Lena Corazon

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Ghouls Galore: Poltergeist

Today marks the first day of Lady Antimony’s #GhoulsGalore flash fiction challenge. We have four weeks, four paranormal beings, and four key words to integrate somewhere into our 250-word drabbles.

Today, we’re tackling the poltergeist, which Wikipedia defines as “paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity” which includes “inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises (such as impaired knocking, pounding or banging) and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the events.”

The key word is boustrophedonic, which “relates to texts written from left to right and right to left in alternate lines.”

This flash fic piece is inspired by Kohl Mansion, where I attended high school. The mansion itself is rumored to be haunted by Freddy, the original owner, and tales have been passed down over the years about strange sightings and visions occurring after dark. Though I never witnessed such phenomena, I’ve always wanted to venture there after hours to see what I might encounter.

An old photograph of Kohl Mansion in California

-oOo-

“The Fourth Floor”

Velzie’s heart slammed against her ribs as she confronted the spindly staircase that would lead her to the mansion’s forbidden fourth floor. She had never before ventured there, too frightened of the rumors and the headmistress’ wrath, should she be discovered, but tonight she had little choice. She couldn’t hold back a whimper as the floorboards creaked beneath her feet.

“We shouldn’t be up here, Faye. I’m frightened.”

Faye whirled at her words, green eyes narrowed to thin slits. “You translated that blasted parchment. All of this your fault!”

“I found it in the library,” she mumbled, cheeks stinging with embarrassment. It had seemed so innocuous at the time, the parchment sticking out between a stack of dusty tomes in the rare book section, a boustrophedonic text just waiting to be translated. “I didn’t know it would call him!”

“Quiet,” Faye hissed. “He knows we’re here.”

Just ahead they could see a chair hovering impossibly in the air. Before either of them could speak, it flew across the hall with astonishing speed, slamming into a wall with a crash.

“Oh dear.” Velzie’s hands trembled, clammy with sweat. “I don’t think he’s very happy.”

“That’s the understatement of the year.”

The temperature had dropped precipitously, and the air crackled and snapped with livid insistence. There was a dull glow in the distance, and unbidden, Velzie moved towards it, arm outstretched. The light called to her, soothed her fears, muted Faye’s screams. When it consumed her, his laughter resounded in her head.

ROW80: The Party’s Here!

October 5, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 22 Comments

I’ve been having so much fun dancing to ABBA, drinking pina coladas and nomming on cupcakes and jalapeno poppers and pizza that I almost forgot to write my mid-week ROW80 check-in post! So here I am, reporting in on the progress I’ve made on my goals so far. Feel free to munch on some cake while you read on.

Oh, and have a mimosa, too. Fresh berries have been added in for garnish. 😀

Mimosas, anyone?

I wanted to thank everyone for all the awesome comments on my first post, though I had to laugh at all the comments about how organized I am! I have to admit, trying to become an organized person has been the quest of my life. I was always the kid who forgot her homework in her desk, or at home, or lost it in her backpack. And I was always the kid who was chronically late to class (though this was more my mom’s fault that mine), who managed to lose pens and pencils and shoes and toys…

So the whole “let’s get organized” quest (can we make that a song and sing it to the beat of “Let’s Get Physical” by Olivia Newton-John?) is a little scary for me, and something I’ve been trying to attempt for a long, long time.

Thus far, my attempt at following a schedule has been fairly successful. My classes are all in the morning, and after a few months of staying up till roughly 3 or 4 am, and not getting up till 11 am, adjusting has proven a bit difficult (but not impossible).

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that when my alarm goes off each morning, I need to launch myself out of bed and not look back. I tried this Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday mornings, and ended up jazzed, energized, and super energetic for the rest of the day. Tuesday I decided to just lay in bed for a couple of hours and blogsurf, and yiiiiikes… I dragged the entire day.

Anyway, here are the concrete accomplishments this week:

Thesis-izing: Progressing a bit slowly here. I got in roughly 30 minutes yesterday, but ended up taking a nap because I was so low on energy. I’ve actually been feeling a little down about my work and its importance, but after seeing Prof. Melissa Harris-Perry speak at my campus last night, I had a sudden resurgence of excitement about my work and the direction it might take for the dissertation. For the record, MHP is an amazing public intellectual, an inspirational black feminist, and a dynamic speaker, and I got her autograph and a picture with her. Seriously, I’m still giddy over this.

