As 2012 rushes to its close, the time of resolving to do stuff next year is nigh. I have thought for all of five minutes about what I shall resolve to do in 2013 (maybe less than that), and I have concluded that I shall do the following things:
1. I will work out more. I'm going to Maccu Piccu in May; I need all the exercise I can get.
2. I will complete some big knitting or crocheting project. Why not?
3. I will finish writing as many of my current novels as possible. There are at least half a dozen lying around without endings (and one without two scenes). I will finish and type those in 2013.
That is my rather short list that I will probably add to at some point.
But the main topic here is that of the journey of the resolution. I mean, you cannot expect to write half a dozen novels (or end them, rather), without learning something. You can't go to the gym every day without pushing your endurance, even a little bit. I've always had issues with going to the gym because I'm always scared that people will laugh at my extensive inability to properly use the machines. But I've realized that nobody at the gym gives a crap about what you're doing there, as long as it doesn't interfere with what they're doing there. That in itself is a bit of a journey.
So, dear readers, of which there are probably very few, what sort of resolution journeys will you be embarking on in two days?
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
On length of tale
I realized something fully last night that has been in my mind for about four years now.
I admitted to my parents that I think in novels, and I can very rarely fit all my ideas into a short story. We got on this topic when we started talking about my January Term (henceforth referred to as J-Term) course, The Playwright's Process. The final is not a normal final: it's a fully written, developed, and edited one-act. For those of you who aren't fully familiar with the world of theatre, one-acts are generally the short stories or novellas of the stage (you can, theoretically, resolve a larger plot line in a one-act, but I've never seen it done; after a point, you need more acts). One-acts are generally between 20 - 45 minutes long (again, you could see longer one-acts, but I haven't); according to Wikipedia, a new sub-genre has started called "flash dramas" - one-acts that are only around 10 minutes long.
Anyway, this J-Term course is going to be a challenge for me. As I previously stated, I think in novels - stories that take two or three acts to resolve. To scale down one's thinking is something you rarely hear - most motivators I've heard tell their listeners to think big and shoot for the moon.
But maybe scaling down my thinking is not what I need to do. Maybe I just need to think differently. Not scaled-down, exactly, but just not as big a scale. Maybe I should think big, but not as big as I'm used to thinking. Maybe, over the course of this J-term, I will realize that I'm actually more of a short-story writer than a novel-writer, and I've been fooling myself this whole time. I admit, I need to put my characters through a fat lot of crap before they make it to the end when I'm writing a novel, but I always have trouble coming up with more than a little bit of crap to throw in their faces. Maybe that's the main difference: the crap that gets thrown at people is a different sort of crap than the crap in novels (smaller, perhaps, but no less disgusting), and the hands that throw it are smaller than the ones that throw crap in longer works.
So, dear readers, what do you think? Any one-act/ novella/ short-story writers out there who would like to share some opinions on the writing process? Anyone who's done both and would like to offer sage advice to a college student? Feel free to comment!
I admitted to my parents that I think in novels, and I can very rarely fit all my ideas into a short story. We got on this topic when we started talking about my January Term (henceforth referred to as J-Term) course, The Playwright's Process. The final is not a normal final: it's a fully written, developed, and edited one-act. For those of you who aren't fully familiar with the world of theatre, one-acts are generally the short stories or novellas of the stage (you can, theoretically, resolve a larger plot line in a one-act, but I've never seen it done; after a point, you need more acts). One-acts are generally between 20 - 45 minutes long (again, you could see longer one-acts, but I haven't); according to Wikipedia, a new sub-genre has started called "flash dramas" - one-acts that are only around 10 minutes long.
Anyway, this J-Term course is going to be a challenge for me. As I previously stated, I think in novels - stories that take two or three acts to resolve. To scale down one's thinking is something you rarely hear - most motivators I've heard tell their listeners to think big and shoot for the moon.
But maybe scaling down my thinking is not what I need to do. Maybe I just need to think differently. Not scaled-down, exactly, but just not as big a scale. Maybe I should think big, but not as big as I'm used to thinking. Maybe, over the course of this J-term, I will realize that I'm actually more of a short-story writer than a novel-writer, and I've been fooling myself this whole time. I admit, I need to put my characters through a fat lot of crap before they make it to the end when I'm writing a novel, but I always have trouble coming up with more than a little bit of crap to throw in their faces. Maybe that's the main difference: the crap that gets thrown at people is a different sort of crap than the crap in novels (smaller, perhaps, but no less disgusting), and the hands that throw it are smaller than the ones that throw crap in longer works.
So, dear readers, what do you think? Any one-act/ novella/ short-story writers out there who would like to share some opinions on the writing process? Anyone who's done both and would like to offer sage advice to a college student? Feel free to comment!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
On Openings
I just returned from Barnes and Noble, and I have discovered my new favorite opening line, from a Steampunk novel called The Friday Society, by Adrienne Kress:
"And then there was an explosion."
First off, this is a great use of in media res. Explosions don't happen on a daily basis in many places, so you start with a question of what the hell is going on.
Then it continues:
"It was loud. It was bright. It was very explosion-y."
That bit sets the tone for the rest of the story (or at least, for the page and a half that I have read) - for what I have read so far of The Friday Society, the 3rd person narrator is rather sarcastic and witty, and keeps up a similar narration to what has just been displayed, even if it only involves the development of the focus character, who caused the explosion (it wasn't on purpose, but... she's a lab assistant in a Steampunk universe; explosions are bound to happen).
A good opening, my friends, is more important than a good closing. Why? If you don't have a good opening, your readers are never going to make it to the end, so you will never know whether the readers will celebrate a good end to a good book, or complain of a terrible end to a decent book. They're not even going to make it to the middle bits, even if the middle bits are of a higher caliber than the ending or the beginning. Though it is important to develop every part of your writing, and to edit (which, unfortunately, I have displayed a severe lack in the writing of this blog), open your book well.
"And then there was an explosion."
First off, this is a great use of in media res. Explosions don't happen on a daily basis in many places, so you start with a question of what the hell is going on.
Then it continues:
"It was loud. It was bright. It was very explosion-y."
That bit sets the tone for the rest of the story (or at least, for the page and a half that I have read) - for what I have read so far of The Friday Society, the 3rd person narrator is rather sarcastic and witty, and keeps up a similar narration to what has just been displayed, even if it only involves the development of the focus character, who caused the explosion (it wasn't on purpose, but... she's a lab assistant in a Steampunk universe; explosions are bound to happen).
A good opening, my friends, is more important than a good closing. Why? If you don't have a good opening, your readers are never going to make it to the end, so you will never know whether the readers will celebrate a good end to a good book, or complain of a terrible end to a decent book. They're not even going to make it to the middle bits, even if the middle bits are of a higher caliber than the ending or the beginning. Though it is important to develop every part of your writing, and to edit (which, unfortunately, I have displayed a severe lack in the writing of this blog), open your book well.
Friday, December 14, 2012
A Buddhist Prayer
I saw this on Facebook, of all places. Like the friend who posted it, I think it's a good mission statement, regardless of what faith you follow.
May I be a medicine for the sick and weary,
Nursing their afflictions until they are cured;
May I become food and drink,
During time of famine,
May I be a medicine for the sick and weary,
Nursing their afflictions until they are cured;
May I become food and drink,
During time of famine,
May I protect the helpless and the poor,
May I be a lamp,
For those who need your Light,
May I be a bed for those who need rest,
and guide all seekers to the Other Shore.
May all find happiness through my actions,
and let no one suffer because of me.
Whether they love or hate me,
Whether they hurt or wrong me,
May they all realize supreme nirvana.
May I be a lamp,
For those who need your Light,
May I be a bed for those who need rest,
and guide all seekers to the Other Shore.
May all find happiness through my actions,
and let no one suffer because of me.
Whether they love or hate me,
Whether they hurt or wrong me,
May they all realize supreme nirvana.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
finals week
I know that finals week is perhaps the worst week in any college student's career - there is a lot of stress, and you realize how much you should have been studying (I know I have), and the prospect of the train/ car/ bus/ plane home is the only thing that might be getting you through the end of exams.
As this is my first finals week ever, I don't know how much I can relate to the feelings of going home being great - does the prospect get better? Worse? Stay the same? Obviously, I'll be excited to go home, but the only thing I'm really stressed about is my Greek final, as Greek is my hardest subject and writing "It's all Greek to me" instead of a verb I forgot is probably going to get me a failing grade. Of COURSE it's Greek to you, dummy! This is a Greek test! The professor will think as she grades the exams. Sometimes I wonder how many first-semester Greek students she teaches would dare to put that on one of the tests or quizzes.
The first quiz? Maybe.
The final? Never. Unless you WANT to fail.
