June 30th: Derek Gets a Package

I got a package from my roommate Philip today (thanks dude).  It had red hot Cheetos, pistachios, chocolate, Giant Pocky, and some bills from back home (whee!).  Just so I don't destroy my own digestive tract, I'm going to share them with some friends here.

It was nice to get someting in the mail, especially since this morning's critique session wasn't very pleasant.  [disturbing details omitted].  Suffice it to say, people are turning in stories with sensitive material.  Is it for emotional honesty or shock value?  I don't really care.  Personally, I prefer intellectual, rather than emotional, stimulation through fiction.  If I am going to be manipulated emotionally, I prefer to feel good.  But everybody reads and writes for different reasons.

Today is Tananarive Due's last day.  She was pleasant and friendly, not very controversial.  Perhaps a good lead-in for Samuel Delaney, who's up next week.  Because he's taught here so many times, there is plenty of anecdotal history stored up, some of it good, some bad.  I'm withholding judgement til I see the guy in action, but there's a great deal of curiosity about what he's really like.

So far, we've turned in 73 stories through the first three weeks.  Not bad...not bad at all.

I got about 500 more words towards my recent story, and I should be able to finish it soon and move on to the next.