End in sight

Things are winding down for my current work in progress, Worlds Away from Home–or should I say winding up, since I’m just a chapter or two from the major climax?  In any case, by the end of the week, inshallah, the rough draft will be finished. <crosses fingers> It’s been tough, but I’m cautiously optimistic… Continue reading End in sight

If it kills me

I will finish this novel if it kills me. At the rate things are going, it just might. Things are kind of tough for me right now.  I desperately need a new job–the one I’ve got is slowly sucking away my soul without even paying enough to get by–and job rejections are way worse than… Continue reading If it kills me

Slogging through to the bitter happy ending

Oh man.  I was hoping to hit 5k words today, and even though I must have spent five or six hours writing, I only managed half of that.  It’s progress, I know, but it’s not as much progress as I’d like; the words just aren’t coming, no matter what I do.  Blarg. The worst part… Continue reading Slogging through to the bitter happy ending

Looking for work (and possibly an adventure)

Ever since graduation in May, I’ve been doing my best to support myself and be 100% financially independent.  I haven’t gotten a steady, well-paying day job yet, but fortunately summers in Utah are cheap and I’ve more or less been able to make ends meet. That’s not to say it’s been easy, though.  I’m operating… Continue reading Looking for work (and possibly an adventure)

Braving the unexpected rough spots

Right now, I’m going through this unexpected rough spot in my novel, where I know what’s supposed to happen (or at least I have enough of an idea to wing it fairly well), but the writing just isn’t coming.  This happens every time I hit the two thirds mark, and it really sucks. Currently, I’m… Continue reading Braving the unexpected rough spots

Forward to new ground

A couple days ago, I finished writing through the material I’d written for Worlds Away From Home back in 2008 before I dropped the project.  For the first time since March, I find myself drafting entirely new material. It’s a little bit unnerving; I’m a much better reviser, I feel, than straight up writer.  Revising… Continue reading Forward to new ground

Falling back into the groove

Today I surprised myself and wrote nearly 4k words, some of which might actually be good enough to keep.  Huzzah! The novel is coming along very nicely, and I’m starting to get really excited with where it’s going.  That’s huge, because up to this point, the nagging “this is crap, what are you doing with… Continue reading Falling back into the groove

Writer’s block? Tallyho!

Just a quick post before I go to bed. Health problems suck when all you’ve got is catastrophic insurance.  I started breaking out in this weird rash last week, and I went into the clinic today.  It was seventy five dollars well spent, but…man, seventy five dollars? So between taking the bus all over the… Continue reading Writer’s block? Tallyho!

Take me to Arabia

Recently, I’ve found myself nearly overwhelmed by the sudden urge to run away to the Middle East and go totally and irrevocably native.  It may pass, but I still want to go back there–really bad. So I looked up BYU’s TESOL certification program, and figured I could apply in January, start fall of ’11, and… Continue reading Take me to Arabia