Did everyone have a nice Thanksgiving season? I hope so. I did. I got to see some family, including a shocking number of Canadians. Well, I guess it wouldn't be American Thanksgiving if there were only US citizens at the table.
Did anyone go out of Black Friday? I got dragged along on a shopping expedition, which I think is my sister's way of punishing me for God knows what. (Or are you punishing me, Lord? Because whatever I did, I am sorry.) But I did pick up two books on my To Find list.
Today, I cracked into one of them. The Sea of Monsters, which is the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I've been trying to find it for a while now, but my local bookstore has decided to stop stocking the things that I'm looking for. I guess they despise me or something.
Anyway, what reading Sea of Monsters basically means is that I'm not writing or working. But I'm okay with that, because the book is just that good. I was a major Greek myths geek when I was a kid, so reading these books takes me back. Riordan does a great job blending and reworking the myths, so it's a bit of a game to try and figure out what he's doing before he tells you what story he's referencing. It's so much fun. :D
I hope everyone's weekend went swell.
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a certain hero that requires my attention.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A Map of the Ancient World
This pic is a map of the "interworld."
To me, it looks like an old map of the US, where all the states are oddly shaped, because things have changed. In my opinion, myspace is not this hot anymore.
If I were to redesign the map, I'd make facebook bigger, because I don't know anyone who has used xanga in years. I'd probably make the blogosphere bigger, too, but my view of that reality might by skewed.
How does the map look to you?
To me, it looks like an old map of the US, where all the states are oddly shaped, because things have changed. In my opinion, myspace is not this hot anymore.
If I were to redesign the map, I'd make facebook bigger, because I don't know anyone who has used xanga in years. I'd probably make the blogosphere bigger, too, but my view of that reality might by skewed.
How does the map look to you?
Friday, November 27, 2009
Letting It Lie
Does every detail in a story have to mean something? Does it all have to come with a story behind it? Or can some things just be?
At the moment, I'm wearing a t-shirt that reads The Chorus, from my time in Romeo and Juliet. I like the shirt. It fits, is a nice shade of gray, and reminds me of some good times. On the other hand, I can't sing, so it might be considered misrepresentation, depending on what kind of chorus one thinks of.
But, if I put a shirt like this on a character, I wonder, would I need to explain everything that ties back to it, or could I just let it go as a small character detail? It could say a lot about the character if one wanted to trace things all the way back to the source, but it could also say a bit without any tracing at all. Maybe it would say enough without the history.
I recall at the beginning of the movie Juno that the character is using a phone shaped like a hamburger. It's never really explained how she came by such a phone or why. It's just a detail thrown out there that shows, in case you didn't get it from the rest of the movie, that she's sort of a quirky girl. (Actually, the phone belonged to Diablo Cody. She brought it in, because they couldn't find one.) I think we, as viewers, got plenty from the item without any explanation.
On the other hand, in the television show West Wing there is a goldfish on C.J. Cregg's desk since the first season. If you hadn't been watching from the beginning, you'd only know that C.J. had a pet fish (which often had items in its bowl that foreshadowed things to come in the episode). What you wouldn't know was that the fish was a gift from Danny, a guy who was into her in a big way and whom she was into. Knowing the origin of that item told you more about the character, from Danny liking her, to her liking Danny enough to keep the fish for years, to her liking goldfish crackers.
In my writing, I give the details that I think are interesting or important to the story. So I try to find a medium between nice-detail-with-no-important-back-story and detail-with-a-past. I think the details with a past are useful, because they can be a good way to pass on info. However, detail without a past has its place, too, as the reader needs to know what's going on around the character and get the feel of the area, even if it doesn't all have deep, special meaning.
How do you feel about giving items history? Is it too much detail, or is it interesting, or is there a balance?
At the moment, I'm wearing a t-shirt that reads The Chorus, from my time in Romeo and Juliet. I like the shirt. It fits, is a nice shade of gray, and reminds me of some good times. On the other hand, I can't sing, so it might be considered misrepresentation, depending on what kind of chorus one thinks of.
But, if I put a shirt like this on a character, I wonder, would I need to explain everything that ties back to it, or could I just let it go as a small character detail? It could say a lot about the character if one wanted to trace things all the way back to the source, but it could also say a bit without any tracing at all. Maybe it would say enough without the history.
I recall at the beginning of the movie Juno that the character is using a phone shaped like a hamburger. It's never really explained how she came by such a phone or why. It's just a detail thrown out there that shows, in case you didn't get it from the rest of the movie, that she's sort of a quirky girl. (Actually, the phone belonged to Diablo Cody. She brought it in, because they couldn't find one.) I think we, as viewers, got plenty from the item without any explanation.
On the other hand, in the television show West Wing there is a goldfish on C.J. Cregg's desk since the first season. If you hadn't been watching from the beginning, you'd only know that C.J. had a pet fish (which often had items in its bowl that foreshadowed things to come in the episode). What you wouldn't know was that the fish was a gift from Danny, a guy who was into her in a big way and whom she was into. Knowing the origin of that item told you more about the character, from Danny liking her, to her liking Danny enough to keep the fish for years, to her liking goldfish crackers.
