A friend of mine posted a Cracked article about common interpretations not aligning with the authorial intent of six popular novels.
While this discrepancy may be interesting, once a work is published authorial intent doesn't matter. What a book is and what it means is entirely dependent on the relationship between the text and the reader. Books are read differently by different people. Books very personal, they connect intimately and differently with each and every reader, because the background and experiences of each individual person allow each reading of the work to be different, even if it is read by the same person. Once an author sends a work away, it can never be theirs anymore. It belongs to the readers. There is no "right" or "wrong" to literature, only as long as you can support your argument with valid examples from the text. :)
(As a side note, my lit classes, I keep having thoughts and ideas about writing that I feel merit more discussion than was provided in class and I would like to engage further as a blog topic... By all means, I am encouraging discussion. I'll try to keep track of these ideas as I get them and (hopefully) post at least one a day. I'm also going to try and keep each post centered about one particular topic, rather than touching on several in one post, even if that means more than one post a day. But I'm going to try and avoid that.)
13 January 2011
11 January 2011
Why I Write.
Today's the first day of my last undergraduate semester, and to celebrate I figured I should give you all a little more personal insight as to why I chose this path.
As you may or may not know, I spent the first three years of my undergraduate degree working on a Bachelor's of Science degree in Physics (with a Minor in Creative Writing). At about the time I started this blog, I was just about to make the shift to invert those two goals. I was stressed out, miserable. While I do still love physics, and am fully capable of doing the math required for it, I wasn't enjoying what I was studying. I wanted astrophysics, cosmology, astronomy, planetary motion, quasars, star life-cycles, black holes, gravity waves, special and general relativity... not Gauss' Law for coaxial cables with currents running through them, or classical Newtonian mechanics. While, yes, those classes were stepping stones to what I consider the more interesting aspects of physics, I was just done. Honestly, if I kept with the program, I would just be doing more of what I hated, and I didn't want to hate my job.
I thought about what I did enjoy: my creative writing classes. I loved workshop. Critique. Editing. Literary criticism. The best semester I ever had? Mostly English classes.
So I changed my plan. Minor in Physics. Pursuing a bachelor of arts in English - Creative Writing. Through some amazing stroke of luck, changing my major three-fourths of the way through my Junior year didn't affect my graduation date at all. I got into the Departmental Honors program for English, and I've been taking a full load of English classes to finish my degree in time for this May.
Last semester, however, was the worst semester I had experienced. It should have been the best. While I loved my subject matter, I didn't have the time to really devote to my classes. I felt shortchanged. I had to pull at least one all-nighter a week to get everything done in time. I had to stop going to aikido because I just couldn't manage it on top of my regular classes and my baby-graduate-courses. And then I had the week from hell: Boyfriend almost died, a great-uncle suffered a heart attack and had to have triple bypass surgery, and one of my friends was killed by a drunk driver while riding her bike home. Like I said, worst week ever. Instead of being less stressed out, I was even worse. Wasn't this contrary to what I wanted?
Over winter break I had a few moments of reflection, the most poignant of which occurred during a visit to KSC's Visitor Complex with some friends of the family. Surrounded by all of this science and technology, with all of these things that delight and inspire me, I felt a small piece of quiet unrest between my ribs.
Why write? Why is it that I have to write? I could be a physicist, and engineer, a rocket scientist. And I'd be damn good at it, too. But I am drawn to writing. I need to write. Why? Based on science, my experience with it, my love for it, where to I fall? What should I do? Why writing?
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be an astronaut more than anything in the world. That's why I picked Physics as my major. (Although more realistically I should have picked Geology so I could have a legitimate excuse to set foot on alien soil.) All I wanted was to see all of the stars in all of their glory--without the atmosphere to blur their shape and glow. The brilliant spectacle of lights no astronaut ever seems really capable of describing in adequate terms. NASA doesn't send poets into space, or artists of any kind, really. Only people that are useful. Scientists. Educators. Engineers. Test pilots.
Did I make a mistake?
No.
Something is driving me to write. I have no choice. I must to do it.
It's who I am.
