yay friday!

You know, the weekends DO actually mean something when your significant other doesn't work them, unfortunately/fortunately this means that I can spend heaps of time assignment writing this weekend, interspersed with family oriented fun.
I finished one assignment on.... Wednesday night. About 8pm, it definitely felt good. I spent all of yesterday reading the research required for writing the final of these three assignments and wrote the introduction to it last night. So thats where I stand, my two 4000 word assignments have beginnings, but not much more just yet.
Fridays little one spends at daycare though, so it means I will have the whole day to get into these assignments, and attempt to be as undistractable as possible. I need to have.... well, I'm going to set my goal at 1000 words on my Abnormal and Therapeutic Psych piece, and to add 1000 words to my Assessment of Individual Differences piece. This will leave me with.... 2500 left to write for Assessment.... and 3000 words left to write for Abnormal, and all of the weekend in which to do it.
I am most interested in the Abnormal one, so it would be really easy to just get totally stuck into that and finish it off. Unfortunately the other one is due in before abnormal, which means I have to make sure its finished by Monday for posting, to ensure that it makes it into Massey for it's Wednesday due date - sometimes being an extramural sucks lol.

On a much more happy note though, I am ordering my wedding dress today :-) It is terribly exciting, really it is. It should arrive after exams, and that will be perfect timing really as long as it doesn't serve to derail my nano writing.

Which brings me to the other piece of happy. Yay for member challenges!!! I signed up for this one , and it has gotten me really even more amped about finishing these assignments, because that means I can do some writing!!!! I am so looking forward to getting back into the world I began during SoCNoC and writing the second book (which is really the second half of the first book, but they are quite separate in ways). There are a few things which I know I am going to write about during this challenge, back story, history, important stuff which is going to be incredibly relevant to the second book, so exciting.

Now I just need to finish these assignments....

And it's almost day light savings time as well! Which means that these 620am starts I have begun are going to be incredibly useful for next week. The weather is getting better, it's warmer (at least during the days, nights are freezing at the moment!), it's just such a good time of the year.

Ok, better start on what I should be doing, the sooner they are done, the sooner I can write!!!

one week, too short.

So, I realised this morning that I really only have a week to complete 2.5 assignments. Two of which are about 4000 words, and the other which needs another 1.5k. That's a lot of words, on assignments, in such a short space of time.
I'm not sure I am up to the challenge. I know I can do it, I'm just worried about the quality.
I have had all my research done for ages, it's simply a matter of putting fingers to keyboard and trying to make sense of all the information floating around inside my head. I've never written a 'critical' essay for a psychology paper, so I am a little worried about that. And I have never written a literature review either, more reasons for worry.
But I can't let that worry grow and overwhelm me, and by the gods it's threatening to. One word at a time right? Start somewhere, make it happen, break it down into sections, allocate a certain number of words per section.... I know all the methods for making it seem like a less daunting task, but at the back of my mind I still know that there is a lot to be done, and not that much time to do it in.

one more down..

Still a few to go, but atleast I am getting closer!

Winners

We are! lol, it's so weird, but cool. Got home from picking Ivy up from daycare and Simon up from work and we had a call. We won a brand new dryer from the local four square! They dropped it off within a half hour of calling, it's fantastic!
Our old one died probably two years ago, but it's still sitting in the laundry, so I'll have to do a shift around tomorrow and switch them over, but wow! I didn't think this kind of thing actually happened!
It's been a pretty good day in general, got into my assignment writing today and I am fairly confident I can finish it off this week, along with most of another one by the end of the weekend. Feels good, feels like I am on track.

drunk post

It had to be done some time.
I'm not really drunk, but I have had a couple glasses of wine.
It's so funny, lol I just feel super relaxed and it's been such a wonderful day.
I'm all warm and fuzzy, it's a nice feeling.
Anyways, off to cuddle my wonderful boyfriend, ops, I mean fiance, and watch Bowling for Columbine.

yay!

