Burninate

[katster]

I hate my creative writing class with the burning fury of a thousand suns right now.

More to the point, I hate the book we're supposed to work out of, and think it's entirely bollocks, but he wants a notebook of writing done off the fucking questions in the book. But I *hate* the fucking book. Hate hate hate.

So I'm bored to tears doing these stupid things, and I don't know how I'm going to get ten of them done before tomorrow.

fuck.

[Edit: For your enjoyment (please note sarcasm) is one of the questions in the book. Keep in mind, this is probably one of the *better* prompts:

"Keep a list of issues you can't make up your mind about -- whether to quit your job, stop eating meat, tell someone off, major in English, try psychotherapy, admit a parent into a nursing home. Choose one issue, and create a verbal picture for each alternative: what you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel happening if you commit yourself to one alternative; then the other. These pictures do not need to be realistic; let your imagination offer its details."

I hate you, book.]

Comments

[archangelbeth]

If they don't need to be realistic, go for the list of issues like, ohhhh... If you had superpowers, do you want teleportation or flight? Superhero or supervillian? The blue cape or the red one?

It's creative writing, right? How creatively can you twist the book?

(Note: my so-called "creative writing" (which was actually "writing bad flannery o'connor imitations") class was the worst class I ever took, stopped me writing for a whole year, and I got a C-. I later heard that the dang thing was rigged; if you took the class 3 times, you tended to advance a letter grade in each... I don't know if that was true, but frankly? The teacher did not grade according to attendance and effort, but whether or not she liked the stuff. O:p Bleepch. She got hers in an IOU adventure, she did.)

Go with "stop eating meat," say, and hint at the vampire's point of view... The salty rich juices flowing into your throat, invigorating you with the life of the prey...

[lirazel.livejournal.com]

You are an evil, evil woman... and were I not married and straight I would be pursuing you with all the ardor of my proud, passionate nature.

(Aren't you glad I'm married and straight?)

Katster, you need an antidote. May I recommend Steering the Craft by U. K. LeGuin?

(Why are you taking this course, in any case?)

[archangelbeth]

I'm married and monogamous (probably mostly straight, too), so alas, our passionate and torrid affair can never be! But I gleefully accept the compliments anyway.

[katster.livejournal.com]

Hehe. I played it straight with that one, but when I was asked to make a list of characteristics describing a character whose respect for authority was shown in all the little ways, I came up with this (the line in italics is the exact prompt from the book:

Character X liked to show respect for authority in a number of little ways.

He showed up for school every day
Hair perfectly in order, nails clean
He wore a smile with his clean, pressed clothes
His handwriting was neat
His spelling perfect
And he was always the first
To volunteer.

He was the preppy kid
Showed up for every class
Enthusiastically asked questions
Ignored the kids calling him "Brownnoser"
Behind his back.
Always polite,
Never used a curse word
The Upright Citizen, for sure.

I don't know why
He took that Uzi
And opened fire in
That crowded McDonalds.

[katster.livejournal.com]

Why? Because I thought it would be interesting. Haw haw haw haw haw...

That and I wanted to have an excuse to write to give my mother and sister, who both excel at interrupting me when I need to concentrate. The problem seems to be is that it's never quite what I *wanted* to be writing, y'know? (Nor did it really help with the interruption problem.)

And as for the book in question, it's in one of my boxes that came from Berkeley, I got it on your recommendation my second year of grad school. I don't know exactly which box it's in right now, but I remember reading the whole thing back then.

Yes. It was a much better book than this crap.

-kat

[katster.livejournal.com]

Awww, too bad. I mean you're even in the same area of the country -- the deluged Northeast. ;)

(But yeah, I read Lira's response to your post and said, "Beth will be tickled by that compliment...")

*grin*

-kat

[archangelbeth]

*cackle*

I like it. Mmmmm!

[archangelbeth]

My inner evil shines through! Victory!

[djenk.livejournal.com]

...and create a verbal picture for each alternative: what you see, hear, taste, smell,....

Smells like.....teen spirit

>;)

[stevenehrbar.livejournal.com]

Agggh. Creative Writing classes. Reliably eeevil. And not the good kind of eeevil.