As for the writing I will be doing, I have a research paper on the Varangian Guard, as well as the weekly postings for my class, which I am currently about three weeks behind on. And this little tidbit brings me to my biggest rethink so far.
I have come to the conclusion that I love history as a subject, and will always be interested in learning little bits about it as I go through life. However, I dislike the formal study of it. I dislike having to read about eras and places that don't interest me. I dislike having to read about those times and locations through the words of dry, dull, boring scholars. And I dislike having to write precisely structured, annotated, and formatted papers on the subject. In short, I am not cut out to be an academic historian. I'm more of the armchair variety, and I would like to go back to doing that, instead of losing all motivation to read about history at all.
So, I am going to switch programs soon. As it stands, a Masters in History has very little opportunity for job growth and earning potential. So, I am basically racking up student loan debt for something that will not pay me back. Right now I am looking at switching to a teaching credential. In the short term, it will mean a loss of about 12-15 credits that will be of no use to me, even if I go back for the Masters later. But in the long run, it will probably save me time and resources, as I will be earning a degree that will be of benefit. So, I just have to get through this class on the Byzantine Empire for now. And then it's off on a new quest.
And speaking of quests (the word for the day is "segue"), I spent the last three days playing role-playing games, and visiting with artists and writers and game designers who have been doing this stuff for 40+ years (for a full report on Gamehole Con, I will talk about it soon on my other blog). It was an exceptionally fun weekend, and I had an amazing time. And it also rekindled my interest in being a game-writer and designer. So, once I get to the point where I can write for myself, a lot of that will be in the RPG vein of things.
In the meantime, I am waiting for the new video card to arrive, so I can (hopefully) get my computer up and running. The first thing will be to do an actual cover for my Sword & Planet story, and get that out on Kindle. Then I have a few stories that I would like to finish. And of course, there's all of those lovely RPG ideas.
2 comments:
Sorry to hear you're not doing NaNoWriMo. I decided to write 50,000 words of short fiction instead of a novel. That way I'll at least have something if I don't hit the 50k.
Your comments about studying history remind me of Robert E. Howard and his attitudes towards academics in general. So you're in good company there.
I think your decision to teach is probably a good one. I would hate to see you pursue something that will only lead you to jobs where you have to say a lot of words that begin with the letter W. You know, things like "Would you like fries with that?" and "Welcome to Wal-Mart." While teaching may not be the most appealing and well-paying job, a teacher who can bring an enthusiasm for history to the classroom is someone who is doing society a true service.
I came close to going on for an advanced degree in history, but in the end biological psychology was more interesting.
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