Work on WIPs: I’ve been doing a little outlining and brainstorming for NaNo, which is proving interesting. I think the project I’ll be tackling is actually going to end up being written in the 1st person, so I’m trying to get into that mode by reading some of my favorite 1st person novels (Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander and Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart series). I’ve also been trying to write this new story that hit me the other day, but words are proving difficult to come by. I’m hoping that wears off over the next few days.

Social Media: I’m a little behind on visiting everyone’s blogs, but hopefully I’ll catch up by the weekend. I have to say, though, that I have been having way too much connecting with all my ROW80 peeps today. 😀

Exercise: I worked out Sunday and Monday mornings, and I’m hoping to get some time in on my glider tonight, so I’m on schedule to meet my goal of working out 4-5 days this week.

And there we have it! I’m hoping that all my energy and excitement for tackling goals and responsibilities and whatnot continues throughout the end of the week. In the meantime, I offer a few more party pics…

Cupcakes for all!

And we can’t forget the mixed drinks. What’s a party without something cold and tasty in a martini glass?

Finally, I will be rocking my giant 80s hair for all of you as I prance around in my favorite sparkle shoes and froufy dress and dance to the party playlist. Be sure to swing by the other ROW80 partiers and wish them well!

#ROW80: Round 4 Goals

October 3, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 35 Comments

It’s here, it’s here! A Round of Words in 80 Days, Round 4, is here!

ROW 80, of course, is none other than the awesome writing challenge that knows you have a life. It’s flexible, because it allows us to pick our own manageable goals, and there’s no penalty for having to switch goals up midway through.

As many of you know, I participated in Round 3 and had an absolutely amazing time. Publicly posting my goals, as well as progress updates, really gave me the boost I needed to tackle my various WIPs. I’m proud to say that I accomplished a lot, and I wouldn’t have done it without the support and encouragement of the friends that I’ve made.

I want to carry on the discipline that I’ve started to build into Round 4. I have a lot going on in the next few months, and so I’m hoping to use my goals as a way to help me focus on what needs to get done. This time around, I’ve decided to tackle weekly goals, and instead of targeting a specific word count, I’m trying to estimate a certain number of hours that I’ll spend on each goal. I think this will be a bit more flexible, and a little easier for me to complete.

The Goals!

Write, edit, and polish the MA thesis. I have roughly 8-10 hours per week set aside to tackle this project, which is at the top of my priority list for this round.

Write, edit, and develop WIPs. I have another 8-10 hours per week scheduled to deal with my fiction-writing, though I may have adjust the number of hours as we go. For the month of October, my writing time will consist of outlining, plotting, and planning my November NaNo project. I’ll also be editing TELL ME NO LIES, my August CampNaNo story, and toying with an idea for a novella that popped into my head yesterday (not sure how far this third project will go, but there is an outline, and a cast of characters, and an interesting set of problems at stake, so we’ll see). Once November rolls around, I’ll be in full-scale NaNo mode, and my writing time will most likely be consumed with trying to reach my 1667+ words per day.

Tinker with author platform/social media stuff. I’ve made the decision to hold off on declaring a set number of weekly blog posts for the moment, beyond ROW80 check-ins, that is. I’ve just started Kristen Lamb’s “Blogging to Build Your Brand” class (and there are a number of ROW-ers in the mix as well!), which will last through November. The course assignments will help me to further refine my goals and topics for my blog.

Exercise 4-5 times each week. I started making some progress with this goal towards the very end of Round 3, and I’m determined to keep up my momentum during Round 4.

I have a fancy-schmancy schedule that I’ve made myself to help me stay on track, and I’m utilizing Google calendar’s task list so that I remember everything that needs to get done. I’ll also be trying out some techniques to help me stay focused (there are a few that I found here that are really going to come in handy, I think).

I’ve peeked at the linky list to see who’s signed up for this round, and there are almost 100 people listed! I’m super excited to get to know all the new participants, and to catch up with my old friends… and I’m even more excited to party with everyone on Wednesday for our “Rock the ROW” Twitter party! We’ve got loads to celebrate, so I hope that everyone who (1) participated in the last round, (2) jumped in for this round, or (3) just wants to check out our awesomeness swings by. There will be bubbly drinks and dancing for all! 😉

The details:

Theme: “Rock the Row”
However you want to work that in is great. I leave it to your outrageously creative imagination!
Date: October 5th, 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM ET in the U.S.
This also happens to be the first day of check-in so there should be a ton of ROW80 fun happening around the blogosphere.
Party will be held at the #ROW80 hashtag.
Fire up your Tweet Deck or HootSuite and let’s get jiggy with it.
Photo Competition:
You can start now…we won’t tell. Start digging for or taking photos that reflect the theme. We’ll do our best to gather them and decide on the best to spotlight in a post at the ROW80 blog. One the readers vote, the 1st place winner gets a copy of Kait Nolan’s latest book, Red, in e-book format!!
Friendly Blog Competition
We will also post a mash-up of favorite ROCK THE ROW posts at the Row80 blog.

