First of all, I promise that I have not stopped reading. I'm just a strange combination of swamped and lazy, so I haven't posted since...well, you know better than I do. Probably.
Second, I am currently in the process of PhD school research/applications, adding to the giant to-do list I already had (which includes taking the GRE--in two weeks, preparing a chapter of my thesis for publication, editing my novel manuscript, querying for another novel manuscript, traveling to and presenting at RMMLA, attending a mystery writer's conference in Santa Fe, teaching three sections of English 104, getting ready to perform a show this weekend with my band, making paper bead bracelets for a local craft/food festival, and tutoring at a local community college).
What does this mean? I pretty sure it means that I hate myself, because I was rarely ever this busy even in graduate school. It also means that my reading has been sporadic and all over the place. Right now, I'm reading The Sorrows of Satan, Vanity Fair, and How Novels Think: The Limits of Individualism from 1719-1900. There are also a few books in my currently reading pile that I hope to finish soon but have set aside for other, more pressing, reads.
It also means that if I can pull all of this off I will be one happy camper come the middle of December. And one waiting-with-baited-breath camper, because once I submit those PhD applications I know I'll be checking my email every day even though THE LOGICAL PART OF MY BRAIN KNOWS BETTER. Sorry. Just yelling at myself...
Showing posts with label craziness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label craziness. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Twenty-Seven: CONFESSIONS OF A FREELANCE PENMONKEY
Confessions of A Freelance Penmonkey, by Chuck Wendig, 2011.
TTR: about two days
Comments:
GO TO THIS WEBSITE, NOW: http://terribleminds.com/
BUY THE BOOKS AND FOLLOW THEIR ZANY AUTHOR ON THE TWITTERS...
Seriously, guys, it's not often that I read one book by an author and slap them into my little black book of favorite authors who will one day suffer at my hands ala Stephen King's Misery. Haha. Just kidding. I'm too busy hobbling myself so that I can't leave my desk and am forced to write my own novels. Please don't shun me, favorite authors! I promise not to go all Annie Wilkes on you. I'm not even a nurse. It does't even snow where I live, not usually.
Anyhoo.
There are few books that make me chuckle and snicker and grimace and and weep little girly tears on almost every page, and Confessions of a Freelance Penmonkey is one of them (the Bloggess' book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, is another one of those books, but I have not yet finished it 'cause I haven't actually purchased it, yet. I just read the bits I could for free on Amazon, 'cause I'm cheap like that. What? Don't look at me like that. Your eyes are like needles right now. I just graduated, I'm broke and looking for a full time job. I'M MELTING. Oh, wait, you're just giving me that look because there's an obvious solution? The library, you say? I think I might have one of those library card thingies...it's buried under the broken shells of a million Kindles, but hey, I'll give it a go).
Gurg. I've taken up too much time on crazed parenthetical rants again, haven't I? Well, here's what I said about the book on Facebook:
TTR: about two days
Comments:
GO TO THIS WEBSITE, NOW: http://terribleminds.com/
BUY THE BOOKS AND FOLLOW THEIR ZANY AUTHOR ON THE TWITTERS...
Seriously, guys, it's not often that I read one book by an author and slap them into my little black book of favorite authors who will one day suffer at my hands ala Stephen King's Misery. Haha. Just kidding. I'm too busy hobbling myself so that I can't leave my desk and am forced to write my own novels. Please don't shun me, favorite authors! I promise not to go all Annie Wilkes on you. I'm not even a nurse. It does't even snow where I live, not usually.
Anyhoo.
There are few books that make me chuckle and snicker and grimace and and weep little girly tears on almost every page, and Confessions of a Freelance Penmonkey is one of them (the Bloggess' book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, is another one of those books, but I have not yet finished it 'cause I haven't actually purchased it, yet. I just read the bits I could for free on Amazon, 'cause I'm cheap like that. What? Don't look at me like that. Your eyes are like needles right now. I just graduated, I'm broke and looking for a full time job. I'M MELTING. Oh, wait, you're just giving me that look because there's an obvious solution? The library, you say? I think I might have one of those library card thingies...it's buried under the broken shells of a million Kindles, but hey, I'll give it a go).
Gurg. I've taken up too much time on crazed parenthetical rants again, haven't I? Well, here's what I said about the book on Facebook:
Best thing I've read all day: "Remember: someone paid Shakespeare. He didn't do it 'for the love'...Shakespeare got to get paid, son." From CONFESSIONS OF A FREELANCE PEN MONKEY. |
If you're a writer, read this book. If you or someone you love knows or is a writer, read this book Yes, I sound like one of those Melanoma commercials right now. Maybe I should apply to be the voice of those commercials....
Nah.
I'm just gonna stop typing now...
Book Twenty-Five: SAVE THE CAT!
Save the Cat!, by Blake Snyder, 2005.
TTR: two-ish days.
Comments:
As those of you who've stumbled across my personal writing blog, Syncopated Synonyms, have probably already deduced, I'm not only an avid reader, I'm also one of those maniacal, pseudo-psychopathic individuals that our society likes to call "writers." Those of you who've read my "about me" page have probably deduced the same thing, but that segue doesn't allow for my shameless self-promotion. Duh.
So, I've been reading a lot of nonfiction about the craft and lifestyle of writing. This is one of *those* reads.
