book work, diagnoses
Feb. 6th, 2015 07:51 pmI'm doing relatively well, but am time crunched enough I don't have time to keep a good record of it.
Last Saturday, I led another film-related activity at the ICA Boston (and once again helped find films for their festival); turnout was decent and enthusiastic despite feet of snow on the ground. I've started pulling together a nonfiction book proposal on the subject; after 6 or 7 years of doing this stuff, it's become clear there's not anything out there for people who think they'd enjoy making short films in the same way they'd enjoy scrapbooking or playing the piano. People who don't ever want to be professionals - who simply want a way to craft something meaningful in the course of an afternoon. People who are not camera nerds. Basically all the starter filmmaking books, even for teenagers, figure you have or have access to loads of gear and are aiming to submit to festivals. They also assume, without saying so outright, that you're a dude and have always been told that people are dying to hear what you have to say and listen to your instructions. Anyway, there's a gap in the market.
I'm working on some short stories I feel good about. Several of which are mainstream literary; it's been a while since I've done something with no genre elements whatsoever, and it's a nice palate cleanser.
Ciro was diagnosed with ADD yesterday; his best friend Ed found out around Thanksgiving that she has it, and when Ciro learned more about the non-hyperactive version (which Ed has), he thought, hmmmmm. A battery of psych evaluations ensued. He'll meet with a medication specialist sometime next month, and after that, we imagine there might be an idyllic world in which he doesn't lose his car keys for months at a time, and can write something when it's not two hours before deadline. He's also finally (hopefully) getting his left shoulder taken care of; it's been messed up since he was 18, a sports injury that never healed. That's a longer process, though.
We celebrated mom's birthday by eating a lot of cake and gumbo, drinking a lot of coffee and cava, and playing Telestrations with new fine-tip pens. Living the high life.
Last Saturday, I led another film-related activity at the ICA Boston (and once again helped find films for their festival); turnout was decent and enthusiastic despite feet of snow on the ground. I've started pulling together a nonfiction book proposal on the subject; after 6 or 7 years of doing this stuff, it's become clear there's not anything out there for people who think they'd enjoy making short films in the same way they'd enjoy scrapbooking or playing the piano. People who don't ever want to be professionals - who simply want a way to craft something meaningful in the course of an afternoon. People who are not camera nerds. Basically all the starter filmmaking books, even for teenagers, figure you have or have access to loads of gear and are aiming to submit to festivals. They also assume, without saying so outright, that you're a dude and have always been told that people are dying to hear what you have to say and listen to your instructions. Anyway, there's a gap in the market.
I'm working on some short stories I feel good about. Several of which are mainstream literary; it's been a while since I've done something with no genre elements whatsoever, and it's a nice palate cleanser.
Ciro was diagnosed with ADD yesterday; his best friend Ed found out around Thanksgiving that she has it, and when Ciro learned more about the non-hyperactive version (which Ed has), he thought, hmmmmm. A battery of psych evaluations ensued. He'll meet with a medication specialist sometime next month, and after that, we imagine there might be an idyllic world in which he doesn't lose his car keys for months at a time, and can write something when it's not two hours before deadline. He's also finally (hopefully) getting his left shoulder taken care of; it's been messed up since he was 18, a sports injury that never healed. That's a longer process, though.
We celebrated mom's birthday by eating a lot of cake and gumbo, drinking a lot of coffee and cava, and playing Telestrations with new fine-tip pens. Living the high life.