A couple of early morning thoughts.

I woke up extremely early this morning and thought YES time to get up and WRITE. 

I realised two things. 

I have strayed very much from my chapter plan. 

Getting up early can be productive. 

But that I shouldn’t gloat too much about the fact that having got up early there is so much potentional for productivity.

That doesn’t get much done. 

Make that four things. 

Nor will I get this draft done of this particular story before Camp NaNo. 

Okay five things. 

Why is it that I always lag around 30,000 words? I can’t conceivably see how I’m going to get to 50,000, but when I do NaNo it happens anyway. When I don’t do NaNo it just doesn’t happen. 

That was more than two thoughts and it's certainly not early morning anymore... oh well. Off to enjoy the sunshine!

Beach trip!

So I'm meant to be getting out at least 500 words before I join my friends for a day at the beach. Yet I'm here - this counts, right?!

Despite my best intentions I didn't get round to blogging this weekend. It has turned into beautiful weather, and this weekend was hectic. I suppose it's getting to that point in the term, when everyone has finished exams and wants to have fun. Yay! And as the weather gets nicer I feel worse for staying inside with my laptop and instead try to take myself off outside. Although as Camp NaNo approaches, I'm not sure how pratical this is going to be.... I'm sure I'll work it out. I'm hoping to get into a routine, where I get lots of writing done in the morning, so I can go off and do other stuff without feeling guilty for being there, because that happens so much, and it's not always fun. Guilt. It's not fun. Even though I know I don't have to do it, I want to and I need to and... well, I'm trying to work it out myself.

Anyway, I don't want to start rambling now about my guilt and my lack of blogging, becasue otherwise I'll always be apologising.

I'm going to go do some writing, and then enjoy the beach!!

So excited that it seems that summer is finally here.

I got myself another huge stack of books out yesterday from the library, including loads I've been meaning to read for ages, which is very exciting. Summer!

Drawing and Writing

Although I'm not very good at it, I like drawing. I started a few summers ago, just teaching myself and enjoyed drawing cartoony versions of, for example, the tenth doctor, Jack and Ianto (basically whateevr I was really into at the time). I got very praticed at drawing people in suits and ties... haha.

Anyway, I kept it up for a while, but then things got busy and I stopped. You know how things can work in phases sometimes? Over the last year or so anyway I've been busy, and making time for writing has sometimes been hard enough! I think also I associate it with the summer, so it becomes something I do whent he weather begins to get nicer... anyway. I know I'm not great and it's just a little hobby, but I've recently begun again. I can only draw for one thing people facing front, standing up, in a very cartoony way, but I enjoy it. It's fun. To get myself out of the rut of drawing the tenth doctor over and over (not that i mind.. really), I decided to set myself a little challenge. I decided to draw a Starkid a day. There's quite a lot of them so it could go on a while, which is good, and I've started by drawing each one in a few of their different character appearances each day. It's good fun, and allows me to draw the same person over and over, but in slightly different guises. It's good pratice too. So far so good - I've done that three days running. We'll see how it goes!

In other news, I've decided to do Camp NaNoWriMo, the June one, at least to begin with. I love NaNo as it just gets me writing so I'm looking forward to doing this. I decided to take an idea I had a while ago, vaguely started and then abandoned. I'm reworking the idea a bit and I'm looking forwad to seeing what happens there. It should be fun! It'll be good to get into some sort of writing routine before the summer, which will hopefully stick. Although I've got lots of projects I'm vaguely rewriting and editing at the moment, I do feel a bit lost, and so it will be good to just have something to get on with. I alwyas like that. It means I know what I'm going to be writing every day, and I like that. Bring it on!

I've also got a stack of books from the library I'm looking forward to reading. Yay!

Waiting to hear if I got on the masters course next year as well *fingers crossed*

It's weird, but although I'm trying to do lots of writing, and I'm doing drawing and lots od readfing, my stock reply, when people ask me what I'm doing now I've finished, is 'ah, not much really. but of reading and stuff'. Why can't I be more honest?! I'm not ashamed but I act like I am... I just don't want to explain it all I guess. Oh well. Dual lives and all that.

Happy Weekend!

I just wrote a short something that has nothing to do with any of my WIPs. This is strangely freeing and I love it <3 Sometimes you just need to do some free writing. It's been a while since I did really. AT least something that flowed so much anyway.

In other news, the sun is shining and this makes me happy <3

Tom  and Gi got married today and I'm so fangirly happy and emotional.

Starkid have started their Apocolytour.

