Photo of a white fox, sourced from Pexels
Hi there, I'm CJ. I grew up in Southern California before moving to Yukon, Oklahoma three years ago. Some things I enjoy include eating food, watching anime, playing games with friends and reading. I love white, black and grays a little too much, and I basically love all caniforms. (That's a suborder of taxonomy that includes all dogs, wolves, foxes and bears!)
I'm a Professional Writing major, which is a bit like a Creative Writing degree, but we focus on genre fiction instead of literary fiction, and we also have a deeper focus on learning how to be successful with our work.
Writing stories is my greatest passion, and that's part of why my goal is to become a writing professor. Aside from my love of writing stories, I also really enjoy teaching, so I want to teach in order to have a solid income doing something I really enjoy while still having the time to write my stories. I don't think I could ask for a better future than that.
I love fantasy, so all of my story worlds are fantasy ones, but I also like bringing other influences into my work. I often have magical technology present in my settings, and I typically bring action, romance and comedic elements into the stories I write. My stories are all heavily character driven, with sizable ensemble main casts, and a bunch of character arcs that all intertwine as the overall narrative progresses.
I have worked on six distinct story universes thus far, each with their own set of characters, arcs, magic systems and worldbuilding. Though, of those six, I have currently shelved three of them for the time being. But, for the others, one is basically finished, one is mostly complete, and the other is currently in very active development. I'll actually be working on writing the first book of the mostly complete one this semester for one of my courses, which is both intimidating and exciting. It's a world made up of floating islands surrounded by a sea of magical mists, and the story follows a small team of new recruits as they embark on a journey to try to turn the tide of a war that threatens the continued survival of their entire race.
Hi CJ! Love your post! My old roommate was majoring in Profession Writing as well, so i kind of have an idea of what you like to do. What was in like moving from California to Oklahoma?? I have family in the Bay area, they are just so different and would never last down here!! Must have been such a change. Good luck in the rest of your semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole, thank you very much!
DeleteAnd that's cool, if you don't mind asking, who was your old roommate? Our program's pretty small, so it wouldn't actually be surprising if I knew who they were.
The shift from California to Oklahoma was definitely an adjustment at first, Southern Hospitality is really different from the more distanced coldness common in California. But over time I came to grow used to it, and I have to say I think I overall like Oklahoma better than California.
And thanks! Best of luck with the rest of your semester as well!
Hi CJ!
ReplyDeleteI love reading, so I am very excited to hear about the worlds you are creating. I am not a writer, but I hope to read some of your fantastical stories over the course of the semester. Also a belated welcome to Yukon and Oklahoma in general! I am on the west side of Oklahoma City, not terribly far from Yukon myself. As a commuter student, I am grateful for the break on gas this semester.
-Eli
Hi Eli!
DeleteGlad to meet another person who loves reading!
And thank you very much! I'm looking forward to getting to work on more stories throughout this semester!
And additionally, thank you for the belated welcome. I definitely feel you on the gas thing as a fellow commuter, I can only make the commute to OU and back three times before I have to refill my tank if I want to make it there and back again.
Hi again CJ!
DeleteI'm not sure if we're supposed to leave a new comment or reply to our old comment when we come back to an intro we've been to before. Either way, hello again and I'm glad I came back across your blog and stories! I'm going to leave this as a reply to continue the conversation. I hope your semester has been gone well so far! Other than our readings in this class have you read anything you really enjoyed recently?
-Eli
Hi CJ! I am so excited and I am going to come back and read through your posts! Your style of writing and interests are exactly the kind I love to read so I will definitely be checking out your stories later. I watch some Animes and always am looking for recommendations because I don't know that many. The first one (besides Sailor Moon as a kid) I watched was Fruits Basket and it got me interested in manga too since it originally only had the one season. It's very nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteHi Jillienne!
DeleteThank you very much, I hope you enjoy my posts!
And I'd be happy to help give you some anime recommendations if you let me know what kind of ones you like :)
It's very nice to meet you as well!
As you can guess, I am totally with you on the caniforms, CJ! I use a fox of some kind for my social media avatar, and I've done that for 15 years now, ever since I first started networking online... so it means lots of people think of me as a fox and ping me whenever there is a great fox picture or fox video at Twitter, etc. I picked the fox originally because of the trickster fox in Aesop's fables, and I hope to do a project on medieval Reynard the Fox next summer. So, yes, yay foxes! And dogs and wolves and bears too!
ReplyDeleteAnd you are exactly right about teaching writing: you basically get paid to help others develop their craft... and you also end up developing your own craft at the same time. The pay sucks to be honest (most faculty jobs these days are adjunct jobs; professor rank positions are increasingly rare)... but since it's a way to support your writing goal, it's ideal as a day job. Or night job, if you teach online and do your work by night, ha ha.
Anyway, I hope this class can be a way to try some low-key short-form experiments that can support your other writing work too. And there's always a market for short fiction, including flash fiction; I just saw a brilliant flash fiction item in the New Yorker! The South Asian Speakers Series Presents the Archeologist and Adventurer Indiana Jones by Tania James, clocking right in at 1000 words like a story for this class. :-)
That's pretty awesome about the fox thing, to be honest. I feel you on that though, my username I use almost everywhere has the word "turtle" in it, so I get tagged every time there's something with a turtle or tortoise in it.
DeleteYeah, teaching really is a fun cycle, you teach them something, but you also often learn things yourself. And that's something I'll keep in mind as far as pay goes.
