The Internet can be such a treasure chest. Amid my brief excursions into dictionaries and reference materials for my writings, i stumble on little gems that make me feel so fortunate. Not a Fountain of Youth, but maybe a fountain of comfort, entertainment, moments of peace or camaraderie.
One of those pearls is an online journal by a young woman with the moniker, JENFU. I read her entries, and i feel inspired, hopeful, understood--jealous; i feel i want to know what she looks like, to put a face to the writing, i want to be her best friend. I eat through her entries, and think, "God, i wish i could write like that."
"It isn’t that late, not much past nine, but it feels late. It feels like it could be any time after midnight, when things just stop and the background expands, and it is you, standing on a dark street against that dark backdrop, and everything in the world narrows down to you, alone, under the streetlight, your arms moving through the yellow light as if you’re underwater, and the only possible sounds are the scrape of your heels on the sidewalk as you shift from foot-to-foot, the rasp of fabric against fabric, your hands skating down your arms to clasp your elbows, pulling your body heat back into you, your breath, and the wind that flies up the hill, hits the street with a thud, and goes clattering down the sidewalk, down the other side of the hill." (Jenfu)
If i could grasp that intimacy, the vivid, picturesque quality of these vignettes, i could be a best selling author. (well, that is is the right folks saw it and offered me a contract). If my tortured prose could only spill out of me in that way, i would finally believe in myself.
As much as this is impressive serious writing, i find this next piece, RINGU, absolutely hilarious. I almost peed my pants, reading it.
http://jenfu.net/archives/000231.html
**addendum. Since reposting this here on blogger, i figured out that i can't access those blogs from Jenfu. I'm just sick! I spent a long time googling her (and i bet she didn't even feel it). Seems she's off the map as far as her older stuff. I have some print outs but can't find some of them--to include "Ringu." I might have to hunt down her email and ask her to send me some stuff so i can quote her some more. She's been my favorite blogger for about 6 years. I only had one book in print back then. Now i have twelve. And...i'm STILL not a best selling author, because the right folks haven't seen them and offered me a contract.
