Spring Break: Minus the Spring and the Break

As many of you know, the University of Maryland is on Spring Break right now. This means that all the little undergrads get to journey home to their parents' house or go on wild and drunken adventures in Cancun. So what about us grad students you ask? Well we're still slaving away at our classwork, research, and jobs. There really is no such thing as a break for us.

In fact, my "break" is going to have even more work involved in it. In addition to my full time job, the lab work I have for my Spatial Database class, and the normal everyday "work", I have decided to really attack Summer's Hollow. Too long has it been sitting on my computer staring back at me with those beedy eyes, taunting me with its unfinished prose. Well it shall do that no longer! Starting today I am attacking it with everything I've got. I am determined by the end of this week have almost all of the edits done.

But you know what I've realized? Writing is hard. This blog is easier to write since it's practically stream of consciousness on what I observe around me (anthropological or otherwise). It doesn't have the level of effort into it as say writing a short story. Obviously it requires some level of effort, especially when it comes to doing research on topics that I talk about, and I assume that since you guys all keep coming back that I am a decent writer when writing these types of posts. Writing a novel on the other hand: one of the hardest things I've ever done.

Short stories are my passion, they are what got me started with my writing and they are what I have always loved to write. This novel, don't get me wrong, I truly love, but it requires just that much more attention. Let's face it, we are coming up on year 8 of working on Summer's Hollow and it has never been more difficult. Despite all of this I am not a quitter. I may have stowed it away for a while due to other things going on in my life or (though I'm a bit ashamed to admit it) fear that it won't work out but now I am more determined than ever.

It is my goal to have Summer's Hollow completed by the end of May. I'm talking done and off to the printing presses (and yes this novel will be my first work in print!!!). So with that I am off to get some work done (all three types of work).

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