Semester 4 winds down

My last semester at Vermont College has been a particularly busy one. That's my rationale for no blog posts between Sept. 23 and Dec. 16.

On Friday, I turned in my last packet of homework ever--the 20th over the course of 2 years and 4 semesters. It contained a copy of my creative thesis: about 2/3 of my YA mystery novel, an abstract of my critical thesis on girl detective fiction, and the bibliography of my reading during my entire time in the program.

I also slipped inside the envelope 20 news pages of my novel, which I'm determined to finish by the end of the month. My advisor won't be expecting that, and it may make her crazy, but what the heck. She doesn't have to read the extra stuff.

While the semester is over, the work is not. During my final residency January 13-23, I have to give a 20-minute reading and a 45-minute lecture.

I plan to read a short story called "Shopping." It's a YA story--my shot at realistic and literary. (Generally I write genre fiction because I love action and plot.) This story is a fictionalized account of a family shopping trip my family made in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1981 when we were considering staying there. I've asked my sisters if they remember that particular visit to Sears. They don't, which is just as well because I've made up most of it. One advisor wanted me to cut out one of the sisters, and in a short story, I could see her point, but I left the character in because they all play a role in this story.

Going to readings has never been my favorite part of the residency. Maybe it's because I'm such a visual learner. Without visual aids I get antsy. Plus the readings by graduating students are usually scheduled in the late afternoon--prime nap time. So anyway, I didn't get around to attending any readings by graduating students until my 3rd residency in Jan. 2007. I discovered that the grads use that forum to thank people--their classmates, families, advisors. Some grads get really emotional about it. At the first grad reading I attended, the student could hardly get her weeping under control. I will not have this problem.

As for my lecture, I'll be discussing "Solving the Mystery of Literary Detective Fiction." I have no idea how many people at VC may be interested in writing mysteries, but I hope this demystifies the process somewhat. It's been very enlightening for me. My prime examples will come from Wendelin Van Draanen's Sammy Keyes series, Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes series, and Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series.

And then I graduate!

Packet 2 response

I'm not a particularly nervous person. I don't get nervous about speaking in public until 10 or 15 minutes before doing it. I don't get nervous about reading my advisor's response to a packet until I'm ripping open the envelope (or opening the email attachments). This time was no exception. While my advisor was disappointed that I hadn't sent as much as she'd asked for (because that novel outline took so darn long), she "loved" what I did send her. "Keep going," she said.

Roger, wilco.

This advisor is probably the most teacher-ish one I've had. In her letter to me this time, she gave me a sort of mini lecture about the importance of free time to a fiction writer. I think she's worried that I have too many oars in the water. She suggested that as long as I have to support myself that I consider work that leaves my mind free to subconsciously roam.

Most of my job is already like that. I'm not personally invested in it, so I don't take it home with me, literally or figuratively. But I mentioned Go! magazine to her and working on finding grants to support it. That is work I take home with me. But I like working on Go! and it's also writing for teens, so I don't really see a problem. It makes for some hectic weeks now and then, but I think taking Wednesdays off will help balance it all out. Plus, I have a lot of energy and drive. And it's fun to have more than one ball in the air.

Bloody, sweaty packet 2

My 4th semester advisor, Ellen Howard, said in her letter about my first packet that she wanted me to work harder than I ever had before. She expected me to sweat blood over it, smiling the whole time as I see my novel taking shape after developing an outline. The packet I put in the mail to her on Friday had blood and sweat stains all over it.

The sheer quantity of pages in this packet was not amazing. The novel outline came out to 6 pages, single-spaced, and I submitted 5 revised chapters (about 33 pages). She'd asked me to revise the first 4 and 2 or 3 more, but 5 was all I could hack. By the time I finished the outline, I only had a week left to do revisions. Cutting was quick and easy, but adding new scenes was more time consuming.

Starting Oct. 1, however, I'm reducing my hours at work from 40 to 32. I'll have one whole extra day--Wednesday--every week to keep plugging away on my novel. Why Wednesday instead of Friday or Monday? A couple of reasons:

1. It would be too easy for me to fritter away a day in a long weekend because it wouldn't feel like a work day.
2. My semi-retired husband, who works at home as an outdoor writer (bird hunting articles), goes to shoot skeet (clay targets) on Wednesday mornings, so he will be out of my way, and we won't have to negotiate computer use (we share one).
   

So I plan to make more dramatic progress soon. My speed should pick up now that I have a plan to follow too. I'd like to complete a good draft of this novel by the end of November--sooner if possible.