Things that are ridiculous:

Me sleeping through FOUR alarms, each going off once every five to ten minutes for over an hour. On a semi-regular basis... seriously, my phone was in the exact same place I left it when I went to sleep. I didn't even press snooze or it would've been far from there.

Currently reading: Sum

Random thoughts:
I think I'll stay until the end of the year, end of next semester. I'll have more time to save, get things taken care of, finish up classes... and maybe start this project I've been wanting to do for so long with my grandparents. Take down stories of anything they can think of, everything they know; inherit whatever knowledge and history I can from them before both them and I leave this place.


Poetry thoughts:

One of the nice things about the writing aspect of poetry is that it's such a compact form that you can generally take it with you to work on in your head throught the day. It's what I love most about it, really. I can repeat the lines over and over to myself when I'm working, in the shower, pretending to listen to someone... you get the picture. I live with my poems; internalize and embody them. Realistically, I do the most of my writing in my head. By the time I get to paper, it's more about piecing my mental fragments together and connecting them, then once I've got something solid, it goes back to my head for edits. Embodiment. This is what makes good writing good no matter what the form: to feel and live through it. In fictive forms, you must love your characters; in poetry, your words, your ideas.


Playwriting thoughts:

The single most difficult aspect of playwriting is naturalness. Because it's such a living form, whatever unnarturalness may pass unnoticed in prose forms will stick out so much more on the stage. And here, it's no longer about whether or not a phrase or dialogue is unnatural, but movements and timing as well. Now, movement is mostly up to the actors, but timing, the pacing of the script itself, is up to the playwright. Pacing is probably what is most difficult for me, personally. Trying to get a feel for the natural length of a scene. How long does this scene feel like it should be? How long does it demand it be? How much length does the scene necessitate to be believable? The most common problem seems to be too short. Giving the characters enough dialogue to fill out the actions and natural length of everyday situations. Not being choppy. And then, it might seem right on paper, but does the pacing work when translated to the stage? Playwriting is mostly a big question for me. That being said, I need to finish up my one act for class tomorrow. I think having something complete to show and get feedback on will help me much more than taking in some fragments.