Monday, September 14, 2009
Monday Thinking
While blog-hopping this morning, I visited Tabitha's blogsite (excellent site people should follow, plus she's just snagged an agent so do visit and congrat her)
Her post for today -
When to Give Up
- got me thinking about something I saw over the weekend somewhere. And this 'something' pops up from time to time. It is an excuse or prop that writers use a lot, depending on where they are in their own writing.
If a person feels confident about their writing (doesn't mean it's good writing, just that THEY feel it's good), they are more likely to make a statement like "You are either born a writer, or you're not".
If somebody doesn't feel confident or is looking at the craft from viewpoint that their glass is half empty and they have no idea how to make it overflowing, they'll make the same statement - "Some people are born writers, the rest of us are scribblers".
I can't tell you how much I HATE and LOATHE such statements. They are simplistic and degrade and demean people who have truly worked and applied themselves to their craft. To other people, it may appear natural and easy, but it isn't really. As Tabitha said, those people are successful because they took the time.
There is that quote from Pride and Prejudice which I think of all the time. I'm away from my well-worn copy of the book and am dratted at quoting lines exactly, so I won't attempt it. It's that part where Elizabeth is sitting at the piano-forte between Darcy and his cousin. She's berating him for not applying himself at balls. She draws on the comparision to her piano playing, saying she is not a master because she never took the time to practice enough. Darcy brightly tells her that she spent her time doing better things. Which seems to indicate he had a poor opinion of the piano-forte, unless I'm recalling his statement completely wrong.
Both Darcy and Elizabeth were RIGHT. Elizabeth struck the correct point in saying that she might have been an absolute ARTIST had she applied herself. Darcy reminded her that she never considered her time wasted when she spent it on other things.
That (to me) is the difference between a successful writer and somebody who's looking in from the outside. I guess they they need to acknowledge Elizabeth's regret (though I don't think she was truly regretful) and apply it to themselves.
They call themselves 'writers', but do they give all they can to the craft? Do they practice and push themselves? Do they take the time?
Or are they like Darcy, and did they deliberately take that time they might have spent practicing (in his case - developing a better social manner so he could go all-Bingley whenever the occasion called for it) and use it to do other stuff that they enjoyed doing?*
*In my case it would be a huge list of OTHER STUFF which limited the daily hours spent perfecting my craft.
Yes, I will allow that some people are more personable and effusive than others, which makes them ideal storytellers, but even that viewpoint doesn't exactly say the rest of us are non-ideal storytellers. It just means one more step that we must learn and master before we reach our pinnacle of success.
As for how you apply yourself - you first need to identify the ways you have and are wasting your time. Compare the time you spend actually writing to the time you spend 'preparing' to write. How much time do you spend agonizing over an exceedingly long post on a forum, and how much time do you spend agonizing over a mere 500 words in your WIP?
Speaking for myself, I have no problems typing up a long post such as this, but I meticulate (is that even a word) about getting in my 1-2 thousand words a day in my WIP.
Way bad me.
But you will never catch me saying that the reason why I'm not selling a LOT of shorts and novels is because I was born minus a genetic mark.
Unlike some other people out there, I made the deliberate decision to begin writing. I had the desire to create something, and my drawing ability didn't cut it. :P
The learning process for writing is a LONG one, and relies on a constant flow of inspiration and practice. But it isn't impossible.
Unless you make it so by not trying anymore. Even then, I guess the point before you kill yourself trying to regain everything you lost by lack of practice:
- Do you just want to be a dabbler like Elizabeth, content to entertain from time to time, but not willing to put in that extra frustratingly self-denying time to excel?
There's nothing wrong with that, just try to understand WHY you do not excel. It's generally because you have applied yourself otherwise.
Or you have been trying to convince yourself that you must do a 'certain' kind of writing or nothing.
