Monday, April 14, 2014

In Which I Work Work Work

I'm back to blogging after my two week hiatus. But the two weeks off let me get done what I needed to get done, mostly finish up my two papers for my MFA packet.

Of course, now I'm working on packet #3, which means more writing, more revising and another paper. The work: she never ends.





My mentor this semester is Anne Ursu.

Have you guys read this? Because you should. I love it so much.


And she's been awesome. She's great to work with, and really gets what I'm trying to do with my WIP (because right now, it's in the "fumbling" stage. You know, where you keep going forward and you know things are wrong and will need to be fixed, but you can't fix them now because you don't quite fully understand the story or the characters yet? Yeah, that stage.)

I'm only 80 pages in. I wish I was further. Honestly, I wish I was done with my first draft at this point, but obviously I've had to slow down for revisions and other MFA work. I'm not worried or anything, but, you know, a completed draft is much more fun than one just barely started.

Anyway, yeah. Back to the grindstone I go!
But I'd much rather be doing this kind of work, and writing, than pretty much anything else. So, you know, yay!

How about you? What are you working on right now?
 

12 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

That's good work if you can get it. :)

It's full spring here so all my work is outside. It's been rough having to do it all alone, but the gardens are looking awesome.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'm in the fumbling stage!
Welcome back and glad you got so much done the past two weeks.
That cartoon says it all.

Matthew MacNish said...

Yay for you!

I'm still writing this horrible manuscript, but I passed 50k this weekend, so yay for me too.

Hart Johnson said...

Great to have an admired mentor you're working with! It sounds like the MFA is shaking up your normal process--is that good? Hard? Is it working for you? I just can't imagine I'd be able to revise anything until my whole first draft is done, which doesn't seen all that compatible with a class structure.

Hope you're getting a ton out of it!

Rena said...

I love that you have a mentor system at your MFA. But I do wish you didn't have to have so much work writing papers (I happen to dislike papers, so maybe that's why).

As for me, I'm building the world that my YA fantasy takes place in so I don't have to do fifty bazillion rewrites (because at some point I'd like to be professional about this process thing!).

Anne Gallagher said...

I just published The Captain's Coincidence -- a sea adventure with pirates, and a damsel in distress. Fun stuff that. Lots of research.

I'm working on Lady Olivia's book. I spill all her secrets. I'm at that same stage too. I'm 80 pages in and have to stop and re-evaluate where she wants to take me.

I'm so jealous of you doing your MFA. I'll have to wait until we move again before I can think about school.

How's your weather now? I heard it was 80 last week. Did all the snow finally melt?

Unknown said...

I have to admit, that fumbling stage is probably my favorite part of the process. It's like being on a first date. :)

H. R. Sinclair said...

Hello there! I'm still on my break but wanted to pop in and say hi. It sounds like I'm in the fumbling stage too. It's quite annoying!

KayC said...

The fumbling stage is obviously quite popular! I'm hoping that at some point in my writing 'career' my characters learn that I'm the boss and they have to go in the direction I originally planned. Would save lots of mid-story changes and reassessments.

Doesn't help my self esteem that they are usually right!

Unknown said...

Glad to hear the MFA program is going well and that you are getting stuff done. I loved The Real Boy

Slamdunk said...

Welcome back!

Unfortunately, it is the busy time at work so I am immersed in what pays the bills here. I did stockpile some summer reads and am eagerly awaiting when I can jump into those books.

Shelley Sly said...

Good luck with all your work! I know the fumbling stage all too well... (I'm technically in that stage with one MS, but it's not the MS I'm primarily working on. Yay, multi-tasking.)

I'll have to check out that book, too.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...