Goodbye Gotham

So it’s our last day. My last mad dash from class uptown, my last moment on the train deciding whether I should go for it and get a coffee at Village 38 or just keep walking by and be on time. Last hello and last conversation about where to go for lunch. Last time listening to Alex’s internal struggle as he takes lunch orders. Last phone call (not right now, but sometime today). Last blog post.

Everyone’s calling to sign up for winter classes and my brain still thinks it’s fall. I feel like I just broke out my boots and my jackets, got all excited over crispness, and went crazy for anything pumpkin. But that’s over now—now it’s time for peppermint and snow and winter classes. And new interns.

 

I’ll miss the brainstorming sessions and the design ideas and the long conversations about cartoons and old movies. I’ll miss the Swedish fish and intern outings and the phone calls from cool students. I’ll miss everyone in the office – you guys are awesome!  Thanks for dealing with my struggles with the phone and with life in general. I’ll miss attempting video and Photoshop and being in a place where ideas and writing and stories are always being talked about.

 In addition to the end of the internship, my class is ending next week. I got boothed again, and it was a lot like the last time. I laughed, I cried. I’ve learned so much in the past ten weeks, both from my class and from being an intern. I’m a more confident writer because through being boothed I got a little window into my readers’ minds and can keep referring back to that, keep looking at what I write through the eyes of my fellow classmates. Through reading my classmates’ work and through the lectures I learned about story and craft, things that will help me with any sort of writing I do in the future.

And to the new interns- good luck! Make the most of it while you can because soon it will be time for pastels and flowers.

Goodbye, Gotham, thanks for everything! 

-Devin

P.S.  So Imani is sitting next to me typing very importantly and I was considering talking to her but didn’t want to distract her. Anyway, she just turned her computer to Georgette and I and said, “these cupcakes are hilarious.” (Cookie monster cupcakes, if you were wondering.) I’m impressed.

 

P.P.S. If you liked the intern blog this term, follow us to our new blog, Poor Writers! 

 

 

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See You On The Flip Side

Many phone calls, emails, and mouthfuls of gummy bears later, it’s time to bid Gotham adieu. In the three months of working with the Gotham team, I’ve come to know and appreciate their distinctive personalities and particular tastes in food.  Macaroni with beef anyone?

Now that I’m pondering what to write, my fingers hover outstretched above my keyboard as if above a cauldron like a witch (remember, we are the Coven trio) about to recite an incantation. My goodbyes are more like a “See you later.”  In my mind, goodbyes are a final and emotionally crushing reminder of never seeing someone or something again, while “See you later” places emphasis on the possibility of seeing that someone or something again.  So in this respect, “See you later guys.”  I’ll see you around, you’ll see me around . . . somewhere.

I’ll be back.

In all seriousness I see myself taking more Gotham classes and of course I’ll drop in to “Hi, guys.”  I must say I’ll miss the quirks of the office in my everyday life.  No longer will I witness Dana’s daily snack of carrots, Alex’s thinking aloud, Britt’s pictures of adorable puppies, discussions with Kelly on interesting articles, or Street’s random fits of laughter (and of the course the jokester mailman).

It’s not often that you’ll find a group of people who will embrace your personality with all of its strange bits and bobs, but that’s what you get at Gotham and that’s one of the aspects of interning here that I loved the most. During my interview with Dana and Alex, I mentioned wanting to start a blog which focused on poetry and music and the relationship between both and now I have.  If you want to follow me in a non-creepy way, you can, at RunsWithWallflowers.  Also, us three interns have started a blog called PoorWriters where we post about the upsides and pitfalls of the broke life.

See you around everyone.

Imani

So Long, Farewell

Oh Gotham, I feel like the Von Trapp children being sent away to bed while the party is in full swing, because today is my last day at Gotham.

I honestly don’t know how to start this. Ask Imani. I’ve rewritten this post dozens of times because I’m unsure what and how to write it.

Well, I found this internship on Twitter one morning during a job search. I thought the current intern blog sounded fun, and I already knew the school from its website and Twitter account. I went into the interview not knowing what to expect.

I remember meeting Dana and Alex and being completely charmed and welcomed. I remember bombing on the interview question “what are three adjectives to describe you?”

One of my words was “good-recover-able,” which Dana and Alex good-naturedly accepted. Thank goodness.

