Procrastinating with writer's block
I'm taking a creative writing course for the summer semester and I'm kind of struggling. I'm not really good at making something up on command and on a deadline, which is why I never get far during NaNoWriMo. My assignment is due at 11:59 pm tonight and I am totally stuck. The assignment is:
1) Choose an abstract idea (love, hate, work, peace, etc.) or an emotion (happiness, sadness, confusion, etc.), then choose a series of words to associate with them (color, sound, smell, food, person, etc.), then write a prosodic description. DONE
1a) Post responses to at least two other posts. DONE
2) Choose two short stories from a list of ten to read and analyze. DONE
2a) Post responses to at least two other posts. DONE
3) Choose one character from each of the two short stories and write a dialogue between them. DONE
3a) Post responses to at least two other posts. DONE
4) Write and post a rough draft of an original short story that is 6-15 double-spaced pages. (We can post as many rough drafts as we want.) DONE
4a) Read and evaluate everyone else's rough drafts. If they post more than one rough draft, we have to read and evaluate each rough draft. DONE
4b) Based on your peers' comments, write a final draft and e-mail to the instructor. DONE
I've done 1, 1a, and 4. I'm working on 3/3a right now and I keep hitting a brick wall. Forget 4a and 4b. Some of these people have posted three or four rough drafts of their stories. I posted my story last night, but so far, I've gotten zero comments and four views (out of 20 people in the class).
Some people have clearly ignored the bit where the instructor said to consider your peers' academic and real life schedules. I don't have time to write three or four rough drafts of my own story, much less read and review three or four rough drafts of everyone else's.
It feels like an extra slap in the face that someone would have time to not only write four rough drafts but jump ahead to the next assignment, but doesn't have time to read or post any reviews to my story. Which I interpret to mean either "Your story isn't worth the time it would take to read" or "I read it and it sucked so much that I don't have anything nice to say about it so I'll say nothing".
I've been working on this on and off for three weeks between work and writer's block. I worked on this assignment all day Friday, Saturday, and now today, but I don't know if I can push my way through in time to get everything finished and posted before midnight.
I made it. I made all of my posts and I submitted the final draft of my story at 11:57 pm. And I finally got a couple of reviews, both positive. I feel a little better.
1) Choose an abstract idea (love, hate, work, peace, etc.) or an emotion (happiness, sadness, confusion, etc.), then choose a series of words to associate with them (color, sound, smell, food, person, etc.), then write a prosodic description. DONE
1a) Post responses to at least two other posts. DONE
2) Choose two short stories from a list of ten to read and analyze. DONE
2a) Post responses to at least two other posts. DONE
3) Choose one character from each of the two short stories and write a dialogue between them. DONE
3a) Post responses to at least two other posts. DONE
4) Write and post a rough draft of an original short story that is 6-15 double-spaced pages. (We can post as many rough drafts as we want.) DONE
4a) Read and evaluate everyone else's rough drafts. If they post more than one rough draft, we have to read and evaluate each rough draft. DONE
4b) Based on your peers' comments, write a final draft and e-mail to the instructor. DONE
I've done 1, 1a, and 4. I'm working on 3/3a right now and I keep hitting a brick wall. Forget 4a and 4b. Some of these people have posted three or four rough drafts of their stories. I posted my story last night, but so far, I've gotten zero comments and four views (out of 20 people in the class).
Some people have clearly ignored the bit where the instructor said to consider your peers' academic and real life schedules. I don't have time to write three or four rough drafts of my own story, much less read and review three or four rough drafts of everyone else's.
It feels like an extra slap in the face that someone would have time to not only write four rough drafts but jump ahead to the next assignment, but doesn't have time to read or post any reviews to my story. Which I interpret to mean either "Your story isn't worth the time it would take to read" or "I read it and it sucked so much that I don't have anything nice to say about it so I'll say nothing".
I've been working on this on and off for three weeks between work and writer's block. I worked on this assignment all day Friday, Saturday, and now today, but I don't know if I can push my way through in time to get everything finished and posted before midnight.
I made it. I made all of my posts and I submitted the final draft of my story at 11:57 pm. And I finally got a couple of reviews, both positive. I feel a little better.