That would be like me if I tried to become a mangaka - a style of art that I admire. Problem is, I'm TERRIBLE at drawing stuff like that. I just don't draw proper people. I make them look very strange and yuck. But I AM a fairly good landscape, abstract, and animal type artist. The emotion I can't manufacture when drawing people emerges when I'm drawing a delicate flower waving in a breeze. Same thing when I draw a dog or a horse. It's something I had to acknowledge to myself.
So, if the writing isn't working - be flexible. Discover where your stronger areas are.
Weekend Review
Editing - Nil
Writing - 5000 words. I'm mourning my failure to reach 7-10 thousand words, but acknowledge that was VERY optimistic considering the time I had available both days. College football is very detrimental to my writing application. I did finish a chapter and figure out a LOT of plot that I'm happy with.
Reading - Um. I read half a page of Blue Moon.
Week Plot - Continue where I left off, write the next chapter. One thing I'm battling with this morning is trying to figure out how to 'unprotect' my main character. The reason why she hasn't seen or felt anything is because her paternal grandma had something done (possibly through Ethan's mother) to shield her. This is the reason why Wesley was rejected by her mom, because she was essentially useless.
Originally was going to have a near-death situation. At school, nearly run over by a SUV, but ERK! I fortunately realized where my imagination got that idea from before I did any writing on it. :S
Read more >>
Her post for today -
When to Give Up
- got me thinking about something I saw over the weekend somewhere. And this 'something' pops up from time to time. It is an excuse or prop that writers use a lot, depending on where they are in their own writing.
If a person feels confident about their writing (doesn't mean it's good writing, just that THEY feel it's good), they are more likely to make a statement like "You are either born a writer, or you're not".
If somebody doesn't feel confident or is looking at the craft from viewpoint that their glass is half empty and they have no idea how to make it overflowing, they'll make the same statement - "Some people are born writers, the rest of us are scribblers".
I can't tell you how much I HATE and LOATHE such statements. They are simplistic and degrade and demean people who have truly worked and applied themselves to their craft. To other people, it may appear natural and easy, but it isn't really. As Tabitha said, those people are successful because they took the time.
There is that quote from Pride and Prejudice which I think of all the time. I'm away from my well-worn copy of the book and am dratted at quoting lines exactly, so I won't attempt it. It's that part where Elizabeth is sitting at the piano-forte between Darcy and his cousin. She's berating him for not applying himself at balls. She draws on the comparision to her piano playing, saying she is not a master because she never took the time to practice enough. Darcy brightly tells her that she spent her time doing better things. Which seems to indicate he had a poor opinion of the piano-forte, unless I'm recalling his statement completely wrong.
Both Darcy and Elizabeth were RIGHT. Elizabeth struck the correct point in saying that she might have been an absolute ARTIST had she applied herself. Darcy reminded her that she never considered her time wasted when she spent it on other things.
That (to me) is the difference between a successful writer and somebody who's looking in from the outside. I guess they they need to acknowledge Elizabeth's regret (though I don't think she was truly regretful) and apply it to themselves.
They call themselves 'writers', but do they give all they can to the craft? Do they practice and push themselves? Do they take the time?
Or are they like Darcy, and did they deliberately take that time they might have spent practicing (in his case - developing a better social manner so he could go all-Bingley whenever the occasion called for it) and use it to do other stuff that they enjoyed doing?*
*In my case it would be a huge list of OTHER STUFF which limited the daily hours spent perfecting my craft.
Yes, I will allow that some people are more personable and effusive than others, which makes them ideal storytellers, but even that viewpoint doesn't exactly say the rest of us are non-ideal storytellers. It just means one more step that we must learn and master before we reach our pinnacle of success.
As for how you apply yourself - you first need to identify the ways you have and are wasting your time. Compare the time you spend actually writing to the time you spend 'preparing' to write. How much time do you spend agonizing over an exceedingly long post on a forum, and how much time do you spend agonizing over a mere 500 words in your WIP?
Speaking for myself, I have no problems typing up a long post such as this, but I meticulate (is that even a word) about getting in my 1-2 thousand words a day in my WIP.