Anyway, finals week could make a good climactic sequence for some story - the story of one's first semester of college, most likely, or the story of one's final semester. Each are equally admirable - for one, it is the conclusion of a new adventure, and leaves the door open for many more to come; the other is the conclusion of the adventure, and is probably a story about moving on.
You know what would be really interesting? To write a series of eight novels (or twelve, if your school does a January term), about the eight (or twelve) semesters of college. Same characters, different stories, and the end of each is finals week; the finals are the Final Test (see what I did there?).
Maybe I should do that. That would be really cool. I like that idea.
Now, if I only didn't have about five other novels going at the same time, and a Greek exam to study for, I would totally be willing to keep going with it.
But I have a Greek final to study for. And then I'll work on it.
As this is my first finals week ever, I don't know how much I can relate to the feelings of going home being great - does the prospect get better? Worse? Stay the same? Obviously, I'll be excited to go home, but the only thing I'm really stressed about is my Greek final, as Greek is my hardest subject and writing "It's all Greek to me" instead of a verb I forgot is probably going to get me a failing grade. Of COURSE it's Greek to you, dummy! This is a Greek test! The professor will think as she grades the exams. Sometimes I wonder how many first-semester Greek students she teaches would dare to put that on one of the tests or quizzes.
The first quiz? Maybe.
The final? Never. Unless you WANT to fail.
Anyway, finals week could make a good climactic sequence for some story - the story of one's first semester of college, most likely, or the story of one's final semester. Each are equally admirable - for one, it is the conclusion of a new adventure, and leaves the door open for many more to come; the other is the conclusion of the adventure, and is probably a story about moving on.
You know what would be really interesting? To write a series of eight novels (or twelve, if your school does a January term), about the eight (or twelve) semesters of college. Same characters, different stories, and the end of each is finals week; the finals are the Final Test (see what I did there?).
Maybe I should do that. That would be really cool. I like that idea.
Now, if I only didn't have about five other novels going at the same time, and a Greek exam to study for, I would totally be willing to keep going with it.
But I have a Greek final to study for. And then I'll work on it.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
On Reading
One of the things I'm going to miss during the finals week cramming - and that I have missed during the semester and during NaNoWriMo - is reading. If there's one thing that almost all writers can agree on (all novel writers, anyway), is that reading books is important for style development and just plain fun. It doesn't matter what genre, really - I guess if you want to write erotica, you should probably read a fair dose of erotica before and during your erotica writing experience. Similar goes for romance, fantasy, sci-fi, and anything else you might want to write, and it's especially important if you want to do a crossover - if you want to do a sci-fi romance novel, that's your choice, but you'd need experience reading both.
There are reasons for this - reading when you're writing.
First off, you can't just put "how to write a romance novel" into Google. Well, you can, but there's a difference between reading the wiki how-to on it and actually seeing it in action. Besides, the tips in the wiki page are very generic - "create two characters," "end your novel well." Read to know what those mean: every writer is different, so there will be some variation in how each character is presented, what the plot is, what causes the emotional tension, and such like.
Secondly, read to know what not to do. Every writer has their good bits and their bad bits. The trick is to finding which is which - especially in your opinion. You're the writer; write what you like. Grammar rules, however, cannot be bent under any circumstances that are excusable if you have an editor.
Read what you know, and what you don't know. Expand your horizons a bit, and you'll be able to write more and better. I'd say "write what you know," but that's a piece of advice I have mixed feelings about. I'm a fantasy writer. I've never met a dragon. I don't know any dragons. But I've written several dragons. In each of my three mostly-complete novels, and in two that are in progress, there have been reference to a dragon at some point or another. In four of the five aforementioned works, the dragon is a significant being. In the fifth, its existence is situational and any other creature could have thrown the characters together adequately.
Anyway, the point is, I've never met a dragon. I've never met a dwarf. I've never met an elf. I don't know any of these beings personally, but I write about them all the time.
That's not the point.
The point is, READ!
There are reasons for this - reading when you're writing.
First off, you can't just put "how to write a romance novel" into Google. Well, you can, but there's a difference between reading the wiki how-to on it and actually seeing it in action. Besides, the tips in the wiki page are very generic - "create two characters," "end your novel well." Read to know what those mean: every writer is different, so there will be some variation in how each character is presented, what the plot is, what causes the emotional tension, and such like.
Secondly, read to know what not to do. Every writer has their good bits and their bad bits. The trick is to finding which is which - especially in your opinion. You're the writer; write what you like. Grammar rules, however, cannot be bent under any circumstances that are excusable if you have an editor.
Read what you know, and what you don't know. Expand your horizons a bit, and you'll be able to write more and better. I'd say "write what you know," but that's a piece of advice I have mixed feelings about. I'm a fantasy writer. I've never met a dragon. I don't know any dragons. But I've written several dragons. In each of my three mostly-complete novels, and in two that are in progress, there have been reference to a dragon at some point or another. In four of the five aforementioned works, the dragon is a significant being. In the fifth, its existence is situational and any other creature could have thrown the characters together adequately.
Anyway, the point is, I've never met a dragon. I've never met a dwarf. I've never met an elf. I don't know any of these beings personally, but I write about them all the time.
That's not the point.
The point is, READ!
Sunday, December 2, 2012
December 2: just after the end
Well, yesterday marked the end of another NaNoWriMo, and the first year where I did not make it to the finish line.
Oddly, I have come to terms with this, for a few reasons:
Oddly, I have come to terms with this, for a few reasons:
- I still have a novel out, and this year, I really do only have a couple of scenes - no more than two or three - until I can tie together the ending I wrote on the computer. Altogether, that's better than what I've done in the past. My first year's novel still has two bosses to beat, not counting the final boss; my second-year novel, I wound up adding a TON of stuff between the final fight and where November left me. I'm more done than I have ever been at the end of November.
- In all honesty, I wasn't as excited about this novel as I was with my others. Maybe it was because I just didn't plan, and NaNo sprang up almost out of the blue - I have a lot of friends who were also doing it, but I lost track of time when I was doing other things to realize, "HEY! IT'S ALMOST NOVEMBER! How about a plot?"
- Speaking of which, it seems like an excuse, but business was a factor. If you are a high schooler and you are reading this, then let me tell you: time management in college is a LOT different than it is in high school. NaNoWriMo can be done - of the group I did NaNoWriMo with, and of the people that it was obvious would finish, I was the only one who didn't - but it is more difficult than high school.
- after all, it IS my first year of college. School is actually important - you aren't paying thousands of dollars to write a novel for free.
I still enjoy NaNo, and I still want to do it again next year, but I'm kind of glad I didn't finish. Everyone has to have at least one NaNo loss, right?
Unless, of course, your name is Chris Baty.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Day 27: the end is nigh, but not my wordcount
NaNoWriMo will be drawing to a close in a few days, and my plot line may or may not be doing the same thing. My word count, on the other hand, is in dire need of help. I am at fewer than 40,000 words, which is something that, in years past, I have hit by the 20th of the month. This is not acceptable, and I need to go and write.
But do I have enough time to his 50,000 words in four days? Not only that, do I have enough plot?
Well, yes, I do. A paladin just got possessed by a demon and there is still a showdown to be had. I don't know if I can fit a hero's journey into this; I just want to hit my word count.
And so I must write. And write. And write.
And I need to do homework. And write.
But homework first.
Farewell.
But do I have enough time to his 50,000 words in four days? Not only that, do I have enough plot?
Well, yes, I do. A paladin just got possessed by a demon and there is still a showdown to be had. I don't know if I can fit a hero's journey into this; I just want to hit my word count.
And so I must write. And write. And write.
And I need to do homework. And write.
But homework first.
Farewell.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Day 21: in which hope for my wordcount is rapidly receding
Well, it's day 21. I should be around the 35000 word count now, but I'm still sitting morosely at 30750, and I'm not happy about it. I'm not happy about it at all.
I should be studying. I should be writing. I should be doing whatever it is one does on breaks... I don't really know what that is, but I should be doing it. I have readings and translations and tests and projects starting on Sunday night, and it's not okay. I thought break was a time to relax, for goodness sake.
Or to catch up on all the stuff you've been missing.
Or to do something productive, like catch up on your novel's word count.
But no, I'm sitting here, blogging, and wishing I didn't have such a crap word count, and so much homework due by Tuesday. I'm realizing how much I complain about this, and how little I actually do something about it. It's not like I can't do anything about it, for goodness sake. I'm an autonomous individual, or so society would have me believe. Even if I say I'm leaving to do something productive, I normally just goof around for a while before I actually make any headway in anything.
Which kind of sucks, when you think about it. Just being a goof all the time. It gets nothing done.
It doesn't help that I have commissions due, too. Yep, I have to knit four scarves in three and a half weeks, because it's not like I don't have a ton of stuff already.