I remember excitedly telling people that I thought the interview went well. I remember first meeting Imani and Devin at the office during training, when we awkwardly sat next to one another, eating burgers with the rest of Gotham.

We were sort of the new kids at the party.

Seriously. It was Alex’s birthday, so there were cupcakes.

I remember thinking “can I eat two cupcakes, if I just met Alex? Because these cupcakes are good.”

I remember being in the big office with Devin and Imani, and for some reason, Alex and Dana jokingly asked us to reveal a deep dark secret as a team building concept. We laughed it off, but I—out of nerves I suppose—kept coming out with secrets to make Devin and Imani laugh.

We planned the blog and started to joke about James Franco. I found out Imani was just as Arthur obsessed as I was. Devin stayed with me to design the tumblr.

I looked forward to Mondays and Wednesdays during my week, because, well, it’s just nice being part of Gotham’s office.

People are fun. Teachers are coming in or going. I have Devin and Imani sharing a desk with me, okay to talk about anything when I dislike being in my head too long. There are gummy bears and Swedish fish to eat. I get to blog during the day as I man the phones.

Those phone calls are always interesting. You never know who will be on the other end or what they’ll want. I’ve had scary phone calls, funny phone calls, and friendly phone calls. Those are the best, because I like talking to people and finding out why they want to take a class.

As for the guys in the office:

You guys are kooky and random. Thank you for answering my questions when you guys were in the middle of conversation. I’m also sorry if it took me a while to process Living Social deals.

Also, thank you for going along with my awkward humor.

I’m glad there were as many references to Independence Day as there were. That we did get to discuss Labyrinth. And that we got to give our two cents over the new designs going on at Gotham.

Though, I still think the new office should have a tree-house vibe with a moat.

I know you guys are so emotionally wrought that you are knocking down the walls once we leave. It’ll be okay, though.

You’re going to live on. You’re going to survive.

Because today is my…last day at Gotham.*

So, thanks Gotham, for being really nice and welcoming and a home away from the cold, cruel world. I’m off now, out to discover what exactly I’m going to do next.

I’m not sure what I’ll be up to once I leave, but I’ll do you guys proud.

LYLAS (love ya like a sistah),
Georgette

*Thank you, President Whitmore.

Georgette vs. the Mic

So after weeks of hard work and debate over such topics as “is there another sleazy man magazine she could reference? Is it better if your female voice sounds like a man?” my comedy class had our comedy showcase, and man was it adorable.

By adorable, I mean it felt exactly like a school production, where we sat to the side of the stage, altogether, as if we were kindergarteners preparing to talk to you about the Presidents.

And one of the students, God bless him, brought 50+ people, so we had a bigger audience than we expected. This was nice and also intimidating at the same time. Nice because there were a lot of people, so I could get comfortable with that, rather than focus on the three friends who came out. And intimidating because of the obvious reason: there are 50+ facing you as you try to be funny. When that happens at parties, you just excuse yourself to the restroom and never return. There’s none of that when you are on stage.

So the build up to that performance was usual. Tons of doubt, attempts at hiding behind my bathroom door, coughing to see if I was sick enough to use as an excuse to myself and my instructor.

But in the class before I went, a lot of people didn’t have anything memorized.

This made me feel excellent.

Right before the show, I sat in a deli, reading my bit to the air, eating a sandwich, rewriting lines, and frankly not caring that the studious girl with the fur collar kept giving me weird looks.

I walked to the comedy club repeating everything like a mantra, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk if I couldn’t remember, and facing the heavens above because I’m dramatic.

Never again, I thought angrily, never again will I talk myself into doing this. I’ll do it, and we’ll never talk about it ever again.

But it wasn’t that bad.

I was excited when I sat with my group.  I was excited when my friends came in and sat down. I nervously forced them to hug me, and we tried to talk about anything other than the impending show.

And I sat with my class beforehand, attempting to make light of everything, though some of us grabbed out papers and read through them quickly. I was already tired of my voice, so I stuck mine into my boot and hoped for the best.

If it came down to it, I’d pull it out and just read it.

I don’t remember my stage time if I’m honest. I think it’s a coping mechanism I mastered over the years, but I do remember trying to slow down as I spoke, I remember thinking that I knew which line came next really easily, and I also remember that I asked questions of the audience.

With that last one, it’s a bit of a risk, because the audience may just try to mess with you if you ask a question to set-up your next joke. I knew that and I did it out of nerves. But I think I recovered. Who knows!

