What a Day
Yesterday was not a good day, all because of one assignment. It was a homework assignment, not a project, that took me over 10 hours yesterday.
Yes, that's right, 10 hours of work for one homework assignment.
If it were a project, I could understand that. I usually spend about that much time on projects for class, so I would have been a bit upset because I put it off, but 1) I didn't put it off that much, and 2) it was just homework.
It took so long because no one knew what we were doing and the professor wouldn't explain it to us at all. All he would say is "play around with it". Gee, thanks, I wouldn't have thought to do that without your excellent guidance, nevermind the fact that I already tried a full analysis about a dozen times before hearing that. Ugh.
Consequently, I got no writing done yesterday whatsoever. I am just now on the cusp of the 25,000 word mark and want 50,000 by Halloween. Oh, and did I mention that I'm doing NaNoWriMo?
I swear, sometimes I think I'm crazy. Why sometimes? Because the rest of the time I know it!
Seriously though, details on my newest project in the spoilers filter on dewysunrise . Because I'm lazy and don't feel like signing in I'll post an excerpt from Nameless here.
The one problem with the excerpt is that it's in a different style than most of the work and about a character that doesn't come in until halfway through. It's about the best section I've found as an excerpt, though.
The autumn air was cool on the young girl’s face as she stood in the middle of a field. It was harvest season but the hay here had already been mowed, chopped down and taken off in bundles to feed the hungry animals. She stood in this litter of leftover hay stalks, eyes closed, though not against the breeze. It blew across her face, playing its soft fingers through her raven hair and brushing a single tear from her cheek.
She stood silently in this silent world, the bright light of the moon illuminating her features well. She wore a skin-hugging leather breastplate with two crossed swords emblazoned on it in silver thread. It had been a birthday gift from her father when she came of age. She cherished it as it reminded her so of him, of his strong arms that had taught her to swing a sword and his wise words that had taught her to dodge the sword swings of others. Her legs were bare beneath a simple skirt, her feet clad in simple sandals that allowed her to move freely. The only other things she wore were a metal plate on her right shoulder and the scabbards that held her twin swords.
Still she stood motionless in the night. The only motion was the wind through the trees bordering the fields, the only sound its whisper through the leaves. Her body is not tensed but loose, her swords still sheathed in the scabbards that form a cross on her back. Her eyes are closed, though not in concentration; she looks at peace with herself and with the world, more a part of it now than she was when doing anything else.
And so she waits.
Suddenly her body sprang into motion. Her hands flew to the hilts of her swords and she drew them quickly, gracefully guiding their edges through the air in front of her. She sliced imaginary foes and parried imaginary blows sending her swords dancing in the moonlight. The swords became blurs of reflected moonlight, silvery paths through the air. Still the world was quiet, though, the sound of the blades cutting through the air almost inaudible.
Her body was next to join her mind’s fray, moving with a dancer’s grace around obstacles and threats. Still her swords whistled through the air as she spun and ducked, as she sidestepped lethal blows and delivered silvery death. Her pace quickened as she supplemented her sword strikes with kicks, stunning enemies before beheading them, knocking them back into the deadly arc of her whirling blades so that she could finish them off.
Her body was a blur of motion in the cool air, a portrait of precise movements with a singular purpose of death. Her heart was beating faster now, almost wildly in her chest to pump the blood sent coursing through her veins. A sheen of sweat tried to cool her flushed skin as she danced with the demons in her mind in the still night. Still her eyes were closed, though now they were closed tight in concentration as she tried to keep up with the forms in her mind.
As suddenly as it began the motion ended. Her swords were held out in front of her momentarily, frozen in their final killing blow, before she returned them to their scabbards. Her hands rested on the hilts of her swords as she stood still in the night, the rise and fall of her chest the only motion of her body. Only after a pause did her eyes open, one taking in the night air, the other staring blindly. A drop of sweat trickled down the scar along the right side of her face, stinging the blind eye and causing her to break her stance. Almost tiredly she sighed and walked back to the forest, disappearing as silently as she danced.
If you're interested in the rest let me know, I can email you a copy. The only thing that I ask for in return is feedback, hopefully of a better form than just "I liked it" or "That's about the worst thing I've ever read".
