Let me make it clear, I'm talking about the middle of my three works-in-progress, not my physical middle! It's just fine :) Anyway, from 2006 - 2008 I started three different novels and found that the story just petered out. I'm not sure why. For the first three of my mss, I had a pretty clear idea where the story was going and for at least one of the aforementioned ones, I thought I did too, but I just couldn't get through to the end with the plotting. All the difficult mss just bog down and refuse to move. I had moments like this with the first three, but was always able to work through it and keep writing. Even the really bad first ms! It had major problems, but at least the story kept rolling along.
I can't figure out where I'm going wrong. When I finished school I thought "Yippee, I can write again." But other than some editing on one of the completed mss, I find myself too scare to even try to fix what has gone wrong because I have no idea how even to go about it. I just can't believe that I've lost the ability to write a story...but maybe I have.
Part of the problem could be that I started each of the problem mss as part of NaNoWriMo, which meant just writing flat out without doing any analysis. However, that doesn't explain why I can no longer see an ending or why my plotting abilities have deserted me. It's as though my characters will go so far and then they'll dig in their heels and refuse to move. With my other mss, often just letting my characters take over at key points provided the necessary plot twists, but this no longer happens.
Am I trying too hard? Have I picked three wrong stories? 6 wrong characters? Argh! If this was my second ms, I could totally understand it happening - first was a fluke and really, I was kidding myself. But how does someone go from successfully completing three stories to not being able to complete even one more?
Thoughts?
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Adapting to the non-academic life...
It's been fewer than two weeks since my graduation, so hardly surprising that I still feel a little lost without school work to do. Not that I'm unhappy by any means but it still feels very weird not to have something due, something to read or a discussion to join in. I keep feeling as though I should be doing something!
There are definite advantages to having this time free, though - I actually did some editing on one of my mss last week, began organizing my recipes, puttered in my garden and even cleaned my office! And I'm hoping that once summer finally arrives here on the Coast, I'll be able to spend lots of time outside with my camera.
I imagine that within another month or so, I'll have adapted to this new, non-school lifestyle and be able to just enjoy it :)
Teresa
There are definite advantages to having this time free, though - I actually did some editing on one of my mss last week, began organizing my recipes, puttered in my garden and even cleaned my office! And I'm hoping that once summer finally arrives here on the Coast, I'll be able to spend lots of time outside with my camera.
I imagine that within another month or so, I'll have adapted to this new, non-school lifestyle and be able to just enjoy it :)
Teresa
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I finally graduated!!!
Yes, at long, long last, I graduated from Langara College's Library and Information Technology program, so I'm officially a Library Technician.
My final term was extremely busy, as it also included two work placements, one at the West Vancouver Memorial Library and another at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives. I enjoyed them both immensely, even though for the West Van practicum, I had to be up at 4:50 every morning to get the ferry. The staff at both institutions were extremely welcoming and I loved learning new things. In fact, I'm staying on at the SCMA as a volunteer :)
My time at Langara was extremely challenging, but I was very impressed with the quality of the program and most of the instructors (those I didn't like were not in the LIT faculty). However, without the support of Sean (who cooked countless meals and talked me through difficult assignments), the rest of the family and the staff at the Sechelt Library, I would have been lost. My colleagues were endlessly patient with my many, many questions and were always happy to help me out with assignments when necessary. I learned so much more about how the library runs because of the various interviews I had to conduct as part of the program.
Other than the learning, the best part of my Langara experience is the friends I made - that is what I'll miss most of all, my daily interaction with my classmates. Fortunately, Facebook does provide an easy way to stay in touch, though it's still not quite the same as the Blackboard Social Cafe.
So, what now? Well, I hope to get more hours at the Sechelt library, but I'm also looking forward to returning to my writing, a pursuit I pretty much had to put on hold over the last three and a half years. Publishing a novel is still a dream of mine :) And I know from long experience that when my mind isn't fully occupied with school work, my characters cannot be silenced for long. I also admit that a summer without school is looking pretty good at this point! What a concept - being able to enjoy the sun and take photos to my hearts content, not to mention getting my hands dirty in the garden.
So, that's it for now - I should be able to update this blog more frequently from now on!
Teresa
 |
| Graduation day at Langara College |
My final term was extremely busy, as it also included two work placements, one at the West Vancouver Memorial Library and another at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives. I enjoyed them both immensely, even though for the West Van practicum, I had to be up at 4:50 every morning to get the ferry. The staff at both institutions were extremely welcoming and I loved learning new things. In fact, I'm staying on at the SCMA as a volunteer :)
My time at Langara was extremely challenging, but I was very impressed with the quality of the program and most of the instructors (those I didn't like were not in the LIT faculty). However, without the support of Sean (who cooked countless meals and talked me through difficult assignments), the rest of the family and the staff at the Sechelt Library, I would have been lost. My colleagues were endlessly patient with my many, many questions and were always happy to help me out with assignments when necessary. I learned so much more about how the library runs because of the various interviews I had to conduct as part of the program.
Other than the learning, the best part of my Langara experience is the friends I made - that is what I'll miss most of all, my daily interaction with my classmates. Fortunately, Facebook does provide an easy way to stay in touch, though it's still not quite the same as the Blackboard Social Cafe.
So, what now? Well, I hope to get more hours at the Sechelt library, but I'm also looking forward to returning to my writing, a pursuit I pretty much had to put on hold over the last three and a half years. Publishing a novel is still a dream of mine :) And I know from long experience that when my mind isn't fully occupied with school work, my characters cannot be silenced for long. I also admit that a summer without school is looking pretty good at this point! What a concept - being able to enjoy the sun and take photos to my hearts content, not to mention getting my hands dirty in the garden.
So, that's it for now - I should be able to update this blog more frequently from now on!
Teresa
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