Spilling Ink: Day 3

I wrote this yesterday and I'm so glad I did. I've been in the library for the past twelve hours fighting desperately to write a stupid final essay for a stupid class and it's so. damn. stupid.

Yep, that's right. Eloquence has gone out of the window, peeps. Wave goodbye, because it won't be back until I get a decent ten or so hour nap. True Story. Anyways, here's the randomness that is Spilling Ink (Day 3):

**

This summer is going to Rock. It is going to rock so hard, and I cannot wait. Awesome summer commences in t-minus 6 days. I'll go to Pride fest (for the second year in a row, thank you very much), then soon I'll be off to Texas, where I'll be tempted to hire someone just to say "let the adventures begin." Yes. It's going to be epic.

But I have no plans for next summer, so let's make some, shall we? Not that I'm not grateful, but it's always good to be prepared, right?

Goals for summer 2011 (some of which are totally doable, some of them not so much):

1) Europe. It's a continent I haven't seen yet, though I've wanted to go since I was a wee child (oh god. you see why I have to go?) My grandma promised me a trip, and by that point I'll need a graduation present. A trip to Dublin or London or Greece sounds like paradise

2) Writer Conference. FOR THE WIN! Oh gosh, I've been wanting to go to one of these for a while. BEA would be ideal, and by ideal I mean crazy awesome! Backspace would be cool. I don't actually know of any others, but yeah.

3) Guatemala. This would cancel out some other stuff, but a few friends and I are thinking of doing a research grant and starting up a new school in rural Guatemala. One friend will be working there this summer, and I'm a little jealous. Doesn't that sound cool?

4) Sailing. That was technically supposed to be part of this summer, but weddings trumped my desire to be a pirate. I'd like to do that next summer. Live on the high seas, and all that jazz.

5) I kind of don't want to admit this, but I'll go ahead and do it: Harry Potter convention. Ok. There. I said it. A whole group of people obsessed with Harry Potter? Yes please. There are a ton of them, though the biggest one is Infinitus (or at least that's what I've heard). So I want to go to that.

6) Comic Con. 'Nuff Said.

7) Write. I feel like this is always a goal, but summer is always the best time to get some serious writing done. So that's a goal, I guess.

**

I know I haven't posted much about writing so far this June, but I PROMISE my next post will be all writerly... and stuff. Though it will have nothing to do with Christina Rossetti, T.S. Eliot, or Tiresias. Because I'm sick of those people. SO done with them for the next few months of my life.

Alright. Time to power through the last page of my essay. Godspeed. *runs onto battlefield*

Cue explosion.

Spilling Ink: Day 2 (Or, How much fun was Dillo Day? TOO Fun!)

Alright, here is the obligatory post on Dillo Day. For those of you who aren't NU students, let me explain:

Dillo day is an annual celebration of almost-summer. The university always intends for it to be a simple day of fun in the sun, with about four free concerts (two big names, two random bands). Vendors, free food, kites, paint, the lake. In a word, perfection. Simple, innocent, perfection.

It never turns out that way though, does it? Because we the students do our very best to turn Dillo Day into Woodstock (part 2). Alcohol, hookah, random make out sessions (and who knows what else), and inevitable nudity on someone's part (maybe I'm exaggerating a teensy bit, but still). Innocent or no, Dillo Day is NU's only reparation for the extra two or three weeks of school we have to put up with.

I've attended three of these wondrous events so far, and this year's was the best. By far. Why? Oh, there were a ton of reasons, but the main one was REGINA SPEKTOR.

Can I repeat that?

REGINA SPEKTOR CAME TO NORTHWESTERN!! YES.

Naturally, my day started off on a high point because of that. Second row, baby. Then I hung out with some of my writerly friends. Danced around a bit, got sunburn, listened to Guster, got more sunburn, watched kites in the air, got really really sunburned, and then painted my arm red, blue, pink, and green. Why? I have no idea. It seemed like a good idea at the time though. I laid on the rocks by the lake for a while, then went to my friend's house for a few drinks and more than a few laughs. We stopped at Hop Haus for dinner, watched a bit of the Hawks game (ok, they watched... I pretended to understand hockey for .5 seconds), then went back to the Dillo Day field to see Nelly.

Nelly was... not Regina Spektor. He played three songs that I knew, and people pushed me around. But that's ok, because the moon was red and there were fireworks afterwards. Fireworks make almost everything acceptable. For real.

So that's how my Dillo Day went. Pretty cool, huh? The only downside: because of the immense sunburn (don't look at me like that, I put sunblock on like twice! SPF 50!), I've been recovering for the past three days, and I'm almost out of Aloe Vera (which I slather on like it ain't no thang). But for Regina Spektor? Second Row? Totally worth it. Check the pix. Oh. And this vid (not her best music video, but one of my favorite songs):

Spilling Ink: Day 1

So as I'm sure you know, I suck at keeping up with this blog. I've tried. Dear god, I've tried. I have about 5 drafts on topics ranging from byronic heroes to the perfect summer, but none of them made it to the actual blog. Obviously.

