Field Trip

6/29/13

At the moment that I am writing this, it's actually Saturday morning already, and we're about to go on a field trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium! I'm so excited - but I want to start working on writing Sun Road this weekend, so this is the last blog post until Monday. I wrote some diary-scribble-things for the previous weekdays, though, so I might also clean those up and post them.

I feel like I've learned so much in these short five days. I had so much fun, and now I realize both how crappy my novel is and a way to fix it. My friend suggested I write a book jacket summary blurb thing, which I did, and it was surprisingly really difficult - but it helped me straighten out key plot points and, most importantly, enabled me to respond if somebody asks "Awesome, you're writing a book! What's it about?" It still sounds corny though, haha. I pasted it below. Welp, that's all. See you later!

Rhea's life is luxurious, if isolated - until she wakes up one night to an ashen wasteland where the sun never shows through the clouds. Accompanied by a self-righteous defected soldier and a boy whose origins are as shadowy as his footsteps, Rhea must journey to the mythic Glades in order to find a way back home.

The world she encounters is falling to pieces, however. Swollen cities defile the land, old animosities threaten to spill over and rip the nation of Alsooth apart, and above it all, hovering in the black smoke-stained skies, the elusive dragon menaces. In the midst of the turmoil a new Vassal of the Lord is inducted, but even he may not bring the hope the nation so needs. As Rhea delves deeper into this troubled land, she must learn to navigate a maze of revenge, retribution, and ultimately, redemption.

Lesson 2

6/25/13
"[Poetry is] a momentary stay against confusion." - Robert Frost

"Don't plan," we are told. The characters should be allowed to grow organically on the page, without our say; don't plan. Let them do as they please. "No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. No tears for the writer, no tears for the reader."

Prepare for a lot of tears.

Anyways, this afternoon for Activities I was introduced to a fascinating aspect of Stanford culture: fountain hopping. There are several fountains around campus, and I went with a small group to each of the big ones. We kicked off our shoes (I was wearing my flip flops) and dipped our feet in; a couple girls sat down in there and got completely soaked, and one guy stripped off his shirt and just dove in. I assume those shorts were in fact swimming trunks. About halfway through our adventure a group who looked like Stanford students came running, equipped with swimsuits and sneakers, and inadvertently provided us with a convenient showcase of all the ways one can fountain hop: i.e. at the one shaped like a cup, sit inside it spa-style; at the one that shoots water, spray each other with the water pressure, plug all but one shooter, and parody Old Faithful; at the jagged sculpture one, climb.
The weather is getting hotter; at last the clouds have passed, and the sun is beginning to grace us with its glorious rays.
By the end of each day I'm always so worn out. The Scav Hunt left me completely sore today. Every step is half torture.
Tomorrow my writing group for class has to turn in up to three pages of writing, which the instructor will give feedback for. I already finished (which is why I'm on here) - one hour of intense writing, and no revision. I wonder what he'll say.

Lesson 1

June 24, 2013:
"CHARACTER IS ACTION" - F. Scott Fitzgerald

I was, embarrassingly, nervous before the first day of class. After leaping out of bed (literally - it's about three feet high, I assume to leave room for a suitcase underneath in addition to a dead body), my roommate and I got ready for the day and the whole House went to breakfast together. After breakfast the group split up into Antho and CW, and we all went straight to class.
The Creative Writing instructor is a smooth-talking blue-eyed poet in his late twenties or early thirties, and after a round of introductions, we set into the reading and lecture. The days are structured like this: first the instructor gives the day's lecture/lesson, with one or two breaks interspersed between, then it's lunch, followed by study hall led by our two counselors for individual writing exercises and other varying activities.
Today's topics were Introduction to fiction and Characters. We got a bunch of handouts that I still need to read, and discussed in depth "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. I'd actually read Chopin's short story in English class just last month, but this was different; the instructor pointed out the range of techniques Chopin uses and the perfectly formed character arc condensed in those brief two pages, and then the group talked about the effects and reasons behind the techniques. After this, the genius of the story became so much more apparent. In school we just kind of skimmed over it and said, "Yeah this is about women's rights." Needless to say, I much prefer this type of reading.
In the afternoon is Activities. Today was the great grand Scavenger Hunt that all incoming EPGY students must go through, as a kind of induction to the Stanford campus. The House split up into groups of six and walked and walked and walked for over an hour, going through a list with 30 tasks that included "Make friends with the librarian and take a picture with him/her (note: no photography is allowed in the library)", "Stop by the on-campus Starbucks and buy coffee", and "Build a human pyramid in the Oval". My personal favorite was "Take a picture with an Asian tourist." It's funny because it was one of the easiest tasks to accomplish, there are so many Asian tourists. It started raining halfway through the Hunt, though, so by the time it was dinner I was soaked through and starving. I wolfed down five more pieces of chicken than usual.
Stanford meals are surprisingly delicious. It took a little to get my bearings at first - the cafeteria is large, and when the crowds set in it's near impossible to navigate - but once I found the right places I knew I wouldn't go hungry here.
CW class provides a Coursebook containing all the short stories, poems, essays and handouts we'll need, but we are expected to provide out own notebooks and stencils. I only brought my little journalism notebook because I thought all materials were supposed to be provided (it said so online); I'll have to buy it tomorrow when we go to the Bookstore.

Arrival

(The next month's posts will all be about my EPGY summer institutes experience, so...enjoy.)

June 23, 2013:
"Make as many friends as possible!" - camp counselor

I forgot to give my parents a goodbye hug, and they chased me to the security check-in and took about a dozen photos of me awkwardly standing in front of a statue made of paper airplanes, backpack over my shoulders and a small suitcase in my hands. And then they were gone.
The line moved slowly, as lines usually do when there's nothing entertaining going on. I could talk about my purchase of a Whopper from Burger King for lunch and the subsequent 2+ hours we waited before the plane could safely take off, and I could describe in detail the character sheet I drafted on the plane after a half-hearted attempt to finish my Why College and Why Major essays; but let's fast forward to what you actually want to hear. (Or, well, read.)
I dorm with the Anthropology students and the Creative Writing students (a remarkably larger number of the former, I am happy to say). The house has two CW counselors and two Anthro counselors, one Tech Guy, and one Supplies Guy. They're all really easy to talk with - lots of friendship to go around! The first night, barbecue was served, which was about as good as any barbecue really, and we did a few Name Games and Ice Breakers (some absolutely hilarious and fascinating stories to go around between all 28 of us) before tumbling, exhausted, into bed.
Sudden overcast weather greeted us when we arrived, and it rained in the night. It's not too cold though, so I'm comfortable enough. Palo Alto weather is slightly more humid than the weather at home, but that's all.
The only thing is, there isn't a whole lot of time for internet use (which is a good thing when you're supposed to be socializing with everyone else in person, but this means my blog will be updated a little sporadically and what little free time I have left will be used writing short stories and Sun Road.
Looking forward to class tomorrow!