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I find it difficult to delete spam comments like this: “You are a very intelligent individual!”

You are so very right, spammer!

In fact, I hereby dub thee “Spammer #1″ in the unofficial made-for-internets movie about my life.

Ha!

I have been pondering some pretty deep things today, whilst working my horrid day job and wishing the hours away. I think a lot about the future of the written word, and particularly, fiction’s place in the internet, and emerging fields of technology: basically, wherever the hell publishing is headed.

I am really psyched for next semester (said the gal trying to get through this semester). Next semester has me taking a course on Professional Writing and New Media. Yummy. Oh, and a cinema course on Romantic Comedies. I have some deeply intriguing (to me) theories about romantic comedies, infused with emerging thoughts I have as I delve into some deep Lacanian theory.

I have this odd feeling that once my professors have gotten a glimpse at my writing style, they kind of expect a shit-ton more from me than my fellow students. Hell, we read Lacan in my theory class and I figured out about 3 different things about his theories that the professor was going over that I am pretty sure no one else got from the readings. Of course gender studies people are fans of Lacan, that completely jumped off the page and slapped me across the face. It reminded me of that fateful day in Calculus in undergrad, when I ultimately “got it.” And that, my friends, is the kind of shit that cracks open your brain and unlocks your mind to so much more than you ever dreamed was possible.

As it turns out, I am totally writing a paper for my other theory class (um, yeah, aside here: never ever ever take two theory classes in the same semester, especially in your FIRST semester in grad school. Live and learn, people, or listen to those who have been made of fail before you. Ha!). Anyway, I was saying, I was in the midst of writing a proposal for my other theory class when I suddenly realized it was all about the calculus: study of the rates of change, indeed. Fascinating shit, really, if you’re a super mega-nerd like some of us. I am fairly certain I take after my father in the math department, which is something I wish I had realized before undergrad. Again, live and learn, and because of this, I am learning to become a better listener.

I have to say, I cannot say enough about learning to STFU and listen. There are so many different things that can make a gal a more effective storyteller, and at the phase of life I am currently in (whatever that might be, not exactly trying to define it beyond transitional/metamorphosis), listening seems to be so very key to becoming someone new, better, and hopefully, successful.

So yeah, grad school, it’s made of win when everything else seems lacking. As long as one piece of the puzzle is going well, the other parts should start to fall into place, so there is much less disarray.

And now, back to NaNo, reading Marxian theory, and getting some first drafts plotted and schemed, yo.

Settled in this morning to write 1k words for NaNo, which took a little longer than I’d hoped, but I got distracted by Scurvytown, which is fine, because I have to get some content generated for that for school.

I am writing about politics. Yeah, me. I almost never talk politics to people. Since the political structure of Lost America is based on ours, but is still fictional, I am having quite a bit of fun with it. I invented a couple of political parties, and have named my candidates for the Presidential election. Always the character writer, really. I love inventing people!

I spent about 10 minutes fleshing out a few ideas for this Scurvytown plot line, and managed to legalize prostitution. It needed to happen eventually, because there is a brothel on the town square, after all, but I found it unexpected and funny the way it just kind of happened this morning. Like, oops, kids, I just legalized prostitution, now what? Trust me, this is going to be hilarious.

And now, back to more NaNo because I am not letting myself have a shower until I hit 5k words, and wow, do I ever smell like something the kittehs dragged in. Whew.

Oh torture, glorious torture! Oh, NaNoWriMo, the S&M of writing exercises!

I decided to do NaNoWriMo yet again because I feel like I am finally ready to write a certain story that has been on the back-burner pretty much since I broke my arm last year. It was a story I started writing a little bit before a lovely trip to Kansas City for a friend’s 30th birthday party (one of the highlights from last year!)

That trip taught me that travel is kind of magical for the writing process, at least for me. I think I might do a little road trip sometime during November, just to tap into that part of the process. Definitely have travel on the brain for future writing endeavors! (including starting to find some suitable conferences to attend and maybe even soon enough, present my work)

My hiatus has not been entirely graduate school related. I’ve had about 5 major stressors over the past few months, and thankfully, have eliminated one of them. In addition to all that, I’ve moved again, which is apparently the thing I do in the fall, and pretty much every fall since 2006. (except 2007, but I made one of the dumber life choices of my meager existence in that year, so let’s pretend that year never happened).

Now that I’ve moved, and actually almost have another stressor on the elimination list, things are finally starting to look up. Going through a major personal and professional metamorphosis is very tough work. And I think I should leave that at that.

I feel like I really enjoy being a productive writer. I don’t really need too much more as a writer than to be producing content that I enjoy, and that if I’m very lucky, at least a handful of pretty cool people I happen to know agree with that. More, of course, would be nice, but I take what I can get, and I am happy to have it. So, even though I have a bunch of papers to write, and I mean seriously hardcore papers, and have decided to do this crazy 1700 words a day project for November, I am sincerely happier than a pig in shit to be writing my fingers off.

Not sure I would have it any other way. The more I write, the more I write.

Hopefully, school will help me out with my pitfalls, like editing, self-confidence, and marketing. So far, I am absolutely in love with my program and the way NKU structures it so you can find out what you NEED to be doing (as my advisor words it) and then they even go so far as to help you to figure out a plan to get there.

Yours in plotting, scheming, and writing,

Lauren