I asked my friend what she thought of my bit, and she came to the conclusion that I did win the audience at times, though I seemed to confuse them at others.

I told her that that seemed to be the usual reaction to me at any other time and was pretty pleased by that review.

This Thursday is my last show. Let’s hope it’s two for two as far as success and fuzzy memories go.

Dear Future Interns

Dear Future Interns,

If this were in-person, I’d shake your hand or probably give a little wave if you were really against physical contact. Although, I am a handshaker, so I guess I’d actually force you to do it. Just not in a mean way, of course. Sort of like in a firm, welcoming, friendly way to put you at ease.

oh. Great. Now it’s turned awkward.

All of that would be in my head as I greeted you and told you with, “Hi! I’m Georgette. I interned at Gotham Writers for Fall 2013. Nice to meet you.”

And now you think I’m crazy.

And that’s fine too, because that tends to happen.

But congratulations! You’re the new interns at Gotham Writers Workshop! You’re here at a great time, because the company’s going through this massive evolution with changes galore, and I am kind of jealous with how much of the final product you’ll get to see. Please take lots of pictures.

As welcoming and as friendly everyone is at the Gotham offices, I figured I’d try to greet you to the Intern Desk–or desks? I’m not sure if that’s part of the changes–and help you make your first days feel right at home. Imani, Devin, and I shared a desk, which I think broke the ice much faster for us, especially since I found out that Imani loves the same cartoons as I do and that Devin will talk me out of over thoughts.

Imani and Devin just say, “Hi.”

While we know your experience will be much different from ours or even from the interns before us, we figured we’d give you a few highlights or tips from our perspective.

Never Hesitate to Ask

Georgette: Even if it’s “how was your weekend?” or “do you know the way to San Jose?” I think you should never be afraid to ask a question, and you will have lots of them. Maybe not San Jose exactly, but there will be that point where you have absolutely no idea of how to respond and your jerk reaction will be pretending to know. Don’t pretend to know. Someone who knows is nearby, so you should ask.

Devin: There will be a moment when you pick up the phone and something on the other end (most likely a person) says something you do not understand- maybe a question you don’t have the answer to, or just a string of sounds you can’t comprehend. It’s ok, just swing your chair around and ask Street, Britt, and Dana, and take a deep breath. I’m still doing this and it’s my last week, so chill.

Imani: “What’s to eat around here?” is an ever pressing question seeing there are many choices in the area.  I personally couldn’t make up my mind and opted for packed lunch and $1 pizza.  Almost three months later, I finally tried Tabata 2 a couple doors down from the office.  I say this to say, be fearless in your search of delicious eats!

Find out the Dates for People’s Birthdays

Georgette: Apparently, we missed Devin’s, mine, and almost Imani’s birthdays during this. By “almost” missing Imani’s, I mean that we purchased the cupcakes, but I almost forgot to give them to her.

Devin: I hate birthdays.

Imani: I admire Devin’s honesty.

Georgette: Whatever. You guys like cupcakes.

Take a Supa Cool Class

Georgette: I ended up taking stand-up comedy, when I initially wanted to take a Blogging or Humor. Devin won rock-paper-scissors, so I ended up in Stand-Up class. And I enjoyed it because it was something new and just plain different than the type of writing I normally take.

Granted, it was uncomfortable, but I am pretty excited, nervous, confused, happy, hungry about the show.

Devin: Fiction! Take fiction! I would probably die if I took stand-up comedy, so I went with fiction. I love reading fiction, but had never taken a writing workshop specific to it. My class is awesome, and I’m learning a lot of techniques and ideas that can be transferred to any area of writing.

Imani: If you have a hectic schedule, online classes will be your best friend.

Take One-Days

Devin: I took article writing, how to blog, and children’s book writing. One-days are great for learning about a genre you know absolutely nothing about, and you get to meet more Gotham teachers, which is always fun.

Georgette: I really enjoyed the one-days. It was my way of taking all the classes I wanted.

Imani: I took Children’s Book Writing which gave me some valuable insights and thoughtful writing prompts, which also worked out well for some fiction pieces I’ve been working on.  Had my schedule allowed, I would’ve loved to take more.  I hope you guys have the time to partake.

Do a Write-in

Devin: Write and eat. It’s great.

Georgette: Cheese and meeting other writers is always interesting.

Imani: Talking to people isn’t so bad and yeah, eat.

Have a Google Doc Battle

Devin: If you’re feeling daring.

