Hello again! It's been a while since I've written an update. However, I did post some poetry. With the response I have gotten from this, I'm thinking that I may try to post a poem once a week. I feel that this would be a good challenge for myself to constantly create new poems or to revisit old ones to see how they could be improved. Also, it means that you guys will be able to read some of my work rather than just read what I write about my work.

     In addition to writing new poems, I have been writing short stories for a class. I don't remember if I've said this before but I always felt that short stories were my weakest writing form. I hated writing them because they never turned out as well as anything I wrote in another form (such as novel attempts or poems). As a result, I was nervous about taking a class on short story writing. On one hand, I wanted to challenge my writing abilities and branch out so that I could get better at this form. On the other hand, I really thought that my short stories would end up being like injured birds that are in stable condition but have no hope for improvement. Luckily, it seems like my fears have been proven wrong. I don't know if it is the pressure that writing in an academic setting causes or if it is the results of the other writing classes I had but, so far, the work I turn in is some of the best writing I've ever done (which is good to hear since this is the time when I'm using my new skills to rewrite my novel).

     But what's really awesome is that I'm enjoying short story writing! I never thought I'd be able to say that but I am so glad that I can. For me, short story writing yields itself greatly to ideas that I want to write but I have failed to turn into a novel. For example, I was recently reminded of one such story that I had tried to make into a novel but I couldn't get past a certain amount of pages. However, since short stories can only be so long, I reworked my idea and focused on one particular scene that could get everything I wanted to say in a novel in this story. And it worked! I am so happy with how it turned out.

     In addition to the progress I've made with short story writing itself, I am finally starting to get emotions across! You see, before I started studying writing in college, my stories were disturbing but there was no emotional connection to the characters or the situation. As a result, there was always some kind of disconnect that kept someone from being immersed in the world I created. However, with the short story I mentioned above, the main character's emotions were more relatable! I am so proud of that!

     I hope that you are all doing well as the leaves change colors and begin their descent into the heart of fall.