A New Page, Missing The Old Page

It's been 33 hours since I said goodbye to my creative writing class.

This semester has brought so many good things. I can't even begin to tell you how far I've come. Writing was always bittersweet for me - I'm a creature of immediate gratification. Anyone who has attempted to write anything of importance knows that it's a tedious and meticulous process of trial, error, and retrial. I was the kind of writer that could brainstorm characters and plots for days on end, but when it came to the actual writing, well... to be frank, it just took too long. It's not necessarily that I'd get bored with my stories. No, it was a bit more selfish than that. The fact that my book wasn't completed and published within a week really put a damper in my motivation to work. I feel like there might be some people out there who relate.

But this semester has brought the writing process out into a whole new light. I see it now as a therapeutic escape from the real world. I realize now that I've been writing about the wrong things. I don't want to write cheesy love stories anymore. I want to write about much bigger things... the rise and fall of hubris, the fine line between good and evil, why someone might blindly obey against their own morality - all of these things are why I write. I've decided that exploring my own curiosities in my writing is a great way to KEEP writing. I figure myself out in the process and learn things I wouldn't have known previously. In a way, it's a little scary, because sometimes I find myself writing things I didn't expect, but I suppose that's just part of the process now.

I've found that writing shorter stories (despite my larger-than-life ideas) has been a happy medium as of late. I think the gratification that comes from having a finished piece of work that actually WORK is a lot better than having thirty unfinished first-ten-pages. I think as time goes on, I'll be able to hold out longer and longer, and I might work my way up to novel length. I also think that posting my stories in installments is another good way to combat my lack of selfish motivation - being able to share what I've written with others and receive feedback for every chapter is definitely a confidence booster. Not only that, it makes every chapter feel like it's own finished work.

I'm sincerely going to miss my creative writing class. The discussions and experiments were such an amazing step for me as a writer, that I couldn't imagine going on without it. Alas, I must, but if I could do it all over again, I would. 

Wade Bradford, your class was a safe space. I have never felt more comfortable in my own creative skin. Even when I was criticized, it was never hurtful, or embarrassing. Being surrounded by fellow authors-in-training helped to combat my anxieties, and having a professor that actually CARED was... refreshing. Thank you once again for everything.

And thank you to my lovely witches in House Glowdark. You were the best house I could have ever been last-minute-ly thrust into. Your input was what made my work this year absolutely sky-rocket in quality, and I appreciate every single last one of your critiques and compliments. Kayden, Marissa, Alondra, Shaundee, and Holly, you'll forever be my writers-best-friends, so I hope you don't mind if I send you some drafts from time to time. ;)

And last but not least, thank you to everyone I had the pleasure of meeting this semester. Thank you all for creating an amazing creativity-friendly environment. It was an honor working with all of you, and I hope I'll be seeing most of  you around. Also, feel free to hit me up and send me anything you want a second opinion on. I'm always down to help a fellow writer out. <3

Forever a Glowdarkian,

-A Friend