Right, I really need to stop complaining. I took my leave today and yesterday - I hung out with my friend earlier today and my boyfriend before that; yesterday, I didn't actually get much homework done and pranced around my empty hall with a friend, singing Christmas music at the top of our voices and not caring that it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, and posting random videos on our other blog, and doing stuff of a highly nonproductive nature.
It was great.
But now it's time to work. The funtime has ended, and it's time to actually do something. Time to stop trolling along online and not writing or studying or anything.
I should be studying. I should be writing. I should be doing whatever it is one does on breaks... I don't really know what that is, but I should be doing it. I have readings and translations and tests and projects starting on Sunday night, and it's not okay. I thought break was a time to relax, for goodness sake.
Or to catch up on all the stuff you've been missing.
Or to do something productive, like catch up on your novel's word count.
But no, I'm sitting here, blogging, and wishing I didn't have such a crap word count, and so much homework due by Tuesday. I'm realizing how much I complain about this, and how little I actually do something about it. It's not like I can't do anything about it, for goodness sake. I'm an autonomous individual, or so society would have me believe. Even if I say I'm leaving to do something productive, I normally just goof around for a while before I actually make any headway in anything.
Which kind of sucks, when you think about it. Just being a goof all the time. It gets nothing done.
It doesn't help that I have commissions due, too. Yep, I have to knit four scarves in three and a half weeks, because it's not like I don't have a ton of stuff already.
Right, I really need to stop complaining. I took my leave today and yesterday - I hung out with my friend earlier today and my boyfriend before that; yesterday, I didn't actually get much homework done and pranced around my empty hall with a friend, singing Christmas music at the top of our voices and not caring that it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, and posting random videos on our other blog, and doing stuff of a highly nonproductive nature.
It was great.
But now it's time to work. The funtime has ended, and it's time to actually do something. Time to stop trolling along online and not writing or studying or anything.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Day 20: I'm behind! :(
It is the 20th day of NaNoWriMo, and my word count is wretched. I hit 30,000 words last night, which was supposed to happen on Sunday.
On the upside, I will be leaving for Thanksgiving break tonight, which I'm thankful for. Though I have break work - a project, a reading, and general studying - I'll be glad for the chance to get some actual sleep and some time to write.
If the concept of a 'break' will let me - haircuts, doctor appointments, seeing friends, and the like. Sometimes I wonder why it's called a 'break' when really all you do is do all the stuff you should have done at some other point, but now actually have the time to do it. Maybe I just won't do anything fun at all, and study the whole time. I could live with that, but I don't think my mom could. She would... it wouldn't be pretty.
Anyway, I'm off to lunch now, but afterwards I WILL work on my word count.
And pack.
In all, I'm glad Thanksgiving break is on its way.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Day 16: Over the hump
Well, for better or for worse, it is November 16th, which means we are now slightly more than halfway through NaNoWriMo. I still need to write today, but, according to my calculations, I need to write around 8 pages (around 3000 words) per day if I want to get to my desired word count goal of 60,000 words. I do not know if I can pull this off, but I can try. I nearly did it my first year - I overestimated how many words I could fit on a page, so I set myself the task of doing eight pages a day every day. I should catch up, if I actually set time aside for myself to do it.
But there comes the issue of whether or not I have enough Plot to reach 60,000 words. I hope I do; I hope, at least, I can hit 50,000 words. But my three main characters are about to enter the city of Genesis again, wherein all hell is going to break loose (metaphorically. That actually happens later. Maybe.), and then the showdown is going to happen.
I may, to pad my word count, send Storm through the Hero's Journey. There happens several things after the Showdown during the Hero's Journey, so that can help a lot if I need more words. If you want to check out the steps of the Hero's Journey, I found a good link here.
If I had to point out where Storm was right now, she'd probably be somewhere in the Road of Trials and Atonement with the Father. I don't know whether to include the Meeting with the Goddess or the Woman as a Temptress - I don't know whether they are going to be actually relevant to Storm. Maybe they will. Maybe they will not.
I guess Storm needs to have more inner turmoil or something.
Will work on that.
Farewell.
But there comes the issue of whether or not I have enough Plot to reach 60,000 words. I hope I do; I hope, at least, I can hit 50,000 words. But my three main characters are about to enter the city of Genesis again, wherein all hell is going to break loose (metaphorically. That actually happens later. Maybe.), and then the showdown is going to happen.
I may, to pad my word count, send Storm through the Hero's Journey. There happens several things after the Showdown during the Hero's Journey, so that can help a lot if I need more words. If you want to check out the steps of the Hero's Journey, I found a good link here.
If I had to point out where Storm was right now, she'd probably be somewhere in the Road of Trials and Atonement with the Father. I don't know whether to include the Meeting with the Goddess or the Woman as a Temptress - I don't know whether they are going to be actually relevant to Storm. Maybe they will. Maybe they will not.
I guess Storm needs to have more inner turmoil or something.
Will work on that.
Farewell.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Day 14: close to halfway?
Right, I'm not doing my stats, because I have no time and a test tomorrow. I did write and go to the gym today, though, and I am kind of glad I did.
Anyway, I am reaching a bit of a roadblock on how to get the three main characters into a walled, heavily guarded city that does not allow half-elves (because the guy who runs the place is a butt); it is on the edge of a cliff and the only way in at present is a hole for rotten food and other things that my main character does not want to climb through for a second time. The way in should preferably somehow get them into the dungeon and/ or a torture chamber; using legal means is preferable but not entirely necessary.
What I have noticed during NaNo is that prime study time and prime writing time are the same time. Though I am NOT neglecting my studies (entirely), I'm sometimes faced with the choice of study now and get really frustrated with my word count later, or breeze through my word count and push through homework later.
So far, the second option seems to be working out better, from the two or three times I have done it.
And I have to go now, but I'll be back... tomorrow.
Anyway, I am reaching a bit of a roadblock on how to get the three main characters into a walled, heavily guarded city that does not allow half-elves (because the guy who runs the place is a butt); it is on the edge of a cliff and the only way in at present is a hole for rotten food and other things that my main character does not want to climb through for a second time. The way in should preferably somehow get them into the dungeon and/ or a torture chamber; using legal means is preferable but not entirely necessary.
What I have noticed during NaNo is that prime study time and prime writing time are the same time. Though I am NOT neglecting my studies (entirely), I'm sometimes faced with the choice of study now and get really frustrated with my word count later, or breeze through my word count and push through homework later.
So far, the second option seems to be working out better, from the two or three times I have done it.
And I have to go now, but I'll be back... tomorrow.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Day 12: I don't know why I do this anymore
The motivation behind the title is merely a wondering about my sanity. I am not wondering why I do NaNoWriMo; I am wondering why I bother trying to do 2,000 words a day when I obviously cannot keep up with the word count I want to keep up with. I have a test tomorrow and another one on Wednesday, and a take-home test due on Wednesday as well. Projects for Intro to East Asia are going to be due soon after Thanksgiving Break.
And I always have to study and go to the gym before I can write. And in the moments when I could be writing, I am doing something completely arbitrary - Facebook, Twitter, the like. I should have my notebook with me. I should be writing. I should be.
But I am not.
I am ahead of the NaNoWriMo predicted word count for today, which is good. But I do not know about what I am going to for the rest of the week.
For the rest of the month.
Blargh.
Welcome, my friends, to Week Two. This is the first time when the Week Twos have hit me hard; I think it is because this is college and my arbitrary interest in things other than writing has increased because of the increase in afternoon time.
Maybe I should just write first and do homework later.
I honestly have no idea.
Blargh.
I need sleep.
And snacks.
And a better word count.
And I always have to study and go to the gym before I can write. And in the moments when I could be writing, I am doing something completely arbitrary - Facebook, Twitter, the like. I should have my notebook with me. I should be writing. I should be.
But I am not.
I am ahead of the NaNoWriMo predicted word count for today, which is good. But I do not know about what I am going to for the rest of the week.
For the rest of the month.
Blargh.
Welcome, my friends, to Week Two. This is the first time when the Week Twos have hit me hard; I think it is because this is college and my arbitrary interest in things other than writing has increased because of the increase in afternoon time.
Maybe I should just write first and do homework later.
I honestly have no idea.
Blargh.
I need sleep.
And snacks.
And a better word count.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
A non-nano post
I know I normally wouldn't go into religion on a writing blog, but I kind of want to get this out.
Something I never understood about faith in general is why so many churches preach hate. I have been fortunate to grow up in a church that teaches love, and to find a similar one when I got to college. But what irritates me is why some churches try to work the meaning of God's word to fit their own fears.
They wouldn't say it like that, of course. They would probably say they dislike something because God dislikes something. But that gets into the question that has been going on for a while now ("a while now" meaning "since Plato's time;" yes, he did do some dialogues on it): is something good or bad because of God's opinion on it, or does God form an opinion because something is good or bad? Is something good because it is favored, or favored because it is good?
