writing

Author Comes Up For Air From Law School To Say Hello

~ CJ René ~ Leave a comment

Well, shit.

I had such plans for the month of January, and here we are in February and, let’s just say, I was moderately distracted by starting my last semester of law school. (The light at the end of the tunnel is the blinding, searing sun known as “The Bar”, but shhhh, let’s ignore that for now.)

The last semester of law school is one of checking things off and completing obligations and a general sort of sloughing off of responsibilities. For instance, I am almost done with my journal duties (cross your fingers for me that the author currently editing her article is making minor, stylistic changes only that will be easy for me to implement). I am in classes that I enjoy, which makes the reading so much easier, especially my Law & Lit class where I get to read fiction for law school (double win!). My time belongs more and more to me as the weeks go by.

But for January these final tasks and obligations have been sucking up all of my time that isn’t spent eating or sleeping. So… the blogging and Tweeting has been less than I would like (apologies). It was going to be great. I had great plans for reviews of Billy Budd and Beloved. I wanted to discuss editing and such, since that is what I need to do on by book.

All of this time suckage has functioned to keep me from working on the book. Also, that part of my brain that is somewhat terrified of editing it is totally colluding with law school, because it thinks it is going to destroy it once I really get started. I feel a little like a person that has never held a baby being handed one for the first time and the running mental commentary is OMG I’M GOING TO DROP IT! WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA, GIVING THIS TO ME! So, I’ve been working on that mental block (tips from my readers on how you’ve handled this issue are always appreciated; drop them in the comments).

But there are things I can do starting now. My passion planner arrived, so I’m going to use this to organize myself. I am going to attempt not hitting snooze and giving myself back that hour of writing everyday before school. And I’m going to accept that this editing process is going to be slow. Slower probably than I would like. And if I don’t make my goal to get a draft to my beta readers before I dive into studying for finals and The Bar, then that is just going to be what happens.

I am bad at being balanced with my time, but I am working at it. Okay, February, let’s get started.

10 Ways This Year Rocked

~ CJ René ~ Leave a comment

As I said on Twitter, it’s apparently the list blog post time of year, so here is my contribution. I’ve been wanting to do an end of year post anyway, so let’s kill two birds with one stone. No, wait. I kind of hate that saying. What’s better? Let’s mash these foods together? No. Let’s match this outfit. Yeah, I don’t have anything better, but if you do, pop it in the comments! Onto the actual blog post! Full of excitement!

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The Element of Surprise

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Stories need to earn their surprises. There is very little I find more frustrating than a story that throws you a (usually concluding) plot point or major piece of information that comes right out of left field. Left field is bad, folks. But in thinking about the difference between something coming out of left field and a solid surprise, I’m at pains to say exactly what it is. So, I figured, I might as well blog about it and see if someone smarter at this stuff than I am wants to chime in. Follow me through the element of surprise!

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Writing Trauma

~ CJ René ~ Leave a comment
Lap cats are part of my self care.
Lap cats are part of my self care.

Content warning for this post: sexual violence (I discuss writing about it but do not describe any incident)

I dove into writing a section of my book last week involving sexual violence. It is a subject central to the world in which this story takes place and central to the story itself. And good chuck, I was in a bad mood this week. It took me a few days of blaming this month’s mix of PMS hormones before I realized that, no, this mood is not that one. This mood, this irritability, is the story giving me an emotional hangover, working itself out, demanding attention and retreating from it. This mood is the undercurrent of rage and helplessness and empathy that always attaches to me when I am met with these stories, real or fictionalized. It just so happens that this week in Evidence class is also the section on the rules of evidence in sexual assault cases. Rape shield laws, their exceptions, and the policies underlying both. All while holding this character’s hand through her story. WHAM! Right in the feels. What do I do about this? Continue reading →

Announcement!

~ CJ René ~ 1 Comment
Two enthusiastic thumbs way up!
Two enthusiastic thumbs way up!