See you all at the #ROW80 hashtag on October 5th, and in the meantime, visit the other participants and check out their goals!

The End of Summer: A Recap

September 29, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 15 Comments

I’ve survived the first week of school, and October is looming before me, cinnamon and pumpkin-scented, filled with the promise of chilly, cozy nights and the inevitable march towards winter.

I really wish leaves on trees changed color where I live. Autumn leaves are so beautiful!

I’ve been a bit remiss when it comes to blogging, responding to comments, and making the rounds through my Google reader, but with my mom in town for a week and a half, and the various challenges related to packing, moving, and doing lots of traveling and sight-seeing, I suppose I was being a little ambitious, thinking I could maintain the approximately three million things I took on over the summer.

Certain things fell by the wayside this month: the awesome Dice Games flash fiction challenge that I had planned on tackling; visiting my fellow #writecampaigners on a regular basis; editing and rewriting TELL ME NO LIES. On the other hand, I’ve had the chance to visit with friends and family, including my mom, my younger sister, and other extended family members.

At any rate, October is almost here, and with school is full swing, I’m reevaluating everything that I have on my plate. I can’t quite give anything up; I refuse to go another semester without writing, and social media and blogging is something that nourishes me in a way that nothing else can. I’ve come to depend on the community and the connections that I’ve made over the past few months, and I don’t plan on walking away from it any time soon.

Instead, what I’ll be doing is retooling the way that I approach my various responsibilities. I’m using Google calendar to create a detailed schedule for myself, setting aside time for writing and social media, time to deal with the mountain of reading I have for class, time to work on my thesis, and time to prep for the sections that I have to teach.

I’m also rethinking how I tackle blogging. While I like the themed days I’ve been trying out over the past few weeks, I think I’m going to have to scale back a bit, at least until l can build up a decent queue of posts. Right now the pace of trying to write and edit daily is way more than I can conceivably handle, so the plan for the moment will consist of ROW80 updates, and one or two extra posts in addition. We’ll see how it goes!

In the meantime, many fun things have happened in the past weeks. To recap:

Blog Awards!

My fellow ROWer, Em, over at Loves to Read, Wants to Write, as well as Miho Li (who I know from the writecampaign), both awarded me the Versatile Blogger. Sorry for taking so long to announce and link back, you two!

I won’t bore everyone with another list of 7 random things, but I will link back to my original post of randomness.

Writing Challenges

The 2nd challenge for the Writers’ Campaign was a doozy, one that asked us to use lots of obscure words that I haven’t seen since my SAT prep days, but overall, it was pretty enjoyable.

My entry is “Imago, Shattered,” and one day if I ever have the time, I am going to expand the scene. There’s much more that happens between Robert and Tessa that I couldn’t pack into 200 words.

I also entered Jenny Hansen’s “Dirty Fighting” contest, where we had to write a 150 snippet using any of the 23 Dirty Fighting Techniques she shared on More Cowbell (I encourage everyone to check out the list. It’s a fantastic resource for building tension in your writing).

My entry, along with 2 others, were chosen for an on-screen edit by none other than the Naked Editor herself, Tiffany Lawson Inman. Tiffany took my little drabble of a tale and kicked it up fifteen notches — so. darn. awesome. Check out the original top 3 entries, as well as Tiffany’s mark-ups — I learned a ton from all of her comments.

Rock the ROW!

Round 4 of A Round of Words in 80 Days begins next Wednesday, October 5th. To celebrate the general awesomeness of everyone who has been involved, will be involved, or has supported those who have participated, we are throwing a full-scale, 24 hour long Twitter party. Here are the details, via Jenny Hansen:

Theme: “Rock the Row”
However you want to work that in is great. I leave it to your outrageously creative imagination!
Date: October 5th, 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM ET in the U.S.
This also happens to be the first day of check-in so there should be a ton of ROW80 fun happening around the blogosphere.
Party will be held at the #ROW80 hashtag.
Fire up your Tweet Deck or HootSuite and let’s get jiggy with it.
Photo Competition:
You can start now…we won’t tell. Start digging for or taking photos that reflect the theme. We’ll do our best to gather them and decide on the best to spotlight in a post at the ROW80 blog. One the readers vote, the 1st place winner gets a copy of Kait Nolan’s latest book, Red, in e-book format!!
Friendly Blog Competition
We will also post a mash-up of favorite ROCK THE ROW posts at the Row80 blog.