And I'm going to a cocktail party today. Happy days. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

deadlines and freedom.

It's strange not having any academic deadlines coming up. I don't think I've adjusted yet to having no academic work to do, and having all this 'free' time ahead of me is very strange. It's always the way that when you have loads of other stuff you have to be doing, you dream of a time when you can have the free time to do what you want - in my case read loads of books, write, and drink lots of coffee. And I have been doing that. But once you're able to, the feeling is never quite the same.

Anyway, so that is what I've been doing. Lots of writing and reading, and catching up with freidns, and drinking coffee. And a wonderful new cafe from home opened down here this week, which made me very excited! While I don't have any academic deadlines coming up, as I mentioned, I still feel like I have loads to do. In a way I do, partly becasue I impose so many deadlines on myself and things to do - like, I must write this, or do that.... and I guess that's why I feel like I haven't really stopped yet. I have so many different things I want to do doing though, that I can't really settle to one... which is kinda annoying. So many projects I want to finish, ones I want to carry on, or start, and editing... eurgh. So I find myself darting from one to the other, not being quite happy with what I've doing. It's always going to be the way isn't it? And now I have all this time, I seem to waste so much doing.... I don't really know. I've got stuff done this morning - I made some research notes on something for one of my stories (very exciting, I don't often have something I need to research so much!) and so I'm feeling productive. This is one reason why I'm considering doing camp nano, nano always gets me writing loads without worrying, but then I have loads I should finish first.... hmmm. tricky. 

I suppose I just have to get into a new routine which I will, because without writing where would I be? I need it. And I got a huge stack of books out the library and its like, I can read these without feeling guilty. Oh yes!  Like I said, I'm still getting used to all this time ahead of me, and wondering how to make the most of it....

Right now, I'm waiting for the rain to stop a little so I can go out and get coffee as I've run out, and if I don't have any in the morning I won't be happy! Also a chance to go outside and clear my head is always welcome. Best thinking and idea time! And I'm rewatching lots of Starkid videos, which is great becasue I know the musicals so well, I can have them in the background and still be productive, because they tend to inspire me. Yay, go Starkid. Although the end of AVPS did make me really emotional. Oh well....

And tomorrow I'm off to see some friends in Bristol. Yay! It will be nice to go and do something a bit different as I always appreciate coming back so much! Anyway, just a quick hi for now.

Just by writing this blog has inspired me to go do creative things and be happy and write. Yay. Sorry for this ramble!

p.s. its a week since I handed everything in.... and it still hasn't sunk in?!

It's all over!

I've handed my dissertation and my last essay in. And that's it. It's all over. Done. I don't think that it's quite sunk in yet and that I don't have anything else left to do regarding my undergraduate degree. I hadn't really thought about the after (when do I ever?) and so now a long period of time stretches out in front of me. What next?

I have just applied for a masters course in creative writing, here in Exeter, which hopefully I'll get onto, so that's something for the next two years (I'm going to do it part time I think, and then I can work as well. I feel that that would be a good thing to do....) and I'm excited about moving onto this next step, and being able to stay here in Exeter. Yay!

I'm looking forward to being able to focus on some proper writing in the next few weeks, and months, and be able to sort out everything that I've abandoned since focusing on my dissertation and stuff. Lots of editing to do! I suppose in many ways, I don't feel finished, or like I have nothing left to do, because all those things that I want to do, like ediitng and writing and all of that, have now just moved to the front of the queue, if you get what I mean and so in that respect I still have lots of stuff to do. Which I like. It's kind of scary to have finished this stage in my life... it's a very weird feeling. I'm kinda glad that I'm hopefully staying on.

Lots of the Glee kids are about to graduate high school (in the TV show) and although I got annoyed with how ridiculous it got, and only kept watching because of Blaine/Darren Criss, it's weird how the last few episodes have really made me think about the fact that I'm going to be graduating soon.. it's strange how it ties in and kind of corresponds to me... as many of them are uncertain about their futures or not sure what they want to do, I feel in kind of the same place, although not at the same time. It's made me quite emotional recently actually... oh dear.

On an unrelated note, but sort of related because this happened after I handed all my work in yesterday, I saw the Queen! And Philip! She came to open a new university building. It was very very exciting, and she even waved at us. Very exciting to actually see her in real life! It was wonderful. And it turned out to be such a warm day which was lovely, and I spent it with a lovely group of friends, which was all very unplanned, but worked out so well. Yay!!

Finally - I've reached the end of this academic year |(sort of ) and kept a blog the whole time - yay! Go me!