December Musings

Allow me a moment.

IT'S THE END OF THE SEMESTER.

Unbelievable. I've made it to winter break, and my days were full to the last minute. After trekking up the icy hill to my Friday morning-final (ahhh, Steubie, how I love you), I spent the next few hours gathering luggage, cleaning, and bidding farewell. It's hard to believe how the semester seems simultaneously to have flown.....

....and yet gone soooo slooooowly.

I hopped on a plane in Pittsburgh and by 7:00 was happy in the 60-degree weather of North Carolina.

Luxuriously, I took the weekend to adjust, recover from finals (that is, come down from my caffeine high), and (ahhhh!) sleep in. Then Monday arrived, and I grew restless.....

I puttered around. Made breakfast and wrestled our all-too-frisky kitten. Leafed through my class notes. Skyped with a friend. Having nothing to do felt weirder than weird.  

And at last, I found myself turning my computer on, clicking through my documents. Opening one. And writing until I had five rough chapters.

Writing for the first time in months was awesome. Words flowed, for a while. Then my old routine set in: cudgeling my brains, frowning at the computer. But even the frustration felt good. 

The piece I worked on is not one of my figment pieces; it's a novella I've had stashed away for several months. I don't know that it will be going on figment at any point. Right now, it's very personal, a foray into a new genre and a completely new style of writing that I'm not quite ready to share. However, I've also been working on my second draft of Default Sweater and wrestling a bit with Lilla and the Tower. I hit a tough spot with Lilla over the semester, where words weren't coming and the storyline felt tangled. My goal with the story was to go for a simpler writing style and short chapters, fairy tale-like, but I've found that even simple writing isn't always simple to write. Schoolwork caught up, and I took a break that stretched from days to months.

My goal for winter break (up 'til January 13) is to write at least ten chapters of Lilla. I will most likely be working on multiple things on the side--hopefully TDS will be back up soon, with some edits. I also have big plans for the sequel, as I keep promising! As of now, I have a storyline mapped out and am scribbling down ideas whenever they pop into my head. It's taking on a very fun tone and I'm dying to start. In planning, I'm amused at how much seems to be coming from the real world--real experiences, conversations, and people. With TDS, there were a few moments I included from my own life, like Erin's story of Gangster Day, or Willow House, which was inspired by my memories of Lake Messalonskee. Generally, though, I try to steer clear of "writing myself" into a story. I don't want to be writing an autobiography, and in this case, I really can't, since I'm much younger than Erin and don't quite obsess over first kisses (though she and I are fans of the same movies). Aside from a few things, Erin came purely from my imagination.

The sequel, though, seems to demand more. Because the protagonist is someone who, unlike Erin, has had a lot of experience with boys, stories, both from my own life and from others' lives, creep in. Midnight conversations with friends lead to musings about plot and character. New acquaintances contribute observations. The chivalry and kindness of boys on campus (as well as their boyish craziness) inspires me as I dive into writing another romance.

It's very fun. :)

Aside from this all, I'm missing college immensely. I know, I'm a freak. As pleasant it is not to have class.....and how fantastic it is not to be eating cafeteria food....

.....I'm missing stuff like this:



And this....

*Sigh* So I'm out. With lots and lotsa free time. Keeping my fingers crossed that it turns into lots of writing time.

Merry Christmas to all you lovely people, Happy Holidays, and have a lovely vacation. I think we all deserve it, don't you? :)