Well. 's been a while, no?
---
Every so often, a character swaggers, fully formed, onto the page and demands to have the story revolve around them. I've had it happen several times with several different characters, the latest of whom are running rampart through my hedgehog project, upsetting all of my original idea's plans, but leaving a much more coherent and interesting story in their wake.
It's funny how this can work sometimes. In the most particularly egregious example, a background character I needed for one tiny subplot ended up getting his own entire novel for NaNo. Yes, my leading man Red started as a walk-on who popped into my head completely fully-formed. He came in with motivation, character description and everything. The only thing that really changed from beginning to end was his role in the story and how he acted in it. While his motivation remained the same, he acted a bit different in several different drafts as how I treated him changed.
It's pretty cool sometimes when it all comes together like that with seemingly no effort on the writer's part. It's like having all the work done for you as this character provides you with a blueprint for everyone else in the interactions between the cast members. Other times, it can be a nightmare as it begins to shift everything around for better or for worse.
Because this can be a not-good thing. Dangers of Mary-Sue-dom abound, as does losing sight of the original story. When one strong character begins to shift all the other character interpretations really quickly, it can show how weak the other characters already were and that can throw you into despair. I know it does me occasionally, as I bang on the keyboard in frustration as each new acquisition to the cast seems far more interesting than all of the originals. Then I wonder why bother with the originals if the new guys are so much stronger and more interesting, but then I remember what made me love the original so much that I would want to write it at all and I get all flustered.
For right now though, I'm still infatuated with these new characters. Two of them this time, they suddenly are giving me long-term goals in the story and background stories to explore in the present action and even shifted the dynamics of the cast around enough that I have new relationships to explore that I think are far more interesting than what was there before. Time will tell if this is true, but for now, I'm happy.
In terms of discussion: has anyone else ever had one of these story pirates as well? Also, does anyone else have another name for them other than "story pirates"? Because they are like pirates, in how they catch you unawares and take control of the reins, but c'mon, there has to be a snazzier title somewhere.
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
On slaying the Shiny New Idea (a love story)...
Because I thought about slaying:
Quite possibly one of my most favorite performances of my most definitely favorite poem.---
So, a few days ago, I contracted a case of the Shiny New Idea. I blogged about it. And, in blogging about it, I found that I was able to counter it.
See, the thing is with Shiny New Ideas, at least for me, is that they tend to fall apart if I think about them too hard. Actually, this is true for most ideas I have, but the difference is that I'm still excited about my current hedgehog project and so the Shiny New Idea doesn't hold the appeal it did because it is being overshadowed.
And so, on this, Valentine's Day, I'd like to share a short love story about my hedgehog project.
Young Writer's Society has a group called "Your Novel" in which members post short open letters to their novels. Often just a few lines if that, they are a cathartic way of venting frustration or love about a project. Recently, my own posts have followed an arc of sorts.
GryphonFledgling: Dear Novel,
Be patient with me. It takes some time to move from one relationship to the other. NaNoWriMo took a lot out of me and I want to be able to give you my everything. These scribbles in-between are actually working for us, I promise.
Wed Dec 22, 2010
GryphonFledgling: Dear Novel,
It's not cheating, just flirting. I'll come back, I promise. Just give me a little time to realize just how amazing you are and then you'll have the satisfaction of seeing how I come crawling back to your pages.
Mon Feb 07, 2011
GryphonFledgling: Dear Novel,
See? I told you I'd come back. Here's chocolates and a rose to prove my love for you on Valentine's Day.The first was right after NaNo, when I was sort of scribbling little scenes and things in lieu of actual writing on anything besides this blog. The idea was there, the want was there, but my heart just wasn't ready for that kind of commitment yet.
Tue Feb 15, 2011
The second was right when the Shiny New Idea struck. It was all awhirl, with its glitz and glamor and snarky humor. I saw it for what it was, but I still begged for the time for a little excitement, a little adventure.
The third is self-explanatory. I wasn't dumped, I walked away before I got too involved with something that wasn't worth my time. I went back to something that I loved and that loved me and together we're going to make something amazing.
This is a project meant to last, methinks. Or at least I hope so. Right now we are going through a little rocky spot with regards to a beginning (seeing as how the beginning is going to drive the rest of the story). I'm thinking I may actually have to (*le gasp*) do a little brainstorming / outlining (*more le gasp*).
But despite being at a point where I'm feeling lost enough to want to do that, I feel good about this project. I might regret saying that in three months, when I'm mashing my forehead into my keyboard with frustration, but I've been with this project long enough for the puppy love of a Shiny New Idea to wear off and I'm still giddy with excitement at times.
Because, this project did start out as a Shiny New Idea, if you recall, in the middle of November. But, unlike this last Shiny New Idea, the hedgehog project stuck around long enough to be called a project at all, even to the point of getting me writing again after a post-NaNo funk.
I did write down my Shiny New Idea and maybe one day it will inspire me again, or at least let itself be hacked to pieces and stitched into other stories somewhere, but for now, true love triumphs and the hedgehog story and I march forward together into the great unknown.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Shiny...
...Let's be bad guys.
Well said, cat of questionable literacy but many lulz, well said.
If there is one thing more dangerous than the dreaded Writer's Block, it is the Shiny New Idea.
So you've got a project that you love, and you're working hard on it. Life gets in the way sometimes and the last few days haven't been so hot, but you still feel like this could go somewhere. It's just taking a little time.
Then, suddenly, from the blue, comes a Shiny New Idea. It's an idea! It's new! It's shiny! It seems to flow from your brain like a chocolate fountain, chock-full of marshmallows, strawberries and pound cake!
Suddenly the current project is exposed for what it is; a lukewarm Hot Pocket, full of congealing cheese and mystery meat dressed up as ham for Halloween.
So you want to drop that Hot Pocket and go for the Shiny New Idea, this lovely critter that demands nothing from you, just allows you to channel awesome from brain to pen.
And you do... for a while. But there will come a time when the Shiny New Idea is not so New anymore and eventually it will not be so Shiny anymore. And along will come another Shiny Newer Idea and then a Shiny Shiny Newer Idea and so on and so forth, in a horrible rampage of frustrated inspiration but no production.
The moral of the story? Stick with a project. If a Shiny New Idea pops up, demanding your attention
... indulge it for a minute or two. Take the time to write down that scene that is bugging you. If it turns into a little more than a scene, fine. But know where to put the brakes on.
At the same time, sometimes projects need to be taken a break from. I've blogged before about letting projects go. Sometimes they do need to go. But they shouldn't be dropped like a Hot Pocket. Lain carefully down like the inedible bits of lobster, maybe.
Yes indeed.
-----
Well said, cat of questionable literacy but many lulz, well said.
If there is one thing more dangerous than the dreaded Writer's Block, it is the Shiny New Idea.
So you've got a project that you love, and you're working hard on it. Life gets in the way sometimes and the last few days haven't been so hot, but you still feel like this could go somewhere. It's just taking a little time.
Then, suddenly, from the blue, comes a Shiny New Idea. It's an idea! It's new! It's shiny! It seems to flow from your brain like a chocolate fountain, chock-full of marshmallows, strawberries and pound cake!
Suddenly the current project is exposed for what it is; a lukewarm Hot Pocket, full of congealing cheese and mystery meat dressed up as ham for Halloween.
So you want to drop that Hot Pocket and go for the Shiny New Idea, this lovely critter that demands nothing from you, just allows you to channel awesome from brain to pen.
And you do... for a while. But there will come a time when the Shiny New Idea is not so New anymore and eventually it will not be so Shiny anymore. And along will come another Shiny Newer Idea and then a Shiny Shiny Newer Idea and so on and so forth, in a horrible rampage of frustrated inspiration but no production.
