Tag Archives: deadlines

May 16 2013

I’m Making a Triumphant Return! Maybe…

Hello all!

I have to admit, I am utterly ashamed of myself. By not writing to you all (on a consistent basis), I’m failing myself. So, I make a resolution (once again) to jump right back into being a more frequent blogger. Lord knows it’ll take some time, but I’m going to work hard towards it. Even if I have to write about things that do not pertain to my several unfinished novels (which I intend on working on).

First on the list, the book I am currently reading: The Left Hand of Darkness by  Ursula K. LeGuin.

So if you guys know me, you know that I have sort of a soft spot for science fiction and fantasy.  I stumbled upon the book after hearing it referenced in that movie The Jane Austen Book Club, which was also based on a book. I figured if one of the main characters made such an argument for his love interest to read it, then shoot, I should read it too.

I will not lie — it took me a minute to get into it. Not knowing that this book was a part of a larger series, you can imagine the numerous questionable looking expressions on my face when I fell on weird ass city names, species of humans and the word kemmer which is like one of the MAJOR themes of the book.

Nonetheless, I continued to read and found myself getting increasingly immersed in it — especially because I had never read a book about an androgynous race of people. They are not androids, they’re not “aliens” in the sense that we know them, they’re a race of hermaphroditic beings that mate once a month almost on a menstrual cycle!

Consider my MIND #BLOWN. Add the fact that a person can be either man or woman at a different cycle?!?!?!? Could you imagine that?!

And this is why the people of their world  believe that there is no cause for war; there is no imbalance of hormones to create a feeling of superiority. At the same time, it’s awkward because there is no gender, the society is just a mass of the same people.

Anyway, I’m starting to enjoy the book because of its shift in narration — and because this book was published in like 1969. It’s pretty freaking amazing that this was around at a time where social constructs were being challenged, but at the same time remained very much rigid.

I’m at a point in the book now where POVs are about to converge and I’ll finally get to see them interact once more. I have to say this book is not necessarily an easy read, but some of the metaphors are beautiful and some of the quotes make me want to highlight them for forever.

—

As for everything else going on? I’ve halted on the period piece, despite the fact that I have the entire plot mapped out. Finding the words to move the plot can be so hard to do sometimes, and I don’t really want to force it. And my fantasy novel (pfft), I haven’t looked at the in a while. My novella is on hiatus BUT I intend to make a triumphant return and finish at least ONE this year … maybe … no, I have to. I just have to!

Mucho besitos!
-Alja

Apr 5 2012

Thoughts – A Midnight in Paris & Feast of Saints

Hello there, my darling public!

I once again, want to apologize for my lack of interest in this blog. I assure you that is has nothing to do with my interest in writing diminishing, but more so my need to try to fill some voids going on outside of my literary pursuits.

Any how, I came on here to say that I finally watched Midnight in Paris. And (much like the reviews I’ve been given), I feel like it is a movie that writers (or those who would like to be writers) should watch it or at least could probably enjoy it.

I found myself taken in by the movie, as I too, believe that I was somehow born in the wrong decade. I find myself wishing that I was born in the early 70’s. Not because of any literary revolution, but because of my sincere enjoyment of 80’s pop. But, I digress. I do in fact also feel that I should’ve been born earlier…maybe even in the 50’s and 60’s, when literature was more than just a word, but a lifestyle. When magazines were booming and taking poetry and short stories to add to their pages and not just ’10 new ways to liven up a blow job.’

Yeah, I sometimes think that maybe, just maybe, if I had lived back then, I would’ve definitely succeeded. Obviously, under the pseudonym of a white male, because lets face it…civil rights was on its way in then. But maybe even aside all of that, I would’ve been a pillar in the ‘black’ community and a literary paradigm.

But like Gil, I do love the 20’s. While it was a RAGE in Paris, in Harlem, names and literature and poetry was oozing out the cracks of the city streets and an articulate, intellectual class was cashing in on the need for a new voice and all over Europe, movements were being made! I have to admit, I did get some goosebumps seeing Zelda, Scott, Hemingway, & Stein on the screen and wondered what it would’ve been like to see Duke, Zora and Ella and Billie and Langston. And to hear that jazz and see Josephine and indulge in booze and Brick Tops and jazz and words. To feel like words are just as alive and buzzing as the night…

Now, it doesn’t feel that way. But I guess you have to make that feeling I suppose…

Anywho, I don’t know if I told you all that I had an idea for an ahistorical story of wealthy african americans and lo and behold, I saw the preview for Feast of All Saints on TVONE. 

I couldn’t believe it. There it was…a story about high society African-Americans. Then, I wiki’d it and found that it’s about half & quarter black negroes engrossed in sensuous love affairs in pre-civil war Nawlens (New Orleans). I’m guessing that it’s probably based on an actual group of freed negroes in the south. Any how, seeing that kind of renewed my faith in writing that story…if Anne Rice can write it, right? Mine would be set in Europe though. Something’s sexier about things in Europe.

