While I certainly don't want to disappoint anyone, I am going to push back the release of my novel, Out in the Garage, to over Christmas Break, which will give me the time I will need to focus on school and also finish the novel and proofread it thoroughly. This way I can network more and promote it more and use the re-release of my short story collection to build something of an audience.
It's important for me to do this right: my classwork, my class I'm teaching, and my thesis are all very important, and I need to build my C.V. and get some articles published and try to do another conference or two, if I can, if there are any that fit my area of growing expertise. I do feel like I am doing a good job, and things are going really well, and I am learning a lot. I really need to focus on doing everything I need to meet my next goals. Anyways, it's important to keep my priorities in order and to give myself plenty of time to accomplish all of my goals. '
Sometimes it's hard to be patient, but I am confident in the direction I am going, both with my career and my creative writing pursuits. I am not worried about changing my mind about the direction I am going with Out in the Garage, and I am actually almost done with the rewrite (only thirty more pages, which is about one-eighth left to do). Then I will spend plenty of time proofreading for typos and any little grammatical things I might need to tweak for clarity. If there is anything Tales from the Fringes has taught me, it is that I can never be too thorough.
The Official Release Date of Out in the Garage is set to be Tuesday, January 14 (which, I believe, would be my Grandpa's 75th birthday). Tales from the Fringes will be re-released on Friday, October 18.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
UPDATE:
Since I am re-releasing it soon, I am, for a short period of time, taking Tales from the Fringes off-sale. It shouldn't take too long to put it back on-sale, and I will announce it as soon as it happens. This is so I can improve the files with my updates and expand my e-book distribution. I am considering postponing releasing my novel until December, because, the way things are going with school, I might need that extra time to get it thoroughly proofread.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Product Placement.
More often than not, if I am home, and I am more often than not, then more often than not I am in my office. If I am more often than not home and in my office then I am usually blasting music, whether it's from my own vast collection, or I am checking out new stuff on either Spotify or Soundcloud, or watching Youtube, or listening to my own recordings and measuring them up, or playing guitar to get better, to relieve stress, and compose more songs.
Currently, I am listening to Spotify, and I am finding some good stuff on here, but I am not completely sold on what I am currently listen to, Givers, "Noche Nada". It's on Avett Brothers radio, and, to be honest, I am not completely sold on it, either. I am just curmudgeonly like that, though. I do like plenty of other new music like No Age, and Cold War Kids just came on and I am liking it. Still, nothing beats revisiting the classics, which lately has consisted of a lot of the Replacements, more and more often.
Although, when I am reading, it is almost always techno or classical. And with that, I shall leave you, better, but only if you have clicked on that last link.
Currently, I am listening to Spotify, and I am finding some good stuff on here, but I am not completely sold on what I am currently listen to, Givers, "Noche Nada". It's on Avett Brothers radio, and, to be honest, I am not completely sold on it, either. I am just curmudgeonly like that, though. I do like plenty of other new music like No Age, and Cold War Kids just came on and I am liking it. Still, nothing beats revisiting the classics, which lately has consisted of a lot of the Replacements, more and more often.
Although, when I am reading, it is almost always techno or classical. And with that, I shall leave you, better, but only if you have clicked on that last link.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Breaking Free
Freshman papers are not fun to read. It is tedious and sometimes frustrating -- but also at times rewarding. No matter how bad it may be, it will ALWAYS be better than grilling food, making burritos, flipping burgers, working in a factory, working in warehouses... It's important to keep it in perspective.
At least I can sit here, in my home office, in the air conditioning, with any music that I want, surrounded by my favorite things, books, guitars, and CDs, challenging myself to be better and to try and help these students become better writers. If they don't take it seriously, it's not my problem, but I feel pretty lucky in that most of my class seems to take it seriously. They genuinely seem like a good group of people, and I think this is going to be a great semester.
We are all still getting to know one another, and I am still assessing their individual strengths and weaknesses, but I don't think I am going to have many problems -- if the first two weeks are any indication. I know I need to work on explaining concepts better, and getting them to force me to explain them better. I can already tell a difference from the first common writing assignment papers to the first drafts -- for the most part -- and that might just be because it is a more interesting topic, but I can tell they are at least thinking more about what they are writing.