The moral of the story? Stick with a project. If a Shiny New Idea pops up, demanding your attention
At the same time, sometimes projects need to be taken a break from. I've blogged before about letting projects go. Sometimes they do need to go. But they shouldn't be dropped like a Hot Pocket. Lain carefully down like the inedible bits of lobster, maybe.
...because otherwise they might eat you?
...
I actually secretly like Hot Pockets.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Bursting at the seams...
First off, a big thank you to Hannah from Musings of a Palindrome for her shout-outs to me and other small-time bloggers!
---
A sedentary body equals a sedentary mind for me. I find that the less I do in a day, the less I end up writing. It's why NaNoWriMo is such a frantic month, but always one of my most productive, while my writing always seems to stagnate during the summer months when all I do is laze about. Many a writer has bemoaned a surplus of free-time as hindering their writing.
That said, it seems like after a period of non-activity, my brain always seems to start cooking stuff up, just when I don't feel like writing at that moment.
For real, haven't been feeling fantastic lately (everyone else in my family has gotten sick and I'm the only one hanging on to health) and have been sleeping a lot. The other day, I spent the entire day sleeping, eating and playing video games (class had been mercifully cancelled due to snow) and while it was somewhat refreshing, I was frustrated afterward when I realized how little of anything I'd gotten done.
Cut to yesterday, when I had a full day of class and two essays to write. Suddenly my brain seething with inspiration and ideas, but I don't have the time to write any of them down.
Cut to today... The inspiration is still knocking around, but I am still feeling under the weather. I've been browsing the internet, reading a little and just generally not doing anything again. And I'm driving myself crazy because while I want to be writing, I really don't want to be writing.
---
Of course, the key is often to just start writing anyway. As I write and moan right now, I'm feeling the urge to simply grab a pad of paper and start writing something worth writing. So I likely will.
Funny how just taking a moment to purge and whine can actually set you on the path to activity. Anyone else find that they tend to follow any of these patterns? Or do you do something completely different?
---
A sedentary body equals a sedentary mind for me. I find that the less I do in a day, the less I end up writing. It's why NaNoWriMo is such a frantic month, but always one of my most productive, while my writing always seems to stagnate during the summer months when all I do is laze about. Many a writer has bemoaned a surplus of free-time as hindering their writing.
That said, it seems like after a period of non-activity, my brain always seems to start cooking stuff up, just when I don't feel like writing at that moment.
For real, haven't been feeling fantastic lately (everyone else in my family has gotten sick and I'm the only one hanging on to health) and have been sleeping a lot. The other day, I spent the entire day sleeping, eating and playing video games (class had been mercifully cancelled due to snow) and while it was somewhat refreshing, I was frustrated afterward when I realized how little of anything I'd gotten done.
Cut to yesterday, when I had a full day of class and two essays to write. Suddenly my brain seething with inspiration and ideas, but I don't have the time to write any of them down.
Cut to today... The inspiration is still knocking around, but I am still feeling under the weather. I've been browsing the internet, reading a little and just generally not doing anything again. And I'm driving myself crazy because while I want to be writing, I really don't want to be writing.
---
Of course, the key is often to just start writing anyway. As I write and moan right now, I'm feeling the urge to simply grab a pad of paper and start writing something worth writing. So I likely will.
Funny how just taking a moment to purge and whine can actually set you on the path to activity. Anyone else find that they tend to follow any of these patterns? Or do you do something completely different?
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Why...
...does inspiration have to strike in the middle of the night when you have to get up crazy early the next morning?
For real, I have to get up at five tomorrow for work and 'Inasmuch' just won't leave me alone.
For real, I have to get up at five tomorrow for work and 'Inasmuch' just won't leave me alone.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Nostalgia and crack...
So, in being all nostalgic and stuff on my birthday today, I was reading over my old writing, namely from around 2006, and was impressed with the thoroughness of some of it. And shocked that my memory was so bad.
It turns out the bulk of the writing for my old project Ocean of Fire was done when I was fourteen through maybe early sixteen, which is older than I had thought. But reading over the notes and things almost made me want to pick it up again. I wrote a ton of stuff back then, like folders and folders of outlines and notes. I had forgotten just how much it was, even if I do remember having the entire twenty-page original outline up on my wall for a long time.
That led me to thinking about one of my other more-favorite characters from that abandoned project, Meirzen, and how I occasionally feel the urge to resurrect his story the way I did Quina and Red's. And I then had the cracktastic idea to combine his universe with that of my hedgehog story. I don't know if it's actually going to happen, or if it does, I'll just be stealing the world and there will likely be no mention of Meirzen himself (seeing as how if there were, he would end up dying and I don't want to kill him off in case I ever do decide to resurrect his story) but I was just shocked at the audacity of my brain for even thinking of such a thing.
There needs to be a term for original fiction writers and ideas for crossovers and such like that within our own writings. Fanfiction writers have the term crack!fic, where they have the strangest crossovers or ships or simple out-of-characterness, but we original fiction writers don't really get that, seeing as how it's all in our head or in our private universe. No one outside of us cares because no one outside of us has ever seen it. But we do crossovers and cameos all the time. I once wrote something like four pages that contained every main character I'd ever written, all in some sort of secret agent group hunting down their respective antagonists or something like that.
Seriously, we need our own term. Suggestions?
It turns out the bulk of the writing for my old project Ocean of Fire was done when I was fourteen through maybe early sixteen, which is older than I had thought. But reading over the notes and things almost made me want to pick it up again. I wrote a ton of stuff back then, like folders and folders of outlines and notes. I had forgotten just how much it was, even if I do remember having the entire twenty-page original outline up on my wall for a long time.
That led me to thinking about one of my other more-favorite characters from that abandoned project, Meirzen, and how I occasionally feel the urge to resurrect his story the way I did Quina and Red's. And I then had the cracktastic idea to combine his universe with that of my hedgehog story. I don't know if it's actually going to happen, or if it does, I'll just be stealing the world and there will likely be no mention of Meirzen himself (seeing as how if there were, he would end up dying and I don't want to kill him off in case I ever do decide to resurrect his story) but I was just shocked at the audacity of my brain for even thinking of such a thing.
There needs to be a term for original fiction writers and ideas for crossovers and such like that within our own writings. Fanfiction writers have the term crack!fic, where they have the strangest crossovers or ships or simple out-of-characterness, but we original fiction writers don't really get that, seeing as how it's all in our head or in our private universe. No one outside of us cares because no one outside of us has ever seen it. But we do crossovers and cameos all the time. I once wrote something like four pages that contained every main character I'd ever written, all in some sort of secret agent group hunting down their respective antagonists or something like that.
Seriously, we need our own term. Suggestions?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Awesome (except not really)...
The only thing worse than a truly, truly awful story is one that has so much potential, but squanders it and falls flat on its face. This is worse, to me, because it makes me get nitpicky. A bad book or movie is just bad. You see it, you laugh/cringe at it, and then you move on with your life. You tell jokes with your chums about how terrible it was and you're done.
Wasted potential, however, gets under your skin. There very well might be something about it you liked; character archetypes, set up, art design, production crew, something. There's something about it that looks promising, only for it to be snatched away and thrown into a pit of soul-sucking lampreys.
Wasted potential, however, gets under your skin. There very well might be something about it you liked; character archetypes, set up, art design, production crew, something. There's something about it that looks promising, only for it to be snatched away and thrown into a pit of soul-sucking lampreys.
It's drives you crazy, because it's like someone took a perfectly good chocolate cake
and dropped it into a blender, added corned beef,
lo mein,
salsa
and then a healthy scoop of the scum from the underside of your trashcan lid.
