Social Scene

So the others have developed a routine of going to Harvey’s for a happy hour immediately following our afternoon seminars but before the nighttime readings.   I feel uncomfortable  because almost everyone goes and I feel left out.  In my more paranoid moments, I wonder if they talk about me and the fact that I don’t drink.  Even the others who are on psychotropics go and drink.  I just don’t get it.

One guy who lives in Columbus invited everyone over to his house last night for a party celebrating the almost-end of residency and his passing his thesis defense, I guess.  I went but only stayed an hour.  I have never been around so much alcohol.  I left when one of the matrons in our program was nearing being drunk enough that she kept touching my shoulder for support.

Otherwise I have socialized well.  We meet up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the cafeteria or at different restaurants.   I seem to get along with everyone so that makes me feel good.  Some I have been around  more than others, so that is just the way that is.  I like to think I’ve made friends. We will see.

Residency is almost over.  We have today and tomorrow, and I will head back Sunday morning.  I’ve enjoyed myself but will be glad to get back home.  I hope I will take away some of the habits I’ve learned here about writing and keep them going.  I hope I can wake up on time and not have to sleep during the day.  I hope I can stay happy.  I plan to take my daughter out more instead of both of us holing up in the house all summer.  Grand plans, I know.  But maybe I can stick to them.

 

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Tiny LIttle Breakdown

I had a tiny little breakdown yesterday during workshop.  One girl turned in some deeply nostalgic pieces about growing up with her grandmother, and I got to thinking about my own grandparents and I was just overwhelmed not so much with grief, but with a sense of missing them.

I got up and went out and sat in the empty student lounge and just bawled out loud, crying.  SO that was s but much.  I had a crying fit at the last residency I went to–during Tammie’s thesis reading about her son dying.  I hope it doesn’t become a pattern.

Otherwise things are still going well–we’re having good workshops with our group–I’m up for workshop today with my latest piece I’ve written.  I’m really interested to see everyone’s reactions to it.

WEll, I need to go to get breakfast so I will be settled in for class.  Hopefully today with go well with no hiccups.  Day by day, I have to keep reminding myself.  Take it day by day.

 

Mentoring

Part of our work here at residency has been meeting with faculty about our writing and what is going on with it. During workshops I  have gotten fantastic feedback from my workshop leader, Paulette Boudreaux–she lives in California but grew up in Mississippi and is involved with the graduate program here as a fiction instructor.  She has published a novel that got a lot of attention a couple of years ago.

I got to meet with her for an hour yesterday afternoon to talk about what I can do to get that last little edge that is missing from my writing.  I was so honored to have her time because she was so straight with me about what was missing from my writing that could really help me with audiences, publishers, etc.

I told her that I knew a lot of times my narrators seemed to be a disembodied voice in the void  just talking to himself/herself.  She said I needed to get into the interiors with my characters and give a physicality to their feelings.  Show the reader what the narrator is feeling rather than tell them.  SO now I know what to do when I’m revising my thesis and my fiction.  We will see how it goes.

Everything thing else is going well as well.  I’m up for workshop for the last time tomorrow.  We get a break Saturday since we met early on last Friday; I will use the time to pack my car so I can go home early SUnday.

I guess I will get ready and go to breakfast.  I am staving.

Waking Up

I woke up on time but didn’t get up immediately so now I am a little bit under the gun.  Had a wonderful workshop of my short story yesterday; my workshop leader made a wonderful suggestion to my story to amp up  the impact of the climax and  i’m certainly going to do it and soon.  SO that made for a very successful day.

Talked to Bob and made sure everything is right on the homefront.  They had a lazy Memorial Day so that was good.  He said they were holding up well so I am glad.

We didn’t have readings last night since it was Memorial Day so no excitement there.  We start them over again tonight.  One guy I am really nervous about hearing read.  His stuff si way out there, I hear.  But it’s only a five minute reading, so–we will see.

I think I am going to run eat breakfast now.  Hope everyone has a good start to their week.  Happy Tuesday!

 

 

The Reading

So I signed up to be the first reader at the public event last night.  I always do that so I  can set the tone for the evening.  🙂  I read “Above My Raising” which is my angry piece about watching a Hallmark movie with my inlaws.  So people were laughing at the beginning but stopped about halfway through.  I was surprised by their laughter.  I didn’t think the piece was funny at all.  I almost felt like they were making light of my anger?  Which is never a good feeling.  But I am trying to be chill with it and not let it bother me.  Most of the people there were there for the thesis reader, Thomas, who lives here in Columbus and maybe didn’t know what to expect from me.  So.

Otherwise everything is going smooth as silk.  No one is being a diva about any of their work (except me above) so that is making things very nice.  I am having fun talking to people about writerly things.  It’s like a class reunion with everyone you liked in your senior class.  We don’t see each other in their program since it’s so online except when we get together for the residencies.

I get a fiction piece workshopped this morning so I am looking forward to that.  I am trying to decide if I want to go to Cracker Barrell for breakfast or not.  if so I need to be getting dressed for that.  So I will run and see what is going on with that.

