December 2011
23 posts
6 tags
The Lions
My dear friend and comrade-in-quills, Larry (he used to be “mineralaccident” here on Tumblr—perhaps you’ve heard of him?), has been helping me out with some poems in their rough stages. He just compared me stylistically to contemporary poet Peter Campion, which was interesting and flattering. Flattering to know that he thinks I’m at this kind of level already for such...
3 tags
Ideas Down the Drain
Before Christmas came, I was trying to explain to my mom and my sister how they had these waterproof notepads for the shower (hint, hint) so that you could write your ideas down if/when they come. Sometimes, you’re just hit like lightning with the perfect sentence or poem or line of dialogue when you’re bathing (more often than not, I’ve noticed, since it’s such a nice...
REBLOG IF YOU'RE A WRITER WHO DOESN'T RELY ON...
I swear, I get more gift cards to Starbucks for Christmas every year just because everyone ASSUMES I run on it.
True story: I end up giving them to my mom.
Free Online Class from Yale on Modern Poetry
pilgrimsoulinme:
Yale has its entire Modern Poetry course, taught by Langdon Hammer, here. I can’t afford to go back to school, so I thought this was a great structured alternative. Happy studying all!
This is excellent.
I also highly recommend the Yale video lectures on Youtube, for those interested! Especially the literature discussions with Amy Hungerford.
1 tag
Machines and Dreams
Prompted by Gabe, since he asked me a few personal things and wanted to know.
——-
“I’d like to see you cry,” you said in between laughs.
I paused for a moment and let it get quiet. “What is wrong with you?” I said, getting to the point where laughs become more like coughs. “Are you some kind of sadist? Or just one of those girls that gets off on...
2 tags
2011: A Retrospective Collection →
I put together a nice post about 2011—memories, inspiration, accomplishments, plus books and music and movies that I experienced this year that I think you should experience also. You should give it a read.
If I don’t write or talk to you before then:
Happy holidays, everyone! See you in 2012.
6 tags
My family, broken down into Myers-Briggs:
Me: INTJ
My sister, Paula: ISFP
Mom: ESFJ
Dad: ISTP
These are just my guesses. If this is accurate though, no wonder I can’t really relate in terms of the way I think…all the S’s in this family…
1 tag
I think one type of humor I can never understand is making fun of people for the way they look, simply because it’s too easy and because it can become really ugly. I sometimes feel bad about the jokes I make, but at least I feel somewhat justified in making fun of how people behave (because, default mode: BADLY), rather than what horrible fashion statements they’re making or whether...
3 tags
How to Rebel Without Even Trying
When I was younger, people were genuinely shocked when I came to school one day with my ear pierced. I didn’t even treat it like it was a big deal at all—I didn’t even mention it to anyone. In fact, by the time it was Monday, I probably had nearly forgotten it was there. I just showed up. But people obviously noticed anyway.
I remember one girl turning around in class and...
1 tag
I Can't Exist in Real Life
I piss off some members of my family sometimes because I’ll often say I want to go to some function or gathering with them (see: tonight, the neighbors’ Christmas party), and then end up not going, ultimately. What I do is tell myself that it’ll be fun, yeah!, there will be good food and I don’t usually see these people all that much. But then I’ll psych myself out by...
2 tags
I’ve been trying to monitor myself, as if I were a patient diagnosing himself: avoid things/people that bring out negative emotions, stop whining about things/people that are clearly beneath me and a waste of my time and focus on things that make me genuinely happy to be alive instead, avoid Tumblr more.
Yet cool anger beneath the surface always brings out the best kind of writing…
2 tags
I am sometimes very puzzled by what I’m writing (see: as in, what I’m writing at this very moment): will this be a poem or a short story?
How do you decide on structure? How do you distinguish free-form verse with cadence from short fiction in paragraphs? All of my writing has characters and a story, I know that, and it tends to be concrete. Poems can do that though—I still...
1 tag
Paula: You're taking me to school tomorrow. You better go to sleep soon, you wienerwaffle.
Me: I don't believe in sleep. It's against my religion.
Paula: Haha, I get it! Because you're an atheist.
Me: Good night.
I tried to make a bucket list
readingme:
…and post it as a new page here (I probably will soon) when I realized that, apart from bungee jumping and sky diving, everything comes down to meeting writers, traveling and writing a best seller.
Mine would just entail: “Doing things you don’t actually hate.”
It’s a very short list.
3 tags
“I had a teacher I liked who used to say good fiction’s job was to comfort...”
– David Foster Wallace
Anonymous asked: why did angela delete and switch to blogger? tumblr is better in my opinion.
3 tags
I’m a book snob, I’m a music snob, I’m an art snob, I’m a comedy snob, I’m a video game snob, I’m an internet snob, I’m an atheist snob, I’m a snob. Just by merely looking at me people have managed to decipher how judgmental I must be, how it must take a lot to impress me. Maybe they can tell by my sleepy eyes and slow movements (he looks bored, and...
4 tags
Dear High Schoolers,
I feel so sorry for you.
Please, don’t listen to those godawful adults that tell you these are the best years of your life. They don’t know what they’re talking about, and chances are, they’re probably miserable now and living their unfulfilled lives vicariously by entering their daughters into beauty pageants. Just don’t listen to them.
Listen to me instead:...
3 tags
HUMBUG
Why is Christmas shopping so annoying this year? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t always like that.
I remember when I was little and everything was so easy. I was creative with my gifts (and gift wrapping), and it didn’t even matter how my Nana always said she didn’t want anything and that my parents don’t have any hobbies. At my elementary school, the library would turn...
1 tag
Romance for the Aromantic
I was watching An Education last night and thinking about relationships and how and why people fall for each other. Since this is not something I really quite understand (like a lot of other human behaviors, apparently), I have to rely on things like movies and books and anecdotes from friends.
From what I can tell, it’s obviously not something someone decides. I know this is not a...
At some point, I should really write a story about an American that utterly loathes America.
That should be easy.