pick n mix
10.30.03 @ 12:09 p.m.
This morning I got up extra early to get to school for my Italian Oral Midterm, which we had to do at an odd time because my partner has class all day today and is gone tomorrow. After exploring the elderly and confusingly laid out Gerlinger Hall, we found our teacher's office and gave a presentation that was "high B range" work. Go us. The majority of the errors came from looking up the wrong verb (to care for oneself instead of to care about something) and direct-translating phrases. When I stumbled, I went to the trouble of correcting myself.
THEN, oh ho, I went to the Brainerd lab to try to fix up my motherfucking magazine cover, which has persisted in coming out as a duotone no matter what I do. Lab monitors tried to help me fix it, but it the end it was futile and I had to turn in FOUR ROUGH DRAFTS with a note explaining what elements I was actually trying to use and what were total fuckups. I'm so upset by this. Well, frustrated, really. Also, it takes FOREVER for things to get printed in that lab, at least on the color printer. And (guilt, guilt) I may or may not have deleted someone else's work from the queue. But I think since the print queue on my computer was on hold, it was just from someone working another day and not being able to print. Dunno. I skittered to the bookstore to try to buy a manila envelope and ended up getting a big reclosable file because they were easier to find. Meh. Anyway. Hate computers, only mildly tolerate Quark XPress. Fucking design. It also makes me endlessly sad that I don't seem to be as good at it as I would have hoped. Which is funny, considering I have several sketches of imaginary magazines that relate to various stories I've written. I think part of the problem is that I'm really, really weak on color theory. I don't know how to use colors that well. Monochrome, man, I'm set. Laying out a black and white photo, no problem. Designing a full color magazine cover... fuck.
Anyway. Lots of staggeringly beautiful photography slides in Visual Communications today. Mostly FSA photographers and Robert Frank.
I'm anticipating the start of NaNoWriMo this year, but oddly enough, I'm thinking more about the act of writing than my nebulous plot. I think I'm expecting it to take care of itself somehow, which might be a big mistake. I have a feeling that this year's offering might not go so well as last year's. The point is that I'm challenging myself, right? (The point is sitting in coffe shops and bitching about character development... no... nice try.)
Last year, oh... I wrote pages of summary in the weeks before NaNo, two or three versions of events and right now all I have is a disjointed series of notes on the structure of the Rangers which probably deserve a better name for their organization and it's similarity to other books or series I've read. Some notes on who Celeste is and how she's gradually moving from naive, good natured daughter of a cult to a disenchanted, skeptical outcast to quite a shocking little amazon. I bumped her home society northward to be colder for a number of vague reasons and she suddenly became this huntress... oh my. I don't know what I'm going to do with her. Traveler is pretty well set in his character, now. He plays by his own rules, to abuse a cliche. He's a bit Indiana Jones-esque. Post-apocalyptic Indy. Delightful.
A couple of things annoy me about NaNo: the high percentage of junior high age students who think they can write a kick-ass novel (judging from your message board posts... no); the deep fantasy writers (okay, I'm just prejudiced here, but it's a genre that spawns far too much imitation) who are frequently unashamedly geek RPG players. I'm all for geek... in moderation. I'm such a condescending, superior jerk, but sometimes I feel like these people (who make up the most vocal part of NaNo participants) kind of cheapen the experience. But a lot of them seem to fail, and being one of two thousand winners out of thirteen thousand entrants is more valuable.
Despite my lurking judgemental nature (who am I to speak, anyway?), I ultimately feel that you should love what you love and not worry about what people will think.
Previously
fuck it @ 08.01.05
fanciful imaginary sea voyages to come @ 07.20.05
*dies* @ 07.19.05
more ootp @ 07.17.05
harry potter: driving our children into devil worship @ 07.17.05
