Well, it’s been a while.
I’ve never claimed to be good at this whole “blogging” thing. I tend to spend most of my time over at Twitter I’m not writing or reading. I tend to let the blog go on the backburner for a while. As I’ve clearly proved time and time again.
I just don’t have the things to fill out an extensive blog. Most of my book reviews go up at Booked All Night and few things filter down to here.
So I guess a bit of a catch-up/check-in/update type post is in order, since we’ve solidly entered 2019 at this point.
I’ve completed my Master’s program!
That was a big thing that happened in 2018. I graduated as part of the first class in the Writing for Children & Young Adults from Sierra Nevada College in August. My final semester was stressful–I rewrote my thesis (from scratch!) three times over the course of a month and a half in order to get it as best as I could before my deadline. It was a rough series of months–both mentally, physically, emotionally, and as a writer. It tested my limits.
But I came out the other end and while I wouldn’t say I’m proud of the work I’ve done (it needs a lot of work, and it may not ever see the light of day), I’m proud of how far I’ve come as a writer.
I started a new job!
It was a strange series of events the day I got the job offer. It’s ten minutes before my workshop class was starting. I get a phone call from my local library–where I interviewed for a position about a week before flying out to school–and they offered me a position. It also happened to be the day where I had to defend my thesis before a panel of my professors. And I was the very first student in the entire graduating class to defend. Talk about setting a precedent!
But everything worked out great! I’ve been working at my local library (which is a dream come true!) and I’ve been considering going back to school for a degree in library science. (I won’t, because I’m broke and can’t afford more loans than I already have.)
I’ve been working on the story of my heart again.
I had to put away the YA fantasy I’ve been chipping away at for several years in order to work on my thesis, but I’ve finally been able to go back to it. I get to look at it with fresh eyes and a better understanding of the craft, and I’m not putting myself on any strict deadline to finish it. I’m taking it easy and writing as I can, when I can, however long I can.
I’m trying to hone in on my writing process. I’ve never been a Write Every Day type of writer. I reach burnout too quickly like that. I have days where I can write 7k words, and some days where I can only write 200 words. I’m learning to be okay with that.