As you may or may not know, I spent the first three years of my undergraduate degree working on a Bachelor's of Science degree in Physics (with a Minor in Creative Writing). At about the time I started this blog, I was just about to make the shift to invert those two goals. I was stressed out, miserable. While I do still love physics, and am fully capable of doing the math required for it, I wasn't enjoying what I was studying. I wanted astrophysics, cosmology, astronomy, planetary motion, quasars, star life-cycles, black holes, gravity waves, special and general relativity... not Gauss' Law for coaxial cables with currents running through them, or classical Newtonian mechanics. While, yes, those classes were stepping stones to what I consider the more interesting aspects of physics, I was just done. Honestly, if I kept with the program, I would just be doing more of what I hated, and I didn't want to hate my job.
I thought about what I did enjoy: my creative writing classes. I loved workshop. Critique. Editing. Literary criticism. The best semester I ever had? Mostly English classes.
So I changed my plan. Minor in Physics. Pursuing a bachelor of arts in English - Creative Writing. Through some amazing stroke of luck, changing my major three-fourths of the way through my Junior year didn't affect my graduation date at all. I got into the Departmental Honors program for English, and I've been taking a full load of English classes to finish my degree in time for this May.
Last semester, however, was the worst semester I had experienced. It should have been the best. While I loved my subject matter, I didn't have the time to really devote to my classes. I felt shortchanged. I had to pull at least one all-nighter a week to get everything done in time. I had to stop going to aikido because I just couldn't manage it on top of my regular classes and my baby-graduate-courses. And then I had the week from hell: Boyfriend almost died, a great-uncle suffered a heart attack and had to have triple bypass surgery, and one of my friends was killed by a drunk driver while riding her bike home. Like I said, worst week ever. Instead of being less stressed out, I was even worse. Wasn't this contrary to what I wanted?
Over winter break I had a few moments of reflection, the most poignant of which occurred during a visit to KSC's Visitor Complex with some friends of the family. Surrounded by all of this science and technology, with all of these things that delight and inspire me, I felt a small piece of quiet unrest between my ribs.
Why write? Why is it that I have to write? I could be a physicist, and engineer, a rocket scientist. And I'd be damn good at it, too. But I am drawn to writing. I need to write. Why? Based on science, my experience with it, my love for it, where to I fall? What should I do? Why writing?
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be an astronaut more than anything in the world. That's why I picked Physics as my major. (Although more realistically I should have picked Geology so I could have a legitimate excuse to set foot on alien soil.) All I wanted was to see all of the stars in all of their glory--without the atmosphere to blur their shape and glow. The brilliant spectacle of lights no astronaut ever seems really capable of describing in adequate terms. NASA doesn't send poets into space, or artists of any kind, really. Only people that are useful. Scientists. Educators. Engineers. Test pilots.
Did I make a mistake?
No.
Something is driving me to write. I have no choice. I must to do it.
It's who I am.
09 January 2011
Admissions List is Finalized!
So this is the final cut:
I'm not 100% done with admissions... I still need to request some transcripts and GRE scores and send some of my portfolios away... I also have to put together a massive portfolio for SCAD, which is going to be interesting, but all-in-all, I'm happy with my final list. Iowa and Texas-Austin aren't on the list, which is really just because I didn't get anything productive done over winter break, but there's nothing I can do about those two but wait until next year, if at all.
It seems like loud drunkards partying in my apartment complex have finally quieted down. Time to get some sleep. :) More work in the morning. (Or afternoon.)
- University of Denver Summer Publishing Institute
- Savannah College of Art and Design
- Vanderbilt University
- New Mexico State University
- Georgia State University
- Georgia College & State University
- University of Miami
- University of Florida
- University of Central Florida
- University of South Florida
- Florida State University
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida International University
I'm not 100% done with admissions... I still need to request some transcripts and GRE scores and send some of my portfolios away... I also have to put together a massive portfolio for SCAD, which is going to be interesting, but all-in-all, I'm happy with my final list. Iowa and Texas-Austin aren't on the list, which is really just because I didn't get anything productive done over winter break, but there's nothing I can do about those two but wait until next year, if at all.
It seems like loud drunkards partying in my apartment complex have finally quieted down. Time to get some sleep. :) More work in the morning. (Or afternoon.)
06 January 2011
Happy New Year!
I did not get nearly as much done over winter break as I wanted to. My room is a wreck, I didn't get any new grad school applications done (and therefore missed out on a lot of deadlines to good schools), I've hardly written at all, and I didn't really read anything either. :/ Shame on me.
