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Progress: I've gotten a lot of information from different colleges on their Creative Writing programs. From this I have gained mentors to help me. I've also decided what I want to major in.
Motivation: I have a hard time getting motivated for everything. I find myself pushing this aside because I don't like to think about the future. But I need to get over it because the future is coming whether I like it or not. So, hopefully I can get motivated for this.
Interest: I have a ton of interest in Creative Writing, I just need to explore more.
Revision: I don't think I need any revision. My plan for this project is clear, I just need to research more.
Plan- Now since I've explored colleges, and majors, I'm going to research careers. Careers that you can get with a degree in Creative Writing. I think that's my final step in this project. Then I will put it all together.

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https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_success_failure_and_the_drive_to_keep_creating#t-418165
Elizabeth Gilbert is an author most known for her book "Eat Pray Love". On her Ted Talk, she begins with talking about how that book was such a big success. But anything she wrote after it wouldn't be because it wasn't "Eat Pray Love". She talks about her backstory on how she always wanted to be a writer. She says before "Eat Pray Love" she worked as a waitress and got rejected from publishers after publishers. She wondered if she should quit while she was behind. But she didn't and went on to be a successful author. I think this relates to my personal project not because I'll be an author, but it shows me that I shouldn't give up on my dream. My dream of writing and majoring in Creative Writing. This was a really good Ted Talk, 10\10 recommend.

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I'm not sure where I'm going with this project. I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. What college do I wanna go to, what I want to major in, what I want to do for a living, etc. I've narrowed down my college choices, but I feel like they can always change. So far I really like Oakland, SVSU, Eastern, and Lake Superior State. It just all comes down to pricing, if I get in, if they have a good Creative Writing program. I've also come to the conclusion that I will be most happy majoring in Creative Writing. I think I'd also like to minor in something that goes along with that. Maybe a minor in writing or English? I don't know. There's a lot of things you can do with a degree in Creative Writing, I'm just not sure what I want to do. I think for these next few months I will focus on researching types of careers you can do with this degree.

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This month I started writing in a journal. Since then I've been writing everyday and I truly feel that it has helped me become a better writer. Also my hand hurts less now when I write. I'm honestly not sure of where to go from here, maybe I'll invest in a writing book or something like that. Over break I will continue to write in my journal everyday, and read. My goal for this project is to find out what I want to do in college and after college. So far I've ruled out that I definitely want to study Creative Writing. I'm not sure what I want to do with Creative Writing though, so I hope that this project will help me figure that out.

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I have started writing in a journal every day. I'm writing everything from fiction, poetry, and even rants. I think that writing everyday will help me better myself as a writer.

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November was a month of slacking for this project. I have no excuses, nothing much has happened this month. I wrote in my goal chart that my goal this month was to cross something off of my majors list. However as of October, I've decided that I want to study Creative Writing in college. I did get some info about the creative writing program at SVSU. Resource for that is down below. My December goal is to get 5 mentors, as of right now I have 4. I have the editor from the Huron Tribune, Michael Somers, and two of the professors at SVSU. I just hope that I can really advance this month for this project.

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Long time no see. SVSU creative writing info 11-21-17

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Long time no see. SVSU creative writing info 11-21-17

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These are the questions I asked:
1. Is it hard to get a job with a degree in Creative Writing?

2. Do you need (or would it help) to have a masters degree in Creative Writing?

3. Do you have an estimated number on how many students at SVSU major in Creative Writing?

4. Do you think that SVSU would be the best place to go to get a degree for Creative Writing?

And these are the answers I received:
From Professor C. Vince Samarco: The job question is the biggest question students have about a Creative Writing degree.  Students who graduate from SVSU with a degree in creative writing fall into these three camps:  About a third of students go to graduate school to become high school teachers or university professors.  About a third go into the writing professions--advertising, journalism, public relations, marketing, etc.  And about a third choose their own path--going to law school, for instance, working a job in sales, etc.  About 90% of our graduates report getting jobs within a year of graduation.

