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 Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 2:55 pm
Racheling Honestly? Unless you want to teach English, I wouldn't major in it, or in writing. Technical writing maybe. But speaking as an English major who could not find a job (and I'm out of work now as well), my suggestion is to find something more likely to get you a day job you enjoy. If you want to work as an editor or journalist, then yes, you should probably go for English or journalism respectively. But otherwise, major in something completely different and take a few creative writing and literature courses. Granted, I knew this and still majored in English, so you'll have to ultimately decide for yourself. But I don't feel it helped me with my writing, either. If you love biology and music, you should definitely consider them as well. Honestly, either pick the subject you have the most passion for learning, or pick based on your dream job and find out the major you will need to get there. You know, I think I should get around to responding to this, lol. My dream job is, honestly, to be a novelist. Maybe do some freelancing, idk. I'd also love to teach some clarinet lessons on the side, and if I get better at any other instrument, those too. There are two things I've always wanted to be, even since I was a little girl. The first one is, obviously writing. I declared at 10 years old that I was going to be a writing, but really I had been reading and writing much longer than that. I was 13 when I had my first break through, and it's been up hill ever since. The second thing, though, is that I want to be a mother. I know that sounds weird coming from a teenager, but there is nothing I want more than a child of my own. Don't worry, I'm going to go do something stupid, like go out and great pregnant right now. I want a college degree first, and a loving husband to support us. I want to be a stay at home mom. I guess I don't need a college degree, but I want one. I guess I never had any other option, it was always, "Kellie, you must go to college." I've thought about not going to college, but I want to go. I want the experience. I think that's why I ultimately chose my university. It gives me the most options for experiences. I have marching band, there are some improv groups close by (including my brother), more options for majors, and the lifelong friendships I hope to make. Okay, be honest. Do I sound like an idiot? rofl
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:33 pm
No, I think you sound like you have a good plan in place for your life so far. smile If you want to experience college, you should go and explore your options. Setting a goal to eventually be a stay at home mom is fine, but it may take some work to get to that point (finances not always being the way we'd like) and a degree in something you love means you're more likely to get a job you enjoy. And I had an okay time in college. If I had to do it over, I'd probably have picked a different school (and a different major), but I still keep in contact with my roommate, who I like a lot.
The main reason I caution about English degrees is that you don't need one to be a novelist, and in fact I think taking classes in something completely different can be a huge help to your writing. For example, majoring in history would give someone a wide range of events and cultures to draw from, while I know many science fiction writers with science degrees.
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:49 pm
The problem with having a science degree and being a science fiction writer is you start saying, "Oh well that could never happen, this prevents it." Which I guess prevents you from getting that kind of flak from your readers, but it also stops you from even attempt to suspend disbelief. I guess it probably also gives you even more ideas.
I don't know, I'm a freshman, I have two years to decided on my major. What I need to concentrate on is keeping my GPA high enough that I will be accepted into whatever program I choose and so I can take honor classes and graduate with an honors degree. I need a 3.3 for honors and some majors require up to a 3.5 (maybe higher?).
I'm actually signed up for 18 credits right now. I'm thinking about dropping one of my English classes. It's a requirement for an English degree, but if I'm unsure about my degree, why waste a credit like that? And since I'm going into college with 9 credits already, why make my first semester so hard?
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:22 pm
Yeah, you have time to decide--and even then, worst case is you pick, change your mind, then switch later. Plenty of people change majors at least once, sometimes more often. Going into college with some credits is good, gives you some nice room for changing your mind, and can even lead to early graduation sometimes (I finished a semester early with my AP credits--saved me money!).
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:17 pm
Racheling is right on several counts. An English degree is all well and good, but unless you plan to teach it (which usually requires education courses, too), I wouldn't recommend it. You can write without one, so why get technical with it? Major in something you like so you can have a well-paying job you actually enjoy. If you're going to be doing it your whole life, you NEED to like what you do... Else you'll go crazy.
It's totally fine to switch majors if you decide you don't like what you've chosen. I used to be a music major. Then I decided I didn't like how the program took all the fun and soul out of playing. Now I'm an Anthropology major and I love love LOVE it! It appeals to my sense of logic and my love of learning.
If you're not sure about what you want to do, I'd recommend taking a handful of gen. eds first. That way you get your foot in every door at least a little. Some things will appeal to you, others won't. You'll get a feel for what is and isn't for you while still completing courses you'll have to take eventually anyway.
As for having 18 credits, it really depends on your study habits. I know people who were drastically overwhelmed with a 12 credit semester. I had 16 my first semester and handled it with ease, but at the same time, a lot of it was playing (I was a Music Major, remember). When I switched to Anthro, I had 14, I think, and I still didn't think it was hard. Personally, I didn't see much of a difference between high school and college, but everyone is different. You said you're a Freshman, right? I wouldn't overburden yourself your first semester. Maybe cut a class or two--knock it down to 12-15 credits--until you figure out how much you can handle without losing your mind, anyway.
