The End of an Experience

Silhouette of  the Woodbridge Ferris statue at Ferris State University

On the 29th of March my time as editorial intern ran out. It was an interesting experience, which I will not soon forget, but it opened my eyes to a few things. That while I love writing and copy editing, I really am not the best on working on editorial materials or working in an environment where there is no office. These are my own faults, not the company's. The Musa and Penumbra staff were nothing but supportive, educational, and wonderful coworkers.

Hopefully they find another intern with a little more vigor, and preferably a journalism minor. I know that lack of writing knowledge had my head spinning. An English major knows how to write, to be sure, but we also lack a lot of skill that a journalist might have. We're good at analysis of work, but there is so much more I felt I should have known. Then again an English major may be able to do it, they'd just have to be quicker at learning on their feet than I was. I can think of a few fellow students back at college who might have handled the experience better than I did.

In the end the internship made me realize that while I may want to try this sometime again in the future, for now I need to focus on gaining new skills for another career. A career I feel I would be more stable in. I decided that this summer I will re-enroll at Ferris State University for a degree in Computer Information Systems.

I went to a career counselor about two thirds of the way through my internship realizing I needed a change, and this is the path that we found seemed to suit me. So, for now I'm going to say goodbye to the professional writing world and hello to the tech industry. It was fun, but I can honestly say, I didn't know what I was getting into. I may still try to write a novel, but this time it will be as a happy author with a completed manuscript outside of the industry.

Happy Writings!

What Will The Students of Tomorrow Learn?

I'm going to take a wild guess and say robotics. At least, I think it will happen here in America. My reasoning  is based on an event I recently went to at Gull Lake High School in Richland, Michigan. They were hosting the 2013 FIRST robotics competition in Michigan. I chanced upon the event when I was checking out the local High School flier for the Gull Lake area. FIRST was the cover story and a highlighted upcoming event, and the article promised something akin to the television series Robot Wars I used to love watching as a kid.

Students from all over my state came to the competition with their robots in tow to put the robots they built to the test. These kids spent several months building and testing robots they made, with the help of mentors who are professional engineers and scientists by trade. Each group was excited and living up to FIRST's name which translates to, "For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology." Groups had mascots (who danced to pop music in between competitive rounds,) buttons, posters, and stations where you could talk to them. These kids were enthusiastic and ready to do their best in the ring.

Morgan Freeman had it right, "It's the Super Bowl...of smarts!" While not as violent as I may have anticipated it being from my earlier exposure to Robot Wars in early thousands, these competitions were still quite the spectacle sometimes exciting and sometimes downright funny. I had a blast as a spectator, but as a writer and fantastical thinker I couldn't help but wonder whether these teams of high school kids would become more common place as time went on. It seemed possible to me that, The Flying Toasters from South Lyon, MI (who were by far my favorite team) might actually become a supported sports/ mathlete team of the future. I also wondered if it wouldn't become part of regular curriculum over time.

I would venture they will. I hope that programs like this will continue to flourish throughout the U.S. and take kids towards careers that are not only practical, but that will become the superstars of the future. I'll be curious to see how events like these will be incorporated into the books and stories as well. Until then happy writings, and oh, yeah....

GO TOASTERS!!!!

The Patriotic Zombie and Inspiration from Image Generators

I used ZombieMe.com to make the picture (and GIMP
To even things out a bit.)

Yay, a new blog post for Penumbra! This was the image (I made) that I had hoped would go with the article, but some things just don't work out. The link and an excerpt from the article are below.

The Patriotic Zombie: by Kristen Saunders.

Super Bowl Sunday is about as American as you can get. As I sit watching the commercials and writing this story (a few...

I noticed another grammatical mistake I didn't catch before my post went live. Urgh, nothing quite as frustrating as missing things! I quickly glanced at the bottom of the page and realized that I had written, "A bit (of) mindless entertainment," the "of" plainly missing in this particular sentence.

Hair pulling induced by grammar aside, I really need to think about something new to write about. I don't think Space Opera's are going to be a good subject for me, as the earlier post mentioned. So maybe I should try to find something else to talk about, like art and writing. How one influences the other. I always enjoy creating art as much as writing; I often do them together.