The more that I think about it, the more that it dawns on me, that I am truly lucky to be doing what I enjoy doing for a living -- even if I am at the beginning stages of it. I think back to even just a month ago how miserable I was, and how much I hated my life, and my life now couldn't be more different. Sure, it's challenging and sometimes frustrating, and it takes up a lot of my time, but there is not much else I would rather be doing right now.
I am still working on getting better at time management, and sometimes I have a hard time forcing myself to do schoolwork, but, I am getting better, and, more often than not, doing what I need to be doing, and I have faith in myself that I will continue working on this and getting better at it -- I mean, I am still able to get plenty of sleep each night, so I must not be doing too badly.
I do wish I had more time spend with my wife, my friends, and my family, but they are all very supportive, so I am pretty lucky in that regard. While I work, I just have to keep in mind, that the more I work I put in now, the more time I will be able to spend with them later. It's hard, and frustrating, but I know it will be worth it, and that I will be able to find a good-paying job -- I just have to keep working hard and being smart about the decision that I make. It's amazing how much work it takes to get to the simple life.
At least I can sit here, in my home office, in the air conditioning, with any music that I want, surrounded by my favorite things, books, guitars, and CDs, challenging myself to be better and to try and help these students become better writers. If they don't take it seriously, it's not my problem, but I feel pretty lucky in that most of my class seems to take it seriously. They genuinely seem like a good group of people, and I think this is going to be a great semester.
We are all still getting to know one another, and I am still assessing their individual strengths and weaknesses, but I don't think I am going to have many problems -- if the first two weeks are any indication. I know I need to work on explaining concepts better, and getting them to force me to explain them better. I can already tell a difference from the first common writing assignment papers to the first drafts -- for the most part -- and that might just be because it is a more interesting topic, but I can tell they are at least thinking more about what they are writing.
The more that I think about it, the more that it dawns on me, that I am truly lucky to be doing what I enjoy doing for a living -- even if I am at the beginning stages of it. I think back to even just a month ago how miserable I was, and how much I hated my life, and my life now couldn't be more different. Sure, it's challenging and sometimes frustrating, and it takes up a lot of my time, but there is not much else I would rather be doing right now.
I am still working on getting better at time management, and sometimes I have a hard time forcing myself to do schoolwork, but, I am getting better, and, more often than not, doing what I need to be doing, and I have faith in myself that I will continue working on this and getting better at it -- I mean, I am still able to get plenty of sleep each night, so I must not be doing too badly.
I do wish I had more time spend with my wife, my friends, and my family, but they are all very supportive, so I am pretty lucky in that regard. While I work, I just have to keep in mind, that the more I work I put in now, the more time I will be able to spend with them later. It's hard, and frustrating, but I know it will be worth it, and that I will be able to find a good-paying job -- I just have to keep working hard and being smart about the decision that I make. It's amazing how much work it takes to get to the simple life.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Thomas Hardy
In the next few months, I haven't set a firm date on it yet, but I will be re-releasing my short story collection, Tales from the Fringes. I wasn't happy with the amount of typos that I missed so I am going to re-proofread it extra carefully. Also, I have reformatted the e-book versions so they are formatted like fiction and not nonfiction. I did it like that because I put it out in haste and didn't take the time to research it enough. But now, over the summer, I have done that, and I can afford the time right now to do it, since it is something I can do to get my mind in the right state to do research or studying. I am actually working on my thesis now, which is nice.
Most of my time is still spent learning how to teach, which is really exciting, challenging, and fun! It's kind of an adrenaline rush. After I'm finished I feel like I have run a marathon. Yesterday -- and it's mainly because it's August and humid and I am wearing long-sleeved shirts and ties -- I was covered in sweat. I am someone who sweats in the middle of winter, though, so it doesn't really make much of a difference. The hardest part is getting them to participate, but I think I actually made some progress yesterday. They really started contributing as much as I could expect a bunch of people who are looking for the practical value of what I am teaching. I am fine with that, but I still expect them to try and have fun with it. It's a lot easier to learn something that you are having fun doing.
My philosophy is essentially dropping them in the deep end and urging them to take off the life jackets and starting to swim. I don't know how good of a swimming coach I would be -- but with writing there is really no other way. You almost have to feel like you are drowning, like the only thing that will keep you afloat is if you actually fight for your life and say everything you need to say. In the real world this might not be a good approach but here in the theoretical realm of the classroom, with pencil and paper and computers, it is all possible. If I am getting through to them and actually teaching them how to swim, eventually -- hopefully at least a few of them -- will learn to swim and feel comfortable taking off the life jackets. Hopefully the rest of them will at least stay afloat and make it on to the next class. Hopefully no one will take off the life jacket with the intention of drowning themselves. Don't get me wrong, ideally, I would like to see everyone swimming on their own, but, realistically, I know that is not going happen. I will try to reach as many of them as possible in the time that I have.
