Submission: Torch

I forgot to add this submission here. I don't typically submit to places that don't allow simultaneous submissions but I really like Torch and would love for my stuff to appear there. So we shall see!

FADE OUT!

I finished the first draft of my first screenplay today on page 96! It could probably be titled "Fresh Poop" instead of "The Greater Force," but I'm happy to have followed it through to the end and before my MFA program in poetry starts.

This is all a part of my going all out (balls to the walls, if you will) approach to my writing. No more dreaming. Action is what it's about.

Writing Goals

I just did a post on my MFA Goals on The MFA Chronicles. Three happy little goals. :)
*insert lightning strikes, sinister laughter, and doom in general here*

I'm keeping a list in my google docs of major, life-changing, career-creating goals and when I need to apply to them. These are for poetry and tv/screenwriting. View my neuroticism here:

Write the best poems- always
Publish a full length poetry collection- however long it takes
Earn MFA- Spring 2011
Secure fellowship/job for- Summer/Fall 2011

Creative Writing
Apply for Axton Fellowship (University of Louisville) - Fall 2010 for Fall 2011
Apply for Stegner- September 2010 to start August 2011
Apply for Exeter Fellowship- December 2010 for September 2011
Apply for Southern Review Resident Scholar- December 2010 for August 2011
Apply for Gaius Charles Bolin Fellowship- December 2010 for Fall 2011
Apply for Emory Creative Writing Fellowship- by Feb. 2011 to start Fall 2011
Apply for Hodder Fellowship (Princeton)- November 2011 to start February 2012

TV/Screenwriting
Apply for Nickelodeon Fellowship- Jan/Feb 2011 to start Oct 2011
complete TV spec script by Jan/Feb 2011
Apply for Nicholls Fellowship- by May 2011 to start Jan 2012
Apply for Disney Fellowship- July 2011 to start Jan 2012
complete TV spec script by July 2011

I submit indeed.

Welcome to my mind. In real life, I am notoriously unorganized. But for things I am passionate about, I start planning 2 years in advance. A few of those fellowships will probably fall off of the list. I don't think I'd want to move for only 1 year. I took off the pre-medical school plans I was considering. I realized that it was only fear motivating me to do something other than write, so there's no med school in my future.

I wish I was passionate about at least one thing that did not have a less than 1% chance of actually happening.

The MFA Chronicles & Diverse Voices Quarterly

I must be very excited about www.mfachronicles.blogspot.com because I'm actually taking the time now to post on my own blog!

The MFA Chronicles is a collaborative blog by writers (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) who are entering Creative Writing MFA programs in the Fall 2009 (which is basically now!)

I mentioned to someone awhile ago that I feel like all the people I went through MFA application season with on blogs and forums are like my old buddies from the war so it was great to be reunited with them on Twitter and now on The MFA Chronicles.

Also, Diverse Voices Quarterly came out! They combined their first and second issues so there's a lot of material there. My "Ode to a Microphone" is on page 50.

Ooooh, I can talk about my fear of sharing here. I've been really nervous about sharing this poem. Mostly because I've always hated the second stanza! lol And I'm afraid if I share one poem that people will look at it and think that this poem represents all that I am and all that I write. It's stupid. I know this. But I'm about sharing authentic feelings with you right now, alright? :)

So I'm also scared of sharing the piece that is scheduled to be up on Assisi in October. This is terrible! I am the one submitting things for publication, I choose which poems to submit, I know the personal nature of some of my pieces, so who am I to freak out when someone actually decides to publish them?! I'm human. That's who I am and exposure is scary. But that's part of the reason why I write--so that my scary parts can connect with your scary parts.

Man, I'm glad I finally remembered I have a personal blog so I can get this stuff out. Everytime I've had a conversation or gotten any feedback on the DVQ piece I've wanted to say these things. But who wants to be emotionally dumped upon when all they wanted to say was, "nice poem"?

*dump complete*

Carrying on...