botherd | (no subject)

So, on Wednesday I graduated! I now officially have a BA (Hons) in English with Study in North America, but I've yet to put it to good use and find a job. (And now I'm back living with my parents, KILL ME NOW.) The graduation ceremony was awesome, because FLOELLA BENJAMIN. I just wish I'd been as brave as some people and asked for a hug.

Random gripe: my degree certificate doesn't have my middle name on it. I like my middle name! I like having the same first two initials as Exeter's most famous graduate! So I'm stupidly disappointed about that little detail. :(

Anyway, life: I had been feeling like I was totally done with university, but now I'm thinking about working at some pointless job for a year and then doing an MA in creative writing. IDK. I just don't want to end up doing some job I'm not that interested in and having it become my career, you know?

... I feel like if I want to be serious about becoming a published writer I should write something that, um, isn't fanfiction, and yet that's all I want to write. I'm working on an 80s AU that I think has a lot of potential to be good. But it's probably going to be longer than my little bang fic, just because more characters have significant parts (so far I have Katie, Effy, Naomi, Cook, Freddie, and maybe JJ; SPOT THE GLARING OMISSION), and that means it's going to take me aaages to write it. Sigh. I need something that's like a pensieve, except instead of turning thoughts into swirly white stuff it turns them into words.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. The government has good hours. I mean, this literally influenced my career decision more than anything; I LOVE my hobbies, but none of them make for proper employment, so I looked into what would be the best-paying field with the fewest working hours, and the civil service won by like a fucking landslide.

2. Get the MA. No harm in it, especially not in the current economic climate. It'll always look good on a CV and can (as it did for my ex-girlfriend) be a lead-in towards a totally ridiculously awesome career (political science major with a minor in creative writing and an MA in scriptwriting; she rolled into copywriting for news shows in the US but is currently pitching a pilot about zombies to Fox).

3. I am SO EXCITED ABOUT YOUR STORY. People tell me I remind them of Maggie Thatcher in terms of HIDDEN DICTATORNESS, which I choose to view as a sorta compliment (clearly I look like I'm capable of inventing soft-serve ice-cream, right?), but anyway, that entire era just fascinates me, and you're brilliant so I'm sure it'll be brilliant, too.

Will definitely look into the civil service. :)

Don't get too excited about the story! Partly because I'm not sure I'll finish it (I've only managed to write about 200 words so far. OF THE EPILOGUE. wtf, self) and partly because it's set shortly before I was born, and I just don't know if I can write about the 80s realistically. Also, while I have the beginning and the end all planned out, I still need a middle. :/

In my experience, middles write themselves through writing; the beginning and end are the hard parts.

Also: TOO LATE.

I think that used to be my experience too, until I realised that I didn't have to write shit linearly. Now I just want to write the good bits and forget about the boring middle parts.

If you're excited it's TOO MUCH PRESSURE. I CAN'T COPE.

OK OK I'M NOT EXCITED.

I'm curious.

And lol, I know exactly what you mean; this is why part 6 of Trans 2 has been in exactly the same state for like two weeks now. I've written the best bits! I DO NOT WANT TO WRITE THE PLOT.

OKAY, THAT'S BETTER. Although now that you've said you're curious I kind of want to tell you everything that happens, but I shouldn't!

lollll, I'm fine if you do!

But I don't want to ~spoil you. IT WOULD RUIN THE INTEGRITY OF THE READING EXPERIENCE, OR SOMETHING.

LOLLL. This means I've had... basically only two sound reading experiences in this entire fandom, both of which are yours already. [Being a beta is HARD BSNS.]

WELL, I was actually hoping you'd beta this (if you'd like!) but I tend not to send stuff to beta until it's basically done, so the reading experience is mostly the same.

I'm fine with whatever approach you want to take and dude, I'd gladly help out.

Disclaimer: being ancient (lol), you may be hoping that I know more about Thatcherite England, but ancient in this case means I was probably like, 3, so FIND SOMEONE OLDER (and more BRITISH). I am here for helpful squeeing and grammar nitpicking. ;)

LOL, no, that's okay, I wasn't expecting that you'd know more about it. I don't know who WOULD, though, so I might just have to cross my fingers and hope no one notices any hideous errors.