There's a facebook flair that sums it all up:
[] Good Grades
[] Enough Sleep
[] Social Life
You can only pick two.
Welcome to college.
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:42 pm
Actually three of my credits aren't real classes. I'm taking the required freshman class that talks about college and life, that's one credit, and then I'm in marching band, two credit, and we all know marching bands a free A. Don't get me wrong, I'm not diminishing marching band, it's a free A because I love it so much.
I've already got 3 gen. eds out of the way, and all my classes, except for that one English class, are gen eds. I'm going to be all done with my gen eds by the end of freshman year if I keep this up, lol.
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:59 pm
July 28, 2010
Just finished a session with Jen. I love our RP!
I think we started playing around eight (it was still light out) and we just ended around two so...holy crap, six hours! So, yeah, that's why I didn't work on my story today.
Which means 5,000 words today! In addition to drafting a donation letter, attending a two hour meeting, dying my hair, another RP session with Jen and the sleep I really need to get to. Perhaps I should skip on the sleep, I didn't sleep till 4:30 yesterday.
I also haven't gotten any reading done. Right now Heir to the Empire is being used as cradle for the cordless phone.
Okay, so I'm going to try to hit 21,000, get some sleep, wake up around noon, draft my letter, dye my hair, write until my meeting, go to my meeting for five, maybe go on a Taco Bell run in my Taco Bell buddy is at meeting, get home and RP. Between breaks I guess I'm going to have to write. I don't think I'm going to hit my short-term goal crying
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:55 pm
July 31, 2010
Jen is going to kill my writing. Every night we've been role playing till like 3 in the morning. That's usually when I do my writing. xp I do love our characters though, and I can totally see taking my character Chase and bringing him into another book. I also love my characters Addey and Kelmara.
Oh, I also absolutely hate my fanfic now. Which either means I'm over my little fanfic spur, or I just hate things once I spend too much time on them. Probably the later.
I'm really excited for NaNoWriMo in November. I already forewarned my roommate Chelsea (oh, on a side, not related to writing note, I'm also really excited to meet my other roommate, Meghan!) that I'm going to become anti-social in November.
I'm currently getting my entry to the contest edited. I might write another in the meantime. And I still haven't had my question on how to make the goal transaction answered. The biggest problem is that I wrote it in a journal style but it reads more like a blog. I blame our generation.
Also, today I learned that I'm so geeky that I picture everything as a sci-fi until told otherwise. :p
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:56 pm
Aug. 1, 2010
What do you guys think of a young adult novel about two best friends going through school together and growing up. This idea came to me yesterday after spending the day with my best friend, and yes, it would be loosely based on my friendship with her and I would dedicate the book to her. Not everyone one has a best friend for 8 years, one so close that people get your names mixed up. I truly love my best friend Jessi as a sister, so should I write a book in honor of our long lasting friendship?
Perhaps I'm thinking about this because I'm scared of losing her. We had a falling out Jr. year, which sucked because we got really close again Sr. year, and now we're going away to college in different cities. I don't want to lose my best friend. Perhaps I can immortalize her, and our friendship, in a book.
The most heartwarming book I ever read was a YA realistic fictional book call My Lost and Found Life. It was so amazing and spoke to me. I want to write a story like that, an impact for one that can speak to teens.
This story wouldn't be completely based on my life. A friend of my had a pregnancy scare, I could add that in, and perhaps even make her actually pregnant. Or add in parts of Jessi's life. Contrary to popular belief, we aren't the same person and have different friends. She had two friends who were pregnant at the same time, both lost the baby. One of them almost died. I think I could add that in.
I live a very sheltered life. My parents are married, my mom only works so we can afford the extras, with out her job we'd be fine though, I'm the spoiled youngest child, I've never done drugs and even had a drink, I've only had one boyfriend and that was only a month and a half, I don't go to parties and I've never been abused. Instead, I'm the friend on the outside of all that. My friends have been abused, both physically and sexually. I have promiscuous friends. My friends have parents who really don't care. I lost a friend to drugs and alcohol.
You read about the stories where the main character is abused and she's just trying to find a good life and in the end she gets a happy ending. But what about that best friend who helps her through it? I'm that person! So is Jessi. We're the mama bears of our friends. So basically I want to write about two best friends and, not only their friendship, but how they touch the lives of others. What do you think about this idea?
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:15 pm
It sounds like it might be something rather episodic, but then I suppose life usually is. If you feel strongly enough about this piece, then I say go for it.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:05 pm
Most of the ideas I get seem to be perfect for a series. My Angel book will start off with a woman name Angel and her crew, her crew will change over time, she will have a baby, her child will grow up, her child will join her crew, her child will have a child, ect.
In fact, the only idea that I currently have that couldn't be turned into a series is that hard sci-fi novel I was talking about before. But that's because in the outline I gave it a perfect ending that I wouldn't want to cheapen by a sequel.
