When I woke up this morning I could hear everyone moving around and then it got quiet so I thought they were all off at breakfast. I reached up for my iPod, which was in the window with my headphones on my pillow so I can hear my music without disturbing anyone else, and checked the time. I was really surprised to see it say 0815. I must have really slept well to be awake so early. But it was also good because it meant I could get an early start on my various projects - ie my Japanese lessons - while I ate breakfast. I worked on Japanese memory games until the battery in my PC needed to be recharged and then played with my DS for a while just to unwind. It’s not fair to throw phrases at someone with cartoon pictures and expect a perfect score the first time round. Then out came the Mac and the project I was working on last night, my original slash story. I realized after I closed everything down last night and had turned off my DS that it probably wasn’t a good idea to be writing a ghost story about the Titanic while at camp by a lake. I had to laugh at myself for that one.
It took a little work but I finally figured out how to have a movie playing in the upper corner of the screen while I’m typing. So I watched Furukawa Yuuta’s live concert DVD - he is such a little cutie - and then put on my old stand-by, Fuma no Kojiro the stageplay. I’ve watched that one so many times that I can have it on and not even need to be looking at it to know where they are in the story. Kinda fun and it’s just background while I’m writing. I am going to watch Shindo-san’s latest play, Murder Factory, while I’m here, but not while I’m writing. I’m planning to give that one my full attention, even if I do think he looks silly with blond hair. *snickers* It’s based on an anime, so he had to look like the character, but I was so happy when he cut it and dyed it back to black. I think he looks so much better with black hair. But that’s just me. *grins*
I’m still working on the new piece. No fan fiction ideas have come to me, yet, other than about ten ways for Yukimura to destroy Fuji in that really long piece I’m writing. And poor Niou. I just want to go hug him. Okay, I want to do that anyway, but it’s the principle of the thing. Still, I think the second half of the story is going to be angsty, but fun at the same time. Does that even make sense?
The only thing scheduled for the day that I’m planning to attend is the campfire tonight. Now whether or not we actually have a campfire is one thing - and we might. It depends on the weather more than anything else and, right now, it looks like rain. But campfire is also what we call getting together at the end of the day and sharing a piece we’ve either written ourselves or we really love. I’ve read from Sherlock Holmes in the past rather than share my own work. I’m planning to read the start of this new piece tonight, if I can figure out how to scroll on my Mac so it will flow easily enough. You’d think after owning this thing for a year I’d know more about it. *shrugs* Oh well, as long as it will let me type, play my movies and go online for me, that’s all I really care about. Oh yeah, and not get sick. Both Ro’s PC laptop and desktop caught the same virus the same day and have basically died. She can get on to update her virus controls/programs, which she had done about three weeks before I think, and can’t get them to handle the virus. I tried to quarantine it on the desk top and the same error message just popped back up, so she’s down to one computer, her Mac, and her PS3. I didn’t know the PS3 was considered a computer until I looked around her living room one night and there were six computers in one room - her desktop, both her laptops, one of my laptops, Megan’s laptop, and Brian’s laptop. She pointed out that there were actually seven because the PS3 was a computer as well. You learn something new every day.
Back to Fuma and writing. :) Life doesn’t get much better than this, really.
Just came in from the campfire that was without a campfire. :) We just met on the back deck to share our writing projects and I have never had such a reaction to one of my stories before. I read the intro to my Titanic piece and they all demanded to hear more tomorrow. I asked Bev during a lull if she thought there would be a problem with it being a guy/guy story, non-graphic. Obviously I’ll write the smut scenes, just not share them with anyone here. I’m not that far out of my comfort zone yet. She said there wasn’t a problem at all and I should read it for them. So the saga will continue tomorrow.
I have a couple of funny lines that Bev shared. She’s from England and still has her accent although it’s been softened by over 20 years in the states. She was talking about taking her first class of students - first graders - at a local Catholic school (one I actually attended for several years) to church on Fridays. The priest liked to ask questions to engage the students in mass as this was just for the school. Bev said she had one little boy who would wait for the questions and then yell out answers. The two she shared with us were, “I don’t know, but I know the name of Jesus” and that he would lie in the pew with his head down where his feet should be, his feet over the back of the pew, point at the ceiling and said, “just shoot me now and take me home.” We were in tears we were all laughing so hard. Bev said it was her first class at the school and she wasn’t really sure how to bring the matter up to the boy’s parents.
The other really fun thing is that I was talking with Bev after we all moved inside - it got cold once the sun set and the breeze came in off the lake - and she suggested that I come to one of the NIWP seminars and give a presentation on fan fiction. She knows that I’m a firm believer in using fan fiction to teach creative writing and said that this would be a good thing to share with teachers, with the caution that many of them will be resistant because of the basic topic matter (I mean, come on, we want these kids to read Shakespere - or Bacon depending on your POV - not some trashy novel). But I countered with the fact that even if they do resist, they will hear what I’m saying and might remember it. So I’m going to be asking for everyone’s help here in a week or two. I have until next spring to put together about a 40 minute presentation on fan fiction and I’ll need stats. I know the history well enough and I’ll have to cover terms and comms and fandoms (merlin, that alone could be a presentation) and I want to share some of my own experiences as a writer. But I could really use ideas and, if you’re willing to share, your own personal reason you started writing fan fiction. I’ll see if I can get Ro to tape the presentation and put it up on line as well. And I’ll do a separate post as well for ease of replies and tracking. If you could help get the word out into the comms though, that would be awesome. I’m excited, but nervous as hell too. :)
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