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Reading and writing
Dec. 1st, 2004 12:18 amSumming up the last I-don't-know-how-many-weeks is already impossible - too much time has passed. Not that it matters much; my day-to-day life still isn't all that terribly exciting. I go to uni, occasionally I meet friends, I read, I go job hunting... you get the picture. I have a lot to do for university, which I sometimes do, and sometimes, well... fail to do. Or postpone.
Still, there have been some important things happening recently.
1.) Rather spontaneously I decided to join Scape Sister Dashan and a select group of German fanfic writers from the fanficparadies.de mailing list for a weekend of talking about fic and fandom, watching tv, and writing. Technically it was the award ceremony for the Paradiesapfel award, but really, it was just a kind of extended party. Ten women sitting around, talking and watching TV, some of them typing on their laptops all the while. Atti, at whose place the event took place, sort of urged me to write a story for her 'Adventskalender', a tradition by which for each day of December until Christmas there is a short surprise story. She was still some stories short, but I didn't feel like writing Christmas stories - it's not a topic that gets my creative juices flowing. Anyway, I sort of jokingly said I'd write something, but it would be in a fandom no one on the list would know. I didn't expect Atti to accept that offer, but she did, and to my surprise some degree of inspiration found me. I ended up writing through all of that Saturday, and by the end of the weekend I had the first draft of a Zebra Girl story finished, and the beginning of an It's Walky! story. When I wasn't writing I was talking writing with the other authors there, and there were fascinating disagreements about the merits and faults of my ambitious Harry Potter draft late one night. I came away from the weekend still inspired and still wanting to write, but then...
2.) ... my computer died. Long story short, I was without a computer for about a week, after which I got 'old' computer parts from a few friends as well as some new parts, and after a long computer building and reinstallation session I was back in the digital age. My 'new' computer is much better than the old one; among other things, it is good enough to make music vids on, if I had the time. Yay! I will certainly try that sometime. (1,67 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 100 GB harddrive, for those who care. *g* As compared to 600 MHz, 256 MB Ram and 12 GB harddrive before. And all in all, it only cost me around 100 Euros!)
3.) I could have gone back to doing useful stuff then, I suppose, but a few weeks ago, Scapekid had brought me The Urth of the New Sun from the U.S. and the book was beckoning with a siren voice... so I opened it, firmly telling myself I would only read the first chapter. Well. I fell in love with it within the first two pages, so obviously I could not stop; and although I tried to stretch it as far as possible (reading extra-slowly, making long pauses between chapters etc.) it was over far too soon and I was lost in Gene Wolfe Land again. I doubt I could describe to anyone why Gene Wolfe's books, or at least those that I know, are so magical to me. I've tried - you can find the attempts in the memories section of my journal, and a few short rambling essay thingies on my website, but really, the only way to understand, I suspect, is to read Gene Wolfe. I know no other writer in SF or fantasy who can compare to him. I'm rereading The Book of the New Sun now, 'cause you can't hope to even begin to understand that book on the first reading.
4.) Writing, again. The first of December coming up, I had to finish my two stories, which I did this weekend in one non-stop, hardcore writing marathon. This had the very welcome side effect of awakening in my wonderful beta reader Birgitt an interest in the source text(s), and by now she's already read the first year of It's Walky!/Roomies! and so far seems to be really enjoying it. I feel a certain evil glee... *g* Besides making a new reader for It's Walky!, this also seems to indicate that my story/-ies can be enjoyed by, and even induce curiousity about the background, in readers not familiar with the universes they're set in.
5.) I have Miranda now, an instant messaging program that is compatible with IcQ, AIM and MSM. Anyone here who'd like to chat to me?
6.) Going to bed now.
Still, there have been some important things happening recently.
1.) Rather spontaneously I decided to join Scape Sister Dashan and a select group of German fanfic writers from the fanficparadies.de mailing list for a weekend of talking about fic and fandom, watching tv, and writing. Technically it was the award ceremony for the Paradiesapfel award, but really, it was just a kind of extended party. Ten women sitting around, talking and watching TV, some of them typing on their laptops all the while. Atti, at whose place the event took place, sort of urged me to write a story for her 'Adventskalender', a tradition by which for each day of December until Christmas there is a short surprise story. She was still some stories short, but I didn't feel like writing Christmas stories - it's not a topic that gets my creative juices flowing. Anyway, I sort of jokingly said I'd write something, but it would be in a fandom no one on the list would know. I didn't expect Atti to accept that offer, but she did, and to my surprise some degree of inspiration found me. I ended up writing through all of that Saturday, and by the end of the weekend I had the first draft of a Zebra Girl story finished, and the beginning of an It's Walky! story. When I wasn't writing I was talking writing with the other authors there, and there were fascinating disagreements about the merits and faults of my ambitious Harry Potter draft late one night. I came away from the weekend still inspired and still wanting to write, but then...
2.) ... my computer died. Long story short, I was without a computer for about a week, after which I got 'old' computer parts from a few friends as well as some new parts, and after a long computer building and reinstallation session I was back in the digital age. My 'new' computer is much better than the old one; among other things, it is good enough to make music vids on, if I had the time. Yay! I will certainly try that sometime. (1,67 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 100 GB harddrive, for those who care. *g* As compared to 600 MHz, 256 MB Ram and 12 GB harddrive before. And all in all, it only cost me around 100 Euros!)
3.) I could have gone back to doing useful stuff then, I suppose, but a few weeks ago, Scapekid had brought me The Urth of the New Sun from the U.S. and the book was beckoning with a siren voice... so I opened it, firmly telling myself I would only read the first chapter. Well. I fell in love with it within the first two pages, so obviously I could not stop; and although I tried to stretch it as far as possible (reading extra-slowly, making long pauses between chapters etc.) it was over far too soon and I was lost in Gene Wolfe Land again. I doubt I could describe to anyone why Gene Wolfe's books, or at least those that I know, are so magical to me. I've tried - you can find the attempts in the memories section of my journal, and a few short rambling essay thingies on my website, but really, the only way to understand, I suspect, is to read Gene Wolfe. I know no other writer in SF or fantasy who can compare to him. I'm rereading The Book of the New Sun now, 'cause you can't hope to even begin to understand that book on the first reading.
4.) Writing, again. The first of December coming up, I had to finish my two stories, which I did this weekend in one non-stop, hardcore writing marathon. This had the very welcome side effect of awakening in my wonderful beta reader Birgitt an interest in the source text(s), and by now she's already read the first year of It's Walky!/Roomies! and so far seems to be really enjoying it. I feel a certain evil glee... *g* Besides making a new reader for It's Walky!, this also seems to indicate that my story/-ies can be enjoyed by, and even induce curiousity about the background, in readers not familiar with the universes they're set in.
5.) I have Miranda now, an instant messaging program that is compatible with IcQ, AIM and MSM. Anyone here who'd like to chat to me?
6.) Going to bed now.
