I have a confession to make: I haven't been doing my homework.
Oh, sure, on the high school level this is a minor blunder...but when you get to college? It's supposed to consume your life, or at least that's what everyone says. The problem is that it isn't consuming mine, and when I sit and compile a list of everything I've been assigned for the week, I quickly see that I've got enough so that it should.
The funny thing about college is that so far all of the assignment are long-term and incredibly easy to forget. They have to be, I suppose, since you don't have every class every day (think God, Krishna, Quetzalcoatl and everybody up there for that one!)
Now, I know I've done posts on how hard it is to find time to write, and believe me, I'm still struggling with that one since most noises wipe my mind as clean as a blank slate. But what is a writer to do when there are other things in her life that she's actually neglecting because of her addiction to her writing?
My first thought was, "Well, I suppose I could skip writing on some days when I have more homework," but my heart began to palpitate the moment that one sailed across my brain. No way. Even if it's just one sentence , I have to do something.
But what happens when I do that, "Just one sentence before I start my homework" thing?
I write five pages, look at the clock, and see that it's midnight.
Then I look down at the page and keep writing.
The most obvious choice is to get the homework out of the way before I start the writing, but every creative writing book and class I've ever attented would shake their collective fingers at me and scream. "The writing should come first!", they've all cried without exception. Isn't this advice for people who are likely to put it off?
Clearly that isn't my problem, here. I've even been lectured in the pages of a book on how I should be putting my writing way before going to the gym, as if I've ever actually set foot inside one. Nice one, Help Book. You know that the gym and I are so distant that I don't even know how to pronounce it.
Seriously, what is up with that? Has anyone else read writing help books and noticed that every single one of them warns that you should write before doing your daily exercises, as if all writers are addicted to bodybuilding or some crap?
Pfft. My writing is the reason why I lack muscle tone, and probably will until this novel gets into the beta reading stage.
So, what are you to do when you're addicted to the craft? The other areas of my life need some love, too, seeing as I'm either graded on them or need to clean them before my mom pitches a fit.
I think I'm going to try out this "Getting the stuff that needs to be done first out of the way" thing, even though against every piece of writing advice I've ever heard. Yes, Mr. Self Help Book Writer, I know that writing is more important than studying for my History Exam, but it seriously needs to get done.
On a related note, my novel now has 8,208 words in it, and I'm about 20% done.
And yes, I've only been working on it for a week and a half.
Now do you see the extent of my problem? Everyone's told me that a normal person doesn't fill that many pages in so few days, because a normal person has a life.
I do have a life. I'm just not living it, because I'd rather be living the life in my head.
Oh, sure, on the high school level this is a minor blunder...but when you get to college? It's supposed to consume your life, or at least that's what everyone says. The problem is that it isn't consuming mine, and when I sit and compile a list of everything I've been assigned for the week, I quickly see that I've got enough so that it should.
The funny thing about college is that so far all of the assignment are long-term and incredibly easy to forget. They have to be, I suppose, since you don't have every class every day (think God, Krishna, Quetzalcoatl and everybody up there for that one!)
Now, I know I've done posts on how hard it is to find time to write, and believe me, I'm still struggling with that one since most noises wipe my mind as clean as a blank slate. But what is a writer to do when there are other things in her life that she's actually neglecting because of her addiction to her writing?
My first thought was, "Well, I suppose I could skip writing on some days when I have more homework," but my heart began to palpitate the moment that one sailed across my brain. No way. Even if it's just one sentence , I have to do something.
But what happens when I do that, "Just one sentence before I start my homework" thing?
I write five pages, look at the clock, and see that it's midnight.
Then I look down at the page and keep writing.
The most obvious choice is to get the homework out of the way before I start the writing, but every creative writing book and class I've ever attented would shake their collective fingers at me and scream. "The writing should come first!", they've all cried without exception. Isn't this advice for people who are likely to put it off?
Clearly that isn't my problem, here. I've even been lectured in the pages of a book on how I should be putting my writing way before going to the gym, as if I've ever actually set foot inside one. Nice one, Help Book. You know that the gym and I are so distant that I don't even know how to pronounce it.
Seriously, what is up with that? Has anyone else read writing help books and noticed that every single one of them warns that you should write before doing your daily exercises, as if all writers are addicted to bodybuilding or some crap?
Pfft. My writing is the reason why I lack muscle tone, and probably will until this novel gets into the beta reading stage.
So, what are you to do when you're addicted to the craft? The other areas of my life need some love, too, seeing as I'm either graded on them or need to clean them before my mom pitches a fit.
I think I'm going to try out this "Getting the stuff that needs to be done first out of the way" thing, even though against every piece of writing advice I've ever heard. Yes, Mr. Self Help Book Writer, I know that writing is more important than studying for my History Exam, but it seriously needs to get done.
On a related note, my novel now has 8,208 words in it, and I'm about 20% done.
And yes, I've only been working on it for a week and a half.
Now do you see the extent of my problem? Everyone's told me that a normal person doesn't fill that many pages in so few days, because a normal person has a life.
I do have a life. I'm just not living it, because I'd rather be living the life in my head.
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