albionidaho: (Default)
Because I don't have enough to learn in life, I'm currently pursuing a certification in programming C, to be followed with C++ and Java. The first day of class, my professor said we could expect to spend about eight hours a week outside of class studying.

This was a lie. (I kind of expected that, at least for me, it was when we were told the bit about eight hours of homework a week.)

I could have a part time job with the amount of time I spend working on my programming homework. This is okay. Learning new skills and enhancing current skills takes time. I know this. And I'm totally fine putting in the work. But this doesn't mean I don't feel completely lost and clueless much of the time.

I constantly feel lost. And clueless. And it's kind of scary. So I dig in my heels and poke and poke, and then I poke some more. And at some point, I figure things will really start to click. Right?

Right.

I feel I have to work really hard at this because this is not necessarily where my natural talents lie. On the other hand, I know that "talent," whatever that is, isn't everything. Everything I do well I had to work at, and I didn't start out being good at what I'm good at.

I didn't emerge from the womb walking and talking.

It's the same with any skill. You practice and practice and practice and keep hitting your head against the brick wall, and eventually something will give. (And hopefully not your skull.)

[livejournal.com profile] raven_radiation sent me a couple links to remind me of this:

Why I'm Proud to Have Been an Unoriginal, Talentless Hack and Do you Have Enough Talent to Become Great at It.

And so I'm reminded coding is a skill, a new skill, and it will take time to hit proficiency. And at the same time I'm reminded that I will progress as a writer. It's just, again, going to take time and practice.

And that's okay -- a lot of life is about learning to enjoy the ride.

[livejournal.com profile] raven_radiation also sent me another couple links I find inspiring:

Monstrous Discrepancies and Minus.
albionidaho: (Default)
I don't write a lot of flash fiction... at least I didn't used to. Over the 1 1/2 years, I've written some flash fiction. I've also tried to write a lot of other stuff -- longer works that don't seem to be nearly as viable as the flash. On the one hand, this is frustrating, but on the other hand it shows me how much I've learned in the past 2 1/2 years.

I recently completed an intense period of contracting while going to school. During this time I wrote very little. Getting back into the writing was overwhelming; a wise friend and CW classmate suggest I start by writing flash.

So that is what I did, and I'm finding the flash writing to be useful. My crit group and an awesomely fantastic writer and critter friend looked over my piece. They made some insightful, wonderful suggestions I can implement. I think this piece is viable.

I can't tell you how good this feels.

I've also learned that I'm a horrible judge of my own writing -- my writing may be better than I think it is. I may be a better writer than I tend to think I am.
albionidaho: (Default)
Rajan Khanna and An Owomoyela are two of the most awesome SFF writers to appear on the SFF scene during the past few years. Rajan Khanna's "Doors" and An Owomoyela's "Portage" are both currently available for your reading pleasure.

Enjoy :).

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albionidaho

January 2012

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