Writing class
I signed up to take another undergrad advanced fiction writing class and almost didn't go because the other two courses I attended in the summer (both were entry level fiction) were made up mostly of disinterested twenty year olds who wrote about--well, actually, I can't remember what the stories were about, except for this one girl who wrote a great story about living in Japan that was nicely understated and had a line I love describing the Japanese roommate as seeming to have a head full of "unicorns and rainbows." Anyway, I almost gave up on going to the class because I had trouble finding it and was late, but then I decided I could go at least this one time and sit through a few hours and then never return if I hated it.
The course turned out to be a good mix of people--mostly guys, which is a surprise and two older women (three if you count me) and then two cute younger girls. There are always a few slender hipster girls in these classes. They wear low slung tight jeans or corduroys and have long hair put back in messy ponytails and Converse sneakers with stars on them written in marker and blue nail polish and at least one piercing or tattoo. They make snarky comments in class and then turn around and write really sentimental stories about sensitive girls who no one understands.
Our first homework assignment is to find an example of bad writing and give her three pages of feedback about what exactly makes it bad. My first thought was to turn in a page or two of dialogue from One Tree Hill, but I don't know if I could come up with 3 pages to explain why it's bad--it just so obviously sucks. I suppose I could contrast it to somewhat smarter teen soaps like Party of Five and even Dawson's Creek and especially Veronica Mars. I should do the OTH dialogue except that means I'd have to watch the show again (which I obviously must enjoy on some level since I can't stop writing about it).
I am sorry I have not been better about updating. I tell myself every morning that I'll write for just few minutes before I start working, but then I get sucked into emails and phone calls and things that have to get done now, now, now. Because of all the restructuring going on at work, everything is messy right now and will hopefully settle down once we get more organized. I know I'm stressed because I had a dream the other night that combined two of my most common anxiety dreams. I dreamt that I was back in high school but didn't know my schedule or where any of the classes were and I kept getting lost in the hallways (just like when I was looking for my writing course on Wednesday...). Concurrently,my teeth were falling out. I went to spit into the bathroom sink and shards of teeth fell out and when I looked in the mirror, I could see rows and rows of teeth in my mouth but they kept falling out like ice cubes from a tray. But then you wake up from one of those dreams and at least get the sensation of great relief that it was all only a dream.
The course turned out to be a good mix of people--mostly guys, which is a surprise and two older women (three if you count me) and then two cute younger girls. There are always a few slender hipster girls in these classes. They wear low slung tight jeans or corduroys and have long hair put back in messy ponytails and Converse sneakers with stars on them written in marker and blue nail polish and at least one piercing or tattoo. They make snarky comments in class and then turn around and write really sentimental stories about sensitive girls who no one understands.
Our first homework assignment is to find an example of bad writing and give her three pages of feedback about what exactly makes it bad. My first thought was to turn in a page or two of dialogue from One Tree Hill, but I don't know if I could come up with 3 pages to explain why it's bad--it just so obviously sucks. I suppose I could contrast it to somewhat smarter teen soaps like Party of Five and even Dawson's Creek and especially Veronica Mars. I should do the OTH dialogue except that means I'd have to watch the show again (which I obviously must enjoy on some level since I can't stop writing about it).
I am sorry I have not been better about updating. I tell myself every morning that I'll write for just few minutes before I start working, but then I get sucked into emails and phone calls and things that have to get done now, now, now. Because of all the restructuring going on at work, everything is messy right now and will hopefully settle down once we get more organized. I know I'm stressed because I had a dream the other night that combined two of my most common anxiety dreams. I dreamt that I was back in high school but didn't know my schedule or where any of the classes were and I kept getting lost in the hallways (just like when I was looking for my writing course on Wednesday...). Concurrently,my teeth were falling out. I went to spit into the bathroom sink and shards of teeth fell out and when I looked in the mirror, I could see rows and rows of teeth in my mouth but they kept falling out like ice cubes from a tray. But then you wake up from one of those dreams and at least get the sensation of great relief that it was all only a dream.
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