That gets, very indirectly, into the second part of a tangent.
I have noticed that in more than one system's writings that a big part of following the faith is doing good stuff - serving your faith in whatever form it presents itself, and showing love to all. In at least two religious writings (the Bible and the Daodejing, and probably others as well), there is the extra stipulation that you should do good stuff, but do not be obvious about it. Give what is yours in moderation, and not what you have an excess of. The scripture that was preached on in church this morning was the story of the widow who gave two coppers to her Synagogue, which was basically all she had, and Jesus favored her more than the super-rich guys who gave in a whole lot because they had a whole lot.
That is not to say that you should not give what you have an excess of. You're probably not going to use it anyway, so why not give it? But also give something that you do not have a lot of - money, time, or something else - and do not expect it to be returned. Do not tout yourself as a good person because you gave away something you had a lot of. Do not tout yourself as a good person at all.
Just give what you can, and God will notice.
Why, then, is there so much hate in faith? Many times it is said that you need to love, serve, and give, and you will be favored.
That is the bit I try to live by, and that is the bit I hope is the thread in more churches than just my own.
Something I never understood about faith in general is why so many churches preach hate. I have been fortunate to grow up in a church that teaches love, and to find a similar one when I got to college. But what irritates me is why some churches try to work the meaning of God's word to fit their own fears.
They wouldn't say it like that, of course. They would probably say they dislike something because God dislikes something. But that gets into the question that has been going on for a while now ("a while now" meaning "since Plato's time;" yes, he did do some dialogues on it): is something good or bad because of God's opinion on it, or does God form an opinion because something is good or bad? Is something good because it is favored, or favored because it is good?
That gets, very indirectly, into the second part of a tangent.
I have noticed that in more than one system's writings that a big part of following the faith is doing good stuff - serving your faith in whatever form it presents itself, and showing love to all. In at least two religious writings (the Bible and the Daodejing, and probably others as well), there is the extra stipulation that you should do good stuff, but do not be obvious about it. Give what is yours in moderation, and not what you have an excess of. The scripture that was preached on in church this morning was the story of the widow who gave two coppers to her Synagogue, which was basically all she had, and Jesus favored her more than the super-rich guys who gave in a whole lot because they had a whole lot.
That is not to say that you should not give what you have an excess of. You're probably not going to use it anyway, so why not give it? But also give something that you do not have a lot of - money, time, or something else - and do not expect it to be returned. Do not tout yourself as a good person because you gave away something you had a lot of. Do not tout yourself as a good person at all.
Just give what you can, and God will notice.
Why, then, is there so much hate in faith? Many times it is said that you need to love, serve, and give, and you will be favored.
That is the bit I try to live by, and that is the bit I hope is the thread in more churches than just my own.
Day 10: where it's not Day 11 until I say it is
Yes, I know I'm posting at around 1:00 in the morning on a Saturday night... this is because, surprisingly, I actually have a life on weekends now. Go figure!
Anyway, stats:
Start Page: 41
End Page: 48
TARGET ACHIEVED!
Plot Point: the paladin got possessed by a demon, and now (after the expulsion of said demon), they are all arguing about the ethics of trap-laying for poor, defenseless rabbits who do not know what is coming. The paladin is arguing that traps are completely unethical and should be done away with at once; the bard, frankly, is glad for the food, because she barely ate the day previously; the rogue/ fighter is the one doing the hunting, so she's just using what she has deduced as the most effective trap in order to get what she needs to get to.
I guess a good way to get your characters' opinions out is to get them to talk to each other. Storm and Melody talk to each other, with some civility. Melody and Eden talk to each other, with Eden being the pushier of the two in the conversation. Eden and Storm talk to each other with civility increasingly absent from the proceedings. See? OPINIONS FORMED THROUGH OBSERVATION.
Like my opinion formed through this observation: I have observed that I am tired, and I would like to get some rest, because the last two times I stayed up until 1:00 and actually had to wake up the next day, it did not end well, because both times were for class (well, I mean, the first time was when I was finishing a novel, so I feel justified, but I still did not have fun being tired all day and not being able to take a nap because I had to do homework. I don't remember what the reason was for staying up until 1:00 on a weeknight was, but I remember I did not like it).
Anyway, stats:
Start Page: 41
End Page: 48
TARGET ACHIEVED!
Plot Point: the paladin got possessed by a demon, and now (after the expulsion of said demon), they are all arguing about the ethics of trap-laying for poor, defenseless rabbits who do not know what is coming. The paladin is arguing that traps are completely unethical and should be done away with at once; the bard, frankly, is glad for the food, because she barely ate the day previously; the rogue/ fighter is the one doing the hunting, so she's just using what she has deduced as the most effective trap in order to get what she needs to get to.
I guess a good way to get your characters' opinions out is to get them to talk to each other. Storm and Melody talk to each other, with some civility. Melody and Eden talk to each other, with Eden being the pushier of the two in the conversation. Eden and Storm talk to each other with civility increasingly absent from the proceedings. See? OPINIONS FORMED THROUGH OBSERVATION.
Like my opinion formed through this observation: I have observed that I am tired, and I would like to get some rest, because the last two times I stayed up until 1:00 and actually had to wake up the next day, it did not end well, because both times were for class (well, I mean, the first time was when I was finishing a novel, so I feel justified, but I still did not have fun being tired all day and not being able to take a nap because I had to do homework. I don't remember what the reason was for staying up until 1:00 on a weeknight was, but I remember I did not like it).
Friday, November 9, 2012
Day 9: FRIDAY!
Start Page: 37
Current Page: 38
Target Page: 42
Pages In Between: 6
Place In Story: I should really leave this one out, because I really don't know how this relates anymore.
Anyway, I am really glad it is Friday. It means that I only have to do a few things homework-wise (Greek, start an East Asia project, and do some readings for FYEC before I over-procrastinate and have them take two hours on Sunday night when I could be writing), and it means Doctor Who is tonight, and it means I can write. YAY! I am determined to go and actually write stuff today. I am NOT going to procrastinate... any longer.
I'm probably going to post later, when I've actually gotten stuff done.
In other, academic news, I have the following advice for seniors in high school who are going to be in college soon:
If you are doing a group project, do not procrastinate. It will probably drive down the quality of your project (but honestly, I thought our presentation today was pretty well done, especially when we saw another group's and considering we worked only this week on it); but, more importantly, it will drive your stress levels through the roof and will drive your sleep hours down into the bare minimums, which is not good on a lot of levels.
I mean, our teacher liked the presentation, but my groupmates only got two hours of sleep each (one had rehearsal and one was sick, and, for some reason, I was the only one who bothered to use the afternoon hours to do anything. I think they had class and stuff during the afternoon, though, so that's understandable). I got more, because I didn't actually help put it all together... oops...
Anyway, don't procrastinate, especially not on things of high importance.
Current Page: 38
Target Page: 42
Pages In Between: 6
Place In Story: I should really leave this one out, because I really don't know how this relates anymore.
Anyway, I am really glad it is Friday. It means that I only have to do a few things homework-wise (Greek, start an East Asia project, and do some readings for FYEC before I over-procrastinate and have them take two hours on Sunday night when I could be writing), and it means Doctor Who is tonight, and it means I can write. YAY! I am determined to go and actually write stuff today. I am NOT going to procrastinate... any longer.
I'm probably going to post later, when I've actually gotten stuff done.
In other, academic news, I have the following advice for seniors in high school who are going to be in college soon:
If you are doing a group project, do not procrastinate. It will probably drive down the quality of your project (but honestly, I thought our presentation today was pretty well done, especially when we saw another group's and considering we worked only this week on it); but, more importantly, it will drive your stress levels through the roof and will drive your sleep hours down into the bare minimums, which is not good on a lot of levels.
I mean, our teacher liked the presentation, but my groupmates only got two hours of sleep each (one had rehearsal and one was sick, and, for some reason, I was the only one who bothered to use the afternoon hours to do anything. I think they had class and stuff during the afternoon, though, so that's understandable). I got more, because I didn't actually help put it all together... oops...
Anyway, don't procrastinate, especially not on things of high importance.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Day 7: when the going gets tough, the tough give history lessons
Start Page: 29
Current Page: 32
Target Page: 36 (but, honestly, I'm not going to get to page 36 today, even if I sprint for half an hour)
Pages Between: 4
Location in Plot: I don't even know. I'm sending them to Old Genesis, because that's what they're calling it, because it's the ruins of the city that used to be Genesis before Genesis moved because of some catastrophe that I have yet to come up with. I have no idea how this relates to the idea of "trumping Jericho," but right now, I just wanted to send them to a ruined city, so I did. I'm the author. I do what I want.
