Anyway, it will probably all be fine. Getting up earlier to get work out of the way so I can get to school on time = win. I prefer getting up earlier in the morning, and for the past 2 weeks, I have been conditioning myself to the early to rise mentality, and have gotten the added bonus of witnessing a few amazing sunrises.
Second, and to get to some fun/funny stuff: finger puppets. I went to the Full Art Spectrum meeting last night, which I am now calling that organization “FARTS.” I decided against reading any of my typical poetry or short stories, because it is really difficult to pay attention in such a short time span and actually give decent feedback.
And really, my main problem with FARTS is that it’s too fluffy. Look, I’m not going to become a better writer by hearing things people have come up with right that second that are good about my work. I want to know what you didn’t like about it, what didn’t work for you. It’s only through that kind of critique, for me anyway, that I can hope to improve, learn, and grow as a writer. “Oh I like x and y and whatever comes after that in the alphabet” is such a broken mechanism for what I’d hope to get out of it, and that’s maybe selfish, but I want to be a better and more effective storyteller, and tweaking what I already do is the only way to do it. This format can make an artist walk away thinking, “Oh, they liked that, so I should keep doing that” instead of, “Oh, I totally know how I can make this better/more effective for next time.” I guess I am of the mindset that no matter how good something is, it can always be better somehow. I don’t exactly strive for perfection, but for what I like, and telling that kind of story in an effective and fun manner for my audience.
Anyway, that little rant aside (because in the end, having FARTS is better than not having FARTS), I chose to read “The Ballad of Squid Vicious,” because it’s an audience kind of piece. It didn’t need to be printed out and passed out to the group, or projected on an overhead. It’s short and to the point. And on a silly whim, I remembered I had purchased a bunch of nautical themed finger puppets from Ikea ages ago, back when I lived in Pittsburgh, with the thought that it would be fun to replicate them. They seem simple enough, but my sewing skills are, um, beneath basic. I guess I can lug my sewing machine to my parents’ house the next weekend I spend visiting them and my mom can help me figure it out. She’s pretty awesome at sewing and artsy stuff.
Squid Vicious
Anyway, one of the finger puppets was a squid, so I spent the day playing with it, and when I decided, “Eh, what the hell, I’ll just read Squid Vicious,” I brought my little puppet friend with me. It was funny, but made me feel like to appreciate the full scope of puppet theatre, I needed a cast of characters, a broken ship, and a few scenes/ dioramas to fully make it the most fun it could be. Of course, I have no time for such things right now, but maybe someday?
ETA: The little puppet show was well received. Laughter in all the expected places. And decent “feedback” afterwards.
And now to get back to finishing this week’s episode of Scurvytown, which is stalled out at 946 words. I have a few jokes in there that make me giggle so hard that I am having trouble getting my focus back to finish the damn thing.
And I leave you with this: Finger Puppets? You’re going to do WHAT to these puppets?