But, I’m hoping that I can power through the writing. I haven’t pounded on keys like this in a while, and with trying to find writing related work and not getting a shot, it’s been weighing down on my ability to get my stories out. Speaking of which, I failed my personal deadline to finish my novella. I got so consumed in everything else, that I honestly didn’t think to add a couple of lines to it. I gave myself another unrealistic goal of April 15th, but I think I’ll shoot for the end of the month. After some coming engagements that are approaching, I should be back in the swing of things…should be anyhow.

Well, thanks for reading! =)

W/love,

-Alja

Jan 12 2012

Day 18 – The Challenge

Somewhat exciting news! A friend of mine (whose tumblr you can find here), put me on to a contest she came across and told me “DO IT!”

It’s a literary contest with a cash prize of $500.00 as well as publication in a literary magazine. First I gotta submit a really great piece and then if I’m selected again, I gotta do a live reading in Williamsburg (Brooklyn’s hub for the ‘creative soul’) and then get chewed up by live judges who can deem me the winner or not. I’ve never really performed any of my pieces live before, except for the occasional excerpt in my creative writing classes in college.

There were also two novel writing contests that I thought a lot about, as I have said that I wanted to be a published author. The first contest calls for a novel submission, but I would have to send in at least 5,000 words by Jan 23rd and produce a fully finished novel of at least 50,000 words if my piece was selected.  While I could send it about 5,000 words, I can’t finish a novel that quick. As much as an advance of $15,000.00 sounds like a break into the world of authors, I just wouldn’t have the time. The fantasy novel that I have in mind is only at about 17, 600+ words so far, and that’s with some edits and plots lines written in between the text (I have a crappy memory at times).

But the second contest I learned of asks us to create a novel or novella, for a prize of $5,000.00 and a review by a Penguin publishers editor! For this one, I’m up to the challenge. I figure I can shoot for a novella….which is anywhere between 10,000 words to 70,000 words (according to Wikipedia which I think is incorrect on the long scale).

One of my long “short stories” is already at 10,000+ words and it hasn’t really reached its climax yet. So here’s the challenge: to finish a novella of a proposed min of 18,000 words before March 3rd.

Now, I would like to say I am going to start tonight, but that would be untruthful as I am trying to fight a cold with the strength of G_d because of my many soon-to-be run-ins with kids this weekend. So I will shoot for tomorrow night.

So that’s about 50-51 days, with a minimum of 160 words a day.

Sounds easy enough but considering that I have to edit this sucker, do updates, and random additions to my fantasy novel (which MUST be completed before the end of this year)  and brainstorming on my AE story, this may be hard.

Did I mention I have a day-time job too?

Let the games begin! Wish me luck!

w/love

-alja

Dec 29 2011

Day 15

While my personal life is going into disarray, I’ve decided to forge on and make moves with my writing. When I feel that I’ve exhausted my thought processes, I begin to read and so I’ve pulled a book off of my shelf and started to sift through it. While it’s a somewhat random choice, the nature of the book has both elements of fantasy and of mythology which coincides with both elements that I’m trying to work out in two separate stories.

I’ve started to read this charming piece of 360 some odd pages:

I haven’t made up my mind of if I like it or not, but I do love the idea that there are several narratives going on, with interconnecting characters and one first person narrative from a god-like being. I feel that this may help me hone the way in which I handle my own characters in my ancient egyptian mythological piece.

Alas, if I intend on finish any story before the new year, I only have three nights and two days to do so. I don’t think there’s any story I have that I can finish in that time unless I throw caution to the wind and make a really short story out of the many beginning lines that I have. Let’s see what I can do.

*Give Me Strength*

w/love

-Alja

Dec 1 2011

Day 10

I feel quite compelled to talk to you today, as today is the December 1st, and I started this thing off in high hopes of possibly finishing up a story before the end of the month of November.

As you can tell – I haven’t. The past few days had quite a lot of my time preoccupied with non-literature producing ‘things.’ I’ve also been working on the latest installment of my ‘Overthinking Disney’ (the first installment you can find here) and it looks like that one just may be a doozy.

Aside from that, my well for one story is drying up, while I might be finding some hope for another. I will finish at least one story before the new year. If I have to travel to the library with my macbook every day after work and sit there until it closes every night cause I need some of that time to be inside of myself and stay there for a while.

 

Finished reading Christopher Moore’s Fool  and I must say, I wish I had his humor and talent.

I will persevere…I think..?

W/love

-Alja

Nov 21 2011

Day 9

I’ve been neglecting my duties to finish one of my pieces at the end of this month. It’s hard and trying, especially when I find all my literary motivation coming to me at times when I should be putting my attention on other more ‘important’ things. As it stands, I have added several pages to my story, typing up all the pages that I’ve written on the train and adding other pages from my tracking site 750words.com. As it is, my story is growing longer and longer than I expected and I find myself finding holes I have to fit and I haven’t even hit the crux of the story yet!

It’s all a process I suppose. I have only 9 more days to attempt to finish this story. Will I finish it? Maybe. If not, I do intend on finishing it before the end of 2011. I don’t want to start 2012 with a set of incomplete stories. One less incomplete story leads to one more shot at publication in the New Year.

I must persevere, I MUST persevere, I MUST PERSEVERE!

 

w/love,

-Alja