Some art, like the picture above, is done with cool apps online. I also did a pulp science fiction cover for one of my older story ideas, Dreida, today on an app called Pulp-O-Mizer. The generated picture is below.

I have another picture of my hand drawn cover art for this story. It's a little more sentimental, but not nearly as crisp or professional looking. I think these silly online apps can be inspiring and I hope those reading have some fun with them.

Happy Writings and Creation!

When if Ever Will a Space Opera be Feasible?

Toroidal Colony  by Michael Anissimov. A design for a
possible space colony in the future.

The last few weeks have lead to a few developed thoughts in my head. Penumbra asks me to chip into their blog once a month. It's part of my internship and I usually have a blast doing it. The subject of space operas however, has left me feeling rather unproductive. How can I approach the nuances of something that has yet to come into existence? That thought inevitably became, "When can we foresee a space opera (In its modern form) happening?"

Right now the only life forms we know that exist on other planets are microscopic. We haven't seen  other intelligent species, let alone gotten to know one well enough to believe that we could be having diplomatic relations with another planet. If we do find other intelligent life in our universe I would be curious to see how they behave. Will they be peaceful, warlike, or like humans have multiple sides to them?

We don't know what those first encounters will look like or if they will even take place in this universe. I can see science someday taking us to another dimension, another reality. What kind of experiences will that sort of travel bring us? I could speculate, but I would more than likely be horribly wrong.

We are currently moving towards a more industrialized vision of space in America. I find that rather exciting actually (at least as much as I find it terrifying,) because it may bring us towards discovering much more about space exploration.

Star Trek is a long way off from becoming a reality. Space colonies like the one above are not something that will likely happen in my life time.

Life is a funny thing, because if I have to think about what might happen after its over all I can think is, "Well it won't apply to me. Why should I care?" I know in theory I should be excited, should want to push our society towards making those breakthroughs and at the very least encourage the next generation to find an escape planet in case this one should ever fall to ruin to say, a stray meteor over Russia. I should care, but in the end I doubt I'll live to see it and outside of science fiction my interest ends there. I'm more interested in how space companies plan to mine asteroids without having the human error to drop rocks on the earth below.

My guess is that unless they come here I won't see aliens. I won't get to see humans make the first connection with another species, or the first intergalactic council elect the equivalent of a Vulcan as their level headed leader.

Right now I don't see meaningful (widely known) alien encounters as a feasible thing. Until we can go on long trips at the speed of light away from earth I will conclude the only space opera's I'll ever hope to see will be ones in the Senate. Those opera's will be much more tedious, and will involve how much money can be "squandered" on machines that will provide planetary protection from gigantic flying rocks. C-SPAN will broadcast them and I'm certain, as ever, we will all skip over the channel and miss that these long drawn out legislation dramas are ever happening in the first place.

All I can hope is that Space X and NASA manage to make some drastic discoveries during my lifetime which will bring us one step closer to intergalactic story telling on a massive scale.

How Do You Stay Regular?

Fiber is not the answer for this particular question. My thoughts on becoming regular pertain to work productivity for the online, home based, self scheduled worker.

Writing two to three blogs a week is not hard. The idea of sitting down and expressing new thoughts on a daily basis isn't that daunting either. I think the problem I have with writing regularly simply comes down to a lack of discipline. 

I have a calendar that decoratively hangs on the wall in my room/ office. It has Mucha's art on it and I fell in love with it at first sight, glitter and all. I'm certain that if I took a pen or a marker to it and circled days that said "Thou shalt post on these days!" It would get done. However, there is a little part of me that doesn't want to harm the glorious pieces of art on back side of each calendar month. 

I find it peculiar that whenever I write that something needs to get done it gets done. Even if by writing, I mean circling a few random number days on my calendar. I find it peculiar because I can say something all day long (or admittedly even month long,) but unless I write it somewhere, it tends to be left to the wayside. 

It's due to this strange behavior that I try to keep up my diary when I'm particularly stressed out. My diary is really one big to do list that has little notes and random artwork inserted between the pages. However, the diary is usually my last resort and I'm beginning to think that I may need to mar up the beautiful calendar soon if I'm to become a productive member of society. 

