12 hours.

Lesson of the day: after 12 hours of non-stop doing all you want to do is, well, do.

I woke up this morning at 7:15. I got ready for school and then hopped on the bus at 8:25 am. I had class from 9-11, worked from 11-2, class from 2-4 and worked from 4-8:15ish. I did not get back to my house until a little after 8:30 pm. I had been gone for a little over 12 hours. I thought I would want to brush my teeth and get right into bed.

Instead, I read a few pages from a short story for Tuesday and started on my study guide for Methods of Literary Study. I had an excellent idea for a story so I dropped the study guide and opened Microsoft Word and typed away for about 45 minutes. I have a great beginning to a story. It will make an excellent first draft for my 10 page short story.

Also, I am not as tired as I thought I would be. I will be going to bed by midnight though because I am ill. Nothing major, just need to keep it under control. This weekend is devoted to napping and taking it easy, except for the 7 hours I work on Saturday.

So, tomorrow I am going to post a little of the story that I have been working on tonight. I am committing to Fiction Fridays. They keep me motivated to write a little bit of fiction during the week. Hopefully I'll get more readers and then in turn get comments on my fiction.

peace.

PUSH!

Lesson of the day: push through the tough stuff, you'll feel better after.

I worked out today for the first time in a couple of minutes. The first 10 minutes were easy and then they each minute after got harder and harder. I planned on working out for 45 minutes so I was going to. At about the 17th minute I thought to myself that 25 minutes would be good enough. So, at about the 24th minute I decided to go for 30 minutes and 30 minutes magically turned into 45 minutes. I felt pretty good about it. I know that once I get used to my regular workout routine that it will get easier and then I will have to challenge myself again and again.

Last week I decided that since I have so much extra time in my hand that I would work out everyday after class - that is if I am not working or don't have prior plans. I am starting with cardio this week and will add in some strength and core training next week.

Working out was really a pick-me-up today. I knew I would be lazy once I got home so know that I had already worked out made me feel like less of a bum.

Welcome to...

FICTION FRIDAYS!

Since Writing Fiction is going so well I've decided to change my blog up a little. There will now we short, but not slight, writings based on writing exercises and assignments from class posted on Fridays. Hope you enjoy it! Give me some feed back too!

Her lips were painted crimson and her hair was curled and loosely pinned up. She wore a little black dress with bright red high heels she borrowed from her mom. It was the first time she had a date for a dance. She was dropped off at 6:45 pm so she could meet him. When she realized that he had not arrived on time, she was disappointed. She thought that she had invited Mr. Right, the guy who is always on time as well as dashing and intelligent. She figured he might be the type to be fashionably late, so he might be there a few minutes after the agreed upon time. She gave him five more minutes, she was hopeful. Slowly, her hope dwindled and was almost gone after waiting for fifteen more minutes. It was now 7:06 pm and he was still not there. The dance had started at 7 pm. A tear ran down her cheek leaving a trail of mascara that she had put on according to the guidelines of Seventeen Magazine. She decided not to wait any longer and went in, without a date by her side. She joined a cluster of her friends on the dance floor and tried to dance the night away as best as she could but she knew it would take more than three hours of dancing in the middle school gym to forget that she had been stood up by tall, dark and handsome, Drew Tyler. She had been in love with him since 6^th grade, or so she thought anyways.

She went home that night devastated that it had not gone according to plan. She walked in the door and kicked the bright red heals off that left blisters on her feet before she made her way into the kitchen to get the Rocky Road ice cream out of the freezer. Her mother tried asking her what was wrong and instead of talking about it she shrugged her shoulders and stormed up the stairs. Immediately she logged into her instant messenger.

Username, crzygrl<3, password, starlover12.  

She scanned the list of her online friends, the list was short.  Marlene, her table partner from algebra, was on and so was Jordan, he played soccer with Drew. She had seen Marlene at the dance so she had plenty of things to discuss with her like Veronica O’Malley’s itty-bitty dress and Kevin Connor’s date. Everyone suspected that it was his second cousin. She hadn’t seen Jordan since their History class first hour with Mr. Fink. She asked Jordan if he went to the dance and he had no response. So while she waited for a response from Jordan she continued her conversations with Marlene.

After the gossiping ran dry she poured her soul out to Marlene about the horror of the night. She knew where Drew had been that night because of a conversation she overheard Drew and Jordan having during English the day before. They were reading Romeo and Juliet and neither of them cared to listen to Mrs. Fiskum’s drone on about Mercutio’s death. Marlene didn’t have the heart to tell her what she knew though. Marlene knew it would break her poor heart if she found out why she had been stood up.