In my writing, I give the details that I think are interesting or important to the story. So I try to find a medium between nice-detail-with-no-important-back-story and detail-with-a-past. I think the details with a past are useful, because they can be a good way to pass on info. However, detail without a past has its place, too, as the reader needs to know what's going on around the character and get the feel of the area, even if it doesn't all have deep, special meaning.
How do you feel about giving items history? Is it too much detail, or is it interesting, or is there a balance?
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone
I hope everyone is having a lovely day.
Today, I am thankful for my family, who are wonderful and loving. I am thankful for my friends, who are fabulous, even if they sometimes like to tease me when it isn't funny. I am thankful for this lovely, lovely world, because it is beautiful.
How is your Thanksgiving going?
Today, I am thankful for my family, who are wonderful and loving. I am thankful for my friends, who are fabulous, even if they sometimes like to tease me when it isn't funny. I am thankful for this lovely, lovely world, because it is beautiful.
How is your Thanksgiving going?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Work or Write?
Yesterday, I had a choice: Get 'productive' work done or get some writing in.
I chose to write. Well, not chose, so much as followed some crazy impulse that I didn't have enough control over. I got in two chapters. That makes me happy, though I didn't sleep as much as I'd have liked to.
I broke 20k!
How's everyone else's writing going?
I chose to write. Well, not chose, so much as followed some crazy impulse that I didn't have enough control over. I got in two chapters. That makes me happy, though I didn't sleep as much as I'd have liked to.
I broke 20k!
How's everyone else's writing going?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Gods Among Men
I recently saw an absolutely fabulous production of Cymbeline by Mr. William Shakespeare. I loved it. (Please, pause while I take a moment to relive the Theater-Induced-Ecstasy. Okay, I'm back now.)
One thing that struck me during the production was the director's reinterpretation of the play's Deus Ex Machina elements (For my thoughts on Deus Ex Machina, you can click here). While the script called for the chorus of the play to call on Jupiter to alter the fates of the characters and ensure a happy ending, in this version the exposition was given over to a narrator and 'twas to her that the chorus appealed for a happier end.
The narrator attempted to justify the pain of the characters, but when handed a pen by the member of the chorus, she conceded and rewrote the end to a happier one. The audience rejoiced.
I loved this interpretation. It struck me, as a writer, and put me to think of the power that the writer has over the events of the story. Indeed, Shakespeare could have elected a tragic end to the tale, for there was enough sadness it in, but instead it was quite happy, and the audience laughed and cheered for the main characters.
We, as writers, are powerful beings. We create these worlds before us in our stories, create peoples and animals strange to us, and create the past, present, and future as we see fit. We are the gods of these new worlds, even if our characters cannot plead with us, in person, at least, for a different end than the one we choose to give them.
For it is our choice. We have the power.
One thing that struck me during the production was the director's reinterpretation of the play's Deus Ex Machina elements (For my thoughts on Deus Ex Machina, you can click here). While the script called for the chorus of the play to call on Jupiter to alter the fates of the characters and ensure a happy ending, in this version the exposition was given over to a narrator and 'twas to her that the chorus appealed for a happier end.
The narrator attempted to justify the pain of the characters, but when handed a pen by the member of the chorus, she conceded and rewrote the end to a happier one. The audience rejoiced.
I loved this interpretation. It struck me, as a writer, and put me to think of the power that the writer has over the events of the story. Indeed, Shakespeare could have elected a tragic end to the tale, for there was enough sadness it in, but instead it was quite happy, and the audience laughed and cheered for the main characters.
We, as writers, are powerful beings. We create these worlds before us in our stories, create peoples and animals strange to us, and create the past, present, and future as we see fit. We are the gods of these new worlds, even if our characters cannot plead with us, in person, at least, for a different end than the one we choose to give them.
For it is our choice. We have the power.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
NaNo Not For Me
Okay, I knew that Nano wasn't for me during the second week of the month when I decided to temporarily devote my heart, once again, to Mr. William Shakespeare. (Oh, William, how do I love thee. Let me count the ways.)
But that didn't mean to me that I had to give up working on my latest project, Miss Snitch. When I picked it up after the show, it just flowed. The words aren't flowing like rain water down a tree anymore, but I've been getting out about 1k a day since Sunday. This past week, I managed to go from 7.3K to 16.6K.
So I'm feeling pretty good. I feel like I might be able to hit 30K by the end of the month, which was my goal. I just need one or two more good bursts. But, thanks to the upcoming holidays, I should have the time for that.
So, how is everyone else's writing coming along? Will we all be meeting our November goals, regardless of what they were?
But that didn't mean to me that I had to give up working on my latest project, Miss Snitch. When I picked it up after the show, it just flowed. The words aren't flowing like rain water down a tree anymore, but I've been getting out about 1k a day since Sunday. This past week, I managed to go from 7.3K to 16.6K.
So I'm feeling pretty good. I feel like I might be able to hit 30K by the end of the month, which was my goal. I just need one or two more good bursts. But, thanks to the upcoming holidays, I should have the time for that.
So, how is everyone else's writing coming along? Will we all be meeting our November goals, regardless of what they were?
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