There are two reasons why a graduate degree in creative writing would be helpful.  First, if you want to teach you'll need an advanced degree.  If that's not your path, a number of folks get a graduate degree in creative writing simply because they want two to three years to focus on their writing, with no other distractions.  That can be personally enriching, if that's what you want for yourself.

We have about 75 majors at SVSU and about 50 minors.

SVSU can be a good place to get a degree in creative writing, depending on what you're looking for.  We have an intimate program; only two professors teach in the field.  That means we get to know our students well and can meet with them frequently one-on-one.  That's not always the case at larger schools.  We're also good at what we do.  We've both been teaching for a number of years and have a good track record helping students develop their work.
From Daniel Gates: Hello, Alexis. I’m glad to know you are interested in majoring in Creative Writing. The Creative Writing program includes courses in fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. All majors practice their craft in each genre, and all eventually produce a portfolio of work. Most Creative Writing courses are taught by two faculty members, Dr. Arra Ross and Dr. Vince Samarco. I would estimate that there are about 35 majors and 40 minors in the program right now.

To answer your first question, it is not necessarily difficult to find a job after earning a degree in creative writing, but the field that you are interested in, publishing, is very competitive. It’s possible, but you might have to move to a city where publishing is a bigger industry. To get a leg up, you might also want to pursue a graduate program in publishing and editing after college. You would certainly need to develop excellent skills as an editor of other people’s writing. You would also need to do a lot of research on the publishing industry to find the niche you wanted to work in—textbooks, popular fiction, scientific publishing, etc.

People with degrees in Creative Writing pursue many different careers after graduation, and many of them make use of their writing skills on the job. A number of our students in Creative Writing also pursue a major or minor in Professional and Technical Writing. These two degrees can work well together, especially if you want to work as a writer in government, the tech industry, or the many other fields where good communication skills are valued.

A Master’s degree in Creative Writing is often an M.F.A. (or Master’s in Fine Arts). An M.F.A. in Creative Writing would allow to devote even more time and practice to developing as a writer. It would probably not be a required degree if you wanted to pursue a career in publishing.

There are many good universities that offer degrees in Creative Writing, of course. SVSU has committed professors of creative writing and a community of students who are developing as writers. The right place for you will have classes that you are interested in taking with professors and classmates you can learn from.

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This month I've decided that I want to major in Creative Writing in college. While some of the emails and answers to my questions have helped me greatly in this quest, I feel that I have decided this on my own. I've looked into English and Journalism, and I just feel like I wouldn't be happy majoring in those. However I might minor in one of them, you never know. My top three colleges right now are Oakland, Eastern, and Saginaw Valley. Believe it or not a lot of colleges don't offer creative writing. I think now I will research the jobs that you can get with a degree in Creative Writing and see which one I would enjoy doing.
My goals for November are to research the possible jobs I might have in the future. I'll probably look more into creative writing programs also. Oakland looks like they have a good program. I'm not sure what else I'll be doing this next month, guess we'll find out.

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I emailed one of the creative writing professors at SVSU with questions and am waiting for a response.

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I also emailed Annie Gilson who is the director of the creative writing program at Oakland University. Waiting back for the answers to the questions I asked her.