Anyhow, I guess today's lesson, kids, is to be willing to fly by the seat of your pants, because sometimes it's crazy fun to do it and can result in something kind of cool, even if it's really confusing and has no apparent connection to the overall goal of what you're trying to do.
I'm still waiting for the 'fun and will be relevant in the future' part of it.
I'll wake up and do it tomorrow morning before East Asia.
I still can't believe my friend is 2,000 words ahead of me.
Actually, I can. I should be where she is right now. I'm ahead of the NaNo suggested word count, but that by no means says I'm on track for where I want me to be. I need a free Saturday or something, except free Saturdays are not a thing. They're for sleeping and doing laundry and homework (yes, I'm weird, I do homework on Saturdays. When else am I going to do anything worthwhile academically? I'd get nothing done otherwise).
Anyway, I need sleep. I'm determined to catch up to her. This needs to happen, if only for my own peace of mind. Right now, I'm kind of in panic mode because I feel like I'm failing at NaNoWriMo. It is only partly to do with my friend's word count. She's at 14,770. I'm at 12,000. I normally write 2,000 words a day, which means she is farther ahead of me than I would like, and I am not okay with this. I am not okay with it at all.
Time to re-work how I write and when I do my homework.
But not right now. I'm too tired right now.
Current Page: 32
Target Page: 36 (but, honestly, I'm not going to get to page 36 today, even if I sprint for half an hour)
Pages Between: 4
Location in Plot: I don't even know. I'm sending them to Old Genesis, because that's what they're calling it, because it's the ruins of the city that used to be Genesis before Genesis moved because of some catastrophe that I have yet to come up with. I have no idea how this relates to the idea of "trumping Jericho," but right now, I just wanted to send them to a ruined city, so I did. I'm the author. I do what I want.
Anyhow, I guess today's lesson, kids, is to be willing to fly by the seat of your pants, because sometimes it's crazy fun to do it and can result in something kind of cool, even if it's really confusing and has no apparent connection to the overall goal of what you're trying to do.
I'm still waiting for the 'fun and will be relevant in the future' part of it.
I'll wake up and do it tomorrow morning before East Asia.
I still can't believe my friend is 2,000 words ahead of me.
Actually, I can. I should be where she is right now. I'm ahead of the NaNo suggested word count, but that by no means says I'm on track for where I want me to be. I need a free Saturday or something, except free Saturdays are not a thing. They're for sleeping and doing laundry and homework (yes, I'm weird, I do homework on Saturdays. When else am I going to do anything worthwhile academically? I'd get nothing done otherwise).
Anyway, I need sleep. I'm determined to catch up to her. This needs to happen, if only for my own peace of mind. Right now, I'm kind of in panic mode because I feel like I'm failing at NaNoWriMo. It is only partly to do with my friend's word count. She's at 14,770. I'm at 12,000. I normally write 2,000 words a day, which means she is farther ahead of me than I would like, and I am not okay with this. I am not okay with it at all.
Time to re-work how I write and when I do my homework.
But not right now. I'm too tired right now.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
NaNoWriMo Day 6: Behind :P
I seem to be doing a lot of my writing after 9:30...
anyhoo:
start page: 25
Current page: 26
Target Page: 36 (that'll put me at 13000-ish, because I like trying to be ahead)
Pages done today: 1
Pages to Write: 10
Location in Plot: Storm has beaten up some Robin-Hood type thieves and she and Mel are going to some ruin place to do stuff. They might meet Eden there.
Maybe the reason I've been so behind on my personal word count goals is because I usually try to write in the evenings, and the evenings are when I am most liable to procrastinate. Of course, my roommate and all of my Wrimo friends are closely monitoring the polls in a different dorm, so I've got the room to myself, which is a perfect environment for writing and finishing up homework... and going on Facebook and blogging.
I need to work on that.
Of our friends, I'm currently ranked third out of nine, and, being slightly competitive as I am, I want to bring my word count up PRONTO. At least the competition is motivating me to actually write. I don't think I would want to push myself to write every night if I didn't have the shame of not doing well at NaNo and being an English major weighing over my head.
But anyway, I'm off to write. Farewell.
anyhoo:
start page: 25
Current page: 26
Target Page: 36 (that'll put me at 13000-ish, because I like trying to be ahead)
Pages done today: 1
Pages to Write: 10
Location in Plot: Storm has beaten up some Robin-Hood type thieves and she and Mel are going to some ruin place to do stuff. They might meet Eden there.
Maybe the reason I've been so behind on my personal word count goals is because I usually try to write in the evenings, and the evenings are when I am most liable to procrastinate. Of course, my roommate and all of my Wrimo friends are closely monitoring the polls in a different dorm, so I've got the room to myself, which is a perfect environment for writing and finishing up homework... and going on Facebook and blogging.
I need to work on that.
Of our friends, I'm currently ranked third out of nine, and, being slightly competitive as I am, I want to bring my word count up PRONTO. At least the competition is motivating me to actually write. I don't think I would want to push myself to write every night if I didn't have the shame of not doing well at NaNo and being an English major weighing over my head.
But anyway, I'm off to write. Farewell.
Monday, November 5, 2012
NaNo Day Five: Back from Tour Behind
Current Page: 21
Target Page: 30
Pages Today: .5
Pages Left: 9
Location in Story: unprecedented argument between crown prince and villain, in an attempt to discern why, exactly, the villain doesn't like half-elves. Apparently, he doesn't know, either, because he's not saying anything.
Got back from choir tour last night with a shot voice and reasonable word count. I was on track to finish the month at 50,000, not 60,000 as I had originally intended, but it was good enough.
Today, however, I have 3,000 words to write, and for the first time, I'm not ahead of everybody else. This is rather unprecedented, and I'm not sure I like it that much. The competition is going to help some, but not getting my East Asia chapter outline until an hour ago (it's due tomorrow) does not help at all. Nor does my vague restlessness or general sense of being unable to settle. Can't go to the gym, either - have to go to 'desserts with the president of the school' later, which means I need to go and eat and be productive and look nice and stuff before that. Grr.
Maybe I'll go now, and walk laps and read about China since 1945 or something. I look like a total weirdo, but whatever. I'm weird anyway.
Anyway, to the point of the blog: writing.
So far, the writing has been going... okay. As I've said, I'm behind on my word count, which is surprising for me, but this is also college and I have also been on choir tour for four days and didn't have a lot of time to settle into writing. I don't predict I'll be able to settle down into anything until late night for at least this week, but after that things should clear up. I HOPE they'll clear up, anyway.
But plot-wise, I've changed a bit. Melody shows more potential than I initially thought she would, and Storm is less aggressive (well, I also haven't given her anyone to fight yet, but I have given her a non-dungeon way into the city). I've also made the prince an actual character, but he may just vanish until the end. Except for a scene or two somewhere.
Doing NaNo in college is going to be a lot harder than doing it in high school. I know that for certain.
Target Page: 30
Pages Today: .5
Pages Left: 9
Location in Story: unprecedented argument between crown prince and villain, in an attempt to discern why, exactly, the villain doesn't like half-elves. Apparently, he doesn't know, either, because he's not saying anything.
Got back from choir tour last night with a shot voice and reasonable word count. I was on track to finish the month at 50,000, not 60,000 as I had originally intended, but it was good enough.
Today, however, I have 3,000 words to write, and for the first time, I'm not ahead of everybody else. This is rather unprecedented, and I'm not sure I like it that much. The competition is going to help some, but not getting my East Asia chapter outline until an hour ago (it's due tomorrow) does not help at all. Nor does my vague restlessness or general sense of being unable to settle. Can't go to the gym, either - have to go to 'desserts with the president of the school' later, which means I need to go and eat and be productive and look nice and stuff before that. Grr.
Maybe I'll go now, and walk laps and read about China since 1945 or something. I look like a total weirdo, but whatever. I'm weird anyway.
Anyway, to the point of the blog: writing.
So far, the writing has been going... okay. As I've said, I'm behind on my word count, which is surprising for me, but this is also college and I have also been on choir tour for four days and didn't have a lot of time to settle into writing. I don't predict I'll be able to settle down into anything until late night for at least this week, but after that things should clear up. I HOPE they'll clear up, anyway.
But plot-wise, I've changed a bit. Melody shows more potential than I initially thought she would, and Storm is less aggressive (well, I also haven't given her anyone to fight yet, but I have given her a non-dungeon way into the city). I've also made the prince an actual character, but he may just vanish until the end. Except for a scene or two somewhere.
Doing NaNo in college is going to be a lot harder than doing it in high school. I know that for certain.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
stress!
first of all, as I said I would do for our sign:
I know it's not exactly what I said I'd do for it, but it's something. Huzzah!