Way bad me.
But you will never catch me saying that the reason why I'm not selling a LOT of shorts and novels is because I was born minus a genetic mark.
Unlike some other people out there, I made the deliberate decision to begin writing. I had the desire to create something, and my drawing ability didn't cut it. :P
The learning process for writing is a LONG one, and relies on a constant flow of inspiration and practice. But it isn't impossible.
Unless you make it so by not trying anymore. Even then, I guess the point before you kill yourself trying to regain everything you lost by lack of practice:
- Do you just want to be a dabbler like Elizabeth, content to entertain from time to time, but not willing to put in that extra frustratingly self-denying time to excel?
There's nothing wrong with that, just try to understand WHY you do not excel. It's generally because you have applied yourself otherwise.
Or you have been trying to convince yourself that you must do a 'certain' kind of writing or nothing.
That would be like me if I tried to become a mangaka - a style of art that I admire. Problem is, I'm TERRIBLE at drawing stuff like that. I just don't draw proper people. I make them look very strange and yuck. But I AM a fairly good landscape, abstract, and animal type artist. The emotion I can't manufacture when drawing people emerges when I'm drawing a delicate flower waving in a breeze. Same thing when I draw a dog or a horse. It's something I had to acknowledge to myself.
So, if the writing isn't working - be flexible. Discover where your stronger areas are.
Weekend Review
Editing - Nil
Writing - 5000 words. I'm mourning my failure to reach 7-10 thousand words, but acknowledge that was VERY optimistic considering the time I had available both days. College football is very detrimental to my writing application. I did finish a chapter and figure out a LOT of plot that I'm happy with.
Reading - Um. I read half a page of Blue Moon.
Week Plot - Continue where I left off, write the next chapter. One thing I'm battling with this morning is trying to figure out how to 'unprotect' my main character. The reason why she hasn't seen or felt anything is because her paternal grandma had something done (possibly through Ethan's mother) to shield her. This is the reason why Wesley was rejected by her mom, because she was essentially useless.
Originally was going to have a near-death situation. At school, nearly run over by a SUV, but ERK! I fortunately realized where my imagination got that idea from before I did any writing on it. :S
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Figures in my Writing
It occurred to me that I have one bad habit (technically have more than one bad habit, but let's focus on one thing at a time, okaibai) when I'm writing a new story - as is the case with the new version of UF.
Super intelligent and weirdly advanced children
I'm not kidding.
Every single new book I'm writing of late, even the short stories, have children who aren't just the "Mommy, I wanna toy" types. My little munchkins generally know long before the adults in the same novel when something bad is going to happen. Or they know exactly what is going on while the adults are distracted by other worldly things.
The children generally serve as the first guideposts to the main characters. They are the ones who point the main characters in the right direction, or warn them that they need to be careful and watch out for ogres under the bridge.
These children generally are solemn and sad little things, who are colored with a tinge of weary fear. Their powers of prophetic vision and premonition only shows them so much, or they can only comprehend enough to recognize the figures and circumstances, but not the exacts. <- I'm tired after a long day, so sorry if that last line or two doesn't make any sense.
I think the reason why I do this is because I remember vividly what it was like to be a child. Not saying I'm THAT close to my childhood. I'm just saying that as a child things are that more frightening and serious. You see things very different from adults, and even the slightest omens are quickly picked up on, and because you can only understand SO MUCH, it generally gets blown way out of context.
One thing I remember as a child was the guy next door and the way he turned into a monster after my parents sat down and gave me 'the talk' about bad guys out there who would kidnap pretty little girls like me. This was because I wanted to go biking and couldn't find anyone to go with me. I didn't let that stop me from having my own way, and I took off. I had a great ride and enjoyed myself muchly, until I got home and saw my entire family out there freaking out. I was in huge trouble, because six year olds were not supposed to go on bike rides alone, even in the subburbs. Well especially in our area - the teenage boys in the neighborhood were troublemakers who already harassed my oldest sister whenever she went outside alone (she was 12 at the time). The result of the talk had me being convinced they were really talking about the guy next door. This meant I kept having nightmares about him hiding behind trees and bushes and waiting to jump out and grab me. That guy had nigh superhuman abilities in my dreams. It was awful.