About an hour after she had sent Jordan a message he finally responded. She had been listening to the radio and removing the red nail polish she carefully painted on her fingernails before the dance. She heard the instant message notification and sprang up from the odd cross-legged position she was sitting in.

Soccerboy16:how was the dance??

Crzygrl<3:just fine I guess. Drew didn’t show up

Soccerboy16:uhhh

Soccerboy16:that’s too bad I guess

Crzygrl<3:yea, I waited for him for a long time too. He was suppose to be early but he wasn’t

Soccerboy16:yea. We’ve been playing video games instead of going to the dance

Crzygrl<3:we?

Soccerboy16:yea after soccer practice drew and I decided to walk to wal-mart and buy the new Madden game.

Crzygrl<3: WHAT? HE’S BEEN AT YOUR HOUSE WITH YOU PLAYING MADDEN? I CAN’T BELIEVE IT. I asked him last week if he’d go to the dance with me and he forgot

Soccerboy16:sorry Madison. I thought he would have told you he wasn’t going or something

Crzygrl<3:will you please pass along the message that I never want to speak to him again and I am not returning his soccer hoodie.

She was absolutely devastated. She thought that she had invited the right guy, thought that if he didn’t show up it had to be for good reason but no, Drew Tyler blew her off to play Madden ’04. 

Let's take five.

Lesson of the day: when you have to go to the bathroom, go.

I did not, I repeat, did not wet myself today - and no one else did either. Although, I did have to use the little ladies room really bad during Writing Fiction but it would have been too rude to get up and go since we were doing group workshops. I should have gone before class because I had to go then too. I didn't want to get up in the middle of critiquing my classmates short story so I didn't.

I waited for what seemed like forever. Finally my teacher excused us for a five minute break. I rushed out the door and headed for the bathroom. No line! It was great but I peed for like five whole minutes, seriously. Three other girls used the other stall in the bathroom in the time I went. I felt embarrassed. I shouldn't have because everybody pees - everybody farts and everybody poops.

It seems to be small, odd things that embarrass people. For example, when your pants slide down a little exposing your underwear, if you're wearing them, and some of or butt crack. It's a small thing that can be easily corrected but people get embarrassed by it.

Have you ever farted in class thinking that it wasn't going to smell too bad but then you realize you've made a horrible mistake? Then people start talking about it and covering their noses and if you follow suit too quickly you're blamed but if you don't follow suit quick enough, you're blamed too. Apparently, girls don't fart though. So, I don't get blamed. Haha!

Three-minute fiction.

Lesson of the day: don't let the fear of a broad audience scare you. 

I have been reviewing the pros and cons of submitting a three-minute fiction to the NPR contest. I like to just write but I never write with a particular audience really and I've never thought about writing for a prize either. Well, a grade could be a prize I guess. 

Today I said, "Screw it! I'm gonna take a wack at it and try to write that short story whether or not I like the prompt." It was rather declarative and for me a little out of the norm. 

Who does depression hurt?

Lesson of the morning: someone else's depression can hurt you.

I was reading some news about Denver Broncos wide receiver, Kenny McKinley who died from an apparent suicide. Just thinking about suicide reminds me of my late uncle who died the same way. I never saw it coming and I'm sure no one else did either.

So now suicide prevention and helping people with depression are things that are dear to my heart. I wish for people who need help to find help.

Monday, Monday.

Lesson of the day: not all Mondays are the same. Yes, some of them are painful while others are a breeze to get through. Today was neither. Today was not painful and it was not a breeze to get through. It felt as if time stood still while I was moving through it. I went to class like normal, nothing agonizing about either. I went home for lunch in between classes and it was mediocre. There is nothing positively special about today or negatively memorable about today.

It was one of those days where I go through the motions. Now that it is 3:26 pm and I have realized the amount of things I am supposed to have done this week, I plan on changing that. I have some writing projects to finish, some reading to do and a few online responses to do. None of it is hard, just time consuming. I need to change my attitude today. I don't feel like doing anything but I REALLY should.

NPR is having a writing contest and I plan on entering it. I'll get credit for my Writing Fiction class and I'll have an opportunity to have my work read by more than a teacher, classmates and friends. Real people who won't have too much of an issue hurting my feelings with their critiques. I can't wait - I just have to finish writing the story. The story has to begin with "Some people swore that the house was haunted." and end with "Nothing was ever the same again after that." I have a few ideas as to what direction my story will go but I feel like reading some other short stories online for inspiration before I continue writing mine.

