It's been a while since I updated here, but week three has been the "work" week. Finding the story and trying to write it as it should be written has been quite a struggle. I think we all felt that way this week. Thankfully though, my story is done :) Yay!!!  I have a story for Nalo Hopkinson to read and I really am looking forward to meeting her and hearing what she has to say.

We're almost at the end of our time with Bear ( matociquala ) and it's amazing to realize just how fast the week has gone by. She is a fantastic teacher and I've learned a lot from her about different forms in story and plot types and she did say she would ruin Hollywood movies for us forever which she did by showing us the three act play and helping us to see how most Hollywood movies are built on this structure. We even managed to put together an outline for a Hollywoodesque movie starring Bruce Willis.
 
Bear is a generous teacher. She shared with us the first draft of her Hugo Award winning story, Shoggoths in Bloom, and the final draft of the same story. Today, we had a short session where we had a q and a about rewriting and the rewriting process. Again, I am reminded of how writing is a patient art and how waiting never hurts a story. So, I'm not giving up on other stories that I've given up on. Maybe in a couple of months I will be able to look at them with clearer eyes and be able to go back and revise them in such a way that I don't break them.

This week, it came home to me how behind I am on a lot of stuff that Americans take for granted. Popsongs, Movies, Music Stars, TV shows, I don't know a lot of things so some references just fly over my head. I do love listening in on the conversations and just being there even if I don't have a lot of things to say. 

I think younger Filipino writers are more clued-in into what's on in American Culture. That's because of media and how it's more available to everyone today as compared to when I was growing up. Add to that my practically tv-less state in The Netherlands. So yes, I am behind on tv and film culture. Is that a bad thing? 

I really don't know. 

I've been practicing and playing the piano everyday while I'm here. I mean, we are in a house with a baby grand piano...how can I possibly resist the temptation not to play? I'm convinced that I will go home with my piano skills brushed back up to pre-baby levels which is a good thing :) I played Rachmaninoff today and Chopin which made me happy. I did warn my classmates that I would be doing a bit of practicing. I don't play all day, but it's always a relief to be able to play at least half an hour. Somehow that's helped me to work through things inside my head, and it helps me to connect better to that place I go to when I want to create.

Next week will be interesting. I've heard so much about the fourth week wall...everyone has...but we are determined to survive that week. So there...