Tidying Up

Three days. Four garbage bags. One clean room.

Ah. There's nothing like having a tidy nest. Picking up after myself was supposed to be a priority this summer, but I actually ended up making more of a mess by forgetting to dust and dragging my reference books for my thesis all over the house - and leaving them in stacks all over the floor. Of course, there's nothing like watching an episode of Hoarders to send a shiver a guilt down your spine. Arming myself with a steely resolve and an open windows media player, I tackled every single part of my room in an effort of a huge clean out. The secret recesses of my closet (where the racks and shelves are designed so badly that I can't reach all the way into the back molars of the space, hehe), the drawers packed with wrinkly clothing, and my ever-shifting bookcases. On the last day of cleaning, I sneezed so much from the dust that I had to carry a tissue at all times.

Of course, my room really isn't that messy. It just got sorely neglected during my strict writing schedule this summer.

A friend of mine suggested that I blog about some of the items I rediscovered during my clean out (like video games, paper-bag puppets, and IKEA plushies), so I'll try to make some smaller posts this month and do that. In the meantime, I thought I'd give you an update on what's been going on lately.


Thesis 

Narwhals, swing jazz, lighthouses - oh my!

IT IS DONE! I finished my first draft on July 31st, fulfilling my goal of being done with it before August. I just barely made that goal, but I'm glad it worked out that way. School starts up again at the end of August, and I've got orientation and planning to do before I head back (the logical reason behind my thesis goal).

After reading through my draft again for typos, I'm going to print it and have it ready for my director to read. I'm looking forward to working with her on the future revisions.


Tumblr 

Okay, okay, okay, okay, I'm really excited to say this: I have a fan club on tumblr!

*excited scream*

I discovered fans-of-kimberly completely by accident while tending to my personal blog. When I scrolled through my main feed, I saw a familiar sight: a grouping of the covers I've used for my Figment stories. It took me a minute to realize that they were, in fact, the very same covers... and the post originated from fans-of-kimberly. WHUT. That's SO COOL.

I don't know who started the tumblr club or how many people are following it, but I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I felt like crying when I saw it - so so amazing.


Future Projects

As I promised in my last post, I'm working on the final chapters on Diamond's story, "Becoming a Butler." However, I have been delightfully distracted by a book that's been giving me some ideas: a nonfiction book called A Butler's Life: Scenes from the Other Side of the Silver Salver by Kimberly Allen and Christopher Allen (the butler in question). While Allen is certainly a modern day butler, the story of how he stumbled into the profession is humorous, insightful, and wondrous to read about. I'm usually speedy when it comes to reading, but nonfiction books, for whatever reason, slow me down. So when I finish this beauty... yep. You can expect "Becoming a Butler" to be complete.

I had hoped to get a break after finishing my thesis draft, but classically, a lot of other projects have made their presences known.

In the next few weeks, I'll be working on a few overdue short stories; one of them is expanding my short story "Lookout" (that had appeared briefly on Figment). A brand new lit mag, founded by one of my MFA fellows, Alan, is called Tripod Cat. The neat thing about this mag is that all the stories are published as audio files. If you've got some free time, have listen of Issue 1's poetry and prose - they're so good! After "Lookout" is polished and ready to roll, I'll be recording it - hopefully overcoming my dislike of hearing my recorded voice. I'll do my best, haha.

Flappers and Narwhals: A Thesis Adventure!

Formspring time!

How is your thesis book coming along?

Very well, thank you. It's a little slow at times, but I'm only a few weeks away from writing the conclusion.

If anyone's been checking my Figment page over the last few months, you've probably noticed that besides the occasional contests, my updates have slowed down considerably.  There's a good reason for that. 

My third and final year of graduate school is approaching and in order to earn my diploma, there is one last epic task that I must complete: writing a finished, polished manuscript. My thesis. 

No matter what genre you work in - whether it be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry - this is the usual requirement for graduation (besides, you know, getting good grades and all that). Fiction writers have the option of either writing a novel manuscript or a short story collection manuscript for their thesis. 

After much deliberation, I decided to take on a novel. 

The last year is usually spent working closely with one's thesis director and committee; we gather together, talk about revisions, and then I go back to my office and scratch my head until I figure out the best plan to attack my editing. In order to this successfully, and get the best feedback I can, I must complete the first draft of my thesis before returning to school.

So that's what this summer is for. I have been writing every single day to reach that goal.

Because it's a school-related writing project, I'm not able to share it. However, I can tell you a little about it. 

My thesis is set in a fantasy world inspired by the 1920's. There is a girl who studies shipwrecks and lore. There is a boy who speaks to numbers. 

This novel is bursting with flappers, lighthouses, gramophones, an adventurer's club, deaths, narwhals, pocket watches, keys, wooden props, a castle, islands, witching waves, candy floss, ocean liners, violets, a carnival city, squash racket matches, captains, sailors, saltwater swimming pools, childhood crushes, fire, and foul storms. 

I've been listening to a lot of The Hush Sound and A Fine Frenzy, two bands I've adored for a while. I've also been filling my iPod with a ton of electro swing. 

My research books include, but are not limited to a 1927 reproduction of a Sears catalogue and an early history of ocean liners. 

And of course, there's always bits of inspiration to be found along the way: 

Richard Barthelmess, you're terribly cute.

The anatomy of a 20's girl!

Narwhals!

And of course, a happy helping of Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton's misadventures.