The cake is still there. You know it, but you can't get around all the other stuff that's mixed in.
Too graphic? Too graphic. Here, enjoy the lampreys again.
Obviously, this is a bit of a rant-filled subject for me. My point is, there's a reason why you shouldn't tease the tiger at the zoo.
A prime example for this (y'know, based on my own preferences - feel free to disagree) is Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.
I wouldn't call myself a fan of everything Burton's done, but I do genuinely like a few of his movies. I love the visual design and nearly every single member of cast for the film and Carrol's Alice books are obviously some of the strangest, most influential pieces of literature in the English language.
And yet, this movie sucked. Despite everything, the story has no life to it. The whole thing is supposed to be about how Alice comes to grips with herself and her choices in life, but there was only ever one real option in Underland (unless, y'know, she's chill with being partly responsible for genocide). There's no conflict. She had more opportunity for finding herself in England. She did more to find herself in England (codfish vs. corsets, anyone?).
Gah, too much to get angry at.
The thing that really drives me crazy is that I have this weird, unfounded urge to want to like this movie, despite having seen it enough times to have supposedly purged myself of that notion. Yet every time I see the cover for this film, I have a moment of excitement, as if it were one of my favorites. But it's not. I seriously don't like this movie. I'm not in denial about it. I am comfortable with not liking it. I just want to know why I want to like it.
And then yesterday, I think I figured it out: it's the music.
The score of this film is just gorgeous. I actually bought the soundtrack recently, it being so easy to write to. I mean, just listen to this hero theme:
Gah, so pretty and epic and inspiring and all that.
And because music is, as I've ranted about before, a glue to make a movie stick, I keep wanting to like this movie just because it has a good score. And, inevitable,y when I end up watching it, I end up pulling my hair out at all the wasted potential.
Do you guys have a particular movie or book that just drives you crazy because it could have been so much better? What is it's redeeming quality that makes you care (however small)?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
How To Write: Gryph-style...
Well, I was so super late on the uptake on this, only having found out about it on this, the day of, but here is the What's Your Process Blogfest!
Writing process... Hmmm...
It really does vary from project to project. Sometimes I get an idea for a character and want to write their story, other times I get an idea for a story that I need to add characters to. For actual writing, I usually just put some characters on a page and have them do stuff, and sometimes I do little test runs, almost auditions, to work out how the story is going to be told. When it comes to editing, I almost always just completely rewrite the sucker, rather than line-by-line edit or anything. My first draft is like a big long rambling outline, really the only outline I do.
To show some of the differences (however minor they might seem) I'll illustrate two of the most different: my NaNo for '09 Scorpion and Sandman and my current hedgehog project Once Upon a Spine. Buckle up and get ready for a rather long and rambly post! Yay?
Scorpion and Sandman
The idea for this actually has a really crazy long story. When I was like thirteen, I had an idea for a story about a blind kid named Bain. It started because I had just had an idea of a blind boy running through a field as if he could see. I think that idea came from "The Lost Year of Merlin" series by T.A. Barron. It was mostly about him, later evolving to include his estranged father who was a disillusioned warlord, and an elf girl who would eventually become Quina.
It took a long time though. Initially, she was some sort of savior character, downtrodden and being trained for her place in the world by a drunken half-elf. He was initially supposed to be some sort of pseudo-romantic interest. Then Quina was supposed to be captured and imprisoned and I came up with the idea for this human prisoner who would fall in love with her and help her escape at the cost of his own life. To my thirteen year-old self, it was all very grand and epic and I loved it.
That itself eventually changed to a slightly more happy ending, with this new character, Red, and Quina ending up together, though they did have a rather long bout of slavery.
The project eventually sort of died, seeing as how a) it grew huge, with no less than eight different protagonists and b) I was so enamored with outlining and planning it all that I didn't really get to writing it. I got through one entire draft of the first book in a proposed trilogy, but then it just sort of died.
Then I had an idea to take each of the protagonists' stories (combining some of them, seeing as how some were intertwined) and write several books that way. I started with Bain, but he eventually evolved into such an emo-tastic tortured soul that he was no fun to write for anymore. But there were two characters who were always a blast to write: Red and Quina.
They were sort of secondary characters, a married couple living in the slums because he was a former slave, still branded, and she was an elf. I loved them to death and when the new project died too, I was actually heartbroken to have to let them go.
Fast forward a few years to NaNoWriMo 2009. (I'd actually signed up for NaNo in '08 and never done anything as I discovered later, having completely forgotten about signing up at all.) I needed a story, I had two characters whose story I wanted to tell. Lovely!
Now, I say usually that I am a pantser, just sort of writing things, but Scorpion and Sandman had a huge backlog of history (seriously, those few paragraphs up there summarize several years of my life). I had some fairly developed characters already and an idea for how I wanted the story to go. And, this being the first time I had done NaNo, I did some simple outlining.
I could still make an argument for my panster status, since those outlines were never really more than a page long and a few of them were made on the fly in the middle of the month, just so I wouldn't forget the resolution I had projected, but that was actually the beginning of my panster self.
As mentioned before, part of the reason the parent project died was because I was so enamored with outlining that I never actually got to the writing. I'd learned a little since then, but it was really the "omigosh, have no time, no ideas, need to write 2k words nao!!!" attitude of NaNo that really cemented that idea of just sort of going "blah" on paper.
So I did. There was a little bit of outlining and a whole lot of previously acquired knowledge, but I pretty much wrote that novel on the fly. I started with two characters with stories I wanted to write and just wrote them.
This project has been on the back burner, in the queue for editing, since NaNo09's completion, but I've never really dug into it hardcore. Mainly because I'm terrified of messing it up. I love that novel so much. It represents so much; the completion of a childhood obsession, the first accomplishment of NaNoWriMo, etc. etc., that I'm afraid of sullying that memory. I'll get over it eventually, I'm sure, and dig into it (seriously, writing about the parent project is making me want to pick that up again), but there's really been no editing as of yet.
Once Upon a Spine
This was inspired by (mm-hmm, here it comes) Princess Tutu, right in the middle of NaNoWriMo this past year.
Actually, I'd wanted to write a fairy-tale princess story for a while. This was an example of just having an idea for a type of story I wanted to tell and sort of sticking things into it. The original idea was for it to be a delightfully quirky story, completely not-full of my apparently trademark angst that I keep finding in all my works. (Hahahahaha, hold on while I finish laughing at my own naivety... To think I thought I could keep angst out of this story.)
It was just the idea of a hedgehog wanting to become a princess that was practically blatantly stolen from Princess Tutu. I wanted to explore what would happen if a character went through drastic changes for a single motivation, only to discover that those changes gave them other motivations as well.
This, I didn't quite jump into immediately. Instead, there was a sort of "waiting" period between NaNo and a new project. It wasn't as bad as it was last year (when I literally didn't write for months after NaNo in some sort of horrible burnout) since this year I did actually do a crapload of blogging and some scribbles of fiction and nonfiction alike in my own portfolio. And, mixed in there, were some little scenes and snippets of ideas for my hedgehog story.
They were sort of previews, sort of teaser scenes that I wanted to include, or that sort of captured the mood I wanted. I don't know if any of them will actually make it into the story itself, but they were fun to test the waters. Got a few ideas for character motivations, and came up with an idea for a potential ending for somewhere down the line.
But then, on January 4th, I actually started writing. Didn't think too hard about it, just sort of picked a narration style, and just started writing. Panster style all the way. There was no history to this project, no built-up knowledge of my characters. Just them, not even named (not even joking) standing there, wanting to know what they were supposed to do. So I made them do stuff. Two of the three main characters have names (Rat and Gareth), but that's it.
