I Can See the Goal

So this year, my project was to publish a collection of poetry for others to relate to. I want use poetry to reach out to others and let them know that even life is hard, giving up is harder because of my own personal experiences. I decided to take this a step further and “hire” somebody to be my editor. I worked with her to edit my collection of over twenty poems, and her amazing feedback has allowed me to push myself.

I am currently in the process of finalizing all copies of my poems and getting them ready to post on the wonderful website known as  SmashWords. SmashWords is a free publishing site for independent authors working without a formal publisher.

I originally planned that I would be published before the end of this semester, but due to SmashWords’ site maintenance and my busy schedule, not to mention upcoming finals, it might have to wait until the beginning of February. Even though I am not pleased with this setback, I am still very grateful for this opportunity to be able to be published.

Regarding my future plans relating to this project, I feel that I will be able to carry this newly found set of skills into my future and possibly publish another book or two. I have also gained so much priceless knowledge that reflects upon the work field. Nothing else could have prepared me for this, and I feel that I may have a leg up on others in my generation.

I truly cannot tell anybody if my book will be a success or failure, but to me, it does not matter. I have gained so much more from this experience than I will ever be able to return, and I am thankful beyond what words can say. So, for my final words on this journey, I will leave you with an original quote:

“You cannot open the book of life and expect to see words. You have to write them yourself.”

 

Research and Poems and Deadlines, Oh My!

For the past two weeks, I have been busy researching my passion of writing and finding out what career choices I should choose. I feel that this research has been able to help not only me, but others with the same passion as mine, realize the opportunities that the world holds. You can stray from the typical author and poet realm of writing and go off into advertising or even science, but my interest is strongly grounded in the traditional area of writing.
However, my one career choice of a lyricist is a more modernized version of the classic poet. It does stray slightly into the area of computer science and music, but still has roots in the traditional writing area.
I feel that my research also allows others who share my passion to see how the area of writing is just as risky as any other profession. There are a limited amount of job spots open, which disregards the “anyone can be a writer whenever they want” kind of stereotype. My findings have also opened my eyes to help me to realize how determined one must be in order to pursue these careers. I don’t think that will be a problem in my case, because I am starting to pursue this career much earlier than most would even consider, which will put me above the others who chase the same dreams as I do.

Speaking of determination, I have some amazingly awesome news! I have a meeting with an editor coming up, and this editor is actually going to stick with me! I am so ecstatic that I am finding it hard to put my feelings into words. But, I have little time to be jubilant as my deadline approaches. It took me forever to format my poems according to my publishing site’s (SmashWords) requirements, and I’m not even sure it works.
Also, I have yet to hear back from the Hershey Children’s Medical Center, so I think I am going to change the organization in which the revenue from my book (if anyone actually buys it) will go to Special Olympics. My aunt has participated in local Special Olympics competitions for the past thirty years, and they have given her so much john her life. I feel that giving back to this organization will be my way of honoring my aunt, as well as giving thanks to the volunteers who have participated in keeping the local competitions running.

Though I have been feeling that the research I have been doing has really been setting my efforts back as my deadline approaches, I am grateful for the opportunity. Once my book is up and published, I will post the link on here for anyone who is interested. To anybody who feels their passion is a waste of time, chase it anyways. Who knows what opportunities you will receive!

 

Pursuing a Passion Lacking in Promise

Writing is my passion, as I have been stating over these past blog posts that have followed me through a journey to becoming published. However, I have recently discovered a slight problem with my passion-
It lacks promise.
By that, I mean that further pursuing writing in adulthood is guaranteeing me a ninety percent chance of becoming an absolute failure. My top two careers in the writing field, should I choose to continue on this path, would either be a writer or a lyricist. A writer seems self explanatory, but while I was researching, I found that a career as a writer could be quite versatile.
A writer can be used for marketing, advertising, campaigning, or just writing novels like they usually do. A writer would be much more easily pursued, as it has a low employee growth rate of about 6% a year, but doesn’t guarantee easy success. Or much success at all, for that matter.
A lyricist is about ten times riskier. They need have to advanced English, grammar, and computer programming skills, and be able to read music in both treble and bass clef. They are in high demand, but rarely anyone employed has the true talent it takes. Being a lyricist is like being a poet, sort of, except for the fact that you have the pressure not to send the entire society into an uproar because you wrote controversial lyrics that are being sang all over the radio. While researching the job of a lyricist, the only good thing I found was this conclusion,
“Song lyrics are for the shallow minded souls of today while poetry is for the complex minds born into the wrong century.” That is the truest thing the internet has ever told me.
The major conclusion that I have come to is that my passion is one that lacks promise of success while, in fact, almost guaranteeing that I will turn out to be a total failure if I pursue this in my future. But, even though ninety percent fails, who’s to say I won’t be part of that ten percent who makes the New York Best Sellers list a million times? Just a little thought to end my post with.
Actually, before I end this post, here is the latest poem I have written. I want to post this poem because I would like to add some outlook of optimism to this blog post. A title is still in the works for this one. Enjoy!