I just came across this post on Twitter, a challenge, if you will, to write a blog post every single day of June. Spilling ink. Maybe good things will come from it, but at the very least you'll be entertained. I hope.

So here goes, 30 straight days of bloggage. It'll definitely be an eventful 30 days. I need to write three papers, take a final, pack up my stuff, finalize apartment papers, fix the financial aid mess, move some of my stuff into my apartment for next year, drive to Milwaukee, dejunk everything, pack for Texas, shop for Puerto Rico and Florida, exercise, GO to Texas, and collapse. Not in that order.

Good god. I had no idea I had so damn much to do. That's not even counting my number one goal at all times: Make writing progress. Oy.

Today is the last meeting for No Strangers to Fiction, my writing group here on campus. It's just a party, but it's my last day as "president." I put that in quotes because it's always a group effort. But still. My friend Liz and I created it, and so many great things happened as a result. I'm going to miss being "president," and don't even get me started on how much I'm going to miss it when I graduate next year.

I'll post eventually on Dillo Day, but let me just say how painful and awesome it was! Awesome dominated the majority of the day, and painful kicked in the next morning when I realized how ineffective SPF 50 can get. But more on that later.

For now, I've got to work on Epic Paper Number 1, due Thursday. The Wasteland.

See you tomorrow, I guess.

Cross my heart, and all that jazz

Disclaimer: I know a few things in this list are things I should be doing anyways, and this isn't a "I-won't-do-this-unless" whiny brat type deal. It's just a promise.

Here it is, peeps. The list of things Kira MUST do. I have two lists, actually. One must happen if I get an agent, and the other will occur if I get a book deal. Yeah.

List #1 (agent):

1) Participate in DM for a second time.

2) Bake 100 cupcakes and give them away at the arch (or other public venue if I've already graduated)

3) Do stand up Comedy (I can't get up the nerve to do this).

4) Pretend to be a student at Hogwarts for a day. Sigh.

5) Go to dinner at fancy shmancy restaurant with bunch of friends. Drink wine. (haha, I PROMISE)

List #2 (published):

1) Run a 5k. I'm not even kidding, folks. It'd totally happen.

2) Donate to charity. Like this one. Or this one. Or this one. Any other ideas?

3) Skydiving. Gulp.

4) Dye the tips of my hair blue.

5) I feel like a party is a given, but I'll write it here anyways. Super cool party. Yes.

Did I miss anything? Is there stuff on here that shouldn't be? Speak now or forever hold your peace...

Productivity, anyone?

It's kind of amazing how productive I am in the writing area when I have so much pending school work.

God, I hope my parents aren't reading this.

Anyways, tomorrow I'll make my promises regarding the universe and if I get published and stuff (you remember that post, right?). And by tomorrow, I mean the next time I'm academically pressured enough to procrastinate via this blog.

This weekend was super fun, for various reasons. Mostly today, though as a whole I'm pretty happy with the past few days. Friday I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with a bunch of friends, then went back to the room for a few drinks and an epic (or maybe not so epic) showing of the Blair Witch Project (!!!). Saturday I spent in my room being a creeper. Luckily, one of my friends found me and decided to creep with me (by creep, I totally mean watching chick flicks and reading Percy Jackson).

But today? Today was EPIC. It started with a productive writing date at Kafein (1000 words. Not too shabby if I may say so myself). Then I hung out with my birthday friend (19, people. Wish her a Happy Birthday!!), and then SHE bought ME and a bunch of peeps dinner. Very classy place. Good food, too. Not gonna lie, the dessert was my absolute favorite part. Chocolate Fondant, anyone (see above picture)?

Afterwards, we went to a campus-wide Mulan sing along. Yes. We sang along to Mulan (like that one time) like a bunch of fiends, and it was so. damn. fun.

Even in the cold. Even in the unforgiving Chicago cold (It's MAY, if you haven't noticed, Chicago. Have some decency, why don't you?!). It was so worth it.

Which brings you all up to speed on my life. Right now I want more than ever to work on my WIP, but I have a paper to write, so I suppose I'll go wallow in my room like the procrastinating English Major that I am.

Hope your weekend was awesome too!!!

I can haz compliments?

Yeah, so my grammar has fallen to lolcats status, if only because of my recent obsession with kittehs.

What?

FINE. I've always been obsessed with those tiny, adorable little furballs, but lately there have been too many around for my own good. Like here:

Or here:

Yeah. It's tough living in a dorm when everywhere you go there are cats.

But cats, strangely enough, have nothing to do with this blog. Really. This post is about compliments.

Story time: I dated a guy in freshman year who helped me realize one of my biggest pet peeves. It wasn't a favor, and I wasn't amused, because he was the one committing this unforgivable sin. He gave me false compliments.

Shiver.