It's been like that since then. I write down notes to myself whenever I think of a revelation that I want to remember (like, further character motivations), but mostly it's just been hashing it out and seeing where it goes. It's pretty much a long, extended outline. I can tell you for almost absolute certain that the section I'm writing right now will not be in there, or at least not in the place or form it's in.
Unlike Scorpion and Sandman though, I'm actually looking forward to editing this one. Of course, it might be way too early to tell on this sucker, seeing as how I've only been legitimately working on it for a grand total of two weeks now, but I have a good feeling about it. I sort of know where I want this story to go and even though I know that what I'm writing right now isn't fitting into that most tentative of tentative mental plans, I know that I need to write it. It's the raw "blahsome" for my future "awesome".
Whew... Long and rambly that.
Writing process... Hmmm...
It really does vary from project to project. Sometimes I get an idea for a character and want to write their story, other times I get an idea for a story that I need to add characters to. For actual writing, I usually just put some characters on a page and have them do stuff, and sometimes I do little test runs, almost auditions, to work out how the story is going to be told. When it comes to editing, I almost always just completely rewrite the sucker, rather than line-by-line edit or anything. My first draft is like a big long rambling outline, really the only outline I do.
To show some of the differences (however minor they might seem) I'll illustrate two of the most different: my NaNo for '09 Scorpion and Sandman and my current hedgehog project Once Upon a Spine. Buckle up and get ready for a rather long and rambly post! Yay?
Scorpion and Sandman
The idea for this actually has a really crazy long story. When I was like thirteen, I had an idea for a story about a blind kid named Bain. It started because I had just had an idea of a blind boy running through a field as if he could see. I think that idea came from "The Lost Year of Merlin" series by T.A. Barron. It was mostly about him, later evolving to include his estranged father who was a disillusioned warlord, and an elf girl who would eventually become Quina.
It took a long time though. Initially, she was some sort of savior character, downtrodden and being trained for her place in the world by a drunken half-elf. He was initially supposed to be some sort of pseudo-romantic interest. Then Quina was supposed to be captured and imprisoned and I came up with the idea for this human prisoner who would fall in love with her and help her escape at the cost of his own life. To my thirteen year-old self, it was all very grand and epic and I loved it.
That itself eventually changed to a slightly more happy ending, with this new character, Red, and Quina ending up together, though they did have a rather long bout of slavery.
The project eventually sort of died, seeing as how a) it grew huge, with no less than eight different protagonists and b) I was so enamored with outlining and planning it all that I didn't really get to writing it. I got through one entire draft of the first book in a proposed trilogy, but then it just sort of died.
Then I had an idea to take each of the protagonists' stories (combining some of them, seeing as how some were intertwined) and write several books that way. I started with Bain, but he eventually evolved into such an emo-tastic tortured soul that he was no fun to write for anymore. But there were two characters who were always a blast to write: Red and Quina.
They were sort of secondary characters, a married couple living in the slums because he was a former slave, still branded, and she was an elf. I loved them to death and when the new project died too, I was actually heartbroken to have to let them go.
Fast forward a few years to NaNoWriMo 2009. (I'd actually signed up for NaNo in '08 and never done anything as I discovered later, having completely forgotten about signing up at all.) I needed a story, I had two characters whose story I wanted to tell. Lovely!
Now, I say usually that I am a pantser, just sort of writing things, but Scorpion and Sandman had a huge backlog of history (seriously, those few paragraphs up there summarize several years of my life). I had some fairly developed characters already and an idea for how I wanted the story to go. And, this being the first time I had done NaNo, I did some simple outlining.
I could still make an argument for my panster status, since those outlines were never really more than a page long and a few of them were made on the fly in the middle of the month, just so I wouldn't forget the resolution I had projected, but that was actually the beginning of my panster self.
As mentioned before, part of the reason the parent project died was because I was so enamored with outlining that I never actually got to the writing. I'd learned a little since then, but it was really the "omigosh, have no time, no ideas, need to write 2k words nao!!!" attitude of NaNo that really cemented that idea of just sort of going "blah" on paper.
So I did. There was a little bit of outlining and a whole lot of previously acquired knowledge, but I pretty much wrote that novel on the fly. I started with two characters with stories I wanted to write and just wrote them.
This project has been on the back burner, in the queue for editing, since NaNo09's completion, but I've never really dug into it hardcore. Mainly because I'm terrified of messing it up. I love that novel so much. It represents so much; the completion of a childhood obsession, the first accomplishment of NaNoWriMo, etc. etc., that I'm afraid of sullying that memory. I'll get over it eventually, I'm sure, and dig into it (seriously, writing about the parent project is making me want to pick that up again), but there's really been no editing as of yet.
Once Upon a Spine
This was inspired by (mm-hmm, here it comes) Princess Tutu, right in the middle of NaNoWriMo this past year.
Actually, I'd wanted to write a fairy-tale princess story for a while. This was an example of just having an idea for a type of story I wanted to tell and sort of sticking things into it. The original idea was for it to be a delightfully quirky story, completely not-full of my apparently trademark angst that I keep finding in all my works. (Hahahahaha, hold on while I finish laughing at my own naivety... To think I thought I could keep angst out of this story.)
It was just the idea of a hedgehog wanting to become a princess that was practically blatantly stolen from Princess Tutu. I wanted to explore what would happen if a character went through drastic changes for a single motivation, only to discover that those changes gave them other motivations as well.
This, I didn't quite jump into immediately. Instead, there was a sort of "waiting" period between NaNo and a new project. It wasn't as bad as it was last year (when I literally didn't write for months after NaNo in some sort of horrible burnout) since this year I did actually do a crapload of blogging and some scribbles of fiction and nonfiction alike in my own portfolio. And, mixed in there, were some little scenes and snippets of ideas for my hedgehog story.
They were sort of previews, sort of teaser scenes that I wanted to include, or that sort of captured the mood I wanted. I don't know if any of them will actually make it into the story itself, but they were fun to test the waters. Got a few ideas for character motivations, and came up with an idea for a potential ending for somewhere down the line.
But then, on January 4th, I actually started writing. Didn't think too hard about it, just sort of picked a narration style, and just started writing. Panster style all the way. There was no history to this project, no built-up knowledge of my characters. Just them, not even named (not even joking) standing there, wanting to know what they were supposed to do. So I made them do stuff. Two of the three main characters have names (Rat and Gareth), but that's it.
It's been like that since then. I write down notes to myself whenever I think of a revelation that I want to remember (like, further character motivations), but mostly it's just been hashing it out and seeing where it goes. It's pretty much a long, extended outline. I can tell you for almost absolute certain that the section I'm writing right now will not be in there, or at least not in the place or form it's in.
Unlike Scorpion and Sandman though, I'm actually looking forward to editing this one. Of course, it might be way too early to tell on this sucker, seeing as how I've only been legitimately working on it for a grand total of two weeks now, but I have a good feeling about it. I sort of know where I want this story to go and even though I know that what I'm writing right now isn't fitting into that most tentative of tentative mental plans, I know that I need to write it. It's the raw "blahsome" for my future "awesome".
Whew... Long and rambly that.
Monday, January 17, 2011
One big sandbox...
You know, the internet is an amazing thing.
Sure, you have to sift through a lot of chaff to find anything good, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.
See, there is so much crap that it actually sets the bar low enough to give folks the courage to put stuff out there. It gives them the gumption to try putting some of their work out there, knowing that even if it's not as great as the good stuff, there's at least something definitely worse out there.
