this week, i am deep in the search for a new job, gaining weight like gang busters, and completely unsure whether staying in this mfa program is the right thing for me, but i managed to complete a piece for workshop memoir, and with the help of my best friend, complete something that approximates an acceptable mid-term project. i love it, actually. i'm only saying "something that approximates" because, once again (in this program), it's not enough for us to simply do assignments and give them our best, we have to trot them out for show and tell and thereby create a decidedly evaluative context (beyond the intstructor's grading, which makes sense) around the work.
it's so obvious that some people know more about electronic publishing than others, have access to different (perhaps better) resources, and depending upon their work situation, more time. i really wish we could just turn these in and receive personal feedback on them, or have the option to share if we wished without it counting against us if we don't.
this feels like junior high school.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
cohesion and consistency
i'm learning a lot about incoporating an inherent, intuitive metatext in my hypertexted project. spending time on it this weekend helped me to understand just how crucial it is to execution. i don't promise that my final product will be entirely reflective of this bedrock realization, but i think i'm on my way.
what i'm trying to do is create footbridges between two different tracks, not so much the same, templated navigational tools. it's more about circumspection and hidden doorways back to the beginning.
what i'm trying to do is create footbridges between two different tracks, not so much the same, templated navigational tools. it's more about circumspection and hidden doorways back to the beginning.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
project progress
my concept is coming together, visually, and there is something stimulating about how concrete it is to present text this way.
it's sunday morning. coffee, my constant companion, is by my side as i plot and plan all the ways to make this day count on all fronts. a brunch with friends, dining room table shopping, homework, and preparation for that big business meeting.
i had a slew of dreams last night--staggered, hypertextual dreams. in one of them, i bought a container of Valentine's Day special Clorox wipes. Apparently, when you wiped up surfaces with them, a V-day wish was left behind. In the dream, as is the case in the waking world, it was post Feb. 14 and they were on clearance. My dreaming self was all "Oh, I am so going to buy these!"
it's sunday morning. coffee, my constant companion, is by my side as i plot and plan all the ways to make this day count on all fronts. a brunch with friends, dining room table shopping, homework, and preparation for that big business meeting.
i had a slew of dreams last night--staggered, hypertextual dreams. in one of them, i bought a container of Valentine's Day special Clorox wipes. Apparently, when you wiped up surfaces with them, a V-day wish was left behind. In the dream, as is the case in the waking world, it was post Feb. 14 and they were on clearance. My dreaming self was all "Oh, I am so going to buy these!"
Thursday, February 19, 2009
credit score(s)
in order to better position myself to buy a house next year, i'm eliminating all manner of unrighteous (read credit card) debt. i'm nearly there, but of course i need to maintain these beautiful zero balances for the long term. it also makes sense given how perilous the economy is these days. actually, it makes sense all the time, but there's a new urgency to have one's accounts in order. i feel it just like everyone else.
at the same time, job certainty in limbo (i guess that would be uncertainty defined), i'm still doing my part to stimulate things. a meeting on the horizon (not a date) for early next week requires something new to wear. the errand coincided with plans to see a dear friend for belated birthday festivities, so i just combined all that spending. clothes, shoes, two new handbags, dinner out... all paid for in cash.
it's a new day of personal responsibility and i'm excited to embrace maturity in this way.
at the same time, job certainty in limbo (i guess that would be uncertainty defined), i'm still doing my part to stimulate things. a meeting on the horizon (not a date) for early next week requires something new to wear. the errand coincided with plans to see a dear friend for belated birthday festivities, so i just combined all that spending. clothes, shoes, two new handbags, dinner out... all paid for in cash.
it's a new day of personal responsibility and i'm excited to embrace maturity in this way.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
validation
after giving some form of credence to my feelings and worst fears about my writing late last week, i've received some form of validation by way of a state-sponsored poetry grant. there were several recipients, and i did not take top honour, but i was among the number... i had already written off my chances because its safest to do so (for every award there are hundreds of applicants), so it was nice that this week of all weeks, i received objective recognition of my writerly efforts.
i guess these affirmations come to us when we need them most.
i guess these affirmations come to us when we need them most.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Beware: an utterly indulgent post ahead. feel free to skip
i've often wondered if i'm not being indulgent by pursuing a second master's degree. i know my reasons and rationalizations for doing so, and when you take everything together, it makes sense. but i keep having to face a singular reality in the context of workshops: i'm not really good enough. i'm 35--i should be published by now (or should have been published more than twice by now). my writing, at least, should be beyond the place it is currently. most of my classmates are 10 years my junior, and outclass me in every way. i had the same issue with poetry at Hopkins.
i don't prize sentimentality. i don't think i should be nurturing an unfeasible idea.
i had a piece workshopped today--something i wrote 3 or more years ago--and i felt, keenly, all that was wrong with it. at the same time, i'm frustrated, because when i read other people's work (that gets praised), i often can't tell why what they're doing is more successful than what i'm doing. it's like trying to solve the rubik's cube. i can't find the trick, the secret move that will work every time.