It's harder than I imagined it would be than to set the class I am teaching aside to work on my other classes, but I can't lose sight of the importance of those classes either. I have to maintain my GPA and I truly want to learn everything I can and write some good papers. While I will definitely continue applying to conferences, I think I would rather focus on writing papers for publishing. Either way will help me build my C.V., and the more I am published, the more likely I will be invited to speak at conferences, which will all help me get into a PhD. program -- well, as long as they see the potential in me and that I have the drive to succeed. If I want to get tenure this is the game that I have to play.
That's why I am also taking Out in the Garage and Tales from the Fringes very seriously -- the better they look, the better they are written, the fewer the mistakes/typos I leave in them, the more likely they will be an asset, eventually. I do have to work more towards exhausting my avenues of distribution and promotion so that I can maximize my fan-base and continue building my Internet reach. That's why I will continue to write and move forward with all of my projects, along with school, because the only way I will succeed is if I keep trying -- I just have to be reasonable with the amount of time I can spend working towards these goals. The more successful I am, the more time I will spend towards reaching them.
But, for now, it's back to reading "The Darkling Thrush" and "On the Departure Platform". It won't be long before I jump into finishing the writing prompt for my class's first essay, so I can get it looked over by my adviser before I hand it out tomorrow.
Most of my time is still spent learning how to teach, which is really exciting, challenging, and fun! It's kind of an adrenaline rush. After I'm finished I feel like I have run a marathon. Yesterday -- and it's mainly because it's August and humid and I am wearing long-sleeved shirts and ties -- I was covered in sweat. I am someone who sweats in the middle of winter, though, so it doesn't really make much of a difference. The hardest part is getting them to participate, but I think I actually made some progress yesterday. They really started contributing as much as I could expect a bunch of people who are looking for the practical value of what I am teaching. I am fine with that, but I still expect them to try and have fun with it. It's a lot easier to learn something that you are having fun doing.
My philosophy is essentially dropping them in the deep end and urging them to take off the life jackets and starting to swim. I don't know how good of a swimming coach I would be -- but with writing there is really no other way. You almost have to feel like you are drowning, like the only thing that will keep you afloat is if you actually fight for your life and say everything you need to say. In the real world this might not be a good approach but here in the theoretical realm of the classroom, with pencil and paper and computers, it is all possible. If I am getting through to them and actually teaching them how to swim, eventually -- hopefully at least a few of them -- will learn to swim and feel comfortable taking off the life jackets. Hopefully the rest of them will at least stay afloat and make it on to the next class. Hopefully no one will take off the life jacket with the intention of drowning themselves. Don't get me wrong, ideally, I would like to see everyone swimming on their own, but, realistically, I know that is not going happen. I will try to reach as many of them as possible in the time that I have.
It's harder than I imagined it would be than to set the class I am teaching aside to work on my other classes, but I can't lose sight of the importance of those classes either. I have to maintain my GPA and I truly want to learn everything I can and write some good papers. While I will definitely continue applying to conferences, I think I would rather focus on writing papers for publishing. Either way will help me build my C.V., and the more I am published, the more likely I will be invited to speak at conferences, which will all help me get into a PhD. program -- well, as long as they see the potential in me and that I have the drive to succeed. If I want to get tenure this is the game that I have to play.
That's why I am also taking Out in the Garage and Tales from the Fringes very seriously -- the better they look, the better they are written, the fewer the mistakes/typos I leave in them, the more likely they will be an asset, eventually. I do have to work more towards exhausting my avenues of distribution and promotion so that I can maximize my fan-base and continue building my Internet reach. That's why I will continue to write and move forward with all of my projects, along with school, because the only way I will succeed is if I keep trying -- I just have to be reasonable with the amount of time I can spend working towards these goals. The more successful I am, the more time I will spend towards reaching them.
But, for now, it's back to reading "The Darkling Thrush" and "On the Departure Platform". It won't be long before I jump into finishing the writing prompt for my class's first essay, so I can get it looked over by my adviser before I hand it out tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
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