Sidetracked - sorry.
My point is that kids do have their own concerns that get blown out of proportion. They dwell about BAD THINGS and will have nightmares about them. Those nightmares are much worse than any nightmares that adults might have, because children have the idea ingrained in them that they are helpless little things who can't defend themselves from the bogeyman.
Add to that the fact that traditionally, people believe that the eyes of a child's soul are wide open until they reach a certain age. This is why they are said to be more likely to see ghosts and angels than adults would.
Add to that the fact that adults (the more perceptive and superstious kinds, anyway)are more likely to believe a child's words - if they say something absolutely outlandish. They assume a child, in all innocence, isn't likely to cook up a complete lie just for fun.
That's pretty much my reasoning.
In the novel I'm working on right now, Tamara is the youngest sister. She says she took after the unknown maternal grandmother instead of her mother. This means nothing to the main character, because that maternal grandma died long before any of the girls were born. But what it does mean is Tamara is perceptive and sensitive. She can see things and knows things. Could be part of the reason why is because the dead grandmother is looking after her (I haven't thought that out completely). She is unchildlike, not just because of this sensitivity, but because she's also seen things that no child should see. Her mother was a shaman, and did perform her job (healing and seeking) on occasion, with Tamara watching. Tamara also saw both parents killed in the crash. Everything her mother told and shown her has stuck and caused her to seem older and more mature. This is because she senses that the things she sees and feels are MORE than just her imagination. They are real.
There is also an element of a child who basically is protecting herself after having her whole world (parents) stripped away. She lacks the trust and reliance on adults that make children seem normal.
So anyway - I'm not (always) pandering to the usual "evil child" movement because the children in my novels are the dark and tragic figures they are.
Read more >>
Super intelligent and weirdly advanced children
I'm not kidding.
Every single new book I'm writing of late, even the short stories, have children who aren't just the "Mommy, I wanna toy" types. My little munchkins generally know long before the adults in the same novel when something bad is going to happen. Or they know exactly what is going on while the adults are distracted by other worldly things.
The children generally serve as the first guideposts to the main characters. They are the ones who point the main characters in the right direction, or warn them that they need to be careful and watch out for ogres under the bridge.
These children generally are solemn and sad little things, who are colored with a tinge of weary fear. Their powers of prophetic vision and premonition only shows them so much, or they can only comprehend enough to recognize the figures and circumstances, but not the exacts. <- I'm tired after a long day, so sorry if that last line or two doesn't make any sense.
I think the reason why I do this is because I remember vividly what it was like to be a child. Not saying I'm THAT close to my childhood. I'm just saying that as a child things are that more frightening and serious. You see things very different from adults, and even the slightest omens are quickly picked up on, and because you can only understand SO MUCH, it generally gets blown way out of context.
One thing I remember as a child was the guy next door and the way he turned into a monster after my parents sat down and gave me 'the talk' about bad guys out there who would kidnap pretty little girls like me. This was because I wanted to go biking and couldn't find anyone to go with me. I didn't let that stop me from having my own way, and I took off. I had a great ride and enjoyed myself muchly, until I got home and saw my entire family out there freaking out. I was in huge trouble, because six year olds were not supposed to go on bike rides alone, even in the subburbs. Well especially in our area - the teenage boys in the neighborhood were troublemakers who already harassed my oldest sister whenever she went outside alone (she was 12 at the time). The result of the talk had me being convinced they were really talking about the guy next door. This meant I kept having nightmares about him hiding behind trees and bushes and waiting to jump out and grab me. That guy had nigh superhuman abilities in my dreams. It was awful.
Sidetracked - sorry.
