Category: genres

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change genres goals life Work in Progress

Life’s Rollercoaster & A New 101 List

There’s never really a moment of rest, it seems. In this past month, I’ve seen myself go on quite a roller-coaster ride:

– Feeling stuck and unsure of the next step

– The next step is revealed to me through my graduate admission

– Finances and interim location are discussed and cause for me to over-think

– The dust settles and I’m still pondering.

That’s just how it always goes. And at times the pace goes so quickly that I forget to post during the week. My weekends again fall on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I’m usually away from the computer on those two days. Or, if I am at the computer, I am highly distracted by my Twitter feed.

At least in this past week I have been back to writing again. I’m currently working on a short historical fiction piece for a client; not exactly a genre I dabble in normally, but it’s good to try something different. I met with a fellow writing friend today and felt empowered/motivated just sitting next to her, typing away on my AlphaSmart. I really should be more mobile with my writing sessions–after all, it’s good to change the scenery a bit.

I’ve also been working on a new 101 list to start on October 1; I had started my first 101 list on January 1, 2008, and although I lost interest in my list at the end of that year, as I near the 1,001st day of that list I see that I still managed to achieve many of the goals I initially listed on that first day. So, October 1 will mark a new cycle of 1,001 days for me. So far, these goals are more focused than my first list, and it pleases me to see how I have matured over the past 2.75 years.

I wonder if I should make a new blog to write about my new goals or if I should just mention them all on this blog. I have a tendency to get too distracted if I have too many projects to work on. I suppose blogs aren’t too hard to keep up, but the frequency of updates sometimes gets me.

Well, onward towards another weekend for the rest of the world.

Categories
genres memories reading short works

Brief Flashes & Promising Second Looks

paul-hornschemeierImage by life serial via Flickr
Over the weekend, I’ve spent a lot of time catching up on magazines (both consumer and literary) and refreshing my memory with my short stories. Most of them I had drafted back in 2008; most of them are rather short, under 500 words. It’s sobering and also enlightening to look back on what I wrote even just two years ago–the scenery around me may change, but these words have stayed static, capturing my thoughts from that period of time.

Some things I noticed from reading my drafts has been the common thread of dark themes. I consciously know that, for myself, I do not want to be marginalized with writing something fluffy and light. Oh sure, I do like reading the occasional chick lit book; but for me to write a story in that genre? I can’t see myself doing it without laughing at myself. Plus, I feel like the “plight of the woman” is all too overplayed these days.

I can also see how, when I asked my sister and a few colleagues to critique one of my stories last month, that I do have a tendency to “tell too much and not show enough”. I know I ramble when I am writing creatively, even in blogs; the irony is that I have a business background from school, so you’d think I’d learned about keeping things short and simple.

Anyway, I found a few promising drafts to polish up for submissions, but I continue to find myself distracted by my ideas for new writing, new blogs, etc. I find that I lose focus sometimes rather too easily and that I want to do more than what I can actually pile onto my plate.
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Categories
#amreading genres list reading

Book Genre Preferences

You know, it’d been awhile since I had read a book for leisurely purposes. Throughout the last half of high school and all of college, I put my hobby of reading on hiatus to concentrate on reading school textbooks. Six months after college, I decided I would make up for all that time by compiling a book list for myself.

In general, I’m open to almost anything in all aspects of life. It’s the same thing with books: I had no real idea what kind of genres I preferred since I had taken such a long leave-of-absence form reading, so I just asked my friends and family for any book recommendations they had.

As of this past week, my book list is at 330+ books (yikes!) Of course, I’ve been adding onto the list ever since last January, so that explains the huge number of books on the list. I read 26 books last year, and so far have read 16 books this year. From these 40some books, I notice where my preferences lie: in self-help, nonfiction, and general fiction. I have a lot of books on my still to-read list from all sorts of genres, but it seems that I find books in the three aforementioned categories most enjoyable.

There’s obviously nothing wrong with other genres I haven’t read/don’t prefer to read. It’s just, I tend to enjoy books that make me think a little more past what I already know. Many of my peers/friends prefer books in the Science Fiction/Fantasy, or Chick Lit genres. While I may not prefer reading those kinds of books, I wouldn’t say I would never read anything from those genres.