As I have said in the past, I feel a kinship with Oscar Wilde. This connection probably stems from my love of Victorian literature and what I have learned about him over time. The more I learn, the more I feel drawn to him, as a person and as a writer. In a previous post I mentioned how much I love the movie Julie and Julia, and in the same way Julie feels a connection to Julia Child, I feel connected to Oscar Wilde despite living over a century apart. When I think of him, I picture a large man with a quiet yet large presence that isn’t tied to his foppish ensemble. Along with, that, I picture champagne, fine dinners, a restaurant gilded and gleaming with a haze of cigar and cigarette smoke somewhere posh. He was a presence, a man known as much for his wit and intellect as for his talent. That level of sociability is something I aspire to, but in my introverted, anxiety-ridden bubble, I feel that it is unattainable. Then, I saw this:
Continue reading “Mr. Wilde and the Awkward Authoress”
Category: Personal Life
Why I Love Julie and Julia
There is something that resonates with me when I watch Julie and Julia. I cannot count how many times I have watched this movie. Probably thirty times since it came out.
If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s about Julia Child’s journey from housewife in France to chef while Julie Powell, a blogger, goes through a personal journey to find herself as she spends a year going through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Both Julie and Julia are told that what they are doing is pointless and a waste of time because they will never be like -insert professional-. Luckily, both, especially Julia Child, have this kick-ass attitude. Tell me I can’t do it and watch me do it and succeed. Continue reading “Why I Love Julie and Julia”
Me, My Self, and I
What am I doing today? Well, part of it will be taken up by going to Panera for an early birthday meal for my boyfriend (happy almost 24th birthday to him) and the rest will be devoted to me and my writing.
I am embracing being selfish and self-involved and all of those horrible “self” words people hurl at you when they think you should be doing something else. Continue reading “Me, My Self, and I”
Spring Semester, Sales, and Stories
I have realized that when the semester begins again, I am horrible about updating my blog (I’m going to try to work on that this time). It has been a crazy week but a good one.
This week was the beginning of the spring semester at my university. At the beginning of each semester I am a bundle of nerves complete with tension headaches and the urge to vomit. Last semester began with me coming home my second day there and crying at my kitchen table for feeling like an inadequate fraud after I didn’t know who Kerouac and Carver were. Continue reading “Spring Semester, Sales, and Stories”
Migraines and Deadlines
As the saying goes, “Even the best laid plans go awry.”
Earlier in the week, I decided to set up the Kindle pre-order of The Winter Garden (IMD #2), and of course, I made a schedule for what I need to accomplish each day for the next two weeks. Each day, I planned to edit about 5 chapters while finishing up the ending. Luckily, I built in quite a bit of padding and I figure I will be able to get it done by March 31st (technically the 21st because that is when Amazon needs the final file), but I am sick. Continue reading “Migraines and Deadlines”
My Hypothetical Life
Sometimes I think about what my perfect life would be like. Obviously, it wouldn’t be perfect, nothing ever is, but a life I would enjoy.
In my practical fantasies, I would be an English professor at one of my alma maters, where I would teach literature and creative writing classes. Hopefully I would inspire a student or two the way my favorite professors have inspired me. My writing would be doing well in terms of creative productivity and sales. I would be able to afford a small but comfortable house complete with room for my books and my dogs. Nothing big, probably older to ensure it has some charm. Continue reading “My Hypothetical Life”
Wrap-up and Resolutions
Wow, 2014 has been a crazy year for me. A great year but a whirlwind of insanity at times.
This year, I began graduate school to earn my MFA in creative and professional writing, and now that a full year in the program has passed, I can say that I love it and believe I made the right decision. I don’t think my parents were terribly pleased when I decided to change my course of study in the second half of my junior year from pre-med to English major, but I’m a lot happier reading and analyzing books and writing constantly than I ever was doing dissections and memorizing muscle groups (though biology and science still hold a special place in my heart and in my books). In 2014, I also became a graduate assistant at the university I attend, which means I help out the professors and put together the end of semester newsletter as well as work on the department’s literary magazine. Continue reading “Wrap-up and Resolutions”
Age and the Awkward Authoress
The age of the author is often brought up when discussing young adult novels written by middle-aged authors or older authors writing about younger characters, but young authors tend to fall to the side unless they are exceptionally young. This isn’t going to be a post about young people griping about “the man” or older people. Most of my friends are older than I am, and I enjoy their company immensely. Recently, my age has come up several times when talking about my writing or books.
I’m twenty-three and am currently working toward my masters in creative writing. I went directly from high school to getting my bachelors to getting my masters. Somehow I always feared if I stopped, I would lose momentum or be talked out of working toward my next degree. Apparently, I look young according to other adults. Not sure what that means exactly. Sometimes I wonder if they expect a twenty-three year old to be in a business suit sitting demurely behind a desk or wearing a uniform at McDonalds. I have a chubby face and wear jeans, t-shirts, flannel shirts, and hoodies, which constitutes looking young even though most of the people in my class dress the same way and are often older than I am. Continue reading “Age and the Awkward Authoress”
Getting to Know Each Other (Blog Hop)
This blog hop is designed to show our readers a more personal side. We list seven interesting facts to help cast light onto that tough writer’s persona we all like to project. But I am human and like everyone else I have dreams, hobbies, problems and goals. I see this as a way to share some of them with you, my readers.
The rules are that I share seven facts about myself, and links to at least fifteen blogs that I enjoy reading. I don’t think I follow that many blogs, and the ones I have are tagged by other authors already, so I will simply fill it out and forgo the tagging.
Seven Facts About Me:
1) I am in graduate school studying creative writing, but I began my undergraduate career as a biology major (added English in the beginning of my junior year).
2) If I could, I would be a hermit. Honestly, I would rather stay shut up in my house 98% of the time with my books, tv, and dog than go anywhere. If everything could be delivered to my house, I would never need to leave (apart from class). Continue reading “Getting to Know Each Other (Blog Hop)”
You Are What You Read
What do your reading choices say about you? Since beginning graduate school, I have been turning this question over in my mind as I listened to others in my classes mention who their favorite authors are. Most of them are people I have never heard of or read but are rather famous in the contemporary lit world. Typically, I hold my tongue and don’t mention what I read for fear of being ridiculed or looked down upon. This led to a greater question: why do people read certain books?
Do people (especially those in academia) read for fun or do they read certain books because they feel it is expected of them? As I continue my journey through the MFA in Creative Writing program, I find myself wondering what my professors read, especially when they are writers or poets as well. What we read automatically becomes ingrained in our beings and eventually comes out in our writing. I can attest to the fact that when I read a book I love, I am inspired to write and often I will lean toward that genre or some theme found in that work. If I read a book I had to drag myself through, it typically slows my writing to a crawl. Oddly, while I didn’t love reading Virginia Woolf for the most part, her works had a huge influence in the way I deal with close narration and “head hopping” as others call it. Continue reading “You Are What You Read”
Kara Jorgensen 