My point is that kids do have their own concerns that get blown out of proportion. They dwell about BAD THINGS and will have nightmares about them. Those nightmares are much worse than any nightmares that adults might have, because children have the idea ingrained in them that they are helpless little things who can't defend themselves from the bogeyman.
Add to that the fact that traditionally, people believe that the eyes of a child's soul are wide open until they reach a certain age. This is why they are said to be more likely to see ghosts and angels than adults would.
Add to that the fact that adults (the more perceptive and superstious kinds, anyway)are more likely to believe a child's words - if they say something absolutely outlandish. They assume a child, in all innocence, isn't likely to cook up a complete lie just for fun.
That's pretty much my reasoning.
In the novel I'm working on right now, Tamara is the youngest sister. She says she took after the unknown maternal grandmother instead of her mother. This means nothing to the main character, because that maternal grandma died long before any of the girls were born. But what it does mean is Tamara is perceptive and sensitive. She can see things and knows things. Could be part of the reason why is because the dead grandmother is looking after her (I haven't thought that out completely). She is unchildlike, not just because of this sensitivity, but because she's also seen things that no child should see. Her mother was a shaman, and did perform her job (healing and seeking) on occasion, with Tamara watching. Tamara also saw both parents killed in the crash. Everything her mother told and shown her has stuck and caused her to seem older and more mature. This is because she senses that the things she sees and feels are MORE than just her imagination. They are real.
There is also an element of a child who basically is protecting herself after having her whole world (parents) stripped away. She lacks the trust and reliance on adults that make children seem normal.
So anyway - I'm not (always) pandering to the usual "evil child" movement because the children in my novels are the dark and tragic figures they are.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Ahem... research!
Maybe not, but this snippet from WOWWIKI gave me an idea. It might very well explain my one guy character (Ethan), why he is so pathetic... and human.
And the following reminded me of something else. While it doesn't figure in my current plan for UF (pretty sure it doesn't), I was thinking about my 'desert people' who figured in this old trilogy I wrote. Too bad I can't think of a way to bring them into UF.
The desert people live in a fold between dimensions. They only listen to the calls of their descendants, and even then they won't necessarily step out of the fold. They can act fairly well within its protection.
Read more >>
Maybe not, but this snippet from WOWWIKI gave me an idea. It might very well explain my one guy character (Ethan), why he is so pathetic... and human.
Code of conduct
A paladin must be of good alignment and loses all light abilities if he ever willingly commits an evil act. Additionally, the paladin’s code requires that he respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use their help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents. While he may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a paladin will never knowingly associate with evil persons, nor will he continue an association with someone who consistently offends his moral code. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers or cohorts who are of good alignment. A paladin who violates this code, becomes an ex-paladin, and loses all Light-given abilities and can not train further as a paladin until he atones for his violations.[4][5]
Paladins don't always have to work within good or neutral organizations as seen by the Scarlet Crusade and others — however, they do have to believe they are working for good organizations or have faith that their cause is good and just. A paladin can be evil (as illustrated by Renault Mograine), but as long as they believe their cause to be just, the Light will continue to serve them.
And the following reminded me of something else. While it doesn't figure in my current plan for UF (pretty sure it doesn't), I was thinking about my 'desert people' who figured in this old trilogy I wrote. Too bad I can't think of a way to bring them into UF.
A number of the eternals died during the War of the Ancients. This doesn’t, however, mean that those powers can have no influence in later eras. Many of the fallen powers still have followers 10,000 years later, such as the furbolg who follow in the path of the long-dead ursine demigods Ursoc and Ursol. Further, though written history says they perished, can eternals who possess the special quality of immortality truly die? Perhaps a "fallen" eternal simply sleeps away centuries while his wounds heal...S&L 68
Eternals usually only appear before mortals only when they have truly earned the audience through their actions, such as by performing a great service to the eternal or by making a formidable stand against its plans. The tangled web of relationships among the eternals means that a favor performed for one may be a slight to several others.
The desert people live in a fold between dimensions. They only listen to the calls of their descendants, and even then they won't necessarily step out of the fold. They can act fairly well within its protection.
