet, there’s this story in my head, clamoring to get out. It’s been there for days, weeks, months. The only work I’ve been able to do on it is choose two names that I like to name my female protagonist. Because as exciting as it all is (and starting a new novel is one of my favorite things in the world), all’s I want to do is sleep until I don’t feel so uncomfortable anymore.
But look… so shiny…
Okay.
I’m here. Here I am.
I’ve been writing since I was 12 years old. I mean, I wasn’t any good back then. They almost put me in a remedial writing class. But I liked creating stories. I wrote stupid “plays” for my seventh-grade class and stupid Friends fanfiction. (Oh yes, I did.)
It took a lot of practice (over half my life at this point) and a lot of dabbling in a lot of genres, but I’d like to think I’ve improved a bit. Even if I haven’t, I still love creating and writing stories. And I’m at a point in my life where I want to share them.
My debut novel, tentatively titled The Policeman’s Ball, is currently looking for reliable beta readers (anyone?), and in the meantime, I’m told that social media is the way to connect with other writers and readers. So I’m excited for that. It’s certainly a nice distraction from being a teacher without a job (which is what I am by day) and a socially inept human being (which is what I am by night).
I have a feeling that this site (and this blog) will be all over the place. Nostalgia, movie/theater reviews, whining about writer’s block. You name it. But I hope to make a lot of friends from it too. It’s an experiment, of sorts, And I’m ready.