For my writing friends who haven’t jumped onto the ROW80 bandwagon, I encourage you to do so. The folks who are apart of this community are some of the most supportive I’ve ever met, and there’s nothing better than having a built-in cheerleading squad, especially as November inches closer. I credit ROW80 with helping me break out of a very long, very painful period of writer’s block, and I can’t wait for Round 4 to start. I’ve got some goals that I’m eager to share. 😀

How’s everyone doing? Are you ready for autumn, or hanging on desperately to summer? (I’m part of that latter category, in case you hadn’t noticed. :p)

Writers’ Platform-Building Challenge #2: “Imago Shattered”

September 25, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 43 Comments

I’m happy to present my entry for the second #writecampaign challenge. This is the prompt:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:

– include the word “imago“ in the title

-include the following 4 random words: “miasma,” “lacuna,” “oscitate,” “synchronicity”

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.

For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!

There’s no mention of a mirror in my entry, though it is exactly 200 words, and meets all the other requirements. As always, I’m curious to know what you all think. If you’re so inclined, vote for my piece here. I’m #87. Be sure to read through all of the other excellent entries as well!

-oOo-

“Imago, Shattered”

The cicada buzzed and writhed, barely-there wings oscillating with fury. Stuck fast to a corkboard, speared by Tessa’s sharp pin, it struggled in vain. She had stabbed it savagely, wishing all the while that it was Robert Elliot.

Though Robert sat mere feet away, a lacuna oscitated between them, mocking the intimacy they once shared. Theirs had been a linking of souls that transcended fortune, and rank. Robert was a penniless tutor, she the daughter of the nobleman who employed him — an unlikely connection, filled with synchronicity. While their love blossomed, such impediments seemed minor annoyances, no harder to penetrate than a miasma of smoke.

She loathed him, yet her heart was bruised and aching, a betrayal of her true feelings. She couldn’t, wouldn’t lose him.

One hand splayed over the slight swell of her stomach, Tessa lurched to her feet, the crashing of specimen jars drawing Robert’s attention at last. Wreathed with sunlight, misery in his eyes, she saw him for what he was: a fragile man, neither villain nor saint.

She charged towards him, bridging that insurmountable distance in a dozen steps. Just before their mouths crashed together, she thought she saw tears glinting on his cheeks.

ROW80: Wrapping Up Round 3

September 22, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 9 Comments

With my mom in town and school starting back today, it’s been a busy few days since our last check-in. Mom and I have been out every day except for Wednesday, I’ve been doing a ton of driving for all of our adventuring, and I had a major case of the freak-outs yesterday, when I saw the syllabus for one of my classes (so many books and articles, I think my eyeballs will roll out of my head by December). I calmed myself down by remembering that this really isn’t anything new, but yikes, it was definitely a scary moment.

But onto fun things! Today marks the end of ROW80’s Round 3, and it is both an exhilarating and bittersweet feeling. Reflecting on Round 3, I’ve come to appreciate all the more the length and nature of this writing challenge. Having 80 days to work towards a set of goals, and being encouraged to be flexible with them if necessary, has been exactly what I’ve needed.

These were my initial goals for Round 3 (I actually had to look them up, because I changed them more than once, and forgot what the original ones were):

Write an average of 500 words/day on any project. This means that I’m doubling my Round 2 word count goal, which makes me slightly nervous, but we’ll see how it goes! I found myself exceeding the original 250 words/day goal consistently, so I don’t think this increase will be too burdensome.

Complete Act 2 of Path to the Peacock Throne, and resist the urge to do too much editing to Act 1.

Move from brainstorming and world-building tell me no lies to working on the first draft.

I ended up exceeding the daily word count quite a bit when I tackled CampNaNo in August. While I didn’t complete Act 2 of PATH TO THE PEACOCK THRONE, I did write over 50k for TELL ME NO LIES, which was a feat in and of itself. I also wrote roughly 13K for STRANGE BEDFELLOWS, although I’ve placed that on the back-burner for the moment.

