Now I have to get caught up on the 30,000 papers that found their way into my grading pile while I put all my attention on the book, but then I can get back to writing. Spring Break is coming up and I plan to write during the day and grade at night. And some day, some distant magical day, I will take an actual break.
So my writing goal for the next week is to iron out all the kinks in my treatment until I know every major beat of the story. Then I can jump in and hopefully have a first draft ready to go by the time Summer vacation gets here, so I can spend the summer rewriting.
That's the plan.
I know exactly what you mean Emily. Pretty much in the same position myself where the pile of essays to grade seems to steadily grow rather than decrease as I slog through them. The notion of ever writing anything ever again sometimes seems an impossible fantasy.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know I'm not alone though - cheers!
Seriously. The kids notice if you don't give them any work to do, but with every assignment they turn in that pile just keeps growing and growing....
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your grades, man.
Emily, just wondering, have you ever gotten an idea for a story based on your real-life job? Something set in a school? Not necessarily action-based.
ReplyDeleteLes, there's been a billion movies about white teachers in ghetto schools. I don't feel like I'd have anything new to add. I've tried to write about it before, but since I write action it all seemed so forced.
ReplyDeleteMay your dekinking be progressing without kinks, Emily.
ReplyDeleteRe white teacher in ghetto school stories, yeah, but has there been one where the teacher takes the students on a field trip to an underground something while, unbeknownst to humanity, an alien race is just about to flash freeze earth in nefarious plans to harvest water?! Yeah, I didn't think so. All about the B story, and a rag tag bunch of kids who are smarter than they realize, thanks to their plucky teacher, or something like that.
Can the teacher be a ninja? From another planet? And she teaches journalism?
ReplyDeleteDid you ever see that French movie The Class? And if so, what did you think of it?
ReplyDelete