This does, of course, lead to a lot of crap. A lot of crap. With posting things on the internet being free and all, there's no filtering system in place like there is in the publishing industry and so anything and everything is on there.
But there is stuff that is mediocre. It's not fantastic, it has flaws, but it has so much potential that you like it anyway. It gets a following. The creators get practice in their craft and we get free entertainment out of it. Fanfiction, abridged series, podcasts, music, original fiction, short films, animation, blogs, all of that. For everything worth watching/reading/listening to/etc., there are a hundred ones that really aren't. But those things are worth watching/reading/listening to/etc.
I've been scouting out the forums at a few writing sites lately and watching a lot of videos on YouTube and just plain been reveling in the sheer volume of brilliance that can be exhibited there, unhindered despite their flaws. Sure, some of these never would have made it past a publisher's desk, but not always because they are hopeless.
Every endeavor will be flawed. There is no way to improve without making mistakes. But it can be hard when you're all alone. The internet gives us a place to put it out, have a community, and improve among others without actually having to face someone.
Because the internet is anonymous for the most part. I, at least, have a neurosis about showing my work to people I actually know (aside from my siblings, oddly). The anonymity is soothing. I have managed to strike up friendships with folks over the internet and we've become close, but for some reason, that wall that is put up between me and IRL people never gets built up.
I think it's because of the way the internet works and is accepting of everything thrown at it (sometimes to the point of madness). So, despite the crazy, I love you, internet.
Plug time! What has the internet brought you that you love in your deepest heart of hearts that maybe wouldn't be published anywhere but the internet?
For me, it's vloggers. And bloggers. And abridged series. And TVTropes. Thank you, denizens of the internet, for TVTropes.
Sure, you have to sift through a lot of chaff to find anything good, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.
See, there is so much crap that it actually sets the bar low enough to give folks the courage to put stuff out there. It gives them the gumption to try putting some of their work out there, knowing that even if it's not as great as the good stuff, there's at least something definitely worse out there.
This does, of course, lead to a lot of crap. A lot of crap. With posting things on the internet being free and all, there's no filtering system in place like there is in the publishing industry and so anything and everything is on there.
But there is stuff that is mediocre. It's not fantastic, it has flaws, but it has so much potential that you like it anyway. It gets a following. The creators get practice in their craft and we get free entertainment out of it. Fanfiction, abridged series, podcasts, music, original fiction, short films, animation, blogs, all of that. For everything worth watching/reading/listening to/etc., there are a hundred ones that really aren't. But those things are worth watching/reading/listening to/etc.
I've been scouting out the forums at a few writing sites lately and watching a lot of videos on YouTube and just plain been reveling in the sheer volume of brilliance that can be exhibited there, unhindered despite their flaws. Sure, some of these never would have made it past a publisher's desk, but not always because they are hopeless.
Every endeavor will be flawed. There is no way to improve without making mistakes. But it can be hard when you're all alone. The internet gives us a place to put it out, have a community, and improve among others without actually having to face someone.
Because the internet is anonymous for the most part. I, at least, have a neurosis about showing my work to people I actually know (aside from my siblings, oddly). The anonymity is soothing. I have managed to strike up friendships with folks over the internet and we've become close, but for some reason, that wall that is put up between me and IRL people never gets built up.
I think it's because of the way the internet works and is accepting of everything thrown at it (sometimes to the point of madness). So, despite the crazy, I love you, internet.
Plug time! What has the internet brought you that you love in your deepest heart of hearts that maybe wouldn't be published anywhere but the internet?
For me, it's vloggers. And bloggers. And abridged series. And TVTropes. Thank you, denizens of the internet, for TVTropes.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Non-fiction continues to win...
I've found that one of the best things for recharging fiction writers is nonfiction reading.
After all, while you should read books and watch movies and all that stuff, sometimes seeing someone else's work is... draining? discouraging? "darn, why didn't I think of something that brilliant?"
It happens to me all the time. Sometimes, when I want to be recharging, instead, I am being drained.
For instance, I just recently re-watched Princess Tutu (and you all thought I was done with that), just to sort of fill up my inspiration meter for my hedgehog story (and because I was making my little sister watch it with me). I was expecting to come out feeling invigorated and excited.
Instead, I felt horrible.
It was just so much better than what I was writing. It moved along, had great characters, was beautifully animated, yadda yadda yadda. It was better than my stuff.
While that didn't come as a surprise at all, it did sort of hit me hard for some reason. (Not that I regret re-watching it. .)
So instead, I picked me up some nonfiction. Namely, a true crime book entitled Satan's Circus, about Charley Becker, a cop executed for murder. It's gritty, it's historical, I've only read about ten pages and it has nothing to do with anything I'm working on right now, but it makes me want to write.
I think it has to do with burnout. Sometimes, even when you love something, too much of it is just sickening. Take chocolate for example. A bar of it is great. Ten boxes has you hunched over a toilet and never wanting to see a cocoa bean again in your life.
Fiction is awesome. I love it. It's what I want to do with my life. It is what I do with my life. But sometimes it gets to be a little much, so diving into something else for a short while can be refreshing. Checking out a documentary. Going to a museum. Reading about something like quantum physics for dummies or whaling. It's just so different that I don't have to worry about making it fit into what I'm doing.
Anything you guys do in particular to recharge your writing batteries?
After all, while you should read books and watch movies and all that stuff, sometimes seeing someone else's work is... draining? discouraging? "darn, why didn't I think of something that brilliant?"
It happens to me all the time. Sometimes, when I want to be recharging, instead, I am being drained.
For instance, I just recently re-watched Princess Tutu (and you all thought I was done with that), just to sort of fill up my inspiration meter for my hedgehog story (and because I was making my little sister watch it with me). I was expecting to come out feeling invigorated and excited.
Instead, I felt horrible.
It was just so much better than what I was writing. It moved along, had great characters, was beautifully animated, yadda yadda yadda. It was better than my stuff.
While that didn't come as a surprise at all, it did sort of hit me hard for some reason. (Not that I regret re-watching it. .)
So instead, I picked me up some nonfiction. Namely, a true crime book entitled Satan's Circus, about Charley Becker, a cop executed for murder. It's gritty, it's historical, I've only read about ten pages and it has nothing to do with anything I'm working on right now, but it makes me want to write.
I think it has to do with burnout. Sometimes, even when you love something, too much of it is just sickening. Take chocolate for example. A bar of it is great. Ten boxes has you hunched over a toilet and never wanting to see a cocoa bean again in your life.
Fiction is awesome. I love it. It's what I want to do with my life. It is what I do with my life. But sometimes it gets to be a little much, so diving into something else for a short while can be refreshing. Checking out a documentary. Going to a museum. Reading about something like quantum physics for dummies or whaling. It's just so different that I don't have to worry about making it fit into what I'm doing.
Anything you guys do in particular to recharge your writing batteries?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
I hate it when they disappoint me like this...
Darn you, muse, and your easily-distracted tendencies!
So, last night, I watched Titan A.E. for the first time and was both a) pleasantly surprised and b) bitterly disappointed.
a) The Happy
- It was a gritty, lived-in, rag-tag sci-fi, one of my favorite types of the genre. I love the idea of very different crew members on a small ship interacting and getting along (or not). (Funny anecdote: I kept being reminded of Firefly through the movie, just in little bits and pieces, only to find out that Joss Whedon had been one of the screenwriters. Lulz for perception.)
- The voice cast was surprisingly star-studded. My especial fangirl moment was when I found out Cale's dad's voice (which I had actually commented on when he first started talking) is Ron Perlman. It made me happy.