Friday Freezer
Editing: Nil. Technically I am 'editing' if you think about complete revisions/rewrites in that fashion.
Writing: Yes. Managed about 3,000 in the past two days. This would be on the UF revision. I'm up to 10,000 and continuing my relentless march to my usual 90,000 (I'm hoping for 65,000 words total, but that usually is the 5 chapter mark for me).
Research: Discovered that my idea of school is purely based on my own experience. I looked up other Catholic schools and realized that they are run a bit different with different schedules and vastly different curriculum than I had. Probably the only class that I totally recognized (in content focus) was the theology class. I spent a couple hours last night going over all of the details and writing up the setting - including class content. I won't be using much of it, but I need to be confident as I put my characters in the setting and use it as a backdrop. If I'm second guessing myself, it will show.
MSFV Contest: Is still going on. I really enjoyed commenting on everything as always, and I noticed a few subs this time that I'd really like to see more of.
I did cringe a bit over some of the comments that popped up now and then. A few people losing their cool. There also seemed to be two schools of thought going on - people who thought the idea was to fully critique and offer detailed feedback to the subbers and people who thought that they were just doing the thumbs up or down, offering polite/gently worded reasons why or why not.
I sided with the people who wanted to keep things simple - hooked or not. If somebody wanted a critique, they should really join up with a critting group (like Critique Circle) and get that feedback there. If they are submitting to a contest, they shouldn't expect detailed critiques on their writing. Least that is my way of thinking.
There also seemed to be people who were trying to use their comments to sway public (as well as the SA) opinion in favor of themselves (the authors posting as themselves or anonymously) or for their friends/critting buddies. I enjoyed the contest - learning experience, etc - but my goodness. Some people get my goat.
*Wonders what that saying - get my goat - means or how it originated*
Book Recommendation: Nothing as of yet. I should know tonight, because I'm stopping at the bookshop for a b-day present for one of my sisters. Of course I'll pick up something for myself too. My b-day is next week, after all.
In honor of the day:
May they who lost their lives on this day rest in peace, and may the living never forget or take things for granted. The life we live is unexpected and the future is uncertain. All we have is the path we have followed and experiences along the way to indicate what might happen if we let up on our guard. If you forget and flunk history, be prepared to repeat. May God bless us. May our children remember that we have a right to exist and live our lives as we wish. Those who came before us fought for every freedom we enjoy, and we should not be ashamed of those freedoms or squander them. Rather, we should cling to them and keep our heads high. Those people who have their heads up and ears and eyes open won't fall away.
Plan for the weekend: Ambitious. Planning on 10,000 words, though I'd be content with 5,000. :P
Read more >>
Writing: Yes. Managed about 3,000 in the past two days. This would be on the UF revision. I'm up to 10,000 and continuing my relentless march to my usual 90,000 (I'm hoping for 65,000 words total, but that usually is the 5 chapter mark for me).
Research: Discovered that my idea of school is purely based on my own experience. I looked up other Catholic schools and realized that they are run a bit different with different schedules and vastly different curriculum than I had. Probably the only class that I totally recognized (in content focus) was the theology class. I spent a couple hours last night going over all of the details and writing up the setting - including class content. I won't be using much of it, but I need to be confident as I put my characters in the setting and use it as a backdrop. If I'm second guessing myself, it will show.
MSFV Contest: Is still going on. I really enjoyed commenting on everything as always, and I noticed a few subs this time that I'd really like to see more of.
I did cringe a bit over some of the comments that popped up now and then. A few people losing their cool. There also seemed to be two schools of thought going on - people who thought the idea was to fully critique and offer detailed feedback to the subbers and people who thought that they were just doing the thumbs up or down, offering polite/gently worded reasons why or why not.
I sided with the people who wanted to keep things simple - hooked or not. If somebody wanted a critique, they should really join up with a critting group (like Critique Circle) and get that feedback there. If they are submitting to a contest, they shouldn't expect detailed critiques on their writing. Least that is my way of thinking.
