Wednesday, September 25, 2013

What's Up Wednesday? It's been a while...

I'm finally falling into my routines here at Chatham, so hopefully I can start working blogging back into my life! One step at a time, here's what's been up with me in the past month!

What I'm Reading
Grad school has made my GoodReads shelves go CRAZY! In 4 weeks (I'm in the middle of week 5 right now), I've read six books and am currently working through three more. AAHHHHH. Right now I'm reading Alice Munro's short story collection, HATESHIP, FRIENDSHIP, COURTSHIP, LOVESHIP, MARRIAGE, for my Readings in Fiction class. I'm also two-thirds of the way through David Foster Wallace's collection, GIRL WITH CURIOUS HAIR. For YA Lit, I'm finishing up THE CHOCOLATE WAR. I kept up a good reading pace for the first three weeks or so, but I slipped last week because I had two presentations and a story due. [This genius accidentally scheduled everything for the same week...oops.] Here's hoping I can catch up!

What I'm Writing
In one sense, I'm taking a break from my WIP to write short stories. BUT these stories just happen to have the same cast of characters and some of the same scenes as my WIP. ;) I wasn't ready to put these characters on hold, and I already know them so well, it made sense to write some new adventures for them that I can use in my novel. I've already turned in one short story and am conferencing with my professor this afternoon.

What Inspires Me Right Now
The other people in my MFA program. We've all gotten to know each other pretty well already because we have two of our three classes together and are reading each other's work every week. I love hearing what everyone else is writing about, and it inspires me to work harder in my own writing.

What Else Is New?
I'm running! I run around the indoor track at the gym 3-4 times a week using the Couch to 5K iPhone app. It's been really helpful and now I can run for five straight minutes without stopping, which I've never been able to do before in my life.
I'm also crocheting again. This was prompted by my apartment's sudden temperature plunge. The university hasn't turned the heat on yet, and for some reason my apartment is colder than the weather outside...? Just gotta bundle up and tough it out until the heat comes on!
Lastly, we had our first visiting writer come to campus a week or so ago.  His name is Wiley Cash and I'm OBSESSED with his book, A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME. It's southern, dramatic, and so well written (it reminds me of Tom Bailey, my favorite professor from Susquehanna, and his writing style). He read an excerpt from his new book that's coming out in January. I can't wait that long, I want it now!



So what's up with everybody else this Wednesday? What sorts of things have I missed in the past month? FILL ME IN, FOLKS! :)

10 comments:

  1. Yay, so glad you're back! I've missed your posts. Super excited to hear about these new adventures for Bowie & Company! :)

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    1. :) Just got out of a meeting with my professor (about a Bowie-inspired short story) where she said I needed to be a little meaner to my characters/up the stakes and conflict. It was sooooo hard for me not to go, "But this girl is my literary BABY!!!!!!!!!!" Ack, having so much invested in characters is hard. But I'm sure you know a thing or two about that. ;)

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  2. Nice to hear you're surviving school! You're the second person today to mention THE CHOCOLATE WAR, a book I'm embarrassed to say I haven't actually read, but feel like maybe I should have. I would love to take a YA Lit course. I took a Children's lit course in university that had a few good reads, but mostly it was only so-so. That's totally fun that you're writing short stories that go with your WIP. What a great idea! And good for you for working running into your routine. I'm sitting here trying to work up the motivation to haul my buns downstairs to the treadmill. I think you've given me the final push. Have a wonderful week, Kaitlin! :-)

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    1. My YA class syllabus is full of books like that, ones I should've read but never have and now make me feel totally guilty. I finished THE CHOCOLATE WAR just a couple hours ago...it's way more intense than I thought! Lots of bullying and corrupt authority figures. But it was still a good read!

      And yay running! Some days are better than others for me, too. Good luck with the exercise!

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  3. I really like the idea of writing short stories featuring characters/settings that are already yours. It seems like so many awesome ideas and developments could come from that exercise. I'm a little envious of your MFA program. What an awesome opportunity for writing and reading fantastic books. Can't wait to read more about it! Hope you have a fantastic week, Kaitlin!

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    1. Writing about characters I already know is SO fun! Plus it helps that I already have their voice in my head and know a lot of their background info. :) I usually get really stressed at the beginning of a semester and think I have to come up with "the most brilliant short story concept ever written" and spend three weeks in a writer's block panic. This is much easier. :) Have a great week too, Katy!

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  4. One day I want to sit down and write a short story. Good luck with yours. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks Amy! I hope you do start writing short stories, they can be a ton of fun. :) Have a great weekend too!

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  5. Have fun running and best of luck with your writing. It all sounds like fun ^_^ Stay warm, too!

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  6. I love that you're using your short stories to write scenes for your WIPs! I think that would be a great way to really polish some scenes - when I write short stories, I pay so much more attention to word choices, pacing, etc. You've definitely tempted me to try that with my own WIP!

    Congrats on the running! That is so awesome! :) I've been out of running commission for a while (injury) and am hitting the trails this afternoon - woooot. It's going to be ugly, but that cute pic of your running shoes and the fall leaves has inspired me. :)

    Enjoy your weekend!

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