- It was actually rather adult in tone. Not "adult" adult, but very mature. And quite dark. I mean, there are character deaths on screen, a few rather gruesome. It was nice to see a Western animation that wasn't really for kids and wasn't something like Family Guy or South Park.
- The music was pretty cool, especially the first real rock song that that shows up as Cale is working his dead-beat job.
b) The Sad
- Mostly just missed potential. There were some great set-ups for characters. Cale, the cocky, cynical, "cute but troubled" guy with daddy issues, the well-educated and grumpy weapons expert Stith, the creepily charming Preed (who, btw, was my favorite of everyone we got to see for however short a time). All with huge potential for interaction and unique development that went nowhere. We barely get to see them acting in these characterizations before they're pretty much forgotten about and they are just vehicles for the lines that need to be said in order to get the story moving. The romance between Cale and Akima felt so forced, when it really could have been great, with her teaching him to hope again and stuff. I dunno, it just felt like they were shooting for so much more and it felt completely on its face.
- I wasn't too clear on the motivations behind the characters at all, aside from perhaps Akima and only her because she insisted on making a speech about it every time she and Cale were alone on screen.
- The animation sometimes didn't seem like it knew whether it was shooting for realistic or cartoony. It threw me off a few times.
All in all, it wasn't the worst movie I'd ever seen, but I wouldn't even say it was that good by a long shot. Apparently, it came out at the same time as Treasure Planet and is actually surprisingly (though just superficially) similar to the other movie. But Treasure Planet handled itself better, making it about the characters before it was about the quest. And it's a stronger movie for it, one that actually makes me cry during some scenes, despite its annoying sidekick characters.
But, despite Titan A.E.'s less-than-thrilling review from me... I want to watch it again. It's like it had so much wasted potential that it drives me up the wall and I want to watch it again to find some sort of redeeming qualities in it. I do this with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland too. That was another movie with so much potential that it just never lives up to. But I want to watch it again, to pick it apart, to try to find something that would let me like it.
Plus, my muse is going nuts after sampling such potential and the parts of my brain that were chugging along after Pitch Black are starting back up again. Gah. And I actually like where I am in my hedgehog story too...
So, last night, I watched Titan A.E. for the first time and was both a) pleasantly surprised and b) bitterly disappointed.
a) The Happy
- It was a gritty, lived-in, rag-tag sci-fi, one of my favorite types of the genre. I love the idea of very different crew members on a small ship interacting and getting along (or not). (Funny anecdote: I kept being reminded of Firefly through the movie, just in little bits and pieces, only to find out that Joss Whedon had been one of the screenwriters. Lulz for perception.)
- The voice cast was surprisingly star-studded. My especial fangirl moment was when I found out Cale's dad's voice (which I had actually commented on when he first started talking) is Ron Perlman. It made me happy.
- It was actually rather adult in tone. Not "adult" adult, but very mature. And quite dark. I mean, there are character deaths on screen, a few rather gruesome. It was nice to see a Western animation that wasn't really for kids and wasn't something like Family Guy or South Park.
- The music was pretty cool, especially the first real rock song that that shows up as Cale is working his dead-beat job.
b) The Sad
- Mostly just missed potential. There were some great set-ups for characters. Cale, the cocky, cynical, "cute but troubled" guy with daddy issues, the well-educated and grumpy weapons expert Stith, the creepily charming Preed (who, btw, was my favorite of everyone we got to see for however short a time). All with huge potential for interaction and unique development that went nowhere. We barely get to see them acting in these characterizations before they're pretty much forgotten about and they are just vehicles for the lines that need to be said in order to get the story moving. The romance between Cale and Akima felt so forced, when it really could have been great, with her teaching him to hope again and stuff. I dunno, it just felt like they were shooting for so much more and it felt completely on its face.
- I wasn't too clear on the motivations behind the characters at all, aside from perhaps Akima and only her because she insisted on making a speech about it every time she and Cale were alone on screen.
- The animation sometimes didn't seem like it knew whether it was shooting for realistic or cartoony. It threw me off a few times.
All in all, it wasn't the worst movie I'd ever seen, but I wouldn't even say it was that good by a long shot. Apparently, it came out at the same time as Treasure Planet and is actually surprisingly (though just superficially) similar to the other movie. But Treasure Planet handled itself better, making it about the characters before it was about the quest. And it's a stronger movie for it, one that actually makes me cry during some scenes, despite its annoying sidekick characters.
But, despite Titan A.E.'s less-than-thrilling review from me... I want to watch it again. It's like it had so much wasted potential that it drives me up the wall and I want to watch it again to find some sort of redeeming qualities in it. I do this with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland too. That was another movie with so much potential that it just never lives up to. But I want to watch it again, to pick it apart, to try to find something that would let me like it.
Plus, my muse is going nuts after sampling such potential and the parts of my brain that were chugging along after Pitch Black are starting back up again. Gah. And I actually like where I am in my hedgehog story too...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Bring it on...
December 18 – Try What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it?I actually am compiling a list of things I want to try next year. It's not super long as of yet, but here it is for what it's worth (mostly writing-related):
- NaNo documentary
- write "They Fight Crime", a song based on this website
- some sort of interactive story, possibly involving video
- mah hedgehog story
- at least two short stories
- at least one short film
- "Inasmuch"
- at least one other script
In terms of things I wanted to try this year, the list is even shorter. I didn't really have set goals.
- NaNo documentary (yeah, it was supposed to happen during November and December, but with the new year rapidly approaching, it's gonna have to wait)
- my angel project
The documentary actually had some footage filmed that needs to be edited. I just didn't/don't have time for it as of yet. And the angel project had actually a bit of research and scribbling done, but it just fell through, relegated to the "to be scavenged from" folder.
I'm excited for 2011.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Awesomesauce on rye...
You know what's awesome? Automated writing.
Okay, so it's not quite automated, but Celtx has got to be one of the coolest things I've played with as a writer.
A friend of mine is making a film. He sent me an outline and I'm writing at least a draft of the script. Super cool. Only thing is, except for a foray into scripting for Screnzy that involved a mangling of the television script format, I have no experience with script writing.
My friend presented me with Celtx (which offers a free download!) and I pulled up a window to begin poking around the "Screenplay" option.
Omigosh, there is so much there, so much already formatted for you, so much to add in. Character bibles (useful for television scripts), lists of people who might be needed for a particular scene, so much! I don't know how to use half the stuff and half the things it offers are things I know nothing about, not being a filmmaker by trade, but it is pretty awesome to be experimenting with.
It has other options, like comic books, text, stage plays, etc., and I can't wait to start playing with those too. It makes me want to stretch my creative fingers into other mediums beyond just the novel or short story.
Perhaps I shall use it for "Inasmuch" whenever I get around to that sucker.
Okay, so it's not quite automated, but Celtx has got to be one of the coolest things I've played with as a writer.
A friend of mine is making a film. He sent me an outline and I'm writing at least a draft of the script. Super cool. Only thing is, except for a foray into scripting for Screnzy that involved a mangling of the television script format, I have no experience with script writing.
My friend presented me with Celtx (which offers a free download!) and I pulled up a window to begin poking around the "Screenplay" option.
Omigosh, there is so much there, so much already formatted for you, so much to add in. Character bibles (useful for television scripts), lists of people who might be needed for a particular scene, so much! I don't know how to use half the stuff and half the things it offers are things I know nothing about, not being a filmmaker by trade, but it is pretty awesome to be experimenting with.
It has other options, like comic books, text, stage plays, etc., and I can't wait to start playing with those too. It makes me want to stretch my creative fingers into other mediums beyond just the novel or short story.
Perhaps I shall use it for "Inasmuch" whenever I get around to that sucker.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Thank you, internet...