The introspective part of this particular blog post makes me wonder what is so compelling about a few written words? Is it because I see it as some sort of promise to myself? Or is it simply like a contract with a date and time, giving me physical proof of time philandered away on the internet instead of focusing on things I ought? I'm not quite certain where the motivator lies in those written words. I know I feel guilty if I neglect something even though I've "said" that I'll do it.

I think writing down tasks has to do with intentions more than guilt. It's a personal guess, but it makes more sense to me when I sit and think about it. It's like a daily resolution to resolve the little problems in my life. Just like how I decided I was going to have a carrot smoothie today. I did it, and it was delicious.

So now I resolve to get back to work and to finally start brainstorming some ideas on space operas. Penumbra will need a new blog shortly and I know very little on that particular subject. 

Happy Writings, and better concentration to all the creative people out there!

An Introduction to the Godfathers of Science Fiction

Ray Bradbury the man that
made me realize the error
of my ways.

This was a piece I did for the Penumbra blog on my lack of literary exposure to the great authors of Sci-fi. I'm currently reading, "Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus" by Orson Scott Card because of this piece. I read it only while exercising in the morning, and as ever I have a bad habit of reading five or six books at once making my reading completion rate very slow. Here is a beginning excerpt and a link to the blog:

Penumbra eMag: Introduction to the Godfathers of Science Fiction: by Kristen Saunders You must forgive me for what I’m about to write, but I’ve committed a most grave sin among passionate science fiction ...

I plan on reading pieces from all the great Sci-fi writers in the near future, but unfortunately I can only do so many books at once. I'm currently reading "A Storm of Swords" by George R. R. Martin, "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas, and numerous magazines strewn throughout the house.

Happy Reading and Writing to all of you out there!

Ending a Future and Finding Another

What January consisted of for me.

To say January was unproductive isn't quite covering all the problems I've had last month. Preparing my story for a month before and then trying to write up several new story ideas when my first failed made it very clear that my NaNoWriMo was a disastrous failure. It seemed no matter what I wrote I had no connection to it and it didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything. At week three I tossed the pencil across the room, threw my hands up in the air, and promptly gave up on the whole venture deciding to relax for a little while instead.

Problem was I couldn't really relax. It was becoming clear that I wasn't comfortable with writing regularly. Writing was something I wanted to make a career out of and it still potentially is. My inability to have any creativity made me ask myself constantly, "What is wrong with you?"

The answer was a mix of several things. One, I'm in the middle of a depression which can make writer's block feel like a real life hell. The self loathing that comes with not accomplishing your own goals makes you not want to get out of bed and to consequently bury your head in the sand so you don't have to deal with the rest of the world and it's expectations. The second was that I've been thrown (by my own will) into a creative business that I haven't really tried my hand at before. Honestly I never took a journalism course outside of high school. And when I did take that course all I did was make poorly drawn Microsoft Paint comics for the school newspaper; a far cry from professional editorials of any sort. Thirdly, I have begun to wonder if my college degree was really what I should have been pursuing for five years with the constant feelings of unsteadiness that I've been dealing with.

This mess of facts and questions lead to a perfect storm of personal turmoil that I'm working on getting my butt out of. I will always like writing and will probably continue this blog (2-3 days a week instead of daily.) However, it has become plain to me that I need to stabilize my future by setting up some goals. The first of which will include me going back to college while I still can. My father works at a university, so I get nine credits free a semester at my school. I may return to professional editing and writing again later on in life, but for now I want to explore other opportunities. 

I'll start writing for fun on the sides when my Musa Internship is over and keep my skills sharp in any way I can. I'm still artistic at heart, but when it comes to perfectionism in this field I know I'm lacking. Thus, I think as a growing writer I will relegate my writing to a page a day (for fun).

Depression is an ugly thing, but clearing up your future plans definitely helps with making life feel better. Exercise, a schedule, and accomplishing tasks seem to be factors that help dissipate my lethargy and irritability. However, knowing how many expectations I can have of myself is key too. Making too many goals only makes my problems worse, thus the drop in the number of blog posts I will be doing. For now I'll trudge on and look forward to the days yet to come.