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Meg Cabot is an author most people know, or at least have heard of. She's known for her teen fiction mostly. I read a lot of her books in freshman year, so I thought I would go take a look at her website. On her website she has a page of frequently asked questions, which answer most of the questions I have, so there is no need to email her.
Here are some of the questions and answers that will help my project:
How long did it take you to get your first book published?
It took me three years of sending out query letters every day to get an agent, and a year for her to find me a publisher.
How can I get the book I’ve written published?
Go to your local library or bookstore and get a book on the writer’s market. The one that I used was called Jeff Herman’s Guide to Agents, Editors, and Publishers. You want to find the most updated version of whatever book you get, because you are going to be writing to the people whose addresses are listed inside, and you want to make sure they are still working at these places.
The book you get will tell you that to get a publisher to look at your book, you must first write them what’s called a query letter. This is a one page letter describing you, your book, and why a publisher would want to buy this book from you. Just to let you know, I sent out several hundred of these letters before a single person ever asked to see the book I was trying to sell.
I want to be a writer, but I can’t seem to sit down and write.
That is the difference between someone who WANTS to write, and someone who DOES write. The person who FINDS the time is the one who is going to become a writer. The person who doesn’t, won’t. You have to decide what’s important to you. I didn’t write very much while I was in school because I had too much homework/social life. There is no shame in waiting on the writing thing until you have more time. I did.

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I emailed Michael Somers, who is the author of starved. I asked him some questions and am waiting for an answer to those. I will record the answers here when I receive them.
10-20-17 update here are the answers:
1. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Yes.  From a very young age, as early as four or five, I knew I wanted to be the kind of person who created the things I enjoyed so much: Stories and books and even the cartoons I loved watching.

2. What inspires you to write?

I used to believe in inspiration of the ah-ha lightbulb variety, the kind that grips you and propels you to write feverishly and brilliantly, culminating in a celebrated and admired best-seller.

Then I became a professional writer after I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in English.  The kind of inspiration I mentioned above is the stuff of childish notions about inspiration and what it takes to create a work.  Deadlines were my main inspiration.  Being assigned projects and getting them completed before the deadline was all the inspiration I needed.

This notion is very true: Show up regularly and the ideas will come.  Show up regularly and the ideas will come.  Sometimes I know what I want to write but more often than not, I’m surprised by what comes out when I get into the flow.

3. Was it hard to publish a book?

My gosh, yes!  Was it ever.  Here’s a condensed version of the story.

In 2012, Karen Grencik, my literary agent at the time, told me I had a choice: Let go of the dream of seeing my book STARVED published, or publish it myself.

Karen had sent my book to all of the big and medium-sized Young Adult publishers.  STARVED was rejected by them all, which was quite difficult and discouraging for me.  Some rejections were quite harsh, but most of the rejections were kind and encouraging, and could be summed up in a few ways.

1. My book is considered a midlist book and in the age of tightened budgets, midlist books were being overlooked for ones with blockbuster potential.

2. The niche of realist topical YA fiction filled up fast and there was no room for my book on publisher’s lists at that time.

3. YA stories with male protagonists had few slots and tight competition on publisher’s lists at that time.

The decision was not an easy one to make.  Karen had done all she could to pitch the book to publishers, but perhaps the biggest gift she gave me was confidence.  Confidence that someone believed in my writing and my story enough to take me on as a client.  Confidence that STARVED deserved to be read by the public.  Confidence that I could accomplish that goal

1. My book is considered a midlist book and in the age of tightened budgets, midlist books were being overlooked for ones with blockbuster potential.

2. The niche of realist topical YA fiction filled up fast and there was no room for my book on publisher’s lists at that time.

3. YA stories with male protagonists had few slots and tight competition on publisher’s lists at that time.

The decision was not an easy one to make.  Karen had done all she could to pitch the book to publishers, but perhaps the biggest gift she gave me was confidence.  Confidence that someone believed in my writing and my story enough to take me on as a client.  Confidence that STARVED deserved to be read by the public.  Confidence that I could accomplish that goal myself.

I spent months researching self-publishing, and the amount of information out there was overwhelming. It took a long time to learn what was good advice for my situation, but I finally knew what I needed to do to launch my own press.