Now onto the important stuff: I'm writing NaNo, and I've realized that the plots that my friends have come up with are a lot better than my plot. Maybe it's because my backstory is more coherent than my actual plot, and has to be explained in more words (DEATH! REGRET! DESPAIR! PARANOIA!), but still. Tonight we're having a final plotting session and, with luck, I'm actually going to figure out what the heck I'm writing about. Well, I KNOW what I'm writing about, but I don't know. I know Storm and Eden and Melody are going to trump Jericho, who has lots of psychological issues and is trumped similarly to the biblical Jericho, except not actually because I have no idea how to do that. But I need PLOT POINTS. What drives the plot forward? What actually happens to get Storm to Eden and Mel, and to get all three of them to the palace, and through a bunch of traps, a dungeon, and a whole lot else?
I don't know yet.
AAAAAHHHH!!!
Welcome, my friends, to the Writer's Process.
I know it's not exactly what I said I'd do for it, but it's something. Huzzah!
Now onto the important stuff: I'm writing NaNo, and I've realized that the plots that my friends have come up with are a lot better than my plot. Maybe it's because my backstory is more coherent than my actual plot, and has to be explained in more words (DEATH! REGRET! DESPAIR! PARANOIA!), but still. Tonight we're having a final plotting session and, with luck, I'm actually going to figure out what the heck I'm writing about. Well, I KNOW what I'm writing about, but I don't know. I know Storm and Eden and Melody are going to trump Jericho, who has lots of psychological issues and is trumped similarly to the biblical Jericho, except not actually because I have no idea how to do that. But I need PLOT POINTS. What drives the plot forward? What actually happens to get Storm to Eden and Mel, and to get all three of them to the palace, and through a bunch of traps, a dungeon, and a whole lot else?
I don't know yet.
AAAAAHHHH!!!
Welcome, my friends, to the Writer's Process.
Monday, October 29, 2012
NaNoWriMo (and choir tour) Approacheth
In a mere three days, National Novel Writing Month, the Adventure of the Year, will begin. The first four days will be a huge stress-fest, which I don't look forward to; however, once we get back from Choir Tour, I will be completely prepared to throw myself into my novel (and my homework; I need to get four hours of homework done every day, remember?), and all the other things that are going to be making demands on my time (though I may just skip out on some clubs altogether). I am kind of terrified, but I am still going to do it. That's how the best adventures happen, right?
Though I intended to blog daily during NaNo, I now realize that I will only be able to blog on days 5-30. Consider yourselves warned. I will blog daily, but only after choir tour.
Also, you may be wondering why I am blogging during the time I am normally in class. This is because of Hurricane Sandy (otherwise known as the Slightly Lame Hurricane); classes are cancelled because of forecasted Heavy Weather. Said Heavy Weather has not hit yet; my roommate and I went to the bank and to get contact solution, and then we went to Starbucks, and we were only mildly rained on. The rain was consistent, sure, but it was still. What is this heavy weather that is spoken of?
anyway, I am doing NaNoWriMo. And I write longhand, which is going to be convenient during choir tour; when I get back... we'll see.
Right. Homework time.
Friday, October 26, 2012
On Backstory
(I have to do homework soon, so I'm going to try to be direct in this).
You have a story, yes? Your life, I mean. You were born, then you did stuff, and now you're here. Pretty simple, yes?
Naaaah.
Your story is what makes you - the little things that affect your choices later on. That one time that you accidentally put lemonade mix in your hot chocolate and it tasted really good is the reason you now ALWAYS make your hot cocoa with a bit of lemonade mix. (yes, this is somewhat biographical, and I do recommend it). That other time you went rock climbing and pissed in your pants is the reason you now avoid rocks and the group of friends you went with. Things like that.
Similarly, your characters have backstory. They had moments where they were so scared they ran away and have never gotten over it, or they had such a bad experience with something else that they will go out of their way to avoid all things associated with it. It is those things that make a person, wether or not they are part of a written story.
So give them a story before the story. I didn't grow up in the same way my parents did. Both of them moved around a lot, and the first time I spent more than three weeks away from home was when I went to college; other than that, I've lived in the same place my whole life.
But it's more than where they grew up. It's the weird things, like lemonade in hot chocolate. You don't have to put every little detail in there, obviously, but if you are going to make any character scared of anything, you need to give them a reason why, beyond 'they had a bad experience with it when they were younger.' THIS IS THE TIME THAT YOU WRITE WHAT THAT BAD EXPERIENCE WAS.
With NaNoWriMo fast approaching, character writing becomes even more relevant. The only excuse you have for not having a backstory is that your character is an amnesiac for 90 percent of the tale. I'm still giving my amnesiac a backstory, though, because I still think it's an important thing to have. It's a part of who she is and what she does, even if she doesn't know why she's so mad at the government or why she needs to find the King's advisor RIGHT NOW.
Though you don't have to include all the details (I wouldn't normally admit that I avoided bowtie pasta for years because I threw up after eating it one time when I was ten; I don't mention it because I'm not studying anything culinary and I don't intend do, and what sort of pasta I eat is not exceedingly important), include the bits that may be relevant.
And then throw in one or two "bowtie pasta incidents" for good measure. They might be important.
You have a story, yes? Your life, I mean. You were born, then you did stuff, and now you're here. Pretty simple, yes?
Naaaah.
Your story is what makes you - the little things that affect your choices later on. That one time that you accidentally put lemonade mix in your hot chocolate and it tasted really good is the reason you now ALWAYS make your hot cocoa with a bit of lemonade mix. (yes, this is somewhat biographical, and I do recommend it). That other time you went rock climbing and pissed in your pants is the reason you now avoid rocks and the group of friends you went with. Things like that.
Similarly, your characters have backstory. They had moments where they were so scared they ran away and have never gotten over it, or they had such a bad experience with something else that they will go out of their way to avoid all things associated with it. It is those things that make a person, wether or not they are part of a written story.
So give them a story before the story. I didn't grow up in the same way my parents did. Both of them moved around a lot, and the first time I spent more than three weeks away from home was when I went to college; other than that, I've lived in the same place my whole life.
But it's more than where they grew up. It's the weird things, like lemonade in hot chocolate. You don't have to put every little detail in there, obviously, but if you are going to make any character scared of anything, you need to give them a reason why, beyond 'they had a bad experience with it when they were younger.' THIS IS THE TIME THAT YOU WRITE WHAT THAT BAD EXPERIENCE WAS.
With NaNoWriMo fast approaching, character writing becomes even more relevant. The only excuse you have for not having a backstory is that your character is an amnesiac for 90 percent of the tale. I'm still giving my amnesiac a backstory, though, because I still think it's an important thing to have. It's a part of who she is and what she does, even if she doesn't know why she's so mad at the government or why she needs to find the King's advisor RIGHT NOW.
Though you don't have to include all the details (I wouldn't normally admit that I avoided bowtie pasta for years because I threw up after eating it one time when I was ten; I don't mention it because I'm not studying anything culinary and I don't intend do, and what sort of pasta I eat is not exceedingly important), include the bits that may be relevant.
And then throw in one or two "bowtie pasta incidents" for good measure. They might be important.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Instructions, by Neil Gaiman
a friend of mine shared this poem on Facebook. I think it's rather brilliant (but then again, it's Neil Gaiman; if he wrote it, it's probably brilliant). Anyway, you could totally write a novel based on this. But here it is. Enjoy the awesome.
Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never
saw before.
Say "please" before you open the latch,
go through,
walk down the path.
A red metal imp hangs from the green-painted
front door,
as a knocker,
do not touch it; it will bite your fingers.
Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat
nothing.
However, if any creature tells you that it hungers,
feed it.
If it tells you that it is dirty,
clean it.
If it cries to you that it hurts,
if you can,
ease its pain.
From the back garden you will be able to see the
wild wood.
The deep well you walk past leads to Winter's
realm;
there is another land at the bottom of it.
If you turn around here,
you can walk back, safely;
you will lose no face. I will think no less of you.
Once through the garden you will be in the
wood.
The trees are old. Eyes peer from the under-
growth.
Beneath a twisted oak sits an old woman. She
may ask for something;
give it to her. She
will point the way to the castle.
Inside it are three princesses.
Do not trust the youngest. Walk on.
In the clearing beyond the castle the twelve
months sit about a fire,
warming their feet, exchanging tales.
They may do favors for you, if you are polite.
You may pick strawberries in December's frost.
Trust the wolves, but do not tell them where
you are going.
The river can be crossed by the ferry. The ferry-
man will take you.
(The answer to his question is this:
If he hands the oar to his passenger, he will be free to
leave the boat.
Only tell him this from a safe distance.)
If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe.
Remember: that giants sleep too soundly; that
witches are often betrayed by their appetites;
dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always;
hearts can be well-hidden,
and you betray them with your tongue.
Do not be jealous of your sister.
Know that diamonds and roses
are as uncomfortable when they tumble from
one's lips as toads and frogs:
colder, too, and sharper, and they cut.