I guess I should get started on an outline for this story too. I guess this is nice because by November I'll have two story ideas and I can choose whichever I think would be easier to work on. No, I'm not trying to find the easy way out, I'm just trying not to set myself up for a failure. I need to choose a topic for my book that I can actually finish in a month. A hard sci-fi might be a little too difficult for that.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:05 pm
Aug. 1, 2010 (again)
Depression really got to me today. Slept till, like 3:30. Parents were totally not okay with that. Got in a huge fight with both of them. And I'm so sick of my mother asking "What's a matter with you?" I'm freaking depressed, that's what a matter with me! I just want to be left alone to sleep.
I hate my writing. I want to delete my writing file and never look at it again and give up on writing forever. I quit!
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 10:24 pm
This bodes not well. Do not delete you're writing--you will regret it most horribly!
You just had a bad day, is all. We all have them. Binge on some chocolate. Chill with some friends. "Cuddle with a Rabbit," if that'll help.
Put on some Lord of the Dance or angry screamo or whatever it is you listen to that makes you happy. Surround yourself with things that make you happy!
And screw the parents if they don't understand that you need a frickin' mental health day.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:33 pm
Aug. 2, 2010So I pushed myself to hit 22,000 today. I know I'm so behind, but I'm pushing myself. Maybe I can push myself to hit 23k by the end of the day, but I don't know. I think if Jen asks me to RP tonight I'm just going to say no. I need to focus on my writing. I need to keep pushing myself. Later that dayI feel a lot better today than yesterday. I talked to a lot of my friend about my breakdown yesterday, which actually helped. Its good to know people care. Also, I took a nice look over my list for my birthday party and stopped freaking out about that. Facebook tells me only 6 people are showing up, but in realities 11-14 people will be coming, plus family, so I feel even more loved which makes me want to write smile Dudes! I totally should write a poem for every person coming and put it in their goody bags. I suck at poetry, though, and I've only got 5 days. Meh! So I've decided that I'm going to write another crack fic. I haven't done one in a few years, but they are my absolute favorite things to write. I'm kind of insane. xd KaNugget You know what, I'm going to write a M-Preg fic just for you. Obi-Wan will be pregant, but he won't know who the father is. Is it Mace Windu's? Yoda's? WTF? It's Jacen Solo's! By the Force, is there time traveling in this story now? And what will Anakin say to his Master about this. I believe it would be something along the lines of, "You sleemo! Keep your hands off my grandson!" And then he stabs Obi-Wan, killing his great-grandchild in the process. And that's really how Anakin became Darth Vader. Congratulations, that story now exists because of you. So I've hit 24k on my story. Yay! I know I'm a little behind what I plan, but I'm okay with that. I've also hit the end, which wasn't suppose to happen for another 26k. So I've decided to end this story early and start the sequel. No use in pushing a start any further than it needs. I'll probably write another k or two before I officially end this story. I'm thinking for the sequel I'll make it around the time of the Yuuzhan Vong War, which is actually what I'm reading about. I'll have them defeat the Vong easily because the Jedi Council has the plans to the Death Star. It'll be more about the corruption of the Jedi. That would probably make a lot more sense if you guys actually knew what my first story was about. Or if you were geeks like me and actually into Star Wars. blaugh I swear I'm not just a geek about Star Wars. I'm a geek about a lot of other stuff too. I read comics. Perhaps that should be in the past tense though. I haven't really read that many comics since HTML comics was shut down. Now I'm forced to slowly get my Batman graphic novels one-by-one from the library. And because of this I haven't even started on Deadpool or X-Men. In addition to that I read mainly sci-fi and I'm even labeled a band geek. Seriously, I will defend my true geekiness to the end of the world. You just don't get to read about anything but Star Wars because I'm currently working on a Star Wars fanfic. Anyway, hopefully I'll finish this story by tomorrow, or the next day and start work on the sequel. Then I'm not going to right another fanfic as long as I live. xp
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:17 pm
Aug. 3, 2010I just updated my fanfiction.net account. I added the fourth chapter to my drabble collection. I'm really bad at drabbles, but I'm working on them. We should all learn new technique, you'll never know when they help you with your writing. I also added a one shot. If you love me you should take a look and reveiw smile http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6117894/4/Drabbleshttp://www.fanfiction.net/s/6203849/1/On_AlderaanSo, according to my writing group I need to rewrite my original short story for the contest. I either need to completely rewrite it and take it out of journal form (I "suffer from growing up in the blogger generation") or just seriously edit it. Meh! When is the contest ending? Lol. I guess I'll rewrite that and then send it again again on Friday. Interesting fact of the day: My brother came into my room and started reading a bunch of my books out loud like they were a noir film. He made fun of my favorite book, which made me sad, but he also made fun some of his favorite books, and then went on to Nightlight (the Twlight parody) and tried to read it with a straight face. He made it to the second paragraph. I'm so glad that Nightlight is so far down my reading list that I probably won't get to it until after college starts. My roommate Chelsea is obsessed with Twlight and I'm so going to read this Nightlight in front of her. blaugh
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