A line taken directly from my work planner, April 10th, “Write TFI!! Fuck YouTube & FB”.
On April 10th I didn’t open YouTube or Facebook until lunch. I scrolled, watched, commented, liked for an hour while I ate my sandwich and chips, then closed the tabs as soon as my lunch hour was over. Without the siren call, the addictive pull of my social media vices, I HAND WROTE nine pages of new material for my work in progress / Camp NaNo.
*ahem* NEW material as in the original story I’d been farting around with, that I had close to 5K worth of words written for, is now obsolete. What poured forth from my pen in the three hours of writing frenzy on the 10th is a different take on the plot. There will be minuscule bits and bobs I can pull from the already written word pool, but even those will have to be reworked so they flow with the new material.
To say I’m excited would be an under statement.
Excerpt:
“Good morning. Welcome to Archeology 101. My name is Professor Harriston. You may know me around campus as the Mad Hatter. My love of a fun chapeau is legendary.”
The packed auditorium of mostly freshman and a smattering of upperclassmen looking to fulfill an easy science credit, offered up a relaxing laugh.
“This morning, I want to share with you the reason I got into archeology. Of course, it all begins with a legend. The legend of The First Immortal. Many religions speak of a messiah who was put to death but then came back to life to spread the gospel and perform miracles. I was an exchange student, attending classes at The University of Ghana in Acra and much like you, I took an archeology class to earn what I thought would be an easy credit or two.”
Another round of easy laughter.
“It was our third class when the professor walked in, dressed in ceremonial garb representing an ancient nation of the Ashanti. The lights were low, he had a soundtrack of drums playing in the background. He then began to tell a tale of The First Immortal, a story his grandmother and those before her had passed through oral tradition down through the generations. Born of woman but with the true essence of the One God woven into their DNA. ‘No weapon born of man would harm them’.
Having always been a fan of mythology, the Professor’s story captured my imagination from the start. He used the tale as an introduction to the importance of archeology as a scientific means for proving legends by finding the facts they were based on. He spoke of the power story telling had to provide clues on where to dig and what to look for. From there, I was hooked. Not just on archeology, but on that particular legend its self. I’ve spent many a summer break, organized a few Capstone digs all around searching for clues to the First Immortal legend. Probably another reason I’m considered ‘mad’. ”
A little less laughter this time; he’d done what he’d set out to do and that was capture the students’ imaginations. Oh sure, quite a few of them will end up dropping the class. It’s not nearly as easy as many of them are hoping. But there are a few whose eyes were lighting up at the prospect of chasing down a few legends of their own. And that was no laughing matter.
He finished his introduction to archeology as he always did, with the one lone artifact he had been able to keep from being seized by the government. A small gold medallion on a chain around his neck. On it is carved the image of a man’s face. It is said to be the only existing image of The First Immortal. The student’s ohhs and ahhs were like music to Professor Harriston’s ears.
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Dana Ellington, MAPW 