Remember your name.
Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found.
Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped
to help you in their turn.
Trust dreams.
Trust your heart, and trust your story.
When you come back, return the way you came.
Favors will be returned, debts will be repaid.
Do not forget your manners.
Do not look back.
Ride the wise eagle (you shall not fall).
Ride the silver fish (you will not drown).
Ride the grey wolf (hold tightly to his fur).
There is a worm at the heart of the tower; that is
why it will not stand.
When you reach the little house, the place your
journey started,
you will recognize it, although it will seem
much smaller than you remember.
Walk up the path, and through the garden gate
you never saw before but once.
And then go home. Or make a home.
And rest.
|
Sunday, October 21, 2012
character interactions and books
While in our local coffee shop today, a friend of mine found a book. I don't remember what it was called, but it had this kind of sweet inscription in it from the author to a friend, dated 10/30/92 - it was something about how the author wanted missed the recipient and hoped one day they could see each other again (and how maybe the profits could get the friend a one-way ticket to where the author lived). But there was also a post-it note in the book, saying something along the lines of, "read this, and then leave it somewhere for someone new to find it."
There's a story behind this, and I hope someone can find out what it is. As for my friends and me, we bounced around the idea of having a journal or book to pass around during breaks (or even during the school year), and then leaving the last five or ten pages blank and leaving it in a coffee shop for someone to stumble across and have a little look into our lives and our voices.
Well, we decided maybe not a journal, because one of our friends is blind, so he couldn't exactly read the journal or write it, because none of the rest of us could read or write Braille. We did, however, decide to start a Vlog - a video blog. We all have nicknames that kind of reflect what we want to do with our lives. For example, my roommate is Physicist, because my roommate is a physics major. Another friend is Editor, a third friend is Writer, and the blind friend is Composer, because he's a singer/ songwriter, which is kind of cool. We might bring in more friends, but the five of us were the only ones of our friends in the coffee shop today.
Though I love writing, I'm still undecided about what I want to do with my career, so I'm Wild Card. I have a lot of things I'm interested in, and though I want to pursue writing, I know that is liable to change. I might wind up as a business major to sell my knit goods. I don't know.
But the point is, all of this was inspired by an inscription in a book, and a post-it note therein. Though it's not a fantasy hook by any means, this is still a plot hook that could go a long way in any genre (except maybe cyberpunk or futuristic dystopian fiction where print books no longer exist).
So my challenge for you today is this:
Your plot hook is a dedication in a book, written by hand in hurried ink, saying how the author misses the recipient. Where do you take the story from there, and what is the story behind it?
There's a story behind this, and I hope someone can find out what it is. As for my friends and me, we bounced around the idea of having a journal or book to pass around during breaks (or even during the school year), and then leaving the last five or ten pages blank and leaving it in a coffee shop for someone to stumble across and have a little look into our lives and our voices.
Well, we decided maybe not a journal, because one of our friends is blind, so he couldn't exactly read the journal or write it, because none of the rest of us could read or write Braille. We did, however, decide to start a Vlog - a video blog. We all have nicknames that kind of reflect what we want to do with our lives. For example, my roommate is Physicist, because my roommate is a physics major. Another friend is Editor, a third friend is Writer, and the blind friend is Composer, because he's a singer/ songwriter, which is kind of cool. We might bring in more friends, but the five of us were the only ones of our friends in the coffee shop today.
Though I love writing, I'm still undecided about what I want to do with my career, so I'm Wild Card. I have a lot of things I'm interested in, and though I want to pursue writing, I know that is liable to change. I might wind up as a business major to sell my knit goods. I don't know.
But the point is, all of this was inspired by an inscription in a book, and a post-it note therein. Though it's not a fantasy hook by any means, this is still a plot hook that could go a long way in any genre (except maybe cyberpunk or futuristic dystopian fiction where print books no longer exist).
So my challenge for you today is this:
Your plot hook is a dedication in a book, written by hand in hurried ink, saying how the author misses the recipient. Where do you take the story from there, and what is the story behind it?
Friday, October 19, 2012
Doubts and Adventures
As NaNoWriMo draws closer, I have found myself giving thought to a lot of things. Many of them are related to the actual writing of a novel; after all, you kind of need to have a general idea of what you want to do (or at least an idea of who's going to be in your novel) before you start, unless your name is Chris Baty. But some of them are related to whether I'm actually going to be able to actually pull off NaNo this year. Though I really want to, I have recently been struck by the realization that I need to do homework, and I need to keep my grades up so I can not flunk out of college.
Though I have a lot of homework, and I am going to be on choir tour for the first three days of NaNo, and I'm probably going to be stressed out until Thanksgiving break, I still want to try to do NaNo. I really do. I've started plotting and working on my characters and what I want to happen.
If I fail, nobody can say I didn't try, and I can have a new bit of fiction to work on during December. Besides, what else am I going to do during the three week winter break?
Maybe I need to pull a BIlbo. I'm scared, and I'm rushed into this, and I'm unsure if I want to actually do this, but I'm going to get sucked into it anyway and I'm going to go through with it.
For better or for worse.
And catchup is what December is for.
Now, I need to get in the habit of giving myself time to write during the week, and not just on the weekends. And I need to make sure that can be a thing.
And I need to make sure I can suck all my friends into doing NaNoWriMo this year, too.
Dear Readers, what Wild and Weird adventures have you dragged yourselves into?
Though I have a lot of homework, and I am going to be on choir tour for the first three days of NaNo, and I'm probably going to be stressed out until Thanksgiving break, I still want to try to do NaNo. I really do. I've started plotting and working on my characters and what I want to happen.
If I fail, nobody can say I didn't try, and I can have a new bit of fiction to work on during December. Besides, what else am I going to do during the three week winter break?
Maybe I need to pull a BIlbo. I'm scared, and I'm rushed into this, and I'm unsure if I want to actually do this, but I'm going to get sucked into it anyway and I'm going to go through with it.
For better or for worse.
And catchup is what December is for.
Now, I need to get in the habit of giving myself time to write during the week, and not just on the weekends. And I need to make sure that can be a thing.
And I need to make sure I can suck all my friends into doing NaNoWriMo this year, too.
Dear Readers, what Wild and Weird adventures have you dragged yourselves into?
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Renaissance Festivals and Chances at Revelry
I got back from my school's fall break about an hour ago. While I was on break, I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival.
See, the thing about Renn Fests is that they're not entirely historically accurate (there's a bit too much emphasis on fantastical elements, and the relevant wardrobes are closer to the Dark Ages than the Renaissance, but, honestly, the Dark Ages Festival sounds like a contradiction), but they are still an excuse to dress up in ridiculous costumes and go around and spend all your money on henna and hair braids and bodices and such. Though they're not entirely historically accurate, they are still great fun.
What is also great fun is to send your characters into situations where they have to dress up (bonus points if they are uncomfortable doing it). Sometimes this is necessary - they have to masquerade as some of the Evil Henchmen in order to find something out or to enact their Brilliant Plan - but sometimes it's just fun. You could be following one character's whim; you could implant a plot point there anyway just to be annoying or fun. You could have them go to a festival for the sake of having them go to a festival. It could be interesting to see how your stingy character reacts to exorbitant prices on bodices or weapons or something of that nature. Or one of their companions might have to say what I said to my friend, "_______, that's the most fan-girl-y squeal I have ever heard from you, and it's over a sword." (I am not kidding; I actually said something like that on Saturday).
Festivals are also good plot points on any scale. Information, relationships, characters, plot twists, random encounters, and the odd fistfight can all happen there, and I will be very impressed if you are able to incorporate all of those into that one day.
Until that day, however, farewell! Homework awaits!
See, the thing about Renn Fests is that they're not entirely historically accurate (there's a bit too much emphasis on fantastical elements, and the relevant wardrobes are closer to the Dark Ages than the Renaissance, but, honestly, the Dark Ages Festival sounds like a contradiction), but they are still an excuse to dress up in ridiculous costumes and go around and spend all your money on henna and hair braids and bodices and such. Though they're not entirely historically accurate, they are still great fun.
What is also great fun is to send your characters into situations where they have to dress up (bonus points if they are uncomfortable doing it). Sometimes this is necessary - they have to masquerade as some of the Evil Henchmen in order to find something out or to enact their Brilliant Plan - but sometimes it's just fun. You could be following one character's whim; you could implant a plot point there anyway just to be annoying or fun. You could have them go to a festival for the sake of having them go to a festival. It could be interesting to see how your stingy character reacts to exorbitant prices on bodices or weapons or something of that nature. Or one of their companions might have to say what I said to my friend, "_______, that's the most fan-girl-y squeal I have ever heard from you, and it's over a sword." (I am not kidding; I actually said something like that on Saturday).