Georgette: If it’s quiet in the office and is so intense and you don’t want to break it with a sneeze, this is the easiest form of communication with your fellow interns.

Imani: Ah, the good ole days.

If You Have an Idea, Try It

like any idea

Georgette: I really liked creating new ads and fliers and filming videos. I also really enjoyed writing for the blog. It would be something we just wanted to try and then we’d do it and just see, but I always liked the results. I was really impressed with our work.

Devin: Yeah, we’re pretty impressive. Good luck living up to us.

Go to the Little Pie Company

Georgette: Because nothing says victory like an entire personal banana cream pie after a day at the internship.

Of Write-Ins and Cosplay

The time has come, you guys. We are responsible interns (or proved ourselves to be responsible interns), and Devin, Imani, and I took charge of a Write-In.

There’s something magical about coming into a familiar place at an off time. It’s sort of like seeing your school at night, after the homecoming dance or after a parent-teacher night, when all of the teachers and students aren’t there.

I don’t know. To me it’s kind of cool.

Stop it, Devin. I know you’re making fun of me now.

Anyways, the phones weren’t ringing, which is always nice and calm. That might be it.  And with everyone’s desk without their owner, it was the ultimate time to cosplay as Gotham’s Best Office Workers.

Tonight Street will be played by Georgette

It’s uncanny isn’t it?

Devin will play Dana.

Can someone say Oscar?

Britt will be played by Imani.

So we were in charge of the Write-In, and by “in charge” one of our tasks was signing people in and ushering them to their respectable rooms. This did not have to be a bigger deal than I made it, but I liked to think that I was playing matchmaker for two large rooms of people, almost as if I were Nick Fury, enrolling superheroes into the Avengers.

As Alex sat by, I debated which room of writers would win in a tug-o-war battle against one another.

“That one,” I told him rather decidedly, pointing at 1402. “It has more people. I gave them an unfair advantage.”

Alex considered this a moment before he replied, “Well, you don’t know the physicality of the other room.”

This was something I did not consider, and I bemoaned my failings as a Write-In Leader.

We also took care of the food. And by “took care of the food” I mean that we cut veggies for the platter and I made Alton Brown-esque commentary on technique and kitchen skill, until Devin asked if I was going to do that all night.

That made me laugh, but it also shut me up. Besides, I had trouble coming up with more techniques and ways to describe Devin’s wrists as she made cheese cubes.

Write-Ins are always fun because there’s the break where you can get to know fellow writers, and we had the bonus of playing a Tetris-Frogger type of game as we did so, refilling food trays and grabbing the spare Blondies on the table.

We met a lot of nice people, and Imani chatted about poetry with Britt for a while.

Did I mention the wine?

I felt like a fancy waiter or a rapper’s groupie in a music video, pouring vino into awaiting empty glasses, being called over for more.

All-in-all, successfully, fun Write-In. You should probably go to one.

Running Sucks (A Business Venture)

This intern started a company! Running Sucks: Athletic Apparel for Realists. I’ve been handing out business cards here at Gotham, and I’m super excited because my website went live last night. Check it out!

The Writer’s Arc of Emotions: A Playlist

So you sat down to write, maybe after a long break or maybe with a goal in mind, either way: congratulations! You’re going to do it.  You have an idea or maybe some down time, and you’re at your computer or typewriter or hammer and chisel and are pumped.

Well, we are here to help you traverse the wilds that is the writer’s emotions as you put pen to paper.  This playlist will certainly help.

I Just Sat Down with Tea, Coffee, a Notebook, Five Back-Up Pens, and My Laptop

Flathead –The Fratellis
First Date-Blink 182

You are on fire! Man you are on a roll. You are not leaving this seat until you have dialog and character development and setting down.  The thoughts can’t keep up with the fire brimming through your fingertips. Hell, you’re like a driver on The Fast and the Furious, burning rubber and making the asphalt smoke as you drive over and kill Paul Walker.

That’s the premise of the movie right?

Writing is awful and I don’t know what to do

This House is a Circus –Arctic Monkeys
East Coast Girl- Cayucas
Floetic- Floetry

What happened? Life was going so well.  You had the idea and the characters were doing what you wanted in a logical progression that made sense to their arc, and yet . . . why do they sound stiff and cliché all of a sudden?  Why do your characters keep eyeing the clock or Tweeting as they wait for you to give them things to do?  Who gave them that smartphone?