Crooked/Shift has accepted my short story An Ineffective Devil for their next issue (tentatively due out October 24th, just in time for Halloween)! Take a moment and check out their site, and I will be sure to remind you when the issue is released.

Thank you all for joining me on this little journey of mine. May it get even more exciting!

Adventures in Time Management

~ CJ René ~ Leave a comment
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In my own little corner, in my own little chair.

After a week of experimenting with the write-before-the-rest-of-my-life-starts-for-the-day, I am happy to report it’s working! I was struggling to get 500 words written a week. Like struggling. Like knowing my computer was judging me as I clicked the next episode of Buffy. End of the day is just so exhausting and needs so much more effort to do one more thing before letting myself relax. Even though, when I have all the time in the world, I much prefer writing in the afternoons and evenings. But! Back to the point, I wrote nearly 2500 words last week!
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The Life of Experiment

~ CJ René ~ 1 Comment

As I wrote earlier this week, I’ve been stressed about making time to write with everything on my to-do list and the daily appointments that cannot be skipped. Well, let’s rephrase. I’ve been stressing myself out about this, unnecessarily. Life still happens, I still have time to write, I just have to make sure it doesn’t turn into a chore (because what would be the point of that?!). Luckily, I have these great friends that remind me that if something isn’t working, I can simply try something else.

Right, I say to myself, my decisions are not etched in stone for eternity. Perfect choices are not perfect all the time. Calm down and experiment.

With some of this jealously guarded time, I’m on the lookout for advice from people who’ve been through this (why reinvent the wheel?). @elissshuman discussed his daily routine of hitting a coffee shop in the morning before work for 1 single hour to write. Reading that, I thought to myself, 😀 Self! There is a coffee shop a mere block away! It opens at 7! You would need to leave for school shortly after 8! Let’s try it! (I make sure to use plenty of exclamations points and emoticons when talking to myself.)

So, that’s the experiment for this week. I am not a morning person at all, but I like to work in the mornings. Basically, I hate everyone until sufficiently caffeinated and working intensely keeps the rest of world from bothering me until I can behave like human being.

The challenge I am expecting/experiencing is the snooze button and actually making it out of bed. I mean, when you don’t actually have to get up until 7ish, waking up at 6/6:30 is going to be tough.

But, instead of being defeatist about it, like I am with getting up early to exercise, I am going to embrace the challenge and the test of morning writing sessions. Wish me luck, dear readers, but not before I’ve had my coffee.

The Unbearable Schedule

~ CJ René ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been struggling, dear readers. I have lots on my plate at the moment: last year of law school turning out busier than planned, trying to have something of a social life, putting in the time for the relationships that matter, Tumblr addiction to feed, stories to read, shows to watch, travel to plan. An incredibly privileged life, I know. But the writing is essential for me. Both for my own personal goals and for my self-care. Without creativity, all of those things I have to do, their colors bleed out and they become grey or, worse, beige.

Mornings are a fight with the alarm clock, especially when the sunrise isn’t there to back it up. And evenings somehow leak minutes until even though I scheduled myself to be writing, I find myself suddenly at bed time without having written a word. I think I don’t need a new plan; I think I need a new way to look at my time, to look at how writing fits into my world.

How do you do it? Is it a matter of sacrifice to the time gods (or lords)? Small pieces of time? Setting aside large chunks? What kind of advice would you give your past self when they were trying to figure out their own schedule?

Unraveled

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The scribe took possession of his grandmother’s knitting. Needles, yarn, and projects in progress. All impeccably, impossibly ordered in the bag. Brightly colored balls tightly wound and thin off-white in ovals ready to be wound, tags keeping it from chaos.
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Transition: (Final) Day 31 of the Story A Day Challenge

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Today, the final day of the challenge, the prompt is to write a story of transition.

The hood of the car dipped under the weight. They leaned back and let the car hold them as they search for shooting stars. Tomorrow she would leave. Tomorrow was a new life, a new person she got to become. She’d miss the creative writing classes and contests. They were part of her childhood, and it was time to put childish things away. She could still write on her own or something if she wanted to.
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