i think i'll stick out the program because of its emphasis on publication design. i'll let that lead me to a much more practical end. i think i could be a good magazine editor; i could supplement that with teaching some continuing ed courses. of course, in a year, i may decide to cut the program, in its entirety, as a loss as well.
i'm supposed to do an independent study this summer, but maybe i shouldn't waste the instructor's time. writing is a craft, but there's something about it that is--that must be--inherent.
the apt cliche? those who can't do, teach.
on my way home from this demoralizing workshop experience, i stopped off at Eddie's and bought a bottle of Gato Negro (surprisingly good wine for 4.50 a bottle). a Shiraz--the distant cousin of the more coveted Cabernet--outclasses the too easily gotten Merlot.
i'm about to walk my dog and reconsider some things.
i don't prize sentimentality. i don't think i should be nurturing an unfeasible idea.
i had a piece workshopped today--something i wrote 3 or more years ago--and i felt, keenly, all that was wrong with it. at the same time, i'm frustrated, because when i read other people's work (that gets praised), i often can't tell why what they're doing is more successful than what i'm doing. it's like trying to solve the rubik's cube. i can't find the trick, the secret move that will work every time.
i think i'll stick out the program because of its emphasis on publication design. i'll let that lead me to a much more practical end. i think i could be a good magazine editor; i could supplement that with teaching some continuing ed courses. of course, in a year, i may decide to cut the program, in its entirety, as a loss as well.
i'm supposed to do an independent study this summer, but maybe i shouldn't waste the instructor's time. writing is a craft, but there's something about it that is--that must be--inherent.
the apt cliche? those who can't do, teach.
on my way home from this demoralizing workshop experience, i stopped off at Eddie's and bought a bottle of Gato Negro (surprisingly good wine for 4.50 a bottle). a Shiraz--the distant cousin of the more coveted Cabernet--outclasses the too easily gotten Merlot.
i'm about to walk my dog and reconsider some things.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
project sketch
i've decided the best way for me to conceptualize the march 2 project is to lay it out in PowerPoint. the ability to insert slides helps me to map the links out a bit better and the notes feature at the bottom will jog my memory when it's time to translate my ideas. i'm not really finished storyboarding yet, but it's much more effective for me than my rudimentary index card scribbles.
i took my camera with me when i left the house this morning so i could get a few shots i'd already planned. i feel like i need a few more, though.
i took my camera with me when i left the house this morning so i could get a few shots i'd already planned. i feel like i need a few more, though.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
deconstructing hypertextuality
Segmentation/Alternate Paths is an academic site that compares/contrasts text and hypertext, and explains the evolution, to some degree. It also boasts the claim that hypertextual expression is the wave of the future--that it will be the dominant vehicle in the coming years.
Many sites agree that The Garden of Forking Paths is not actual hypertext--it's the theory of hypertext--the original blueprint for what we would come to think of as hypertexted narrative. In short, it lends itself to the systems and structures of hypertext.
Many sites agree that The Garden of Forking Paths is not actual hypertext--it's the theory of hypertext--the original blueprint for what we would come to think of as hypertexted narrative. In short, it lends itself to the systems and structures of hypertext.
Which way to the hypertext?
Forking Paths?
Navigating beyond the main page was counterintuitive. There's an interesting rationale statement to be found there, but I couldn't actually find the hypertext at first. It's easy enough to click on one of the letters on the initial page, but I had no idea that you had to click one of the mapped, coloured squares to get to text excerpts. I discovered it after several minutes. Finding the other text frames is difficult, and your control over the navigation is limited and frustrating. Very poorly executed.
Navigating beyond the main page was counterintuitive. There's an interesting rationale statement to be found there, but I couldn't actually find the hypertext at first. It's easy enough to click on one of the letters on the initial page, but I had no idea that you had to click one of the mapped, coloured squares to get to text excerpts. I discovered it after several minutes. Finding the other text frames is difficult, and your control over the navigation is limited and frustrating. Very poorly executed.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
homework: Post 1
GFP: Hypertext site
The design of the site above is both thoughtful in its execution and in its governing aesthetic. The navigation is clear and consistent from page to page. The hypertext of the site mirrors the intent of the narrative.
The design of the site above is both thoughtful in its execution and in its governing aesthetic. The navigation is clear and consistent from page to page. The hypertext of the site mirrors the intent of the narrative.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Serial Novel
I'm relatively new to Laura Lippman's work, but have become a fast fan of her Baltimore-based Tess Monaghan series. In the context of listening to several of the books via audio format, I did a Web search to find out about the author. Drilling down a few links led here.
She's released her latest in the Monaghan suite as a serial online newspaper novel--an old device spun for the tech-minded present.
She's released her latest in the Monaghan suite as a serial online newspaper novel--an old device spun for the tech-minded present.
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