I've got a long list of Resolutions to get me back on the right track, and I was going to post them all, but that seemed kind of pointless. Rather than telling you about what I plan to do, I should just notify you all about what I've already done. For example, today I scouted through the out-of-state schools that still have manageable deadlines, and once I finish packing my stuff to go back to school tomorrow, I'll apply. I have reconsidered applying to all three summer Publishing Institutes, and now I may just apply to one or two. I'm leaning towards U of Denver over NYU, but even so, I know I won't be able to attend either unless I have a full ride, and I know they won't give me a full ride. Not for a short program like that. I might save my money and apply to another MFA program instead. I'll be sure to let you all know what I've decided.
Lately, I'd been thinking that I really wanted to teach after finishing my MFA, to be a professor and stay in academia, but I was looking at SCAD: Savannah and their internships for Cartoon Network and Marvel Comics and other awesome places like that.... and you know what? That sounds awesome. I think I'd love to work in industry, at least while I'm still young. I can teach later, when I'm old(er) and want to settle down. And after I've learned some tricks of the trade. :)
I've been working on a few essays on craft and focus for a couple of weeks, hopefully you'll see them soon. Until then, enjoy the rest of your first week of 2011. :)
I've got a long list of Resolutions to get me back on the right track, and I was going to post them all, but that seemed kind of pointless. Rather than telling you about what I plan to do, I should just notify you all about what I've already done. For example, today I scouted through the out-of-state schools that still have manageable deadlines, and once I finish packing my stuff to go back to school tomorrow, I'll apply. I have reconsidered applying to all three summer Publishing Institutes, and now I may just apply to one or two. I'm leaning towards U of Denver over NYU, but even so, I know I won't be able to attend either unless I have a full ride, and I know they won't give me a full ride. Not for a short program like that. I might save my money and apply to another MFA program instead. I'll be sure to let you all know what I've decided.
Lately, I'd been thinking that I really wanted to teach after finishing my MFA, to be a professor and stay in academia, but I was looking at SCAD: Savannah and their internships for Cartoon Network and Marvel Comics and other awesome places like that.... and you know what? That sounds awesome. I think I'd love to work in industry, at least while I'm still young. I can teach later, when I'm old(er) and want to settle down. And after I've learned some tricks of the trade. :)
I've been working on a few essays on craft and focus for a couple of weeks, hopefully you'll see them soon. Until then, enjoy the rest of your first week of 2011. :)
19 December 2010
Ready to Rock and Roll
So I'm back from my trip to Virginia (I've only been back in Florida for about 5ish hours now...) and the only thing I'm going to say is that it was phenomenal! :] And completely needed. I was very excited that we got snow!
This is the first snowman I've ever made! You can tell it's a boy because of the leaf. :]
So anyways. Back to the writing. (Because I guess that's what you're all here for?)
All seven of my applications to Florida schools with MFA programs in creative writing (UF, UCF, FSU, USF, UM, FIU, FAU) are out. I submitted the fees, the transcripts, and all of the materials (namely the statement of intent and the writing sample). The writing sample was the most nerve-racking, because I was really ambitious with it. I submitted the first two chapters of a science fiction / steam punk novel I am working on (this is risky because it is a genre piece, and for some unknown reason genre tends to be frowned upon), and then for the schools that wanted more pages, I submitted a graphic novel. The term "graphic novel" is kind of misleading because it implies something lengthy... mine was only 8 pages long. More like a comic, then, but it was an adaptation of a piece of flash fiction, so there's not much you can do with only about 1000 words. But it was in full color! And I'm quite pleased with it. But that's also very risky because it's not only a piece of writing... it is art. Stick figure art, to be specific...
Don't judge Mr. Stick getting wasted with his buddies. There's a good cause behind it.
I can actually draw, but I liked sticking with the stick figures because of how identifiable they can be. :) Plus, it made drawing, inking, and coloring about a zillion times faster. But, as I was saying before, submitting a graphic piece is risky. I hope the universities see that as a good thing, though. That it is pushing boundaries and realizing that graphic novels are really starting to gain attention as legitimate literature. If not... well, there's always next year. :/ (I'd rather not, these applications are expensive!!)
Speaking of applications and their cost, I'm kind of stuck now. I'm going to start working on applications to all of the summer publishing institutes (U of Denver, NYU, Columbia) as well as any out-of-state programs. :) I'll keep you updated on my progress as I go along. For not the work shouldn't be that bad, I'll just keep using the same basic format for my statement of intent, and I'll be using the same writing samples... I just need to wait for after Christmas so that I can have enough money to pay for my applications and transcripts and such.
