A Talky Blog on Dystopia, Speech, and Stress

I’m really bad about seeing a project all the way through, especially when it comes to my books. I’ll finish them, sure, but if someone doesn’t get back to me with edits within the two month post-writing period, I’m on to other things. And it becomes a problem as I come up with more and more new book ideas, because eventually I’ll just end up with hundreds of unedited manuscripts that I’ve forgotten about and grown tired with.

I mentioned the other day on Twitter that I’ve got a new dystopian society novel (working title: Catch and Release) in the metaphorical oven, and I’m really excited about it. However, since apparently every class I’m in requires like four essays a month and since speech is becoming more stressful as we prepare for the big tournaments, I decided to hold off a little. Hold off on the actual writing part, I mean.

Things to do before I can start Catch and Release (as transcribed from my moleskine):

1. Comprehensive planning (figure out ending completely)

2. Edit Addicted and Dawned

3. Set aside specific time for writing, the same as exercising

I’m nearly halfway done with the comprehensive planning point. I’ve got all the characters completely fleshed out, I’ve analyzed their relationships to one another, I’ve extended on the situation that makes the society “dystopian”, I’ve mostly figured out how it’s going to end, and I’ve even drawn a rudimentary map of the area the story takes place in, with color coded markings for different important locations. All I have to do now to check that first one off my list is to write my outline. Some people think that takes away from the experience of writing, having an exhaustive outline, but for me, it keeps me on track. I improvise a lot during the writing process, but I always have my outline to fall back on. I like knowing exactly where I’m going.

Other than writing, I’ve got a crap ton of aforementioned schoolwork and speech going on right now. I’ve got an essay rough draft (8 pages, 5 professional sources, 2 print sources) due tomorrow in Expository, then from 7:15am Friday-5:30ishpm Sunday I’m at one of two debate tournaments. Then next Tuesday I have to have read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Wolfe and written a one page guided response, in addition to writing a proposal for my eventual close reading comparison essay for the same class. I have at least four worksheets due in Music Notation, video project proposals due in video activism, monologues memorized for acting, and another essay to write for video activism about The Cove (5 pages). And that’s all due in the next two weeks.

NOT TO MENTION I also have to memorize a new version of my YouTube speech plus the added pressure that it has to be funny, as well as the fact that I have to write my LD cases for the international tournament in Hungary that’s coming up in less than a month.

And during all of this, I also have to make time to work out (which I’ve been doing pretty well thus far), write blogs twice a week, have a radio show once a week, post a personal channel video once a week, AND participate once a week in my collab channel. Oh, and now I want to add editing old novels and writing a new one to the list as well.

The worst part is, all of that is what I would consider “work”. Most of it is fun work, to be sure, but it’s still work. The only things I do for pleasure any more are read, watch Psych with Ellen, and watch YouTube videos in the fifteen minutes I have to eat meals because I haven’t yet figured out how to eat and type efficiently.

WHINE WHINE WHINE. But as you all know, I love being busy. Maybe not this busy, but it’s not as if I made it easy for myself. Every single one of my classes is incredibly hands-on and most of them have big, creative projects as finals. Oh yes, I’m going to be stressed, but I sure am having fun.