I HATE false compliments. As I complained to him that my fiction had been ripped apart (two weeks after we met, no less), he said, "they obviously don't know how great of a writer you are."

Alright, let's get something straight. I'm not an evil bitch, and I'm aware that he was probably trying to be nice. But he'd never read any of my stuff, and the comment just sounded false. I come from the singing world (alright, I was in choir through freshman year of college), and people are just loaded with fake compliments. You could cringe through an entire song and still smile. "That was good," you'd say, crossing your fingers behind your back.

But in singing, as well as writing, honesty is the best policy. Granted, it's nice to believe you're on the top of the world when you're just starting out, and most parents out there know they've lied about their kid's __ (insert annoying and underdeveloped hobby here), but once you're in the big leagues, once you take your craft seriously, you know more than anyone how annoying a false compliment can be.

Natalie Whipple posted about an issue on the other side of this coin. Sometimes (a lot of the time) writers just become wary of compliments all together. They doubt the validity of any compliment, no matter how sincere it may be.

So how do we solve this problem for writers and their well meaning friends everywhere? I think it needs to be worked on from both sides. Friends, listen to Doctor Seuss: Say what you mean and mean what you say. It's tempting to tell a white lie sometimes, and maybe you think that a small compliment couldn't hurt, even if it's not true. You might be right. Of course, you might be like the friends of those terrible singers who audition for American Idol.

As for the writers? We need to realize that not every compliment is false. Sure, take that compliment with a grain of salt. But ignoring genuine compliments in the writing business is almost as harmful as an inflated ego.

Balance, grasshoppers. Balance.

Editing the Beast

This post is exactly what the title says.

Are you ready?

So I just sent out (literally, just now) my manuscript to Mr. Agent from the contest. I feel excited, scared, nervous, hopeful, terrified, but above all, completely drained.

Why?

Because I was a dumbass and decided to start editing the book on WEDNESDAY. Mr. Agent posted the announcement on MONDAY. I've always sucked at deadlines, which will probably be bad if my writing career ever goes legit. On the other hand, I've heard that procrastination is an important talent for every writer to develop.

But now it's done, and I feel exponentially better about M-town. Whenever I go through an editing session with my book, I feel like I throw myself in a dysfunctional relationship. First I'm in love, then doubt flares up. Disgust comes into the equation more than once, but there's too much passion and intensity for me to give up on it. In the end, I love it no matter what. I see its flaws, but I also think the good qualities outweigh the bad.

Ignore the crazy, and let's continue.

I'm sure I've done posts on editing before, but I think this material is new, so here goes. I kept a sort of list as I went through each chapter, and I'm going to share that information with you now. Please don't use it against me.

1) Awkward writing. I wish I could tell you how to avoid it, but I do it all the time. In one of the first contests I entered, the judge complained about this and I almost had a hissy fit. Really? Awkward writing? How subjective is that?

It IS subjective, to a point. It's kind of like saying that Phoebe from Hey Arnold was awkward. Some could argue that she's just a smart introvert. But that Eugene kid that stalks Helga? The one with the loud breathing? Undeniably awkward.

Keep Eugene out of your writing.

2) Danger words. These vary for everyone, so just keep an eye out for whatever yours are. Chances are, at least some of them will be adverbs (I had to watch out for exactly, very, and slightly). Body movements became a problem too, because let's face it, you can only say "smile" a certain number of ways. Sure, your characters can nod, frown, squint, and sigh, but don't have them do it three times in one page.

3) First person stuff. I'm not sure if it's just me, but stuff crops up and all of my beta readers blame it on first person. I'm starting to agree with them. Let me explain: I noticed, I realized, I saw, I ...

Of course, you could just as easily write "he noticed, he realized," but I think it's easier to over use these phrases in first person.

4) Dialogue Tags. Authors and agents blog constantly about these, with good reason. This ties a little in with adverbs (he said quietly), but are quite hazardous on their own (I called, she chastised).

Keep it to "Said" whenever possible, because believe it or not, the reader won't notice most of the time.

5) Forcing action. If something intense is happening, don't ruin it by adding "suddenly" at the front of the sentence. Same thing goes for "in a second" and "momentarily."

Just don't do it.

6) Sentence structure. Keep variety going throughout the narrative. Don't have too many consecutive short sentences or long sentences unless you have a damn good reason.

7) -ing. I actually think these are fine, right up until they become the bread and butter of your book. Everything in moderation.

I had to rip all of these bad habits out of my book this week, and trust me, it hurt. It was also for the best. I think my book is exponentially better now than it was five days ago. Yay!

By the way, I see you guys. I know a BUNCH of people read this blog, but there's only 1 comment on my last post. I DO need some ideas to appease the publishing gods, so PLEASE help me out. Thanks ahead of time :)

Alright, I'm treating myself to some Supernatural before I start my history paper (eek!). I'll keep all you cool cats updated about Mr. Agent.

Much love,

-K