on trying things out, finger cramps, exams, etc.

I have been writing like no body's business lately. I had two big papers due within the past week and now my fiction portfolio is due on Monday. I don't really mind all the writing...it just gets a little exhausting after a bit. My fingers literally started hurting tonight from typing so much. But that was kind of exciting because I got started on a new short story (yup, due monday. hello, procrastination) and I really like it! I decided to go for something totally off the wall and different than anything I've ever tried before. I've kind of played it safe in workshop all year because, honestly, I've let myself be intimidated (which, I've realized, is ridiculous and silly and I'm not going to get anything out of classes like that unless I stretch myself a bit). So, in an attempt to let myself have fun and just go wherever my little mind takes me, I've started writing the strangest story I've ever written/attempted.

What I'm working on is kind of like 1984 meets Twilight meets Boxcar Children meets Ender's Game. Hmm. Potentially lame. Potentially awesome. I don't know. But I know that it's been a blast so far, and that matters for something.

If I get brave enough, maybe I'll post a little of it later on. But basically, it's about a girl who lives in a world (it's earth, just a weird version of it) where the sky changes color every 24 hours. Each morning, people ritualistically go outside and watch to see what color the sky is going to be for that day. The color then determines their behavior until the next morning (in differing ways and degrees of intensity. For example, on lime-green-sky days, everyone is compelled to hate each other in passive-aggressive ways, like writing anonymous nasty notes and leaving them in mailboxes. On dark blue days, the only behavior compulsion is that everyone desires to wear sweaters, no matter the temperature). Maggie, the pre-teen protagonist, is the only one who doesn't experience this instinctive reaction to the color change of the sky. Her behavior isn't modified like everyone else - and she doesn't know why. She lives in an orphanage with other older children/teenagers, and has never known anything about how she first arrived there, who her parents are, etc. The closest mother figure she has is the director of the orphanage, who she meets with daily and who tells Maggie that she must keep it a secret, the fact that she isn't compelled to change her behavior based on the color of the sky. So for her entire life, Maggie has only pretended that she is the same and follows along with the behavior of those around her. The only ones who know her secret are this director (she doesn't have a name yet) and a boy - one of her only friends at the orphanage (who also doesn't have a name yet). Plot twists ensue. Budding teenage infatuation develops between Maggie and boy. Things get strange. I'm not entirely sure what all will happen. Plus, this won't all get written anytime soon. I'm only going to turn in sort of a first section, because I've got way more material in my head than is possible to write by monday or even possible to fit in the suggested ten page limit ;)

Anyway, tonight has been fun just to explode with bizarre-o-ness. (I just made that word up). I always write realistic stories or stories about people who are older than me or my age - so I'm doing something way different. I'm mixing it up. It might be the strangest thing ever, but hey, why not? And also, this one isn't being workshopped, so no one can tell me it's bad! :)

summary of this blog post: 1) I am weird 2) it's alright 3) try something new -it could be a ton of fun. 4) I obvi have an exciting college lifestyle that involves wild and crazy saturday nights of staying in to write sci-fi-young-adult-dystopian-inspired tales.