feeling sooooo much better today.
Decided to hell with everything else, I was just going to chill out and spend some time playing with Ivy and going with the flow, and we've had a really great day. She is so funny, and so much fun, even more so when I'm not occupied thinking about all the other things I should be doing. I am now even more looking forward to summer and just being able to hang out with her and enjoy life (and write lol).
She's still really madly in love with the webcam lol I turn it on and she watches herself do all sorts of things, ripping up paper, jumping on the bed in here, singing, playing, anything lol she loves being the centre of attention. I don't know how many times a day she says to me 'look at me mama, look at me!'.
I'm really just so happy today, lol Simon can text me from work which I love, and he can email as well, which he will probably start doing soon lol like, when his cell credit runs out. I was looking back today on all the emails we used to send to each other, some before we got together and quite a few after. Such good times, lol I miss having that kind of contact with him and am really looking forward to getting it back.
And I cannot wait to be his wife. I am so looking forward to marrying him, to us officially being a family, to adding to that family as well . Bliss.

well

This morning started out terribly, I was a total blithering mess for the greater part of it.
I think (think) I have mostly managed to pull myself out of it, and lets hope that it lasts! As I have said several times today - there is just too much to do to fall apart right now.
I know that what I could really do with is writing, creatively, for even a little while. But I am not sure I can force myself to stop cleaning/doing homework for long enough to write. Maybe later tonight, when the little one is asleep and the house is quiet and tidy.
I always feel like I am putting writing off lately, and I have to keep telling myself that no, it's not really putting it off, it's just that there are other things that need my focus first and foremost. I just hope that's the truth, I really do, and that once all this study mess is over writing can once again dominate my spare time.
I'm pretty sure it's the case, but I guess that is a natural fear to have. It was kind of like my fear after Nano - that I only had one 'novel' in me, that I might not be able to do it again and I was so happy that I proved myself wrong on that one with SoCNoC, and I am sure I will prove it again with NaNo'07.
Anyways, I better go and finish mowing the lawn before it rains.
And the day started out so sunny.

Roll on daylight savings....

Seriously, I feel like everyone but me (and Simon) has already adjusted to daylight savings, weeks before it's begun. I'm sick of animals and children waking me up before 6am, I just want to get my sleep....
It's so light here at that time of the day though, and the birds are being all noisy, I can hardly blame them for thinking that it's the right time to start bugging me, if only they could all just get up and feed themselves... ahhh now that would be bliss.
The reality is though, that if it wasn't for all the things making noise at me at that time of the day, I'd probably be totally ready to get up. There is just something about creatures needing things from you which sometimes makes you want to hide. I often forget to have breakfast til about 10, simply because I'm feeding Ivy and the animals, getting her changed and dressed, washing the dishes, organizing the house and everything else.
It's tiring sometimes. Today, I'm tired. And I have an essay to write.

Change

Well today is Simon's last day at his current job, he'll have his first weekend off in months and months this weekend, the first of many more to come.
It seems weird, I think it will probably feel that way for awhile. New days of work, new hours of work, new pay period to adjust to. It really kind of feels like it's an 'end of an era' type thing, although I am not sure it warrants that much emphasis. But our whole lives are going to change because of this, I can feel that, I just don't know the details lol.

one down

four to go!!
Feels good to know that atleast one is finished, and only a day and a half past the deadline I had set for myself. Now to move onto the next one and hopefully get it completed next week. I feel like if I can get that one and the next done by the end of next week then there is a chance I can get the other two done and even pass all of them. Passing is the goal, I had to remind myself of that today when I got the results of one of my other assignments. It was a B, nothing to get upset about, but I didn't feel like I had done well enough.
Reminder to self - you aren't planning to do masters anymore, you're not studying next year, and it doesn't matter what your grades are as long as you pass.

Roll on Summer

I'm beginning to feel like it's coming, which is so nice, I had no idea I would feel this way about its approach. Perhaps it's because I know now I won't have to spend all my time looking for a part time job that will fit in with everyone else, I can just enjoy things as they come.
I'm so looking forward to a multitude of BBQ's on the deck, a cold beer in the afternoon, hours spent at the beach, many swimming trips, trying to teach Ivy how to make daisy chains on the lawn, showing her the joys of kite flying. I mean, this is going to be one amazing summer, I can just feel it.