Speaking of transcripts, grades for last semester came out. I am so relieved. Got a 3.73 for the semester, and my cumulative GPA rose a hundredth of a point (to 3.68). Yay! The semester from hell didn't turn out so bad after all. (Although, I should note that MFA programs don't really look at your GPA or your resume or your GRE scores or anything like that. All they really want to see is your writing sample. Which is good and bad at the same time. :/)
As a last little note (I'm sorry this post is so long, thanks for bearing with me), I want to say hi and happy holidays to all of my readers. I've come to the realization that there are a lot more of you out there than I thought, so I want to thank you for bearing with me and my slight insanity and constant rambling. If you don't mind, I'd like some feedback. What do you want to read? More personal anecdotes? Or just writing about writing? Or something in-between? Do you want snippets of my actual prose? Or more pictures? Or comics? Or what? (Just wondering.)
Thank you for reading, and for those of you who leave me wonderful encouraging comments, a special thank you to you. :) I really appreciate it. You all are awesome. :]
This is the first snowman I've ever made! You can tell it's a boy because of the leaf. :]
So anyways. Back to the writing. (Because I guess that's what you're all here for?)
All seven of my applications to Florida schools with MFA programs in creative writing (UF, UCF, FSU, USF, UM, FIU, FAU) are out. I submitted the fees, the transcripts, and all of the materials (namely the statement of intent and the writing sample). The writing sample was the most nerve-racking, because I was really ambitious with it. I submitted the first two chapters of a science fiction / steam punk novel I am working on (this is risky because it is a genre piece, and for some unknown reason genre tends to be frowned upon), and then for the schools that wanted more pages, I submitted a graphic novel. The term "graphic novel" is kind of misleading because it implies something lengthy... mine was only 8 pages long. More like a comic, then, but it was an adaptation of a piece of flash fiction, so there's not much you can do with only about 1000 words. But it was in full color! And I'm quite pleased with it. But that's also very risky because it's not only a piece of writing... it is art. Stick figure art, to be specific...
Don't judge Mr. Stick getting wasted with his buddies. There's a good cause behind it.
I can actually draw, but I liked sticking with the stick figures because of how identifiable they can be. :) Plus, it made drawing, inking, and coloring about a zillion times faster. But, as I was saying before, submitting a graphic piece is risky. I hope the universities see that as a good thing, though. That it is pushing boundaries and realizing that graphic novels are really starting to gain attention as legitimate literature. If not... well, there's always next year. :/ (I'd rather not, these applications are expensive!!)
Speaking of applications and their cost, I'm kind of stuck now. I'm going to start working on applications to all of the summer publishing institutes (U of Denver, NYU, Columbia) as well as any out-of-state programs. :) I'll keep you updated on my progress as I go along. For not the work shouldn't be that bad, I'll just keep using the same basic format for my statement of intent, and I'll be using the same writing samples... I just need to wait for after Christmas so that I can have enough money to pay for my applications and transcripts and such.
Speaking of transcripts, grades for last semester came out. I am so relieved. Got a 3.73 for the semester, and my cumulative GPA rose a hundredth of a point (to 3.68). Yay! The semester from hell didn't turn out so bad after all. (Although, I should note that MFA programs don't really look at your GPA or your resume or your GRE scores or anything like that. All they really want to see is your writing sample. Which is good and bad at the same time. :/)
As a last little note (I'm sorry this post is so long, thanks for bearing with me), I want to say hi and happy holidays to all of my readers. I've come to the realization that there are a lot more of you out there than I thought, so I want to thank you for bearing with me and my slight insanity and constant rambling. If you don't mind, I'd like some feedback. What do you want to read? More personal anecdotes? Or just writing about writing? Or something in-between? Do you want snippets of my actual prose? Or more pictures? Or comics? Or what? (Just wondering.)
Thank you for reading, and for those of you who leave me wonderful encouraging comments, a special thank you to you. :) I really appreciate it. You all are awesome. :]
12 December 2010
Grad School Apps, Part 1
So I finished 6/7 graduate school applications this weekend, and the reason I didn't get to the full 7 is because the online submission site is giving me trouble and won't let me finish my application. :( I tried to get them all done before final grades for this semester went out because (1) I'm not sure how my GPA will fare this semester from hell, and (2) I already entered in all the information as if this semester was incomplete, and I didn't want to have to go back and change everything.