Yes, that's right, 10 hours of work for one homework assignment.
If it were a project, I could understand that. I usually spend about that much time on projects for class, so I would have been a bit upset because I put it off, but 1) I didn't put it off that much, and 2) it was just homework.
It took so long because no one knew what we were doing and the professor wouldn't explain it to us at all. All he would say is "play around with it". Gee, thanks, I wouldn't have thought to do that without your excellent guidance, nevermind the fact that I already tried a full analysis about a dozen times before hearing that. Ugh.
Consequently, I got no writing done yesterday whatsoever. I am just now on the cusp of the 25,000 word mark and want 50,000 by Halloween. Oh, and did I mention that I'm doing NaNoWriMo?
I swear, sometimes I think I'm crazy. Why sometimes? Because the rest of the time I know it!
Seriously though, details on my newest project in the spoilers filter on dewysunrise . Because I'm lazy and don't feel like signing in I'll post an excerpt from Nameless here.
The one problem with the excerpt is that it's in a different style than most of the work and about a character that doesn't come in until halfway through. It's about the best section I've found as an excerpt, though.
The autumn air was cool on the young girl’s face as she stood in the middle of a field. It was harvest season but the hay here had already been mowed, chopped down and taken off in bundles to feed the hungry animals. She stood in this litter of leftover hay stalks, eyes closed, though not against the breeze. It blew across her face, playing its soft fingers through her raven hair and brushing a single tear from her cheek.
She stood silently in this silent world, the bright light of the moon illuminating her features well. She wore a skin-hugging leather breastplate with two crossed swords emblazoned on it in silver thread. It had been a birthday gift from her father when she came of age. She cherished it as it reminded her so of him, of his strong arms that had taught her to swing a sword and his wise words that had taught her to dodge the sword swings of others. Her legs were bare beneath a simple skirt, her feet clad in simple sandals that allowed her to move freely. The only other things she wore were a metal plate on her right shoulder and the scabbards that held her twin swords.
Still she stood motionless in the night. The only motion was the wind through the trees bordering the fields, the only sound its whisper through the leaves. Her body is not tensed but loose, her swords still sheathed in the scabbards that form a cross on her back. Her eyes are closed, though not in concentration; she looks at peace with herself and with the world, more a part of it now than she was when doing anything else.
And so she waits.
Suddenly her body sprang into motion. Her hands flew to the hilts of her swords and she drew them quickly, gracefully guiding their edges through the air in front of her. She sliced imaginary foes and parried imaginary blows sending her swords dancing in the moonlight. The swords became blurs of reflected moonlight, silvery paths through the air. Still the world was quiet, though, the sound of the blades cutting through the air almost inaudible.
Her body was next to join her mind’s fray, moving with a dancer’s grace around obstacles and threats. Still her swords whistled through the air as she spun and ducked, as she sidestepped lethal blows and delivered silvery death. Her pace quickened as she supplemented her sword strikes with kicks, stunning enemies before beheading them, knocking them back into the deadly arc of her whirling blades so that she could finish them off.
Her body was a blur of motion in the cool air, a portrait of precise movements with a singular purpose of death. Her heart was beating faster now, almost wildly in her chest to pump the blood sent coursing through her veins. A sheen of sweat tried to cool her flushed skin as she danced with the demons in her mind in the still night. Still her eyes were closed, though now they were closed tight in concentration as she tried to keep up with the forms in her mind.
As suddenly as it began the motion ended. Her swords were held out in front of her momentarily, frozen in their final killing blow, before she returned them to their scabbards. Her hands rested on the hilts of her swords as she stood still in the night, the rise and fall of her chest the only motion of her body. Only after a pause did her eyes open, one taking in the night air, the other staring blindly. A drop of sweat trickled down the scar along the right side of her face, stinging the blind eye and causing her to break her stance. Almost tiredly she sighed and walked back to the forest, disappearing as silently as she danced.
If you're interested in the rest let me know, I can email you a copy. The only thing that I ask for in return is feedback, hopefully of a better form than just "I liked it" or "That's about the worst thing I've ever read".