I had a few other goals for the summer, in particular finishing the 1st draft of my MA thesis. I haven’t finalized the draft, but I did manage to write over 12.5K, retool the theoretical framework, and outline the remainder of the “results” section. I was feeling a little down about not having everything finished and wrapped up. However, I ran into my advisor at the grocery store the other day (oh, the perils of going to school in a small town), who told me to “take my time” finalizing the project. Definitely lifts a little of the pressure off my shoulders, though I do have my own timeline (defending by December?) that I’d like to maintain.

So that’s Round 3! Lots of success, lots of challenges, and lots of surprises. The best part, though, are all of the wonderful people I have met along the way, and who have been an amazing source of support and inspiration. I’m looking forward to ROCKING THE ROW with all of you when Round 4 starts on October 3rd!

In the meantime, I’m off for a visit with my younger sister this weekend, and to have a bit more fun with my mom before she returns back home next Wednesday. After that, it’ll be back to the grind of studying, thesisizing, teaching, and hopefully squeezing in time to work on my WIPs. I haven’t actually written much of anything in the past two or three weeks, and it’s starting to make me feel a little crazy.

I have a few ideas for my Round 4 goals, and I as I’ll be taking Kristen Lamb’s “Blogging to Build Your Brand” class, I’m sure some of these goals will include retooling and refining my blog. I also need to figure out which project I’m going to tackle for November’s NaNoWriMo, but I’ll be chatting more about this once October rolls around.

That’s all for now, ROW80 friends (you can find everyone here). Hope to see you all on October 3rd!

Things I Love Tuesday: Repo! The Genetic Opera

September 20, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 2 Comments

For this week’s edition of Things I Love Tuesday, we’re changing up the vibe a bit and looking at a movie that’s received some very mixed reviews over the years: Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Sarah Brightman as "Blind Mag," via We Are Movie Geeks

I admit, I was really skeptical about this film. It first popped up on my radar around 2007 or 2008, when I heard that Sarah Brightman had been cast as Blind Mag, the aging opera singer. As a side note, I own every album Sarah Brightman has ever recorded, and most of her concert DVDs, so I was really excited when I found out that she was going to be in a movie. Still, I didn’t get around to seeing the movie till last week… but now I am obsessed.

Repo! is billed as a horror rock opera, set in a world where a global plague causing massive organ failure has led to the for synthetic organs. The solution to this scourge comes in the form of GeneCo, the company that manages to corner the market on synthetic organs.

Rotti Largo, the head of GeneCo, is a shrewd and heartless businessman — he forces a bill through Congress that allows him to repossess organs from those who have defaulted on their payments.

Repo! Poster, via cyberpunkreview

This development gives rise to the horrifying specter of the Repo Man, who is charged with repossessing GeneCo’s property. As GraveRobber sings in the opening,

Out from the night from the mist steps a figure.
No one really knows his name for sure.
He stands at six foot six, head and shoulders,
Pray he never comes knocking at your door.
Say that you once bought a heart or new corneas,
But somehow never managed to square away your debts.
He won’t bother to write or to phone you…
He’ll just rip your still-beating heart from your chest!

The trailer offers a more complete overview of the film, though as a warning, there is some Sin City-style violence, blood, and gore involved:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzgpU25C6fg]

Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace

There are many reasons why I love this film. Take, for example, the cast, which includes Paul Sorvino as Rotti Largo (who played Capulet in the 1996 reboot of Romeo and Juliet); Paris Hilton (Rotti’s spoiled, petulant daughter who is addicted to cosmetic surgery and prescription drugs); Alexa Vega (from the Spy Kids franchise) as Shilo, the main character; and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Uther Pendragon from the BBC’s Merlin) as Shilo’s father and the Repo Man.

Tony Head’s role was the most surprising to me, because I somehow missed the musical episode of Buffy and had no idea that he could sing. And wow, he is amazing in this movie. He’s like Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde: a doting, overprotective father one moment, and a bloodthirsty “legal assassin” the next, plagued by guilt and his own personal demons.

Repo! is heavy on dark humor, but it also has an emotional core that I didn’t expect (for the record, the ending made me cry). The film also rocks a futuristic/dystopian aesthetic, mashed up with some Victorian/Goth elements that I love: Blade Runner-style floating neon billboards and women dressed in period gowns with cameo necklaces; eerie three-dimensional portraits alongside dark, creepy Victorian furnishings.

Despite the many, many bad reviews this film received when it came out, I can’t get enough of it. Netflix predicted that I’d give it 4.7/5.0 stars, which is dead on, so maybe that means that I like things that no one else does? At any rate, I can’t stop listening to the soundtrack, and I’ve watched the film so many times via Netflix Instant that I know I’m going to have to just buy the DVD.

