Tag: finals

Writing in the Middle of Finals

I’ve been pushing myself to write at least 600 words a day on the novel despite finals week. That’s not a lot of words per day to be honest; in November (NaNoWriMo month) I can write 2000 words per day easily.  

To write, I need to have at least two hours blocked off. That’s not a big problem finals week, because I have fewer classes and more flexible time. The big problem is unfettered time to think. During finals week, especially Spring semester, everything seems urgent: Grade all the end of semester student work. Write and grade finals. Prepare end of semester/end of year paperwork. Pledge to do things differently next semester.

So this week I don’t have the space in my brain for ideas to flow. The ideas feel frustratingly compartmentalized. I check Facebook entirely too much.

This too will pass, when I take a deep breath after turning my grades in, and then schedule a summer routine where (between interns and a class I’m taking) I will schedule time to write.

 

Sorry!

I haven’t written in a couple days, for which I’m sorry. I like interacting with all of you.

Update:

  • My final grades get turned in at 10 AM today. I have NO incomplete grades for perhaps ever. 
  • I’ve gotten a few more rejections on Prodigies. I have to find a different strategy or give up.
  • I have a lot of editing to do with Voyageurs. The “let’s rearrange the chapters” kind of edit. The “I don’t like your characters” kind of edit. I’m dragging my feet on the edit because I’m still braindead from the end of the semester. But I push myself an hour at a time. 
I don’t know how to talk about the rejections without whining. If effort were enough, I would be published, because Prodigies went through two dev editors and should be pretty polished by now. I am getting rejected because the book “just doesn’t grab them.” I don’t know what to do about that. Maybe that’s one more thing to learn. 
Talk later — back to editing.