There also seemed to be people who were trying to use their comments to sway public (as well as the SA) opinion in favor of themselves (the authors posting as themselves or anonymously) or for their friends/critting buddies. I enjoyed the contest - learning experience, etc - but my goodness. Some people get my goat.
*Wonders what that saying - get my goat - means or how it originated*
Book Recommendation: Nothing as of yet. I should know tonight, because I'm stopping at the bookshop for a b-day present for one of my sisters. Of course I'll pick up something for myself too. My b-day is next week, after all.
In honor of the day:
May they who lost their lives on this day rest in peace, and may the living never forget or take things for granted. The life we live is unexpected and the future is uncertain. All we have is the path we have followed and experiences along the way to indicate what might happen if we let up on our guard. If you forget and flunk history, be prepared to repeat. May God bless us. May our children remember that we have a right to exist and live our lives as we wish. Those who came before us fought for every freedom we enjoy, and we should not be ashamed of those freedoms or squander them. Rather, we should cling to them and keep our heads high. Those people who have their heads up and ears and eyes open won't fall away.
Plan for the weekend: Ambitious. Planning on 10,000 words, though I'd be content with 5,000. :P
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Writing, MSFV-ing, and so forth
Writing - still working on UF for right now. I got halfway though the book before deciding I wasn't entirely satisfied with it. Decided to go back and try out a different (new) version of the story. I changed the main character's name, setting, and age - she's now in high school and just moving in with her sisters. Her name is Wesley instead of Geisha - because I have a feeling people will have a tough time getting past the name 'Geisha'. Readers, unfortunately, can be very literal sometimes. Wesley is still a weird name for a girl (which is what I wanted) and it suits the character. I'm also adding another dimension to the story - that would be the wild older sister who'd straightened out her life suddenly. Then I'm going to show the sisters growing closer, maybe finding things in common. One thing I'm thinking about is me and my oldest sister. We have six years difference between us, and she and I don't always 'mesh'. There are times though when she does something that I absolutely respect, and/or I have to let myself rely on her for guidance.
The novel itself is basically the same, but I'm planning to do a little more research on Wiki* to dig up new angles I can try out to distance my novel from the cazillion other novels which have ghosts and shamans (shamen?)
@Wiki - I know, not a good or reliable search site. But it is useful for finding ideas and different things that you will be fictionalizing anyway.
And just for fun since this is Wednesday, and we get to do a Wednesday WIP Corner. The following would be the first 3 paragraphs words of the 'new version' of UF.
Very rough stuff!
Read more >>
The novel itself is basically the same, but I'm planning to do a little more research on Wiki* to dig up new angles I can try out to distance my novel from the cazillion other novels which have ghosts and shamans (shamen?)
@Wiki - I know, not a good or reliable search site. But it is useful for finding ideas and different things that you will be fictionalizing anyway.
And just for fun since this is Wednesday, and we get to do a Wednesday WIP Corner. The following would be the first 3 paragraphs words of the 'new version' of UF.
Very rough stuff!
9th grade at the St. Agnes boarding school sucked, and Wesley thought 10th grade would as well, only her parents died. Then Tasha, her older sister, did the unthinkable and announced that Wesley would not attend BS any longer.
In her private letter to Wesley, the one that the Mrs. Eckerd didn’t get to see, she said she wanted Wesley to have the normal life she herself never got to experience. Tasha emphasized that a normal life for an American teen depended on attending a coed school with hot boys to fight with the cheerleaders over, if Wesley didn’t in fact do the unthinkable and become a cheerleader.
Laugh of the century!
Monday, September 7, 2009
New Shelf
The original book shelf thing that I had on the right side of the blog didn't work out very well for me. Or I didn't try hard enough to make it work? I switched to shelffari (sp?) down on the bottom of the blog entries. It looks tidier, and more important - it's easy to find and add books.
