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Dec. 20th, 2018 08:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inanhourofdreamingI've got a giant pot of split pea soup simmering on my stove, the dough for the gluten free cinnamon scones is in the fridge to bake tomorrow, and I still have a bunch of cleaning to do (that realistically, will get done tomorrow afternoon/evening). I'm giving myself a few minutes to chill out on my couch before I go make myself shower.
I was thinking about a bit from that Jane Doe book today. Background: I'm not terribly interested in relationships; I mostly like being on my own, having my own space, not being beholden to anyone. I'm probably on the grey end of the spectrum, which is pretty much fine with me because my attraction to people is incredibly sporadic and almost never very lasting but I'm pretty happy to be that way. And while I do like romance in movies when it's really well done, I could generally take it or leave it in most stories. But I fucking LOVE to read about it. And so anyway, in Jane Doe, the protag (who, remember, is a sociopath) talks about how she loves to read books because she doesn't have to figure out what other people are feeling, the books put her inside their heads so she gets to really know what they're experiencing in a way that no other medium supplies to someone who doesn't really experience emotions that way. And I think that must be why I love reading about relationships so much. I don't actually have a burning desire to be in a relationship myself, nor do I think I really have the constancy required for that to work. BUT, I do love the idea of it. (And I mean, side note, I am in no way a sociopath.)
It's probably also why I sometimes struggle to write certain kinds of interactions. I'm trying to focus on the kinds of complex relationships I've had experiences with and then adding a dimension. I think ultimately, maybe it's a question of pacing and creating tension. I do wish I'd taken some creative writing courses and the like back when I had the opportunity. Even with bad writing, I tend to get sucked into the story of the thing and I forget to notice the structure and style and pacing of it. I ought to try very deliberately going through my favorite stories for the purpose of noticing the form.
Anyway, I'm trying to decide what to read next, and I'm jumping between fiction and nonfiction. I have about 100 books sitting on my shelves, so of course I ordered four more. I'm hoping to power through a bunch on this break while I can.
In other news, I've sort of temporarily accepted ownership of the advocacy portion of a project I helped spearhead last year. I have no idea how I'll balance it, time-wise, but I suppose it's a good resume builder, it's definitely related to the work I'm doing, and I know the project well. Still, I'm more in policy than advocacy these days so it's a little outside of my current wheelhouse. Definitely an ego boost that my old colleagues felt I was good for it. I'm trying not to think about it too much right now. I'm going to have to really sit down at some point and make a workable timeline for the year, though.
Alright, that's probably long enough -- shower time.
I was thinking about a bit from that Jane Doe book today. Background: I'm not terribly interested in relationships; I mostly like being on my own, having my own space, not being beholden to anyone. I'm probably on the grey end of the spectrum, which is pretty much fine with me because my attraction to people is incredibly sporadic and almost never very lasting but I'm pretty happy to be that way. And while I do like romance in movies when it's really well done, I could generally take it or leave it in most stories. But I fucking LOVE to read about it. And so anyway, in Jane Doe, the protag (who, remember, is a sociopath) talks about how she loves to read books because she doesn't have to figure out what other people are feeling, the books put her inside their heads so she gets to really know what they're experiencing in a way that no other medium supplies to someone who doesn't really experience emotions that way. And I think that must be why I love reading about relationships so much. I don't actually have a burning desire to be in a relationship myself, nor do I think I really have the constancy required for that to work. BUT, I do love the idea of it. (And I mean, side note, I am in no way a sociopath.)
It's probably also why I sometimes struggle to write certain kinds of interactions. I'm trying to focus on the kinds of complex relationships I've had experiences with and then adding a dimension. I think ultimately, maybe it's a question of pacing and creating tension. I do wish I'd taken some creative writing courses and the like back when I had the opportunity. Even with bad writing, I tend to get sucked into the story of the thing and I forget to notice the structure and style and pacing of it. I ought to try very deliberately going through my favorite stories for the purpose of noticing the form.
Anyway, I'm trying to decide what to read next, and I'm jumping between fiction and nonfiction. I have about 100 books sitting on my shelves, so of course I ordered four more. I'm hoping to power through a bunch on this break while I can.
In other news, I've sort of temporarily accepted ownership of the advocacy portion of a project I helped spearhead last year. I have no idea how I'll balance it, time-wise, but I suppose it's a good resume builder, it's definitely related to the work I'm doing, and I know the project well. Still, I'm more in policy than advocacy these days so it's a little outside of my current wheelhouse. Definitely an ego boost that my old colleagues felt I was good for it. I'm trying not to think about it too much right now. I'm going to have to really sit down at some point and make a workable timeline for the year, though.
Alright, that's probably long enough -- shower time.
