Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. Turkey, stuffing, and as much pumpkin pie as I can stuff in my face = only nine days away!


2. Everything Glee -- but especially this part.



3. The fact that Pioneer Woman will be here tomorrow. And I'll finally get to meet her. Is it weird that I'm a little anxious about that?

4. “The Author's Prayer:


Our Father, which art in Heaven,

And has also written a book...

- Anon

5. Of those who applied, every single one of the people whom I had the wonderful pleasure of working with in Philadelphia this summer were accepted into the Teach For America corps last week. They'll be going all over the place, including Charlotte (North Carolina), New Orleans, and Baltimore. And with my application, I found out that I've been invited to the final interview (and get to skip the phone interview step). So excited!

Writing a Novel: Day 1

Status: Still excessively optimistic.
Word Count: 0

I signed up online at NaNoWriMo today. Officially threw my hat in the ring. And I got a lovely email in response, the author of which is most definitely a writer. They're very encouraging. For example, the subject line of the email read: NaNoWriMo loves VDuke. They know me too well.

That email was just so inspiring. They told me how to get plugged into local writing groups (too late for me to join one now though). They told me to just keep going. They assured me that it was completely natural to not have any idea what I was doing.

And they introduced a foreign concept to me-- writing without editing.

I am a classic case of edit-as-you-go. I almost never write completely new drafts of papers because by the time I've reached the end of the essay, it's really already been edited five or six times through. So this new approach to writing will be a challenge for me. A very big challenge. Probably the biggest one (after writing all those words, of course).

Here's an excerpt from that awesome email:

2) Do not edit as you go. Editing is for December. Think of November as an experiment in pure output. Even if it's hard at first, leave ugly prose and poorly written passages on the page to be cleaned up later. Your inner editor will be very grumpy about this, but your inner editor is a nitpicky jerk who foolishly believes that it is possible to write a brilliant first draft if you write it slowly enough. It isn't. Every book you've ever loved started out as a beautifully flawed first draft. In November, embrace imperfection and see where it takes you.

3) Tell everyone you know that you're writing a novel in November. This will pay big dividends in Week Two, when the only thing keeping you from quitting is the fear of looking pathetic in front of all the people who've had to hear about your novel for the past month. Seriously. Email them now about your awesome new book. The looming specter of personal humiliation is a very reliable muse.  

My favorite is number three. I've definitely already told all y'all about this novel business. Here's to hoping you'll make me stick to it.

I should probably start writing now.

. . .

"If you trust in yourself . . ."
"Yes?"
". . . and believe in your dreams . . ."
"Yes?"
". . . and follow your star . . ."
"Yes?"
". . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy."

-The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

President Boren Takes a Paycut

I definitely have a lot of respect for OU's President, David Boren. He's a really neat guy in person who absolutely loves talking to students when he gets the chance.

And he has an open-door policy. So if you have a real problem with someone, you can actually just go walking into his office to give him a piece of your mind. I have yet to hear of someone abusing that privilege, and I think it's pretty neat that Boren does that.

Also, I just found out that, in light of all the projected budget shortfalls, Boren is voluntarily taking a pay cut. Now that is something I really respect. At a time when the OU football assistant coaches are getting a pay raise (I know, it's a different budget. But still... it's the principle of the thing), our president, who works tirelessly for this university, is offering to work just as hard for less, in order to help OU succeed. That's commendable.

OU President David Boren recently addressed the Faculty Senate about potential budget shortfalls, Shilling said. Boren will be taking a 6-percent paycut and OU vice presidents will see a 2- to 3-percent paycut depending on their pay grade. Boren said OU department heads should prepare for budget cuts upward to 5 percent.

From here.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Writing a Novel

I can't resist. I really can't. I tried. I surfed the web for an hour. I wandered aimlessly through too many Facebook pages (and found out that some friends from high school are engaged. Congrats!). I did anything and everything I could think of to distract myself from this silly idea that I could write an entire novel in sixteen days. Two weeks and two days.

I'm crazy.

But who cares? I'm officially going to try.

Thanks to Rhonda, I'm listening to my intuition, heading the call of my heart, and channeling my true purpose (hopeful byproduct = courage). In other words, being too stupid to say "no" just might come in handy already.

I'll see you on the other side.

NaNoWriMo = Writing a Novel in Thirty Days

My Dearest Readers,
Ohmygoodnessgracious! HOW DID I JUST FIND OUT ABOUT THIS NOW?!?!?!

I just found out that there actually exits a contest where you can sign up and receive a certificate if you write a novel of 50,000 words during the month of November.

What?!

It's called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and apparently, you start writing on Nov. 1, and you submit your work before midnight local time on Nov. 30. And if you finish, you get all sorts of badges and certificates and the pride that comes from knowing that you-- yes you!-- just wrote a complete novel in only one month.

If only I had known!

*wring hands in despair*

If I had known about this before November 1st, I would absolutely have joined the club. Not that I have any particularly good stories to tell (I'm still looking) or any extra time at all, but I still haven't given up on the idea of completing a novel before I graduate college-- and this could have been my chance.

I would have signed up in a heartbeat, instantly turning into a harried kid typing away like mad in the corner, spurred on by the challenge of writing 2000+ words a day.

But alas, I just heard about this. And November is halfway over. And writing 50,000 words before the 30th means that I would have to write at least 3125 words EVERY DAY, starting tomorrow. To give you perspective, that's about five-- 5, cinco, cinque, cinq-- Times New Roman, 12-pt font, single-spaced FULL pages of writing. And it's all creative stuff, no less. That takes tiiiiime.

I wish I could do it though. I wish ever so terribly that I could. There's just something about setting a non-negotiable deadline that makes writing that much easier. Until there is a deadline in front of me, there's no pressure to get it done now.... which means there's no pressure to complete it ever.

I don't know. Maybe it's not too late? I could fit that in somewhere, right?

Sincerely,
An overbooked yet still optimistically undecided student

P.S. Decision still to come. I'll let you know in the morning.

. . .

When you heed the calling of your heart, you are following your purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you the courage to do the things you are meant to do. When you are purpose driven, you have learned to listen to your intutition and never let no get in your way. 

- Rhonda Britten

If the World was a Fempire

. . . 

The Business of Show Institute - The Screenwriter's Success Newsletter, November 12 2010 | The Business of Show Institute

Here's a brilliant commentary on equality in the workforce-- written by a man. I'm not saying that I agree with everything Daniel Manus says. But a lot of his ideas ring true... True equality means completely ignoring gender and hiring the most capable, qualified candidate -- regardless of sex.

But read and ponder. I'd actually love your opinions if you want to chime in below.

Is there a doctor in the house?!

Why yes, there is.

My awesomely-intelligent roommate Valerie was accepted to OU Medical School this week. Sha-BAM!

For kicks, I am going to start calling her Dr. Miller. Especially when we are around other people. What's love without a little embarrassment?

Pitter-Patter

It's a rainy day-- the awesome kind where it thunders in the distance and water pours down at a constant rate, though with an occasional outburst of extra-enthusiastic rain globs.

That's one thing I'll give Oklahoma. The rainstorms here are much cooler than in Montana. Because while MT may beat OK on the fresh feeling post-storm, the storms themselves are waaaaay better here. The raindrops are bigger and they fall with more gusto. And there's more of it (which makes for some of the best puddle-jumping I have ever experienced-- and I had some pretty good puddle-jumping moments in high school.)

But now the question is, do I try to leave the house? Coffee shops during rainstorms are magic. But you have to get there first, which means braving the elements and potentially destroying your hair.

Magical moment vs. good hair. Such a dilemma.