I've been blog browsing a lot lately. Reverb10 and the lovely list at Dining with Small Monsters have been feeding an itch that started quite a few months ago. Google Reader got me through some tough spots in November. Ever since discovering the wonder that is the RSS feed, I've been subscribing to scores of blogs from writers and authors alike, webcomics that make me want to cry while I smile, and a crapload of other goodies. Just recently, I actually finally subscribed to Neil Gaiman's blog.
There's something to be said about reading about people's lives. Some people brush off their activities, preferring to jump into what they were thinking about rather than their physical actions, some people will linger on the smallest details. Some people manage to make their lives sound like novels and some people are abrupt and funny and satirical.
I mentioned Neil Gaiman because, reading his blog, I felt so comfortable. There are some blogs that are "informative". You read them like a newsletter. There are blogs that are deeply personal, almost exclusively so, making references and in-jokes that no one but the author understands. There are blogs filled with random thoughts, or carefully crafted humor. Gaiman's blog felt like a conversation, like a storyteller weaving his magic about the simplest things, which is what it was. And it was beautiful, even when it talked about things that I didn't understand because I have no history with them. The entire thing felt so careful and yet so relaxed. It made me happy just to read it, even without context to what he was writing about.
I have a hard time writing about myself in anything that resembles beautiful writing. I feel presumptuous when I do so, like my life is too boring, too mundane, and trying to add deeper meaning makes it silly and that I'm silly for doing so. But at the same time, I want to talk about the little things I notice, tie my life together into a story, write something that will take people's breath away. But I don't know if that's me, if that's my voice. Perhaps that's something I can cultivate.
All I can say is thank you to the people who bring us the internet. It is such an amazing thing in being able to read the wisdom and nonsense of others, as well as put out my own musings and scribblings.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Looking for more...
December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
(*whoot* Back to 'writing' as a theme.)
I can't say as I deliberately went about cultivating a sense of wonder. It wasn't a conscious effort on my part. However, I would have put down my creative writing and mythology classes as having been the greatest sources of wonder this year.
I'm not saying they were both fantastic classes. I've ranted about my creative writing class before and my mythology professor wasn't too good at encouraging original thought and discussion, but neither of them were particularly horrible. The most frustrating thing would be that we would touch on something for the briefest of moments and then move on, or we would beat a particular subject to death without really getting to the core of it. Partially due to frustration, I would scribble out rants and musings about such subjects, expanding them or exploring other facets that the class didn't.
Mythology in particular led me to a lot of realizations about writing and myself. The idea of the vast reaches of the human race being connected by the thing that is myth, and myth being so ingrained in all cultural products, and the idea of writing, of storytelling, of understanding the human condition. It's just so incredible how much potential there is out there, for anything, and how much of it gets wasted, and yet how much of it is used.
It's a matter of just being bored in class and wanting more out of life. And I think that's the best way to cultivate wonder. Want more out of everything. Not selfishly, but just looking for more meaning, more reason for being, more 'oomph' in everything.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Being held back from writing by writing...
So, there's only four days of NaNo left. I'm about 7k words behind what I should be for this particular time in November, but I swear I will make it. This resolution is helped by the fact that I've been crazily typing, which goes much, much faster than handwriting. (I really do think I could have done this by hand if only I hadn't been quite so busy/lazy this year. Last year it would have been a pushover, handwriting and all.)
Anyway, I feel as though my creative energy is being stifled by NaNo. There is so much I want to be doing, but I have to be NaNoing. And on the one hand, I resent this, and on the other hand, I almost appreciate it. After all, it's only a month and you have to practice disciplining yourself sometimes.
Been reading The Right to Write by Julia Cameron. I've found that there are two kinds of writing advice that I like: the snarky, vicious and personal (Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, "TERRIBLEMINDS" a blog by Chuck Wendig) and the tranquil, almost-New Age (The Right to Write, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg). And I get through the tranquil, almost-New Age by balancing it out with the snarky, vicious and personal. All of them often have the same things to say, just different ways of saying it.
Seriously, I have so much I want to be writing. Scribbled rants, blog posts, essays, stories, scripts, poetry... I want to make words! Curse you, NaNo, and your guilt-inducing word count deadlines!
On that note, more of the meme:
"Lancer" was originally supposed to be Chevy's part in the story (based on this trope) and I really like the name "Chevrolet".
"Mr. Ian Woon" is an anagram of "NaNoWriMo". I needed a name, someone on the internet was far more clever than I, and so a throwaway-character-turned-main was christened.
Anyway, I feel as though my creative energy is being stifled by NaNo. There is so much I want to be doing, but I have to be NaNoing. And on the one hand, I resent this, and on the other hand, I almost appreciate it. After all, it's only a month and you have to practice disciplining yourself sometimes.
Been reading The Right to Write by Julia Cameron. I've found that there are two kinds of writing advice that I like: the snarky, vicious and personal (Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, "TERRIBLEMINDS" a blog by Chuck Wendig) and the tranquil, almost-New Age (The Right to Write, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg). And I get through the tranquil, almost-New Age by balancing it out with the snarky, vicious and personal. All of them often have the same things to say, just different ways of saying it.
Seriously, I have so much I want to be writing. Scribbled rants, blog posts, essays, stories, scripts, poetry... I want to make words! Curse you, NaNo, and your guilt-inducing word count deadlines!
On that note, more of the meme:
Day 23 - Do animals play any part in your story? If so, how do they add to it?I have goats. Mostly because I needed a source of milk. Because fae apparently hate milk in my novel.
Day 24 - Is religion featured in your novel at all? If so, which ones? If it’s/they’re your own creations, describe it/them and how it/they play(s) a part in your characters’ lives.Meh, not really. I'm sure there is religion in these people's societies, but it hasn't come up in my novel.
Day 25 - What are the names of at least two of your main characters? How did you choose their names?Chevy Lancer and Ian Woon.
"Lancer" was originally supposed to be Chevy's part in the story (based on this trope) and I really like the name "Chevrolet".
"Mr. Ian Woon" is an anagram of "NaNoWriMo". I needed a name, someone on the internet was far more clever than I, and so a throwaway-character-turned-main was christened.
Day 26 - Was any research involved (historical or otherwise) in your NaNo prep?"Research"? We have not this word in my country.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Ventilation is your friend until it becomes hyper...
Yeah, it sort of sunk in that there's only eight days left of NaNo and I'm at maybe 28k. I have dropped my commitment to handwriting and have instead simply committed to finishing.
But, before that, just so I don't get any further behind on another commitment, heeeeeeere's me-me!
'09 was a bit more NaNo-ish and so would have to have a lot more changed to even make it begin to be plausible as the story is intended to be, and I don't actually like it as much, so it's sort of a shelved thing.
Been using Write or Die madly and have about a thousand words for the day so far under my belt. I intend to at least put three more ten-minute sessions under my belt before the day is out.
But, before that, just so I don't get any further behind on another commitment, heeeeeeere's me-me!
Day 18 - Who is the antagonist in your novel? What drives their actions?Erm, that's still up in the air right now. Bluejay? I think? Mainly he's driven by his personality as a fae, that he wants something and will not stop until he gets it. It's just how they operate. Though, once he gets what he wants, he's likely to decide that it's not quite as interesting as he thought and forget about it. And when that thing is a person, that's not so hot.
Day 19 - Which authors or books have inspired your own writing the most, and why?Erm again, I'd say probably Jack London and Bruce Coville, mainly because they were the ones who really made me think I could write. I was obsessed with Jack London for the longest time as he introduced me to wooden ships, iron men and the freeze-your-tush-off landscape of the Klondike and the adventures therein. Bruce Coville was a final push into the idea that I myself could indeed write an epic fantasy. At like, age eleven.