Sex

Now that I have your attention... no, not really, I AM going to talk about sex.
Not the sex you actually have, but sex in books, in stories, in poems, in any kind of writing.
How much is too much? Are there some genres which just shouldn't have sex in them? Should sex, at least explicit sex be relegated to romance and erotica? What makes it explicit and what kind of sex is considered OK in any old book, if any?
I would love to hear some opinions on this, but I know I have a very small audience lol but feel free to make your comments!! I would love to hear them.
There is the age old adage that 'sex sells', is this simply in TV, movies, advertising, music, primarily visual things - or does this count for the written word as well?
Romance/erotica have some very big markets in the world, massive, which would suggest that there is definitely a market for sex/love. But does this extend beyond?
Is sex still dirty?
I guess the reason why this springs to mind is because a lot of my stories have sex in them. Not all, but a lot, and even if it's not actually written sometimes it's implied. I don't consider it to be over the top, or explicit, or unnecessary, it just happens, much as it happens in the real world.
My characters are people, with real relationships and couples who have sex, teenagers who are experimenting and learning about their bodies and the opposite sex.
I'd like to think that I don't just write it in just to spice things up, I'd like to believe that this is just how my stories turn out sometimes. I don't know if that says something about me, or nothing at all, but it's interesting to think about.
So I guess an interesting experiment would be for me to take a story with sex and rewrite it without and see how they differ. I think that is something I'll do, though obviously not until after my assignments are all done, and I even think I'll post it here and see if I can get some feedback on it.
Sex probably isn't necessary in a lot of stories, but I think the kind of stories I like to tell are about characters who have connections, and sometimes those connections need to be expressed in other ways. Sometimes a hug, or a gaze, or a peck on the cheek simply doesn't fulfill the requirements I have. It's never what the story is about, it's just something that happens along the way. And I don't see a problem with that, to me it's much the same as someone going to the toilet, or having a shower, or taking out the garbage. It's something humans do, and I include a wide spectrum of what humans do in the things I write.
I do sometimes wonder whether this will affect my ability to get published. Does it decrease my chances? What percentage of a book is it ok to write about that kind of stuff in?
I'd think it takes up maybe.... 5% in my last nano, which isn't much, but it's still there. And my SoCNoC... well, there is no sex as yet, but there is a connection which will probably lead to an encounter in the second half of the book, and I have no idea what will happen with that. I wouldn't want to take that out though, I feel like it would change the essence of the story, it would lessen the impact of these characters relationships.
So, next month, I'll complete this challenge. Write a story with sex and rewrite it without and see how it changes things.
And if all else fails, take up writing romance.

I had a dream

And in that dream, I was writing essays...in fact, I am pretty sure that when I awoke it was with some academic statement about childhood sexual abuse.
I spent 3 hours last night sitting on the floor, printing out article upon article, research study upon research study.
The upshot is that I now have pretty much all the information that is required for all of my upcoming assignments, the downside is that the particular assignment I was researching for last night is the one thats due in last, and it pushed all the information out of my head about the assignment which I am meant to be writing right now, as I sit here writing this.
I have started, I have 54 words, lets not think about the fact that I still need another 2446 *hopes she did her math right*.
I sometimes think that the same approach I have with my creative writing is applicable to my academic writing.
There is this preparation period where I gather information/ideas, I read, I make notes, I think, I dwell, but I don't do any actual writing. I sit on all of these things, sometimes I don't even spend a lot of time thinking about them consciously, but I know that it's all fermenting, all the ingredients have been placed in my brain its just a matter of giving it the right amount of time to brew.
And then will come the time when I am actually ready to sit down and get started. This generally works best when it is a time I have chosen for myself, when I can honestly say 'I am ready' - this is no longer an option though when it comes to this semesters assignments. I can only hope that enough fermenting has gone on that the end product will be passable.
On the other hand with my creative writing, usually the imposed start time is a far off distant point, and I would probably feel ready to sit down and start writing well before the event comes around, I actually think by making me wait longer to begin in these cases I end up producing better work. More ideas spring up, more details and I have a better idea of where I am going when I finally get that sweet release and am able to release the story thats been captive in my mind for so long.
If only assignments were spread far enough apart to allow for proper brain fermenting. Ah well, I can only do what I can do, and I had better go and get to it.