So far I have perfect attendance this semester. It's a streak that I hope to keep up all semester with the exclusion of my Writing Fiction class on October 5th since I am going to the MUSE/Passion Pit concert. I am so excited. I love them.

p.s. I just realized that I haven't been working on my words of the week. At all. I'm not terribly sorry since I have been writing more often and am reading books with words that I've never heard of before now.

Let go.

Lesson of the day: let it go. If something is holding you back from doing something, let it go. If something is bringing you down, let it go.

I am in a Writing Fiction class and I love it. My professor is very entertaining and is actually a fiction writer! Yay! The best advice I've gotten from her so far is that you shouldn't think about something too much. I feel like you have to let some things go in order to not think about things too much.

I want to send in one of my short stories to a writing contest but I can't let go of the idea that all of my writing sucks and can always be better. Always, whether or not it gets good praise or awful critiques. I hate publicly sharing my writing. I think I am going to be an anonymous writer if I am going to be a writer. Hopefully in time I will be more confident in my writing. The next few years in college should hopefully polish my writing skills. I just have to put myself out there so people can read what I write and give me feedback.

Also, I have to let go of my immaturity. Not the sort of immaturity where I laugh any time somebody mentions the intimate anatomy of the human body or whenever somebody talks about excretion of bodily fluids. It's the sort where I don't really want to grow up. I'd like to have minimal responsibilities for the rest of my life. That would be boring though because having a real career, getting married and having kids all have great responsibilities.

Letting go of my immaturity is not the same as letting go of the fun though. I can still go to parties and I can still nap in the afternoon. I have to start doing things on my own and not blaming other people or things for the things I do or do not do. (I should probably work on the wordiness of my writing).

So, to start, I am going to take an internship in publishing course next semester and enter some short story contests. I should also start working on my portfolio.

I write like...

So, I copied and pasted a little bit of a blog post into a text box and some sort of software analyzed it, I'm guessing anyways. Guess what, I write like Kurt V. Who knew? I guess IWL did, of course.

Try it here. 

I write like
Kurt Vonnegut

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Six words.

Lesson of the day: it's hard to boil your life down to six words. Yesterday in class we had a writing exercise. We had to write our six word memoir. I had trouble thinking of something clever and witty that would convey the essence of me, of my life, of what I do everyday...or don't do.

I have been thinking about it since class yesterday and yes, I cheated. I googled other people's six word memoirs to get ideas for my own. Stephen Colbert's is, "Well, I thought it was funny." A few of the other ones that I felt fit for me were: "Still searching for my six words" and "Smiling is worth all the wrinkles." 

I can't quite figure out the perfect six word memoir. I've been thinking and thinking and thinking. Maybe that's what I am doing wrong, thinking too much. Maybe if I just keep the thought of the memoir in the back of my mind I will have a six-word-epiphany. 

So far, I've come up with two. That I over thought. Just like I always do. Of course. 

The first one that I came up with in class in about 5 minutes is, "Don't be afraid, live a little," and the second one is "Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy." That one I put a little more thought into. Still working on the perfect six word memoir though. Maybe I'll never have one or the perfect one will pop up tomorrow. 

Maybe I could work with my indecisiveness into my short memoir. I sort of want it to be witty and clever too.

Don't think.

Lesson of the day: don't think too much about writing.

We did a few writing exercises in my Writing Fiction class today. After sitting there for a few minutes our professor told us not to think too much about what we were writing. Once I quit putting thought into what I was writing, my pen just kept moving. It was a miracle. Usually I sit with a pen and paper, or a keyboard and blank word document for about 10 minutes before I can come up with anything.

Today, I wrote about three notebook pages worth of a story in about 15 minutes. It was the best I have ever felt about writing too, in that amount of time anyways. I wrote a story about a girl who wants to go to the big city and escape the small town farm life. Even though that is a pretty cliche story, it just all came together so perfectly and I didn't have more than one brain freeze while I was writing either. After class I felt like writing more so when I got back to my house I wrote a few more paragraphs.

I think I am really going to like both classes that I had today. I know people in both classes and the professors seem nice and intelligent.

I hope that everyone else's first day of class was as exciting as mine was.

Junior.

Oh my gosh, I have to edit the title of my blog a little now. I am a Junior, no longer a Sophomore. =]