Thoughts on TMA02

I have no business even thinking about writing about TMA02 since submission of 01 was only last Thursday - less than a week ago. But I am thinking about it because it's a longer TMA, 2200 words as opposed to the niggardly 750 we were given for 01, and it will certainly take me longer to complete. This years Happy Christmas, is going to be contingent on whether or not I'm well ahead of the game with 02 nicely tucked away long before all the Christmas parties start, and certainly before the big days.

So since submission of 01, and I still await my marks, I have been wondering what I might write the 2200 words about. I have had a few ideas, most of them have been killed at birth. One has stuck with me whilst all others have been strangled on the alter of 'impossible to do' because of x y or z.

I thought about a WW1 yarn; all that emotion being poured out in found letters and diaries. But have concluded that I don't really know enough about the subject. I thought about - bizarrely, the life of a film projectionist - a whole life lived vicariously thing - daydreams, imaginings, never quite having a real life, under the spell of films to an extent. But couldn't really imagine the day to day process of getting those reels on, the touch and smells, and the tensions all of which would have to be authentic. If I could get access to my dad's memories I'd have a chance, he was a film projectionist back in the 1970s - I had various posters on my bedroom wall to prove this point. Charles Bronson looking lean and muscular in Street fighter. Sly Stallone in Rocky looking even more impressive, both looking down on my weedy teenage body.

But I forgot to ask Dad all about the process. Except I remember him saying something about the knack of getting the new reel on before the old one finished - otherwise there was an unwanted gap, and a collective groan would be directed to his ears as he faffed about trying to get the film going and maintain the tension. I'll see him next month. I'll have to take my interviewers head with me. And the rather underused notebook.

I have drafted a start on one. Bit more than a draft actually, I've written a whole story based on the 'all friends together prompt' but if I'm honest it's not very good. The descriptive passages are fine, the characters are fully rounded, but the story is pants - wouldn't register anything special with me if I sat down and read it if it was presented to me as a piece of original work, author unknown. But I'll probably persist with it, I know what I'm like, I tackle TMAs all the same - I need to either have it done early, or have it as a work in progress throughout the module that leads towards the TMA. That way I can relax a little bit and take in some of the new stuff without panicking about deadlines looming and having no idea how I'm going to go about the assignment.