No Vacancy

At the end of December, 2006, I started a new journal. I was nervous, because I put pressure on myself to write worthwhile entries. However, I knew my comfort level would increased. It did. But I kept writing and then would just stop for a while. I felt I had nothing to say at some points, which is dangerous for me. There is a huge issue of losing my voice for me. I want to express my thoughts. I still have this journal.

It's finished. It's full, and I am thrilled to be moving on to a new journal.

Write! Write. Write.

I wrote. I want to keep doing so!

There aren't any flat children, really. --David Foster Wallace

Some Drawings that I've Done

As you might remember, Ms. Swanson and Ryal, respectively.




There's so much detail to add. And so much perspective to learn about.

What do you think?? Can you tell she's the same person?

I mentioned I worked on another book last semester. For that one, I was afraid to change the characters-- their facial expressions and their stances stayed so rigid. For the most part, I copied and pasted and just changed the words and sometimes certain aspects about their features. I am practicing being okay with deleting to change and add more and work with emotions, angles, and zoom even. Seeing my progress and knowing there is so much more for me to learn is incredibly exciting. This is work that I could spend hours, and hours, and hours on-- completely lost to time and my surroundings.

The things that happen stay happened. --Terry Pratchett

A Little Bit Preachy, A Little Bit Rock and Roll

The practice of keeping up with the blog forces me to work. If I wasn't forced to reflect, I might find myself neglecting what should be reflected upon. Awful, I know!

The whole point in learning basics is so that you can master them and move onward. In order to be able to successfully flip, you must first be able to jump straight up or, for that matter, take a step. This works with self expression. How to do make a photograph your own? You add style, perspective, and personality. How do you come up with an original plot for a story? You purposefully contort outmoded plot lines, add twists, and play with convention.

This should be celebrated!

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Produce. Create. Reflect. Understand. Adjust. Stand up. Don't compromise.

Also, live out loud.

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Isn't it strange that princes and kings,/And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,/ And common people like you and me/Are builders for eternity?/Each is given a bag of tools,/A shapeless mass, a book of rules;/And each must make - ere life is flown -/A stumbling block or a steppingstone. ---R.L. Sharpe, “A Bag of Tools”

Create or Miscreant?

Oh, balderdash. I, on the basis of refusing to call it "creative block," have hit an unforeseeable lack of motivation to continue on the path of moveination, motionevasion, mote-in-volation, or mote, eh, vase shun. I want to write and work on this story, but there are many, many distractions-- including my own propensity to sabotage the working stride. I get distracted or feel like I have "other" things to do then feel like I need to procrastinate doing those other things instead of Working. How I long to habitually hit a stride!

Oh, to dream. To dare to hope. To dream of.... Wow. If I was working on Ryal, perhaps I wouldn't have all these pent up words, you know?

Thoughts for progressing:
Take the main character, and plop him into another setting-- home life, in his own imagination, with friends.
Look at the secondary characters more closely.
What experiences would be good for the characters? What would be awful?

I have the wherewithal to challenge myself for my entire life. That's a great gift.--Twyla Tharp

I learned very early that an audience would relax and look at things differently if they felt they could laugh with you from time to time. There's an energy that comes through the release of tension that is laughter.-- Twyla Tharp