Thematic Recapitulations
Revival
1 : an act or instance of reviving : the state of being revived : as a : renewed attention to or interest in something b : a new presentation or publication of something old c (1) : a period of renewed religious interest (2) : an often highly emotional evangelistic meeting or series of meetings
2 : restoration of force, validity, or effect (as to a contract)
Lately, I've realized that I really missed writing. Not the petty, self-absorbed bitching and moaning (see below) that came to epitomize this quaint little blog, but just the whole "toying-with-language" aspect that used to be such a huge part of my life.
The scary part, of course, is sitting here (or there, or wherever) and staring at the blank screen, feeling the ideas writhing around inside you, but self-conscious enough to doubt that any of them could ever go anywhere. The trick, I find, is lengthy introductions, where you can avoid actually committing to anything, and instead play around with genres and elements, before you actually have to commit a certain amount of effort rather than just winding up with some half-assed pastiche that meanders for a while before finally ending with a fizzle. Also, I really like making meta-statements, partially because the pretension is just sublime, but mostly because I've realized that I'm writing for myself, and I like to make myself chuckle.
I read once that themes and stories are sort of like leeches. Or remora sharks. I'm still not quite sure how those things work, but let's move on. Stories as leeches. I think it's called (at least in part) memetic theory. What it boils down to is a sort of quasi-aware narrative that subtly compels those it encounters to act out different aspects of the meme. So, for instance, if Snow White were a meme, then I guess the first girl it came across in the forest would suddenly be pursued by a deadly hunter who, upon catching her, would relent in his evil mission, and kill a dear instead. Kinda like that, except less gay.
My point, amidst all this lofty rambling, is that as dangerous as that mode of being is, sometimes it's nice to have a coherent theme to follow. Sometimes it's nice to have a story to belong to. Yes, obviously that's provided that your story isn't that of a prostitute-murdering sociopath who sings to lemons and keeps people's toes in jars of formaldehyde.
Mmmmm, formaldehyde.
Also, this is reading week, so this thing might get updated an unseemly number of times. To anyone who thinks I'm excessive, blow me. To everyone else who doesn't give two shits about what I do...it's mutual.
1 : an act or instance of reviving : the state of being revived : as a : renewed attention to or interest in something b : a new presentation or publication of something old c (1) : a period of renewed religious interest (2) : an often highly emotional evangelistic meeting or series of meetings
2 : restoration of force, validity, or effect (as to a contract)
Lately, I've realized that I really missed writing. Not the petty, self-absorbed bitching and moaning (see below) that came to epitomize this quaint little blog, but just the whole "toying-with-language" aspect that used to be such a huge part of my life.
The scary part, of course, is sitting here (or there, or wherever) and staring at the blank screen, feeling the ideas writhing around inside you, but self-conscious enough to doubt that any of them could ever go anywhere. The trick, I find, is lengthy introductions, where you can avoid actually committing to anything, and instead play around with genres and elements, before you actually have to commit a certain amount of effort rather than just winding up with some half-assed pastiche that meanders for a while before finally ending with a fizzle. Also, I really like making meta-statements, partially because the pretension is just sublime, but mostly because I've realized that I'm writing for myself, and I like to make myself chuckle.
I read once that themes and stories are sort of like leeches. Or remora sharks. I'm still not quite sure how those things work, but let's move on. Stories as leeches. I think it's called (at least in part) memetic theory. What it boils down to is a sort of quasi-aware narrative that subtly compels those it encounters to act out different aspects of the meme. So, for instance, if Snow White were a meme, then I guess the first girl it came across in the forest would suddenly be pursued by a deadly hunter who, upon catching her, would relent in his evil mission, and kill a dear instead. Kinda like that, except less gay.
My point, amidst all this lofty rambling, is that as dangerous as that mode of being is, sometimes it's nice to have a coherent theme to follow. Sometimes it's nice to have a story to belong to. Yes, obviously that's provided that your story isn't that of a prostitute-murdering sociopath who sings to lemons and keeps people's toes in jars of formaldehyde.
Mmmmm, formaldehyde.
Also, this is reading week, so this thing might get updated an unseemly number of times. To anyone who thinks I'm excessive, blow me. To everyone else who doesn't give two shits about what I do...it's mutual.