Coming up with a name was the hardest part.  Eventually I landed on Rundy Hill Press, which has significant personal meaning for me.  My maternal grandparents — John Bohil and Marguerite Rundy Bohil — started farming in the 1940s on 120 acres on the border of Shiawassee and Saginaw Counties in Michigan.  Tired of working for others, they set out to work for themselves, raising crops and livestock, and making a successful go of it.  They were entrepreneurs, their own bosses, and that’s what I was setting out to do.  So I decided to honor them by naming my press after them.  Every time I type or say Rundy Hill Press, I feel a surge of pride at carrying on their spirit.

Others may take me less seriously now as writer knowing that I self-published STARVED, but that’s not any weight I need to carry.  The book was edited and vetted many times.  It took ten years to write and eventually publish.  It’s a story I stand behind and believe in.  It’s a story I’m proud to say has helped people struggling with eating disorders themselves, or who see a loved one endure them, get help and that’s the most important part of this whole odyssey.

Not who published my book.
I am Rundy Hill Press.  I am an authorpreneur.  I am not ashamed.

4. What did you major in in college? (If you went to college)

I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Albion College (1997) and a Master of Arts in English/Writing from Northern Michigan University (2003).

5. Do you have any tips on writing a book?

Don’t get so caught up in the plenitude of advice you’ll find online about writing a book.  Don’t get caught up in the idea of having a best-seller and rolling in money.  The only way to write a book is to sit down and write.  As simple and as hard as that.

Each of the books I’ve written have been with different processes.

For example, STARVED was written rather haphazardly.  I wrote down chapter titles and ideas on a piece of paper and went down the list each week, writing the book completely non-sequentially and out of order.  When I reached the bottom of the list, I printed up what I had, laid the chapters out on the floor, and identified which areas needed bulking up and what gaps needed to be filled.  Then I wrote chapters to fill those needs.

With the sequels to STARVED, which haven’t yet been published but I’m actively working on preparing, I wrote sequentially, from beginning to end, very traditionally.  I went through the same process of identifying gaps to fill and areas to bulk up.

Feedback from people who are your friends or family is nice, but they usually want you to feel good and tend to hold back on serious critiques they might have.  It’s worth finding someone who will be honest and constructive.  I’m lucky that I have friends who can be direct with me, like Mrs. Anderson, and I’ve also paid freelance editors to read my work and give me feedback.  I think what separates professional writers from amateurs is the ability to seek – even demand – honest, critical feedback without falling apart if they need to do a lot of revision.  Each of my books has required plenty of revision and I’ve had to put my ego aside in order to make the changes.  I really want to write the best possible story I can.  Plus, I worked in advertising and journalism and learned to tame my ego so I could write the best ad or feature I could.

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Today I searched around google to find an editor I could email and ask questions to. I ended up on the Huron tribune website and found an email of an editor who works there. I really hope she emails me back because this could really help me with this project. Other than that, not much other research was done today. Tomorrow I'll do more research.
9-26-17 update on research, I received an email back and here are the editor's answers to my questions.

1. What did you major in in college?

Major in journalism; minor in business administration

2. Where did you go to college?

Central Michigan University (best journalism program in the state of Michigan)

3. When did you know that you wanted to be an editor?

Since I was about 10 years old. I knew I wanted to write for a newspaper for as long as I can remember.

4.Do you enjoy your job?

Very much – I love the Huron Daily Tribune and working at my hometown’s daily newspaper.

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http://www.mardijolink.com/contact.htm
support@baycitytribune.com
Michael Somers - Starved
https://oaklandartsreview.com/contact/
https://corriganliteraryreview.wordpress.com/2017/03/11/want-a-job-with-that-english-degree/

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My personal project will be about what I want to major in and do after college. I know I want to major in either English, writing, or creative writing. I'm just not sure what to do with a degree in any of those. I'm interested in copy editing, being an author, writing in a magazine, or just being a publicist. My knowledge on these jobs isn't that good, and I'm hoping that with this project I'll be able to learn more about all of them. So that at the end of this project, I'll know what I want to do with my life. I'm not even sure where to start researching. I would love to talk to actual people who have these jobs. People with experience, I guess you could say.