I'm hoping this class let's me experiment and step a bit outside of my usual wheelhouse too. :)
Hi CJ! I am from Southern California so thats awesome you used to live there! Writing is such an awesome talent and passion to have. I also love writing when it is creative but I can't say that I am all that good at it. I am definitely hoping to get better at it in this class. I also love the fact that you bring comedy and other elements to your stories because I think that is something that everyone likes.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie!
DeleteThank you!
Yeah, I feel it's truly rare that something can't be improved by having a bit of comedy and light-heartedness thrown in here and there!
Hey CJ! It is super cool that you are a Professional Writing degree. Along with wanting to teach do you think you would want to continue to write stories during that? It would be super cool doing what you love as a professional job. it's also really cool that you're finishing up your first book. I hope to see you on a bestseller list soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Zeeshawn!
DeleteYep, I intend to write stories during my teaching career, that's actually part of why I picked that career path.
And thank you very much!
Hello CJ! I grew up in Piedmont, Oklahoma, right next to Yukon! I love how you have a passion for writing and this should be the perfect class for you to show your work and I cannot wait to read it! I think it is super cool how you want to become a teacher, it shows that you care about the next generation of writers. I hope you have a great semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Payton!
DeleteThank you very much, I hope you enjoy my work!
Yeah, guiding the next generation is something I'm very excited to do!
I hope you have a great semester as well!
Hi CJ! I think it's cool that you want to teach writing while being able to create your own stories. It sounds like the best of both worlds for you! I also watch anime. I wasn't able to get into anime for the longest time because I thought it was too extra and weird. My sister basically forced me to watch anime with her during quarantine time though and I actually enjoyed it. We finished Demon Slayer which I thought was pretty good. Then, we finished HunterxHunter which I thought was amazing! I wish they would make more episodes though. Now, we're watching One Piece which I think is phenomenal. I think all these animes are pretty character driven, especially One Piece. So that's cool that you write your stories the same way. Also, the story you're working on now with the floating islands sounds really interesting! I hope all goes well with that, and who knows maybe I'll end up buying the book one day! ;D
ReplyDeleteHi Helen!
DeleteAnd yeah, it really is the best of both worlds!
Glad to hear you found an appreciation for anime, there's definitely some really great shows out there!
Yeah, character-driven stories just feel much more alive and exciting in my view.
And thank you!
Hey CJ! I think it is so cool that you are a professional writing major, I have never heard of that! You are living my childhood dream of writing fictional stories as a career, so I am incredibly jealous of you. I thin that your approach to writing is super cool and I love how intentional you are with what you do. I hope this class just pushes you further in your writing styles and also encourages you for your future!
ReplyDeleteHi Emma!
DeleteThank you very much!
Your kind words mean a lot :)
And thanks, I hope you get good things out of this class as well!
CJ! I really enjoyed reading your introduction, as it was so interesting and such a different perspective from what I have! I am a science major, and I am not the biggest fan of creative writing, so it blows my mind that you have started/finished writing six alternative universes. That is so impressive, and I wish you the best of luck with everything going forward!
ReplyDeleteHi Megan!
DeleteThank you very much!
I suppose the inverse is true for me, I can't really imagine working through those big academic articles, let alone writing one!
I think it is really neat how you already have your own character universes. I myself am just starting with writing creatively in this class, my brain is mostly wired to write research and argumentative, but I LOVE to read. I also like how you said you like to write character driven stories, those tend to be my favorite to read. I too am a dog lover, I love dogs so so much and I hope to see that love of caniforms in future stories of yours.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
DeleteYeah, character driven stories are the best! (at least in my opinion)
Not all of my stories have them, but at the current moment, I've got one in Week 4's story at least!
Hey CJ, I definitely wish you the best for your stories to come! I wish I had that energy and dedication to write stories like that, but I'll leave that to people like you who could outshine me any day! That said, I've recently been on an anime kick again and some of my favorites are Berserk, My Hero Academia, Hellsing, Naruto, Bleach, and the list can go on forever, to be honest. I'm also reading countless manga as well for shows that are pending new seasons, so the grind really never stops. What are some types of anime's you like? Anything you watching currently?
ReplyDeleteHi Jaicee!
DeleteThank you very much!
My favorite genres are probably the action and rom-com ones! (bonus points if it's both!)
I was watching one called Fruit of Grisaia before my semester started up, but haven't gotten the chance to finish watching it. It's been entertaining and interesting so far though, that's for sure!
Hi CJ,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for that wonderful introduction!
What part of Southern California did you grow up in? Also, what made you and your family move to Yukon?
I think that it is so cool that you are a Professional Writing major! This class is definitely for you! Now I am very excited to read your stories and project for this class.
Good luck for the rest of the semester!
-Libby
Hi Libby!
DeleteI grew up near San Bernadino in a small town called Redlands. We moved because my dad got laid off and we got a job offer in Oklahoma that was simply too good to pass up.
Yep, this class has been a really great experience for me, given me plenty of chances to flex my story-writing muscles again!
Thank you! Bets of luck to you as well!
Hi Libby!
ReplyDeleteYour major is really cool to me! Although I also like to imagine some magic world when I write my stories, I think I am not suited for the professional writing major. Are there any big challenges for you when you study for your courses?
HI CJ,
ReplyDeleteI too am from California, though Northern just outside of Sacramento. What area are you from? This class seems perfect for you, due to your love for writing. I am excited to read through some of your stories and see what tales you have to offer. It was great getting to know you and wish you the best with the rest of the semester.
Hi CJ!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love that you are a writing major as it is a sister major to mine. Well, sort of, since I'm an English major. I've read a couple of your stories so far and I have enjoyed every one of them so I'd say you have a pretty successful future ahead of you. Keep up the awesome work. It was also nice to meet you!