Just got done watching tonight’s episode of American Horror Story Coven. The recap is sent away, and now I feel like I need a nap. This is probably the most eventful episode of the entire franchise. Seriously, it never stops. I feel like I just watched four hours instead of forty minutes. It’s an incredible episode. You’re all in for a treat.
television
Quickfire Writing
I’m not opposed to technology. Though I’m 31, I actually did own a typewriter. Two typewriters, actually. One was my Fisher Price typewriter from when I was three years old, and later while in junior high school I owned a Brother electric typewriter because my well-meaning family didn’t realize that computers were the way of the future.
I have recently started writing for www.DarkMedia.com. I have done everything from reviewing books and graphic novels to recapping television shows like Fringe and True Blood. Fringe was much easier, because I set out to summaraize the first season and so I watched the episodes on DVD. True Blood has been more challenging, because I watch the show live and take notes, and then I type up my notes into something more coherent. My goal is to have the recap posted online by 10pm Pacific Time, which means I have a three-hour window to write and submit my recap.
This past Sunday I sat in Starbucks with my trusty notebook (the cover is red, of course, because it is True Blood, after all) and my even-trustier netbook. After ordering a black iced tea, unsweetened, and a chocolate chip cookie to make up for the lack of sweetener, I started my attack on the keys.
What amazed me was how fast I could write under the circumstances. When I’m working on my novel, my mind tends to wander. When I’m recapping a show, my mind stays on task and my fingers fly over the keys. After two hours, I had close to 3400 words that came from 8 pages of written notes.
Recapping probably isn’t for everyone. However, I have noticed that it has changed the way I watch television in that my mind is constantly thinking about how I would summarize a scene. I feel much more connected to the show. I have a feeling that it will help me in other areas of my life…even though I don’t know what they might be just yet.
But the second grader deep inside me is smiling, thinking fondly of the 5-minute creative writing exercises we did in class. Perhaps I was born to be a recapper. 🙂
Random Readings 