Has anyone seen Repo!, and if so, what did you think? Are there any films that you love in spite of poor reviews?

Monday Inspirations: Mini-Mashup of Steampunk Awesome

September 19, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 3 Comments

I’m spending the week prepping for the start of the school year, and having a final end-of-summer hurrah with my mom, so I’m taking a little time off from blogging this week. To keep the steampunk vibe going for the week, however, I’m linking up some fun videos and photos.

First up are some great resources from Suzanne Lazear (who taught the steampunk writing course that I took back in July) for those interested in steampunk world-building and research.

Next, we have some amazing steampunk-themed Star Wars robots from artist Jordan Thomas (check out his work on flickr, and his robots/wine bottle stoppers available for purchase on Etsy).

Steampunk C3PO by Jordan Thomas, via Cool News

Steampunk Stormtrooper by Jordan Thomas, via Cool News

Steampunk R2D2 by Jordan Thomas, via Cool News

Steampunk is also influencing Hollywood films, including the latest reboot of Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, co-starring Matthew Macfayden and Orlando Bloom (check the flash of the awesome airship at 1:00):

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQd3MwT2fAM]

Finally, check out this great preview of Vintage Tomorrows, an upcoming documentary on the world of steampunk. It features authors Cherie Priest and Cory Doctorow, who top every ‘steampunk must-read’ list:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW5trrXS1e8]

ROW80: There’s No Place Like Home

September 18, 2011 / Lena Corazon / 34 Comments

It is a strange feeling, having two homes.

My fourth year of graduate school begins on Thursday, and so I drove back to my apartment today, after spending six weeks at my parents’ house. Initially, I worried about going home to stay with my parents. I wasn’t sure if their presence would chafe, especially after being on my own for the past 3 years. However, the opposite occurred: I have realized that my parents are actually really awesome people, and I love being home with them. Leaving was incredibly difficult, and it was with a heavy heart that I drove back to school this afternoon.

There’s an odd amount of emotional work that has to be done in order to prepare for the transition: saying goodbye to my friends and family in my hometown, letting go of the coziness of my childhood bedroom, and detaching myself from the family cat. There’s also the work of adjusting to a change in roles, from daughter and sister to student and teacher, not to mention the shift in geographic location (northern to southern California; big city to small-ish town; my childhood home to my teeny but cozy studio apartment).

I spent the first couple of hours on the drive down here lamenting the end of my summer and dreading the looming specter of coursework and teaching, but once I reached my apartment, I felt the familiar longings for my school-life: the rhythm of seminars and lectures, the excitement of grad student gatherings and parties, the tranquility of my home, the beauty of the beaches.

There’s a lot for me to ponder as we reach the end of round 3 of ROW80, especially since it also marks the very end of my summer vacation. So much has happened over the past 80 days, and it will be an adventure to see how I will integrate this “writing-self” that has emerged with the “student-self” that I will become once classes begin.

And so here I am, about to begin my 4th year of grad school. This is the year when I need to complete my MA thesis, finish my last few classes, write and defend my PhD dissertation proposal, and advance to candidacy. If all goes well, this will be my last year in Santa Barbara, and I’ll be able to move back in with my parents next August, so I can write my dissertation, rent-free, in San Francisco.

“Focus” will be my middle name in the months to come, especially if I am going to accomplish all of the above, and still tackle the creative writing that I love and adore. I’ve drafted a weekly schedule that allows me time in the evenings for writing and social media stuff, as well as blocks out a couple of hours each afternoon for my research and thesis writing. We’ll see if I can adhere to it, but if I’ve learned anything this summer, it’s that I work best when I’m satisfying my left brain and my right brain. I won’t be giving up on my novel(s) any time soon. 😀

That’s all from me at the moment! I may be a little MIA over the next week or two: my mom is in town with me, and we will be busy sight-seeing, shopping, and hanging out together. However, I’ll do my best to blog-hop about in the days to come, to check in with everyone in our last few days of Round 3.

Lena Corazon

Flights of Fancy

Page 16 of 24

Ghouls Galore: Poltergeist

Writers’ Platform-Building Challenge #2: “Imago Shattered”

ROW80: Wrapping Up Round 3

Things I Love Tuesday: Repo! The Genetic Opera

Monday Inspirations: Mini-Mashup of Steampunk Awesome

ROW80: There’s No Place Like Home

Lena Corazon

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