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[personal profile] itsallovernow
So a few hours ago, stretching out from last night, I was having an intense crisis of writing confidence, the kind that starts out with, "I'm never going to be able to write anything original, my writing is rambling and inspid, all of my original work sounds overdone, overblown, over in general."

Not to say that second-guessing isn't called for, or legitimate in my case. I'm still trying to formulate my Los Angeles origin story, and I keep starting it with things like, "I left in pieces," which if played right can end up being funny (as in pieces of everything I owned shoved into my car like a late 20th century montage of the Joads heading west), or angsty (emotional pieces from leaving behind the life I thought I wanted), gross (as in leaving behind body parts, but I didn't, so that's mostly just bad, and Freyishly wrong. Fucking James Frey, stealing away every non-fiction essayists ability to let the writing lead the pack, leaving the truth behind. But most of us only nudge tiny events or timelines, we don't make up things out of whole cloth and sell to the reader as truth), or pieces as in piecemeal. But still, it leads itself (languagewise) to other statements like leaving on the idea of false words and false promises, and I want wry, and I want deprecating, but I want honest more, and on top of all of it, I want a sort of prosedy, a turn of phrase that suggest momentum and abandonment and the sheer furious discomfort of traveling cross country by car in the world's wackiest caravan of me and the cat in one car, and my mom and my aunt in the other with the walky talkies (because, imagine if you will, this was 9 years ago and it was pre-cell phone for me). Whenever one of us wanted to pull over (because god forbid we organized specific stops), we had to roll down the window and hike the Walky Talking antenna out the window and wave it around because turns out they didn't actually work, but the flailing on the highway did.

And that was just the road trip.

So I'm leeching my momentum out with self-doubt, and fear, and ignoring the butt in seat rule, and it grows and spirals and yesterdays prompts didn't do more than make me panicky. Well, okay, it also gave me a visual/linguistic pun which is apparently only funny to me (and [livejournal.com profile] _minxy_, please forgive me for the harrasment, it's meant with love). She suggested the incorporation of a "pomegranite", and to me, the fruit, combined with the spelling error brought to mind this scene:

"It's a fruit?"

"Mmm hmm." Jackson nods and Vala smirks. "Pomegranates. They're a sign of fertility."

"They're also round and easy to carve." Jackson says absently, tracing the shape of the carving with his finger, not quite touching the stone relief.

Mitchell looks at the curve of fruit captured in the sandstone frieze, mouth twitching. "So that would be a pomegranite, then?"

Jackson is unamused, but Vala snorts. "You can wait your whole life for a pun that bad." He grins at her, cheeky and unrepentent.

Hee - sandstone? Rock? Carving? Pome -GRANITE?

It's okay, none of the Hussies thought it was funny either. (It's the whole Persephone, and pink Egyptian granite thing... still not funny? Sigh. The dangers of a classical education).

So the fruit lead to thoughts of a disheveled house after a holiday party, and that lead to thoughts of fic, and thoughts of non-fic and people making do, which lead to and from [livejournal.com profile] riarambles poinsettia image and maybe things aren't as dour as they look, because I feel more like writing is a possibility (as opposed to three hours ago where I couldn't even work because of the writing panic) and I can just roll my eyes at myself.

Date: 2006-01-31 10:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jenlev.livejournal.com
{{{gentle hugs}}} and much giggling at the wonderful pun. also the delightful daniel, cameron, vala moment. also, your l.a. story sounds intriuging and adore the image of flailing with the walkie talkies. *more hugs*

Date: 2006-01-31 10:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/
I spelled it wrong? Bwahahaha! *falls in laughing fit*

I'm telling you, man, science permeates EVERYTHING. And that is a hysterical pun.

*ROTF*

Date: 2006-02-01 07:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
Hee:) I'm glad you were amused:)

Date: 2006-01-31 11:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raithen.livejournal.com
you know, you have the prosody you want, I think, in your stream of consciousness go here:

The sheer furious discomfort of traveling cross country by car in the world's wackiest caravan of me and the cat in one car, and my mom and my aunt in the other with the walky talkies (because, imagine if you will, this was 9 years ago and it was pre-cell phone for me). Whenever one of us wanted to pull over (because god forbid we organized specific stops), we had to roll down the window and hike the Walky Talking antenna out the window and wave it around because turns out they didn't actually work, but the flailing on the highway did.

And that was just the road trip.


Honestly, I can think of far worse openings than that. It allows you to then move backwards and forwards, and it sets a tone while leaving you open to shifts....

Date: 2006-01-31 11:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cretkid.livejournal.com
wait! I missed that! when did you make the rock pun!?!?!??!

heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Date: 2006-01-31 11:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
Dude, I made it first in e-mail and Feldman couldn't figure out what I was talking about!!

Hee - and then I was all sad because I thought even our resident Geologist didn't think it was funny:)

Date: 2006-01-31 11:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cretkid.livejournal.com
Resident geologist is drugged out of her mind... this was today, wasn't it?

Date: 2006-02-01 12:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
Hee - yeah;)

Date: 2006-02-01 12:16 am (UTC)
kernezelda: (walking away)
From: [personal profile] kernezelda
Stars would tell you I would think it was funny, and she'd be right. *high fives Thea*

Really, how could one resist?

Date: 2006-02-01 12:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
Hee:) Hugs Kerne:) It's amazing how a good pun can make your whole day better:)

Date: 2006-02-01 01:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fbf.livejournal.com
wait. You expected ME to get a purposely done spelling change? ME?

*checks your forhead for your temp*

Are you sure you are back to normal?

Date: 2006-02-01 07:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
Clearly the plague is not out of my system:)

Date: 2006-02-01 01:47 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ixchup.livejournal.com
*raises hand* I got the pun immediately and was giggling before you started your vigniette--must be my classical education too.

Thea, you can write anything and make it lyrical. Just think of your life as a story and put the fingers to the keyboard (or pen to paper) and let it flow. Then edit it. I'm sure it'll be wonderful.

Date: 2006-02-01 07:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
Thanks for the encouragement! It's much appreciated.

Date: 2006-02-01 02:29 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fourteenlines.livejournal.com
Well, I think it's funny. But then I do love a good granite joke now and then - lord knows I need something to make my job funny. *g*

Date: 2006-02-01 07:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
Hee - I also think that it was funnier with the elaboration I offered in LJ:) But thank you!

Date: 2006-02-01 01:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cretkid.livejournal.com
I may be gneiss but don't take me for granite.

Date: 2006-02-01 05:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cretkid.livejournal.com
My students have no sense of humor: Mineralogists look for cleavage is funny, dammit!

As is 'tuff schist', 'gneiss hat', and 'my parents went on a Caribbean cruise and all I got was this dumb chert'

Date: 2006-02-01 07:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] denyeverything1.livejournal.com
It's the whole Persephone, and pink Egyptian granite thing... still not funny? Sigh. The dangers of a classical education

FWIW, this sentence made me laugh and laugh. :o)

Date: 2006-02-01 08:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
So much money spent on my education by a variety of lovely citizens not related to me... for this:)

I'm sure Mr. Harcourt and Mr. Brace would be thrilled.

Date: 2006-02-01 10:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] denyeverything1.livejournal.com
I am *positive* it is going to pay off, if it hasn't already. It delights me, for one, when you go all Classics Scholar, and that's worth something. At least, it is to me. *g*

Date: 2006-02-01 10:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thassalia.livejournal.com
Hee - hugs you. Thanks honey.

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