Day 20 - If you could meet one fictional character from any book you’ve ever read, who would it be, and why?Wow. Erm for the third time... I'm going to have to take a rain check.
Day 21 - With about 10 days left to this arguably traumatic experience, what are your plans and goals for your novel, should you successfully complete it?Blah! Eight days now. I honestly don't know if much is going to happen with this novel. It's more of just a purging than a serious project like my '08 novel was. Speaking of which...
Day 22 - If you’ve participated in or won NaNo before, what happened to your other novel efforts? Still in the revision process/querying publishers/scrapped it immediately/etc.'08 is still in editing. It has been in the same stage of editing for about a year and a half now, but I don't want to abandon it. It's probably the piece of writing that is the closest to being called my "baby".
'09 was a bit more NaNo-ish and so would have to have a lot more changed to even make it begin to be plausible as the story is intended to be, and I don't actually like it as much, so it's sort of a shelved thing.
Been using Write or Die madly and have about a thousand words for the day so far under my belt. I intend to at least put three more ten-minute sessions under my belt before the day is out.
Dear Bruce Coville...
originally written Wednesday, September 15, 2010
posted here for illustration of this point
---
You don't know me, but I have been a fan of your books since I was around ten or eleven. I understand you're well-known for your quirky books like My Teacher is an Alien, but I'll admit I've only ever read your fantasy work, such as the Magic Shop series. I loved loved loved Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. But the work that has influenced me the most has been The Unicorn Chronicles.
There were only two books, Into the Land of Unicorns and Song of the Wanderer, when I first discovered Chronicles. I searched in vain for more, since it was obvious the story was meant to continue. I asked librarians. I used my abysmal internet skillz to see if you had died or had given up or if I was just stupid and the library lacking. But to no avail.
Years went by. Then, one day a year or two ago, I happened across the third volume in the series. Eagerly, I snapped it up and read it in scant hours.
Years more went by until yesterday, when I was deliberately combing the shelves and found the fourth volume. I snapped that up too and stayed up until one in the morning finishing it. I was exhausted today in my early-morning class, but having finished a beloved series from my childhood was well worth the hours of lost sleep.
In the letter before the fourth volume, you mention that you started the series in 1991, the same year I was born. I discovered the books at about ten or eleven, meaning that the books I read were at least several years old. Having looked it up, the first was published in '94, the second in '01, third '08 and fourth just this year in '10. This series has taken my entire lifetime to be published.
I am one of the readers you mention in your letter who started reading the series in childhood, have since grown up, and yet were still wanting you to finish the series. I noticed too that your books seemed to grow up too. The series went from a simple escapist story of a girl going into the land of unicorns that was perfect for my younger self, to an epic with its own take on myth and legend, dealing with mature themes like death and love and family, that was a very satisfying read for my present self. I was able to enjoy the work as much for itself as for its nostalgic value. And for that, I thank you, even if it took you nineteen flippin' years to get the darn thing out.
Sincerely,
~ a fan
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Whining is never the answer...
Writing, however, usually is.
Currently, my characters are doing something really stupid. I mean, really stupid. By all rights, they should die right now, that's how stupid what they're doing is. I mean, they're in a situation where the only real outcome should be that they die. I mean, they are professionals. What did they go and do a thing like that for? They knew what they were doing,so why'd they do it?
Yeah, but if they die, I'm not sure how the rest of the characters' situations are going to be resolved. But they really should die. So they might. But they might not.
Anyway, meme time!
Anyway, don't have my word count for today yet, but as of yesterday, I was at 5858. On track despite handwriting everything, spending way too much time listening to music for the NaNo CD swap and having had a really bad day yesterday.
Currently, my characters are doing something really stupid. I mean, really stupid. By all rights, they should die right now, that's how stupid what they're doing is. I mean, they're in a situation where the only real outcome should be that they die. I mean, they are professionals. What did they go and do a thing like that for? They knew what they were doing,so why'd they do it?
Yeah, but if they die, I'm not sure how the rest of the characters' situations are going to be resolved. But they really should die. So they might. But they might not.
Anyway, meme time!
Day 2 - What’s the title of your story? Why did you choose the name you did?Well, the temp title is City of Glass Eggs, which actually has nothing to do with the projected story at all. I just picked it because my novel has cities in it and glass in it and I like the words "glass" and "eggs". They sound cool. Yeah, other than that, there is no reason and hopefully I'll come up with something better before too long.
Day 3 - Pick one of your female characters. Introduce your readers to her, from her point of view and her words only."I'm Mel."
Day 4 - What genre is your novel? Why did you pick it?Erm, the best way I could sum it up would be something like "dystopian fantasy". The premise is "fairies meets zombies" basically, so... yeah. It happened that way because I had an idea once upon a time for a "fae meets girl" story,with a setting possibly in the Seelie Court. Soon afterward, I saw Terminator: Salvation and due to my propensity to emulate other works that I have read, I decided to try to set that story in a post-apocalyptic world. The nuclear fall-out zones would be like the fae's forest and so on and so forth. The zombies came in when I decided that really not-good things happen to the children that the fae kidnap and then forget about.
Anyway, don't have my word count for today yet, but as of yesterday, I was at 5858. On track despite handwriting everything, spending way too much time listening to music for the NaNo CD swap and having had a really bad day yesterday.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Bad influences...
I have this tendency (whether brilliant or irritating depends on my current obligations) to be very strongly influenced by works that I have recently been immersed in.
For instance, recently, I've been plowing through Princess Tutu, an anime about a duck who is changed into a girl who is changed into a princess to bring a prince's heart back to him and defeat an evil raven. (And despite the ridiculously fluffy title and the potentially-saccharine theme of the power of ballet dancing, I highly recommend it. Get through the first few episodes and it takes a swift turn for the dark and emotionally wrenching.)
Now, I'd already been sort of wanting to try my hand at some meta-fiction, but this show really brought it home for me. I want nothing more than to write a tragic old-school fairy tale wherein the characters might just actually know that they are characters and are trying to rebel against their fates. I mean, I really, really want to write something like that. I already did, then this show went and exacerbated the want.
Thing is, NaNo is in two days (cue the hyperventilation) and I've already got an idea for it. I want to write that idea. I don't think I want to change novel plans just forty-eight hours before NaNo starts.
This always seems to happen. I have an idea that I'm excited about, then I watch a movie or read a book and fall in love with the theme or setting and want to emulate it and can't at first because the original idea isn't compatible with the influential theme or setting. It's frustrating.
For instance, recently, I've been plowing through Princess Tutu, an anime about a duck who is changed into a girl who is changed into a princess to bring a prince's heart back to him and defeat an evil raven. (And despite the ridiculously fluffy title and the potentially-saccharine theme of the power of ballet dancing, I highly recommend it. Get through the first few episodes and it takes a swift turn for the dark and emotionally wrenching.)
Now, I'd already been sort of wanting to try my hand at some meta-fiction, but this show really brought it home for me. I want nothing more than to write a tragic old-school fairy tale wherein the characters might just actually know that they are characters and are trying to rebel against their fates. I mean, I really, really want to write something like that. I already did, then this show went and exacerbated the want.
Thing is, NaNo is in two days (cue the hyperventilation) and I've already got an idea for it. I want to write that idea. I don't think I want to change novel plans just forty-eight hours before NaNo starts.
This always seems to happen. I have an idea that I'm excited about, then I watch a movie or read a book and fall in love with the theme or setting and want to emulate it and can't at first because the original idea isn't compatible with the influential theme or setting. It's frustrating.
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