Dang. The honeymoon phase is over.

Reign it in! You can do it. Get their attention, spice up your love life, forbid them to Tweet and focus!

And possibly take a dance break with this song.

Writing Is Going Really Well

Sway –Dean Martin
You Make My Dreams Come True -Hall and Oates

Oh yeah. You got it.  This is what you intended all along. Who was that fool ten minutes ago? Not you!  Things are jellin’ in the way that those Dr. Scholz inserts are working on your high arches.

Who was that furious maniac who sat down? Not you.  You’re savoring the experience now.  You can take your time to describe that intricate vase sitting on your character’s nightstand, because you know just where you’re going with it.

(Hint: it’s a big twist later on in the plot.)

I Thought I had a Plan, Why Isn’t Writing Going Well Anymore?

Crying –Roy Orbison
I Hate You So Much Right Now-Kelis

Good lord. Why didn’t you speed up and write an outline?  You remember when writing was going so well, why can’t it always be that way?

You hate what you have on paper. You reread it and see all of those authors you love leering at you, wishing you would stop telling people that they were your influences because you’re not doing them any favors. You’re embarrassing them.

All is lost!

Wait.  Hang on.  You’re okay.

Nope. Nope.  No you’re not.

I’m Outlining. I’m Going to Look at all of My Craft Notes and Capture that Feeling Again.

Killer Queen -Queen
Metal Guru-T.Rex

You are a professional.  You can do this.  You have the right tools to finish this scene.  Heck, if you were in workshop or sharing your story with an adoring, interested, somewhat attractive looking party, you would be able to tell said party about your project with verbose explanations on character developments and denouements.

The fact that you know means that you can fix it.  You’re one cool cat.

I’m leaving on a Jet Plane and Leaving This So-Called Story Behind.

Take A Chance On Me-ABBA
Absolutely Nothing -Lily Allen

Before you run off into the night in search of a story, remember, it’s just a stalling tactic!  Take a deep breath, listen to some tunes and go back to the drawing board (or laptop).  I’ve found it’s best to look away and come around again to get the most accurate look at my own work.  It’s kind of like staring at a chess board for a long while and after that long while you’re left clueless and strategically impaired.  A break is key, but fleeing forever will do you little good.

I’m Happy with What I Have.

Santeria -Sublime

You’re exhausted. You’ve been through so much since you sat down and had your five cups of coffee. The sun was out when you sat down and started.  What happened there?

That’s okay, though.  You sit back and look at your document and just think.  You ruminate over some phrases Earlier You thought was brilliant.  You backspace over some extreme description over a vase–did you really need that vase?–and you smirk slightly when you look over a bit of dialogue that you actually enjoyed.

That, my friend, was all you.  You did all of that.

Congratulations.

Stormbraining

Brainstorming.

Put three interns in a room and see what happens. Give them a whiteboard and a marker. There will be drawings and names (new team name: Devgeormani) and there will be ideas.

Portrait session. But Georgette was drawn by me so it’s a little abstract.

When I got to Gotham on Wednesday, Georgette and Imani were in full swing brainstorming mode. Our prompt was “What aren’t we doing?” And, as Imani informed me after I joined them, we were encouraged to get as crazy as we liked. Of course, I immediately jumped to outer space.

We’re not having classes there.

We came up with ideas and it was cool to see how our brains and our ideas snowballed off each other and, occasionally, became something good.

We had a lot of food related ideas, mostly because any topic at the intern desk can be related back to pie. It’s like six degrees, but instead of Kevin Bacon it always ends with “I’m hungry.”

It’s possible we’re more like the three little pigs than the Harry Potter trio.

 

Anyway, time for lunch. 

Devin

Dance, Dance Evolution

Okay, maybe there’s not as much dancing as the title suggests, but there are a lot of changes happening.

Gotham is going through an evolution of sorts, much like a Bulbasaur entering the next stage as a Venusaur, or the Sharks and the Jets at the end of Westside Story.

The website has some changes. Street walked us through new office renovations, and I suggested a moat. Dana and Alex have some sweet business cards that feel very cool to whip out and present, though they don’t have our names on them. We just like presenting them just the same.

It’s really an ongoing process, but it’s always neat when something new comes into the office and we huddle around it.

Then ultimately we take it apart, but only because we want it to be the best of course.

But changes are coming soon to Gotham, folks. Stay tuned.