Random Updates

So, I counted up all the Law and Order fanfiction I've written in the past two months, and ended up with a grand total of: 56,596 words. That's the better part of a novel! I should be finishing TWD, but that will come in time. Right now, I am wandering around in Alex/Olivia land and LOVING it. If you are an original fiction writer and feel the need for a break, by all means, take one. It can be some of the most productive time you've ever spent.

In other news, I bombed my audition, but scraped together enough pieces so that I'm not last chair. Like writers, musicians have to have thick skins and get used to rejection. Not every day is going to be your best day. I have an excuse, sort of. It's one that paints me in a bad light, but I'll share it anyway...

So, I was feeling pretty confident when I went in to the room with the screen all set up so the judges (my teachers) couldn't see me. They gave their usual speech: "Play your Mozart exposition in D and then your excerpts in any order." I smiled, looked down at my music, and my heart tripped when I realized my Mozart wasn't tucked safely into my excerpt book. My mouth fell open, I paused a few seconds, blinked, then RAN off stage like the hounds of hell were at my heels. Once I was backstage, I started swearing like a construction worker or a sailor, whichever mental image you prefer, and scrambled to my bag to find my Mozart. Panting like crazy, I ran back on stage and tried to calm down my racing heart. I was gulping like a fish, couldn't breathe... somehow, I started to play.

I'm stuck in the lower band this year, but since they only took the top six players out of the whole studio for combined Wind Ensemble and Orchestra (something that they have never done before now), I do not feel too bad. Hopefully, my parents will not disown me. They can be almost Asian, I swear... "Bring home an A or you are banished from the family!"

If only they knew their lovely daughter spends her free time writing naughty lesbian stories... Oh well, let's hope they never find out. They might suspect, actually, due to an 'incident' when I was twelve and another when I was fourteen, but here's to hoping they leave well enough alone.

A rather self-centered post, but it does have some use for writers. Don't let anything faze you. Never give up. Develop a thick skin by sharing your work with as many people as possible. It's okay to be afraid. Everyone has faced failure at one point or another, and it never stopped them. The only thing that can really stop you is yourself.

(Edit: Sara, you're totally right. Dang, even us busy writers occasionally mix up our words. Curse you, spell check!)