This book was pretty awesome, even though I haven't yet tried my hand at screenwriting and read this primarily as a discussion of plotting/pacing. It made me think about structure and content of my story, pointed me in the direction of some other awesome writers, and made me want to write a screen play EVEN MORE THAN I ALREADY DO. Which is probably bad, since I'm already crazed enough as it is.
TTR: two-ish days.
Comments:
As those of you who've stumbled across my personal writing blog, Syncopated Synonyms, have probably already deduced, I'm not only an avid reader, I'm also one of those maniacal, pseudo-psychopathic individuals that our society likes to call "writers." Those of you who've read my "about me" page have probably deduced the same thing, but that segue doesn't allow for my shameless self-promotion. Duh.
So, I've been reading a lot of nonfiction about the craft and lifestyle of writing. This is one of *those* reads.
This book was pretty awesome, even though I haven't yet tried my hand at screenwriting and read this primarily as a discussion of plotting/pacing. It made me think about structure and content of my story, pointed me in the direction of some other awesome writers, and made me want to write a screen play EVEN MORE THAN I ALREADY DO. Which is probably bad, since I'm already crazed enough as it is.
Monday, June 24, 2013
A Midsummer's Night Update
Have you ever looked back over an ongoing project and realized that, as you go on, you get less and less precise?
I have.
Now, don't get me wrong I love precision. I demand precision from my students (and myself, when it comes to academia). But, sometimes I start out very precise and then relax as I realize that the parameters of my precision were possibly a bit too tall of an order to fill, even for me.
Blah, blah, blah, you're saying. Get to the point already, you say.
Okay.
My blog is less precise. Instead of exact dates, I'm giving estimates in terms of hours, days, etc. Why? Because I'd like my reading to be recreational this summer, and when I try to keep track of dates and other such specifics it starts to feel a bit too much like a chore.
I hope you are all cool with that, because that's just the way it is.
The second point of this post is to give you all an update on what's coming up in the next several posts. The books I've read that I haven't yet posted about on here:
24. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larrson.
25. Save the Cat! Blake Snyder.
26. Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury.
27. Confessions of a Freelance Pen Monkey, Chuck Wendig.
Plus, you know, I'm hoping to reach the 30 mark before the month is over so that I can start the Bloglovin' Summer Readathon with a bang!
I have.
Now, don't get me wrong I love precision. I demand precision from my students (and myself, when it comes to academia). But, sometimes I start out very precise and then relax as I realize that the parameters of my precision were possibly a bit too tall of an order to fill, even for me.
Blah, blah, blah, you're saying. Get to the point already, you say.
Okay.
My blog is less precise. Instead of exact dates, I'm giving estimates in terms of hours, days, etc. Why? Because I'd like my reading to be recreational this summer, and when I try to keep track of dates and other such specifics it starts to feel a bit too much like a chore.
I hope you are all cool with that, because that's just the way it is.
The second point of this post is to give you all an update on what's coming up in the next several posts. The books I've read that I haven't yet posted about on here:
24. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larrson.
25. Save the Cat! Blake Snyder.
26. Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury.
27. Confessions of a Freelance Pen Monkey, Chuck Wendig.
Plus, you know, I'm hoping to reach the 30 mark before the month is over so that I can start the Bloglovin' Summer Readathon with a bang!
Book Twenty: FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson, 1971.
TTR: I started reading this one sleepless night during finals week, and finished it after about a week of off and on reading (once again, I cite burnout for the slow reading time).
Comments:
What to say about Fear and Loathing? What to say? What to say? Ah, yes...
AHHHHHHHHHHHH. *Twitch* *Twitch*
This book was interesting and painful and, perhaps because I read it during some very severe bouts of insomnia, surreal. I felt an odd connection with the drug saturated pair.
What is it about? Eh, the American Dream, the pursuit of...difference, distance.
TTR: I started reading this one sleepless night during finals week, and finished it after about a week of off and on reading (once again, I cite burnout for the slow reading time).
Comments:
What to say about Fear and Loathing? What to say? What to say? Ah, yes...
AHHHHHHHHHHHH. *Twitch* *Twitch*
This book was interesting and painful and, perhaps because I read it during some very severe bouts of insomnia, surreal. I felt an odd connection with the drug saturated pair.
What is it about? Eh, the American Dream, the pursuit of...difference, distance.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Summer Lovin' Read-a-Thon
In hopes to boost my reading numbers, I'm signing up with the Summer Lovin' Read-a-Thon (though I'll have you know I am actually at 20 books read, I'm just a bit behind on blog posts). Check out the blurb below for more information!
The Summer Lovin’ Readathon is a week-long readathon event hosted by seven independent bloggers! (Oh, Chrys!, Tumbling Books, Effortlessly Reading, Love Life Read, Shelf Addiction, Read Sleep Repeat, and Reviewing Wonderland)
Spend the week reading at your own pace, when and how you want to. There will be daily challenges for awesome prizes and opportunities to get points toward the Grand Prize Packs.
As if that weren’t enough – the week will end with a 24-hr marathon readathon! Twitter parties, mini-challenges, games, prizes given EVERY HOUR, and more chances to get points toward the Grand Prize Packs.
Sign-ups will be open through July 6th. I’m in, are you?!
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