For everybody who ever loved-

Love is a gift, something to give you a lift when you are down, sad, and need some sparkle and shine. Love is a treasure, so if you have to, bury it far, far away and tear the map to shreds. If the pieces come floating back to you in a bottle in the sea, then you know your love is your destiny.

For everybody who ever lost-

It’s not your fault. Everybody loses, for we wouldn’t win without those losses. Life is a big game of hide-and-go-seek. You can either close your eyes tightly and walk through life blindly or be brave enough to open them and peek.

For everybody who ever felt alone-

You’re not. In this over populated world, nobody is alone. Even if you feel lost in your own home like nobody hears your screams, everyone hears you. We share your tears and pain, we hear your music and play your games, we are at your side all the time.

I promise I hear you-

Don’t scream any louder, cry any harder. I hear your soul pounding on the walls of your body, beckoning me to come as a savior, to free it from harmful behavior, and do so I will. You are heard, you will be answered.

Are you listening?

 

After Pitch Day: Where to Now?

Now that pitch day has passed, it’s time for me to really start evaluating my efforts and to start implementing my ideas. The deadline I have set is January 10, though I will not be publishing until January 15. This way, I have time to fix formatting errors and to edit one last time. I know this deadline is very close, but I know I can do it. By pushing myself with a closely approaching deadline, I know I will get the poetry collection done. All I need to do in order to get there is to get serious about writing, research all possible tips to overcoming sudden bouts of writers block, and make sure to get my writing to my editor on a weekly basis.

Even if I don’t reach my goal, I am fine. I know that one thing I have learned along the way is that the process, the time and effort put into this, is the most important part. It’s like the Mars Rover. Being able to get a rover to Mars is cool, but the important part is that scientists were able to create and develop the technology to do that. By learning this lesson, I think I will be motivated to do what’re is possible for me to get published. I feel that this experience as a whole can also help me in life because where some people would be making business phone calls or researching jobs for the first time, I have already done it, and years before they were even thinking about it.

Overall, I was very pleased with my efforts up to Pitch Day. The real challenge will be to continue the efforts and persevere up through the very end. Before I end my post, I have some very exciting news! I got the digital image of my cover for “What Ducktape Can’t Fix, Poetry Can” and it is amazing! I will post the image below.

Pitch Day Perfection!

Pitch day was on Friday, and I did amazing! It actually went surprisingly well. I received some amazing compliments from a friend’s parents. They told me I had great skill and confidence, and my head was on a lot more straight than some of the other presenters were. I a rely even referenced my notecards! I am so proud of myself, because this a huge step up for me. I am very bad at presenting to large groups of people so this was a great accomplishment for me.

When I was first given the task to find a 20 Time task, I was very overwhelmed. Finding an idea was very challenging because I had to really dig deep to discover my passion. Then the idea of a pitch day was proposed and I was scared out of my mind. But, through this process and doing the research to prepare for this pitch day, I realized that all of this would come a lot easier than what I had expected. Based on how my pitch day experience went, I am anxiously awaiting my chance to implement my ideas and see if and how my ideas take off.

It Feels Like Something Is Missing…

The other day I was getting really hard on myself because I felt like I didn’t have nearly as much done as I wanted to have. But then, after some thinking, I realized that I did actually have a good bit done, and that I should be very proud of myself. I have a handful of poems written, a good few poems in the process of being written, I have a possible editor on the other end of the phone, and I have the cover of my book actually in the process of being created by a close friend. I also have an entire website dedicated to the topic of 20 Time as well as my journey published. You can access that website here.

The amount of work I have done really is incredible in my mind due to the crazy schedule of mine and the multiple setbacks I have encountered, including a severe illness on my part and the loss of an original editor. This has allowed me to organize my thoughts and projected goals in a way that is most efficient with the remaining time I have, while leaving me some wiggle room for when things go wrong.

I have also decided that something just feels missing from my project. It feels to me like there needs to be something more. Of course, this far into the project does seem like a silly time to add a whole new aspect and depth to what I would like to accomplish. What I have decided to do is that if I do have success and get this book published and have people actually buy it, I want the money to be donated to the Hershey Children’s Medical center here in Hershey, PA, because they have done a lot for my family. My sister was born with Polycystic Kidney Disease, and the doctors at the Hershey Medical Center have helped us a lot through all of her scans. They knew how to handle children so young very well, and the doctors genuinely cared and were there for us constantly. I feel that, even if I only manage to make under twenty dollars, I need to give back more than a thank you to that hospital, so I am donating all proceeds to the Hershey Children’s Medical Center.

