January 2020 Update: Workshop, Writing, and Music

Today is my first day in a Free Poetry Workshop! Last September I bought Windows and Doors: A Poet Read Literary Theory by Natasha Sajé. I read a few chapters and then looked up Natasha Sajé, I found out she is a professor at Westminster right here in Salt Lake City. Then I found out she was doing a free Poetry Workshop this Spring. To sum it up, I applied to the workshop and got in. Today is the start of this four-month workshop and I am so excited. I am hoping to get a lot out of this workshop and make progress with my poetry.

amazon.com

Besides my poetry, I have been doing my daily writing routine, a mere 1,000 words a day required. I feel like I’ve been hitting a wall lately when it comes to my writing. On the backburner is My First Novel which I talked about regularly in my posts last year. At this point, I have only one tiny chapter to write and the book is done. After that I need to have it fully edited/proofed and then I want to start submitting it to Literary Agents for representation. I have very little left to do, maybe a couple rewrites here and there and some more polishing but I have put my book on the back burner since November and haven’t had the guts to break it open again.

(More about My First Novel)

Instead, I’ve been working on my music. I’ve been researching and learning Ableton (DAW), I’ve been practicing guitar, recording, and learning the ins and outs of my midi keyboard. I’ve also lately become interested in Modular Synthesizers, so I’ve been taking a course on the basics through lynda.com and messing around with a Cherry Audio Virtual Mod Synth I got with the purchase of Computer Music magazine (what a cool find!). It’s been a fun and time-consuming venture. Currently, I have about five songs in the works. A few of these songs will finish the playlist I started on my SoundCloud, taking inspiration from Dante’s circles of hell.

Image result for dante's circles of hell
Botticelli

That’s it for this update! I want to say THANK YOU to all my followers and those that read my poems regularly, I deeply appreciate your interest and readership.

-Alina


Liked this post? Check out these:

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!(Opens in a new browser tab)

Why I Write: Poetry #1(Opens in a new browser tab)

Currently Reading: Postmodernism, 1920s, and Fiction(Opens in a new browser tab)


https://www.alinahappyhansenwriter.com/portfolio-publications-events/

Failing NaNoWriMo 2019

November has flown by and I have failed NaNoWriMo this year. With only five days left of November, I have over twenty-five thousand words to write if I want to complete the challenge. My fiction piece ‘Jack’s Story’ is a baby, barely over seventeen-thousand words and full to the brim of unnecessary dialogue and weird scene cuts.

Alina’s NaNoWriMo Profile

Am I okay with failing NaNoWriMo this year? Does it matter that I am giving up with five days left? (Hey, if I wrote five thousand words every day until November 30th, I may actually be able to complete the challenge) The answer: Yes, I am okay with failing, and No, I will not give up on ‘Jack’s Story’. It’s good, I think, and turning into an interesting crime/mystery/thriller. I do love my thrillers. It’s got a different flavor from my current novel that I have finished and I am polishing up with the intention of submitting to literary agents starting in January.

Even though November is ending fast, I am planning on finishing ‘Jack’s Story’ whenever that is, ideally by the end of the year. I can juggle working on My First Novel and this one. While I am working on these projects I am having fun reading a selection of books, right now those are,

Face It by Debbie Harry (Memoir)

46059211. sy475

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

17899948

Ulysses by James Joyce

338798

Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer

51750

It’s been a crazy month, but I am reading some great stuff, and making progress with my writing. I can only hope that my proactivity increases next year with the start of the new decade.

Thank you for reading this update, and thank you to all my followers that continue to keep up with my journey.

-Alina

You can find me on INSTAGRAM