Could the timing be worse? (and the writing meme)

[lls_mutant]

So I was eating breakfast this morning and flipping through C&EN when I noticed something... an open faculty position at Lasalle University.

Starting in Fall of 2005.

WHY NOW????? I would LOVE to teach at Lasalle! It's nearby, it's a smaller, mainly undergrad university, and the department head knows my current boss, so he might at least LOOK at my resume. I even finish my job in September! But because of the baby... yeah. It's just out. ::Sigh:: I mean, I know they can't refuse you a job on the basis of pregnancy, but let's face it. I am not a strong enough candidate for a teaching job (I have one post-doc under my belt, and no real teaching experience, AND it's a p-chem position, and I'm a fuel scientist) for them not to find a perfectly good, legal, and valid reason to hire someone else over the lady who's going to need 3 months maternity leave three months into the job. Honestly.

Of course, the baby would be born right around finals and all...

No. Reasons why I can not even think about this:

1.) There's a REASON I'm opting to stay home.
2.) I have very few refereed pubs. Do I really think I've got a shot anyway?
3.) First year teaching job = many, many hours to be put in. Hubby is still working 70-80 hour weeks. This is not a good combination with a newborn.

Couldn't they have wanted someone for Fall 2006? ::Sniff::

Anyway. Gakking this from everyone else:

Ask me anything about my stories and/or writing process: inspiration, process, what the hell was I thinking, etc. No limit on questions, just ask away.

And to answer the one I know is coming- I hope sometime next week.

Comments

[aome.livejournal.com]

How much of the DTF/AIL story arch did you have in your mind initially? How much have you been working out as you go? Do you have a favorite part to that story arch, so far (not counting anything coming up)?

Bummer about the job timing.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Ooooh. Fun!

What happened:

I post over at Immeritus, and for a while I was one of a few slashers there. There was a "Sirius Black is Mine" contest, and someone suggested that since I was so convinced Sirius and Remus belonged together, I write an essay for Remus. So I did. It gave a history, and one of the lines was something about the only time Remus had ever seen Sirius really cry was when he ran away from home. So someone (that would be Evra, if she's reading!) suggested that she'd never seen a truly good fic with Sirius running away from home, and I should write one.

So I did.

Most of DTF sprung into my head pretty well formed, probably because the main story line was already there. I also knew Remus's parents really well from the beginning, and I knew Peter's father was going to die very early on as well.

Mentors formed once I introduced Alphard. That was harder to write, because it wasn't quite so clear-cut of an arc. I knew the ending from the beginning, but I didn't know a lot of the rest of it. The stuff with McGonagall- especially the night out- was a surprise to me. But the letters about the Prank and about sex I knew from the beginning.

Accidentally In Love has been a mix. I know the basics. Again, this is partly because JKR has laid out a lot of it for us. I also know VERY well how it ends, and where there's some doozies of moments. But again, some things surprise me. Alice and Sirius gravitated to each other as soon as she came on the page. Frank being bi was a bit of a surprise too (although it's not overly relavent.) And the Lily plotline fit perfectly into what I want to do with Remus, but it was one of those things that jumped into my head, again, fully formed. As soon as I thought of it I knew EXACTLY how it would play out and what kind of consequences it would have (many of which we've not yet seen, but we will). But there are things I've known they've been coming from the beginning. I knew Alex Sommers would reappear, grown up, and that he would save Remus and lose his job doing so from the minute he started pressuring Remus in part 1. (Sadly, I know what happens to him, too, although it doesn't happen in this fic and I'm not sure I'll write the story.) I knew about the Triage, and Marilyn's death, and I knew about Tina- I think I knew all of those when I was writing Deny Thy Father.

I don't have a favorite part, but I have favorite scenes. I was really, really happy with the ending of Deny Thy Father, when I pretty much broke the fourth wall. I loved Sirius's speech to James in part 7, when they're dancing in Wandwaver's. (Actually, I was REALLY happy with all of Part 7. It's probably my favorite part.) The other thing I've really enjoyed are the relationships- particurly Sirius/Damien and Caradoc/Remus, and although we never see it I REALLY love the relationship between Caradoc and Moody.

My least favorite parts are probably some of DTF where I went a little over the top, and the journey to Turkey. The problem with that is I've had two women point out that I got the culture a bit wrong. Oops. I keep meaning to go back and fix it, but that time thing...

Heh. I've rambled long enough. Fun question though! Thanks!