Dancin' With Words, and Bad Techno-Romance: Parte Deux.

Ooh, finally!

I've been dying to get on here since Saturday afternoon, but d'you think that my laptop (a.k.a. The Firestarter) can stay connected to the 'net for more than 5 minutes? Not frickin' likely.

The 'pooter is on the fritz again- in fact, the BF has just informed me that he purchased it with a cracked motherboard. Way to go, Travis. Anyway, moving on to the fun part...

DANCIN' WITH WORDS!

Topics ranged in scale from the minuscule (syntax/sentence structure) to the ginormous ('what is the heart of your novel?'), and many laughs were had. We learned how to emulate our writing role-models (it's not considered cheating- there is a difference, you know), shared personal stories, poems, and even read the prep exercises we'd done beforehand; I'll be posting mine shortly, so pop on over to Allpoetry and sign up to let me know how I did. :)

Once again, I cannot even begin to describe what a wonderful teacher Donna is. I don't know if I'll ever be able to do what she does, since I imagine that having to listen to a bunch of writers who, while we don't suck, are nowhere near as gifted as she is must get a bit exhausting. Of course, it's possible for a good teacher to transform even the most-inept student into a prodigy, so there's hope for me yet!

She was also generous enough to pose for a photo-op, so that I can put her picture in the same space as Atwood and Harris. Sadly, with the 'pooter out of commish, I can't post it yet... I do, however, assure you that it will be up as soon as the desktop is up and running. Sometime before Christmas, I hope.

Until next time,
El Veeb.

PS: Hospital recitation date is tentatively set for October 31st. More on that, as details come in.

Support The Arts: Buy This Book, Like, Naaaaaow!

No, not the novel... That's still a (disappointingly-stagnant) work in progress; the summer hasn't been very kind to my muse, or conducive to adventures of aspiring writerdom. In fact, I was dying to go to Sheree Fitch's workshop in Fredericton last week, but it wasn't to be- I had to be at work, to find out whether or not I would have a job, come this week. Oh, the perils of contract work... If this book ever gets off the ground, I'll pay someone to do my thinking for me; until then, I'll do my time, just like everyone else.

Anyhow, the good news:

My amazingly-talented Auntie Barb recently published a book of poetry, via Blurb.com, called Blind Thoughts; not to be left out, Yours Truly attempted a similar project. The words & photographs are all my own work, so I'm very excited to put it out there. Since the preview-widget link won't work here (though it's supposed to), you can preview the end-result & purchase here instead.

So, yes... Buy this book, & win a lifetime of hugs & cookies. Come on... graveyards, poetry, the beautiful dark... what's not to love? My wallet and I thank you in advance. :)

With love/avec amour/con amore/s laskou,
Laure.