 

Residency

SO yesterday was fun.  I got up early and went to breakfast at a cool little coffee shop down the street from campus and came back and did workshop. I was not read that day but had fun reading everyone else’s stuff.  The workshops are really positive here–there’s no raking over the coals because we concentrate on what worked in the pieces first and only if the author invites criticism do we offer that.  So they’re very gentle and affirming mostly.  I won’t be read today either at workshop–my turn is tomorrow.  I will be reading a work out loud tonight at a reading, but it noncontroversial stuff I think.  (We wiil see!),

Then we had a seminar on drawing up a book proposal/query to  a publisher.  That mostly applies to nonfiction like what I write but the techniques  can spill over into a agent query as well, so everyone got something out of it, I think.  It was a good talk.  I took copious notes so I can do a better job on the seminar paper tthis time around.

Well, I offered to drive people to the coffeehouse this morning so I need to get ready to go.  I will let you all know how the reading went tomorrow and go over the rest of the activities.  I’m having some high energy–I am waking up at si without an alarm and I am not dragging around like I do at home.  Maybe it’s just being in a different environment.

Here’s to a wonderful Sunday for everyone and a good beginning to your week!

 

Late Night Posting

So today was an incredibly busy day of driving, getting settled, working in class, and eating out.  So I will post early tomorrow morning on my activities today.  I need to get my room together.  Hope everyone else had a productive day!

May 25–I meant ot post earlier before I left but I wound up not having that much time before I trucked out. Had a great drive up, almost no traffic until I got almost to Columbus.  I settled in at Harvey’s with some colleagues and we had a good lunch as always.  Came to campus fairly quickly and couldn’t get into the dorm–no one was here to let us check in.

So after we cleared up that snafu, I got to  my room and the tub was grotty–looked like someone had put potting soil in the drain and let it sit.  I couldn’t get it out so asked to switch rooms.  I had to go to workshop at 2 so I had to hurry through my notes to everyone then run over to the workshop.

They workshopped some of my poems and that went well. We went over other packets and got out just in time to run to the next meeting at 4 for orientation. But it was a really productive session and I enjoyed everybody’s readings.

After the orientation was over I moved into my new room and then went to the restaurant where we ate dinner, Mexican. It was all right, not great.

So today we have workshop, lunch, seminar, dinner, then free time afterwards. Tomorrow we start readings at night–I signed up for the first night as usual so we  see what happens.

Well, I am going in search of breakfast and will talk back tomorrow morning about today! Hope everyone is having a good weekend and wish me well as I go through this writing journey this next week.

 

Getting Things Done

So today is a day of getting things done before I leave.  I need to do Bob’s laundry so he will have his work clothes for at least another week.  Probably will get to do them again as soon as I get back along with mine from the trip.  But that’s okay.  I’ve done my youngest one’s laundry too although it is still sitting in the laundry room waiting for her to get it and put it away.

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and picked up a few things for the trip so that was good.  I need to get meds refilled today and make sure I have enough to go through the trip.

I don’t think I’m forgetting anything.  I just hope the room has been cleaned up before the last resident left.  I’m not taking cleaning stuff with me except maybe a box of Clorox wipes for countertops and the fridge if it needs it.  So I need to get that out soon.

I am just hoping I don’t have an episode of some kind being away from Bob. I don’t travel without him for that very reason,  I do have it set up where I can see someone at the counseling center in case something does start–we set that up the very first residency I went to.  And if I really flip out, mom and dad are close enough to come and help me get home.  But I’m not expecting anything.  I’ve been on an even keel for a while now and should stay that way.

So let’s go get started on the last of it.  Hope everyone has a good day.

Early Wakeup

GOt up early to see my oldest off on her trip back to Florida.  Then went back to bed once Bob left.  SO I’ve not had much of a morning.  Yesterday went well–my oldest saw Bob’s parents for a good while and got her birthday presents from them.

I’m doing my laundry today to get ready to go to residency.  I have almost everything packed; just some last-minute stuff I need  to get for the trip.  I will probably go to Wal-Mart today to get that stuff.  I need to start reading for the residency as well since almost every body has signed up their works already.  I’ll still be blogging through it since I will have my computer with me–probably early in the morning since we don’t have class until 10 a.m.

Today is basically my youngest one’s last day of school–she doesn’t have an exam tomorrow so may stay home.  We will see how that goes.  We have church tonight so we’ll be there tonight as well.  Last day as a middle schooler–next year she goes to the high school. Big changes coming.

I feel pretty good today except for having needed the extra sleep.  I will miss my oldest but plan to stay busy today to counteract that.  Guess I will run and start doing everything that needs doing.  Everyone have a blessed day!

 

 

 

Tying Up Loose Ends

My oldest had a good visit with her grandparents yesterday while she is here.  SHe is off to see her other set this morning and then we will spend the afternoon pulling out the last of the things she wants to carry back to her new place and packing them into her car.

I am sleepy this morning. But otherwise I feel good. I have had fun visiting with my oldest and helping her get everything together.  I am still on my diet and am down about 15 pounds so far.  I hope I keep making progress there even while I am gone on my class trip.

I have a lot of stuff together for the trip but need to soon go to Wal-Mart and pick up a few things to make sure I have what all I need.  I am trying to figure out breakfast and what to carry if anything.  I may just eat in the cafeteria and do the best I can with the choices I have.  We will see.

I need to start reading for my class–the work that others have written that we will go over in workshops.  I will likely do that tomorrow after my oldest heads out.  She will get up early to go so I cannot be lazy at that point–I will just have to get up to see her off.  THe key thing will be to not drop into a depression when she leaves.  I plan to stay busy tomorrow to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far.  Happy Tuesday!