Listen:

Hey, everyone. I'm TJ Heffers, 19, madman and Sophomore Creative Writing major. I'm very much excited for this class and can't wait to get into the some of the classics and, even if I hate every minute of them (Robinson Crusoe is already getting to me, though I'm definitely sticking with it), I'm going to do everything in my power to take what I can from them and use it to make myself a better writer.
I took German in high school but it seems like it hasn't done me any good because the things I can remember to say are either obscenities or involved in some way or another with giving directions to the Post Office.
My strengths in writing, as a prose writer generally and fiction writer almost always, are voice and character creation, which I can usually pull off without thinking much. My weakness, definitely, is plot development and metaphor, which probably will cause problems in the near future. However, since while at school I'm nearly obsessed with improving my writing, I don't anticipate much of a problem.
I haven't read much that was really awesome on my own in a while; I started Dr. hunter S. Thompson's great "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" over the summer but got wrapped up in other things. Last thing I probably read of my own volition that was really good was either Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" or Kurt Vonnegut's "Timequake." Vonnegut is, incidentally, my favorite writer.
I also saw "District 9" the day before coming back to SU and loved it. Definitely worth a read. Though the South African main character in that has made me wonder where Dr. Retief's accent has gone...


... My first assignment for Novel, with the exception of having to read Robinson Crusoe. No biggie. It's a good class so far, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses.