My first Public Reading! Part 3

The following pictures show the reaction of the audience after our readings.

     Reactions to my reading was immediate and astounding. One of my fellow seniors, who also was in workshop with me once, told me how proud she was of how far I had taken the story since she first work-shopped it. The associate dean of our program, also one of the faculty, whispered to me that I had everyone eating out of the palm of my hand!

Photo courtesy of classmate/friend Shelia

Photo courtesy of classmate/friend Shelia

That same evening, while on an outing with some of the class, our program's acting-director patted me on the shoulder and expressed how I wowed the entire auditorium, including her. I felt humbled and thrilled.

The next three days, I received thumbs-ups and earlier-termers who approached me to say how excited they were about my story. I had at least three schoolmates (one first-termer and two long-time schoolmates) tell me I had opened their eyes to my genre. Our program's former director-now-faculty-member high-fived me when we met in an elevator!

It was an exhilarating experience and one this introvert does not take lightly.

Photo courtesy of classmate/friend Shelia 

My first Public Reading! Part 2

Photo courtesy of classmate/friend Tina

16 of us would be completing and going through commencement this term. The first eight went on June 20. The second group of eight (my team) would go on June 21. I was third in line and before we started, my fourth-term mentor (my professor during my thesis term) approached me and asked what I would be reading. I told her a scene from my second chapter. She wished me luck and went to her seat.

Photo courtesy of classmate/friend Tina

When it was my turn, I made sure my bookmarks were in place of where I would start and end. I had written my introduction and binder-clipped it to the front. I had practiced my ten minutes down to eight. This would give me enough time to ad-lib my thanks to my classmates and to the three mentors that were my instructors during my time in the program.

The lights were in my eyes but I decided to focus on my sheets of paper. At one point, the microphone went out -others told me they hadn't noticed and that my voice still carried to the back- and so I continued to read, making sure that my eye contact was for everyone. I had read the piece enough to smile and/or react as my characters would. I didn't mimic my two protagonists' accents or dialects but I retained their tonal inflections. 

When I ended with a 'thank you', the auditorium reacted in a way I didn't expect. There were woots, whistles and call-outs! When I returned to my seat, my fellow cohorts told me what a great job I did as well as fist-bumps and handshakes.
[Part Three in next post...]

My first Public Reading! Part 1

      As part of the requirement to complete my MFA, graduating cohorts have to do a public reading of their thesis. The program had changed the timing. With only 10 minutes, weeks before I traveled to Tampa for this last writing residency and my commencement, I practiced several pieces before deciding on one scene.

I worked out that I would dress up for this. I am a budding cosplayer (costume player at a scifi/fantasy/horror/comic/anime convention) and because this residency would be my last, I decided I would dress as the time period of my historical fiction, the early 1930s.

We were split into two teams of eight. I would be in the second team and the third in line. On Day 4 of the residency, June 21st, I did my first public reading.

Photo courtesy of friend/classmate Tina

Photo courtesy of classmate/friend Shelia

My costume consisted of clothing I already had in my closet. I wore a matching vest and slacks my mother had sewn for me several years before. I wore a pair of J.G. Hook shoes I had purchased many years ago. My dress shirt one of a set I bought from Steve and Barry's about six-seven years ago. Also, in honor of Father's Day, I wore one of my father's messenger caps, pin-striped as my outfit.

[Part Two in next post...]

This is it...

Here it is! 12 days until my and my cohorts' commencement. It is both stirring and thrilling as well as frightening.

I can finally read the books I've wanted to read. I can now take in the books that I could only skim through, and finally, there are projects, both visual and prose arts I must begin to tackle on a goal-oriented basis.
Also, the real-world interferes: I must begin to look over my CV (Curriculum vitae) and update it accordingly. I'm also making calls and job-hunting but not because I am jobless but to break through to a better career.

As one life ends, we have to take into account that we turn that page over to begin a new chapter. To continue our story as I try to finish my novel this year.

I point to each of you to work on your personal goals. To adjust your settings according to your life's journey. I told one of my students last week: do not try to catch up with others but only to catch up with yourself.
I encourage my readers and visitors to this blog to do the same. It is YOUR journey. Do as you see fit. Set goals and keep them. Look to your destination.

Thank you and wish me good luck!

Ahead of the Game

Ok. Working on this thesis. But had to get a four-book annotation out of the way. Just used my work lunchtime to continue to add, omit and edit my dummy 'curriculum' I'm suppose to teach as a graduating student in the summer term. Can't wait!

Still in Thesis *Crisis* Mode

I'm not making excuses, but last night's packet had already been ready for weeks. Everything was in order until I changed my annotation plans. Absolutely ridiculous. I had two chapters already ready and my annotations set up. Then I changed my theme. *Gag*
My thesis chapters are already lined up (for creative portion) and the next packets will be annotated by three books each. That is all.

Time Is Of the Essence

Graduation is fast approaching. My graduation.
Goals are being made.
I am outlining and taking this novel to the next level and pushing to try new things with writing.

Now it's November and getting down to the wire! So many things due: annotations, creative portions, 25-page essay, and the feedback and research that one accumulates in a semester...

I have so many questions for myself and what I might try to do.

Evernote(r) is an app that can cross platforms for simple note-taking, rigorous note-taking, research-gathering, posting images, recording and clipping web articles. It is such a handy app that I had to download it to both net book and desktop.

Unless you have used it, you have no idea how helpful it's been since a student at my campus told me about it!

I can't count when I was pressed for time (what with the job and looking into extra-income opportunities) and how, with only my cellphone, I hurriedly typed out an entry, bookmarked and clipped a webpage for research, or recorded a reminder (Ok. I only did that once, but it doesn't mean I won't continue it into a habit).

Had to turn in some more deadline PDFs... Ay, and I'm still working on the novel. While taking time to catch up on personal reading, I try to remind myself to always have time for other creative projects.

Here's to hoping to catch up and keep up! *Whew*!

Another character...

Ok, so here's the BIG secret, although, if you're following me on social media, you may have already guessed it: I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL! Why is this important? Well, it's in Creative Writing, and since I get to submit drafts, read tons of stories, and rewrite projects I'm currently working on, this degree program is right up my alley!

Now, on with the show...

My male protagonist's father.
Like all else with this story, I am trying to multi-fold each character with a history, and not just for background sake, but with the intent that we are all woven into a fabric, and that each life is part of a tapestry.

"Antonio Di Castellan" by Carmen K. Welsh (c)

Take, for instance, Antonio's story - a native Italian, born ethnically a Gypsy, who later takes his inheritance to travel to the New World. His story is like millions, and this immigrant experience continues, wonderfully, to this day.

The history books gloss over things once a person steps off the boat, the ship, or the plane. Yet, luckily for writers, the story does not end there.

Here, I had creased the paper, to find it quickly in the sketchbook, and looking at the sketch, I now realize it almost resembles an Ellis Island photograph, so I'll keep the crease there.
This is a sketch that I will hopefully revise soon. I also studied Ellis Island pictures so that I could get the sense of what a man, recently from Italy, in the 1890s - 1900s, would wear.

I also added the earring because many Romany men do wear jewelry proudly.