Kiwiwriters staff meeting this afternoon, am really looking forward to it! Fiance suggested I skip it in order to get more quality essay writing time because little one is at her nana's but no, not a chance!!! lol

Friday, glorious Friday.

I don't often feel that way, being that Simon works weekends and I always have study to do and little one to take care of, the weekend is just another two days like any other two days. But for some reason, this Friday it actually feels like a Friday.
Perhaps it's because the sun is out and the weather has been just stunning today (and fingers crossed, knocking on wood, looks like it will hold for the weekend). Perhaps it's because I am relatively up to date with my course work and I feel like I can get through everything in time. Perhaps it's because I did submit that piece and I don't feel nearly as anxious about it as I thought I might (which isn't to say that I feel confident, or happy, or anything else about it, just not anxious, not worrying). It might even be that for almost a week now I have been getting to bed before 11pm and having a full nights sleep... heaven forbid.
It doesn't really matter, lol I feel good, I feel happy, I feel calm and satisfied and it is nice. Really nice.
I think I might do some writing over the weekend, after I have this next assignment kicked off to a fine start. I am pretty sure it's even going to be on Dream dark, dream deadly. Or maybe I'll make some notes for the continuation of the 'sci-fi' story I posted on here a little while ago, either way, I feel like I have enough head space to write, like the frantic desperation of the last few weeks has dissipated some and I can think and breathe and do the things I just really love to do again, without having to stress about the things I know I should be doing.

'cause bears sleeping.

This is the new statement in our house. It's Ivy's, but we are using it now as well, she interjects it randomly in conversation, sometimes followed by 'up the fireplace' I'm not entirely sure where this idea of a bear sleeping in our fireplace came from but it seems like it is here to stay.

The week is going by too fast, there is still a fair amount of stuff to do and I am not really sure if I'm going to get it done. It's kind of weird, I thought I had more time, but the 17th is just around the corner and from there its assignment hell until the 6th of October (actually, make that the 1st, I'll have to have everything in the post by then, or resort to faxing). They go like this: 17th, 28th Sep, 1st, 3rd, 5th Oct. Then the final one is due Oct 19th, then exams 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th and 2th of November. All these dates.....

I've been reading some of the recommended authors for one of the romance lines I was considering writing for. I think I need to find a couple others so that I can discover what kind of variety there is. I've never been a big romance reader, there were an occasional few back in high school that my friend loaned me, but I guess I just never really got into them in the way she did. I'm currently asking myself whether I can write that way, it will be an interesting challenge I think.
My friend and I are each going to write a novel for a line and submit it, I have my idea, it's just a matter of finding the time to write it (next year obviously, though she is doing hers for Nano). I need to read a lot more of that style novels before then to get my head in the right space I think.
Would I feel like having something published in that area was an accomplishment? Or will I only really feel fulfilled if I get something published in one of the areas I love to write the most?
That said though, I haven't done 'romance' before so I may yet enjoy it, and I wouldn't really know what genre to pin myself under most of the time anyways. I've written some urban fantasy, some sci-fi, some horror, some straight fantasy, some contemporary stuff, and I am not sure which I would say I am best suited to. I guess once I have started submitting I'll find out?
On the note of submitting, I am planning to submit something tomorrow, lol it's via email so that makes life easier, but I still have to polish the piece up, it needs some changes and I'm not sure it's going to be exactly where I want it to be when tomorrow rolls around. I guess it will depend on how my homework goes today.

Which I should probably get going and get onto.