Two of the applications were entirely online-only, which is pretty sweet, and five actually need to be sent out into the world. I have those prepped and ready, but the post office is closed today, so I'll have to trust my mom to send them out tomorrow (since I'll be in Virginia!). I didn't staple or paperclip anything (I'm aware of the war on them), so trying to figure out what order to put things in is rather complicated. I just don't want anything lost. So I'm thinking small stuff first, and then larger works later. We'll see how that works.
Once I get back from my trip, I'll work on knocking out the summer institutes and any out-of-state schools. I barely had enough money to cover the admission costs and transcript costs for the schools this time around, so I'll need to wait on some Christmas money to help with the Get-Elle-Into-Grad-School fund. :]
Two of the applications were entirely online-only, which is pretty sweet, and five actually need to be sent out into the world. I have those prepped and ready, but the post office is closed today, so I'll have to trust my mom to send them out tomorrow (since I'll be in Virginia!). I didn't staple or paperclip anything (I'm aware of the war on them), so trying to figure out what order to put things in is rather complicated. I just don't want anything lost. So I'm thinking small stuff first, and then larger works later. We'll see how that works.
Once I get back from my trip, I'll work on knocking out the summer institutes and any out-of-state schools. I barely had enough money to cover the admission costs and transcript costs for the schools this time around, so I'll need to wait on some Christmas money to help with the Get-Elle-Into-Grad-School fund. :]
01 December 2010
Graphic Novel & My Second Undergraduate Thesis
So, I completed my first graphic novel this week! Its really more like a comic, only 8 pages long, and I need to tweak it, and maybe add an extra page of dialogue, but still, I drew, scanned, outlined, colored, added text, and submitted it for workshop, so I'm very pleased with myself.
The entire process took about 30+ hours or so. Extremely time consuming. The easiest part was just laying out the panels and what I wanted where. What took the longest was reformatting the panels on the computer (turns out I can't draw straight lines to save my life), and coloring. Even though I drew everything in stick figures, it still took an obnoxious amount of time. Its not perfect, but still, for my first full-length comic, "it's pretty damn good," as my professor stated.
Speaking of which, he suggested I draw a creative nonfiction one, and I got excited and asked if I could do that for my Departmental Honors thesis. When I first signed up for thesis, I was told that I could use my old thesis from Honors College for Departmental Honors, by when I inquired last week, I was told that I still needed to earn my three credits and that I should expand my original thesis or prepare it for publication.
Frankly put, I am completely sick and tired of that piece of work. I don't want to touch it, I don't want to deal with it, I'm done. So is Ira. So he's agreed to be my Director again, and help me work on completing another graphic novel, this time in creative nonfiction.
(You know, I have more pages of CNF than I do of F, and yet I'm still applying to grad school in F. It seems strange... I guess I write more CNF because it's harder and more of a challenge... but I do enjoy F also... I dunno. Whatever gets me into grad school. From there hopefully they'll let me take classes in CNF as well as F.)
I'm excited. :)
The entire process took about 30+ hours or so. Extremely time consuming. The easiest part was just laying out the panels and what I wanted where. What took the longest was reformatting the panels on the computer (turns out I can't draw straight lines to save my life), and coloring. Even though I drew everything in stick figures, it still took an obnoxious amount of time. Its not perfect, but still, for my first full-length comic, "it's pretty damn good," as my professor stated.
Speaking of which, he suggested I draw a creative nonfiction one, and I got excited and asked if I could do that for my Departmental Honors thesis. When I first signed up for thesis, I was told that I could use my old thesis from Honors College for Departmental Honors, by when I inquired last week, I was told that I still needed to earn my three credits and that I should expand my original thesis or prepare it for publication.
Frankly put, I am completely sick and tired of that piece of work. I don't want to touch it, I don't want to deal with it, I'm done. So is Ira. So he's agreed to be my Director again, and help me work on completing another graphic novel, this time in creative nonfiction.
(You know, I have more pages of CNF than I do of F, and yet I'm still applying to grad school in F. It seems strange... I guess I write more CNF because it's harder and more of a challenge... but I do enjoy F also... I dunno. Whatever gets me into grad school. From there hopefully they'll let me take classes in CNF as well as F.)
I'm excited. :)
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