This project has brought me so much good, and I just would like to take this time to thank everyone who made this possible. It is an amazing opportunity, and I feel blessed to have teachers and people to assist and make this all worth it. Thanks to everyone out there who made this possible. I cannot wait to see what else this project brings, and I am glad to know you guys will be with me all the way. Thanks so very much.

Contacting Authority

So, as stated in my last blog post, I had gotten in contact with a very nice woman who agreed to be my editor for this project. Well, due to unfortunate circumstances, I am going to have to find a new editor. Luckily for me, I had a back up editor in mind this entire time, so I can email her, find out a phone number that I can call her at, and see if we can make a deal. Hopefully, everything will work out and be okay. If not, then I really am stuck back at square one.
I have learned something very useful from this experience. I have learned that humans are not things of perfection, therefore we must expect the unexpected. I think this experience so far has taught me a great amount of problem solving skills, and how to make it over hurdles such as the one I conquered above. From here, I think I am going to find an editor and then go into full out author mode, meaning it is time to start writing a lot. I have finished my poem that I posted the first part of in my pervious blog. I will post the entire finished poem below. I am looking forward to the rest of this experience and I can’t wait to see what comes my way next!

What Ducktape Can’t Fix

Everybody says that ducktape fixes everything.
People ducktape windows, furniture,
Even vehicles.
Sometimes,
It’s easy to believe that ducktape can fix it all.

But can ducktape fix a person?

Can ducktape peice together parts
Of a soul that has been torn apart?
What about the remnants of a broken heart
That’s in a thousand shreds
Scattered about in a dark abyss?

Words; they have healing powers.
Powers so strong they are magnetic-
Collecting those scattered heartless remains
And bonding them together once again,
Nursing them back to health.

Try a hard as you may,
You can’t break a poem,
Only mold it.
You can rearrange the lines
To make a different meaning
Or tear apart the paper
And throw it into the flames.
The meaning will still remain
Hidden behind those words, those burns,
Forever engraved in those syllables.

Ducktape holds until the adhesive wears off,
The stickiness stops
And the object is in shambles once more.
Poems can’t break, lose adhesive properties
Or even be cut with scissors.

Poetry isn’t a material thing;
Poetry is a gift.

You can’t buy poems in rolls,
You can’t order rhythm by the foot
And just slap it on a tear in your heart;
Sticky side down.

Sure, poetry takes time,
Patience, too, is a gift,
But all will be fine
Because words heal, words bond,
And, unlike ducktape,
Poetry can fix a whole lot more
Than a broken window.

 

Seeking Expert Advice

This week, I had to contact a person of authority to help me out in my project completion process. I decided to contact a friend I have made through a writing website. She used to work as an editor for a publishing company, so I contacted her in hopes that she would be willing to edit my work for free. She agreed to this, and she also directed me towards an online website where I can have my poetry collection published in an ebook format for free. I am very thankful for her help and guidance. She will be checking in on me throughout my journey with this project. I am very eager to see where this goes.

I wrote part of a poem, but last week wasn’t a very productive week in that sense. Here is the part that I have written. I am planning to write a lot more this week for my collection. Last week was more about getting the blog set up and making sure it was functional. Here is the first half of the poem I have entitled “Ducktape.”

Everybody says that ducktape fixes everything.
People ducktape windows, furniture,
Even vehicles.
Sometimes,
It’s easy to believe that ducktape can fix it all.

But can ducktape fix a person?

Can ducktape peice together parts
Of a soul that has been torn apart?
What about the remnants of a broken heart
That’s in a thousand shreds
Scattered about in a dark abyss?

Writing is my Passion

For my 20 time project, I am going to write a collection of poetry. My collection of poetry will revolve around the themes of love, passion, hurt, inspiration, and loss. They will be for anyone who is going through a tough time and needs something that inspires them or that will be easy for them to relate to. I chose this topic because the past two years have been very, very rough for me, and I understand what it feels like to be hurt and to have lost what means the most to you. I just want to be able to let everybody out there know that they don’t have to be lost, depressed, and feel as if there is nothing to hold on to anymore. I also want everybody to know that good things do come from the bad experiences, and that no matter what they feel, there is always a chance to rebound.
My motivation for this project came from personal experiences. I found that, during rough times, writing helped me tremendously. Being able to get all my feeling down on paper made me feel better, in a way, knowing that poetry was the best way for me to express feelings. Reading other poetry was helpful, too. Being able to read other people’s feelings and relate to them made me realize that I was not alone in my experience. I want to be able to do the same for others going through hardships.

Below is an image of my brainstorming. It is just a rough plan, and is subject to change, but it should give a basic gist as to what poetry book will hold. Maybe I will even be able to find a way to publish it.