And that is how I've spent my afternoon. Instead of visiting the gym or writing, I've been going through my brain (instead of putting in the time to physically browse my bookshelves and stacks and car) trying to remember all of the books that I've read recently, or which are still important to me.
Yet another reason why I love modern technology. When I was a munchkin and doing reading competitions with my best friend/big sister, we had those little reporter notebooks that we carefully entered the book title and author name after we finished the book. No offense to the old-fashioned pen and paper types, but I worship the ease of clicking to add stuff to my list.
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And that is how I've spent my afternoon. Instead of visiting the gym or writing, I've been going through my brain (instead of putting in the time to physically browse my bookshelves and stacks and car) trying to remember all of the books that I've read recently, or which are still important to me.
Yet another reason why I love modern technology. When I was a munchkin and doing reading competitions with my best friend/big sister, we had those little reporter notebooks that we carefully entered the book title and author name after we finished the book. No offense to the old-fashioned pen and paper types, but I worship the ease of clicking to add stuff to my list.
Labor Day Lackness
Personal TMI: Technically have just awakened from a deep sleep and am trying to figure out what to do with the face which broke out a little bit (changes pillowcases FRANTICALLY). This happens after a long weekend. I do not look in the mirror or fuss over much with the hair or face, and things HAPPEN. *weeps*
Writing: I played around with a chapter last night. Am in a state of confusion over which POV I want to use for UF. I'm more fluid and comfortable in first person, but third person looks better and allows me to hop POV when needed.
Saturday night, I stayed up until 4AM working out a full outline and plan of attack. I need to work out bugs in the plot.
I'm planning to do another intensive round of edits later today - first on agenda is gym and shower and face cream.
Reading: Still struggling with Blue Moon. I'm on my way over to the gym now, so I'll see if I can become a tiny bit more interested. Temptation is to put the book aside and read something else.
Blog Hops: Check out Miss Snark's First Victim (see link on right side of blog). On Wednesday, she's having another Secret Agent contest. I'll try to comment on everything as always. This is a great learning experience, especially after the SA logs on and works through the entries.
Random: Reading Rainbow died on Friday? Or will die this Friday? - I'm not sure which. Um. Dude. I know this is irreverent and against the whole stream of popular thought, but I didn't realize that thing was still on!!!
The sibs and I were more interested in Wishbone. Because, Wishbone = Adorably cunning dog in costumes playing the main characters in a lot of books which I read when I was a kid. It was also a TV series with kids, always a winner.
Blogger's Note: Yes, I admit to going crazy with the tags. I didn't really use them at all the last two months, and now I'm trying to overcompensate. It will even out at some point. :P
Read more >>
Writing: I played around with a chapter last night. Am in a state of confusion over which POV I want to use for UF. I'm more fluid and comfortable in first person, but third person looks better and allows me to hop POV when needed.
Saturday night, I stayed up until 4AM working out a full outline and plan of attack. I need to work out bugs in the plot.
I'm planning to do another intensive round of edits later today - first on agenda is gym and shower and face cream.
Reading: Still struggling with Blue Moon. I'm on my way over to the gym now, so I'll see if I can become a tiny bit more interested. Temptation is to put the book aside and read something else.
Blog Hops: Check out Miss Snark's First Victim (see link on right side of blog). On Wednesday, she's having another Secret Agent contest. I'll try to comment on everything as always. This is a great learning experience, especially after the SA logs on and works through the entries.
Random: Reading Rainbow died on Friday? Or will die this Friday? - I'm not sure which. Um. Dude. I know this is irreverent and against the whole stream of popular thought, but I didn't realize that thing was still on!!!
The sibs and I were more interested in Wishbone. Because, Wishbone = Adorably cunning dog in costumes playing the main characters in a lot of books which I read when I was a kid. It was also a TV series with kids, always a winner.
Blogger's Note: Yes, I admit to going crazy with the tags. I didn't really use them at all the last two months, and now I'm trying to overcompensate. It will even out at some point. :P
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