Festivals are also good plot points on any scale. Information, relationships, characters, plot twists, random encounters, and the odd fistfight can all happen there, and I will be very impressed if you are able to incorporate all of those into that one day.
Until that day, however, farewell! Homework awaits!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Writing Style
I have been mentioning this topic for a while, so it is time I do a post on it.
Obviously, writing style is important. A distinction should be made, however, between writing style and grammatical correctness: Like a Tide Laundry Detergent commercial mentioned, "Style is an option; clean is not."
Similarly, WRITING STYLE is something that differs depending on who you read, because everyone's voice is different; even if Barnes and Noble classifies an author under specific genres or styles, the Vampire Kisses series is not written in the same style as the Twilight series, though they are both vampire romance novels.
However, GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS is ALWAYS MANDATORY, unless you are writing a fan-fiction that you intend to be a bad thing on the Internet. Grammatical correctness needs to be a requirement for any published novel or story, regardless of whether or not it was self-published. Small things that are easily overlooked are excusable if they are few and far between; constant misuse of words and/ or misspellings SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED. Do not rely entirely on your computer's Spell Check, because it can be faulty - sometimes it will tell you to switch around a word or two that may affect the meaning.
I would like to point out that the phrase "I'm just a bad speller" is never an excuse. If you ask your friends to read and edit your writing (make sure your friend is an English major or at least has some interest in literary quality), you can easily catch any errors. Additionally, though you should BE AWARE of Spell Check, that does not mean it is your enemy. Though it can be annoying at times and sometimes it can be wrong, it is frequently correct, and you should note when it is telling you something.
Writing style in and of itself is something that can be interesting to study. Though it is not entirely the same thing as a writer's voice, the two are very similar. The writer's voice is how you hear the narration as you read it; the writer's style is how the author writes it. Style can be genre-specific (but not always), whereas voice is always subjective.
Really the only way to improve your voice and figure out what sort of style you want to use (even if it's one of your own invention) is to practice. So go forth and write! :)
Obviously, writing style is important. A distinction should be made, however, between writing style and grammatical correctness: Like a Tide Laundry Detergent commercial mentioned, "Style is an option; clean is not."
Similarly, WRITING STYLE is something that differs depending on who you read, because everyone's voice is different; even if Barnes and Noble classifies an author under specific genres or styles, the Vampire Kisses series is not written in the same style as the Twilight series, though they are both vampire romance novels.
However, GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS is ALWAYS MANDATORY, unless you are writing a fan-fiction that you intend to be a bad thing on the Internet. Grammatical correctness needs to be a requirement for any published novel or story, regardless of whether or not it was self-published. Small things that are easily overlooked are excusable if they are few and far between; constant misuse of words and/ or misspellings SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED. Do not rely entirely on your computer's Spell Check, because it can be faulty - sometimes it will tell you to switch around a word or two that may affect the meaning.
I would like to point out that the phrase "I'm just a bad speller" is never an excuse. If you ask your friends to read and edit your writing (make sure your friend is an English major or at least has some interest in literary quality), you can easily catch any errors. Additionally, though you should BE AWARE of Spell Check, that does not mean it is your enemy. Though it can be annoying at times and sometimes it can be wrong, it is frequently correct, and you should note when it is telling you something.
Writing style in and of itself is something that can be interesting to study. Though it is not entirely the same thing as a writer's voice, the two are very similar. The writer's voice is how you hear the narration as you read it; the writer's style is how the author writes it. Style can be genre-specific (but not always), whereas voice is always subjective.
Really the only way to improve your voice and figure out what sort of style you want to use (even if it's one of your own invention) is to practice. So go forth and write! :)
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Plots
Plots are very important to a novel. It can be anything, even a meandering journey of a person in high school or middle school or college. It could be completely irrelevant to normal life. It could only focus on a love triangle among a normal being and two supernatural creatures. The point is, plot can fluctuate. A lot.
Though your writing style can make or break your novel, your plot is probably what people are going to compare to other things (though your writing style is important in comparisons, too... but that's for another post). For example, when I've noticed comparisons between the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series (or even Twilight and The Hunger Games), a main point that is raised is the plot - how Twilight lacks it, and how Harry Potter is abundantly rife with it.
I may lose a LOT of followers for this, but I will contest that Twilight does have a reasonable sort of plot. Though I do not entirely like Bella (Sorry, Stephenie Meyer), she does participate in Plot. How?
Twilight: trying to figure out who/ what Edward is.
New Moon: don't let Edward do stupid stuff.
Eclipse: Don't die, and don't let anyone get killed.
Breaking Dawn: protect your kids!
See? That's plot! Though the overarching plot is not something entirely to my taste, and all the action sequences only showed up in the climax instead of being spread out, it was not a terrible concept. On the other hand, though the concept wasn't terrible, the execution may have been kind of lacking (I don't remember; the last time I read any Twilight book all the way through was in freshman year of high school; being a college freshman, it's been a while).
What the Twilight vs Every Other Novel debate raises is the difference of opinion. What we can all gather from this is distinct evidence that, no matter how hard you try, you (and especially your novel) are not going to be able to please everyone. Your novel may be popular with middle school girls and be scorned by the time they reach college. Your novel might be considered the defining novel of a generation (well, if you write a multi-part series, probably). Your novel might be rather obscure, and nobody might hear about it until some movie producer reads it, likes it, and decides to offer you a movie deal. Your novel, like so many, may be rather good, but because there are so many novels out hitting every point on the "how good is this book" spectrum, it may go unnoticed despite the decent product you may have produced.
What draws someone to your book will probably be the little blurb on the back, and if you have a good plot to have a good blurb about, you'll have readers. Also, if you have a publicity agent and a whole lot else.
But remember: your plot makes your novel.
Though your writing style can make or break your novel, your plot is probably what people are going to compare to other things (though your writing style is important in comparisons, too... but that's for another post). For example, when I've noticed comparisons between the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series (or even Twilight and The Hunger Games), a main point that is raised is the plot - how Twilight lacks it, and how Harry Potter is abundantly rife with it.
I may lose a LOT of followers for this, but I will contest that Twilight does have a reasonable sort of plot. Though I do not entirely like Bella (Sorry, Stephenie Meyer), she does participate in Plot. How?
Twilight: trying to figure out who/ what Edward is.
New Moon: don't let Edward do stupid stuff.
Eclipse: Don't die, and don't let anyone get killed.
Breaking Dawn: protect your kids!
See? That's plot! Though the overarching plot is not something entirely to my taste, and all the action sequences only showed up in the climax instead of being spread out, it was not a terrible concept. On the other hand, though the concept wasn't terrible, the execution may have been kind of lacking (I don't remember; the last time I read any Twilight book all the way through was in freshman year of high school; being a college freshman, it's been a while).
What the Twilight vs Every Other Novel debate raises is the difference of opinion. What we can all gather from this is distinct evidence that, no matter how hard you try, you (and especially your novel) are not going to be able to please everyone. Your novel may be popular with middle school girls and be scorned by the time they reach college. Your novel might be considered the defining novel of a generation (well, if you write a multi-part series, probably). Your novel might be rather obscure, and nobody might hear about it until some movie producer reads it, likes it, and decides to offer you a movie deal. Your novel, like so many, may be rather good, but because there are so many novels out hitting every point on the "how good is this book" spectrum, it may go unnoticed despite the decent product you may have produced.
What draws someone to your book will probably be the little blurb on the back, and if you have a good plot to have a good blurb about, you'll have readers. Also, if you have a publicity agent and a whole lot else.
But remember: your plot makes your novel.
Monday, October 1, 2012
On Finishing
Last night, at 12:17 AM, I finally completed a novel. I don't know how many words it is, though I know it's about 300 pages (290-something, to be more precise) in my handwriting, and I don't know as of yet how well that translates to typed-up-ness. If I had to hazard a guess based on the infamous things called Math and Approximate Words per Page, the Math tells me it would come out between 103,000 and 115,000, but that seems way off to me. If it's not way off, then I wrote more than I actually needed to, but that happened in November when I started the thing.
Also, cool thing: Chris Baty acknowledged the existence of the Ending of my novel. I feel really cool.
Anyhow, onto the real thing:
Though I have written the last words of Romeo's journey in pen, the typing and the editing still needs to happen. I need to see how many words I actually wrote, at the very least, but then I need to make it sound better than it already is (this is a very, very easy thing to do; it's the first draft, so it's its job to be kind of sucky). I don't know what I'm going to do with it after I type it up and edit it a bit; maybe I'll edit it some more and then do something with it. I really don't know.
I guess I could send it to a publisher, but I don't want to yet, because I'm a total amateur and I don't know what I'm doing.
But the significant part is over: the manuscript is written. I haven't been through the entire process of writing/ editing/ editing/ sending a novel, so I don't know what the hardest part is. But my personal major roadblock has been knocked down. HUZZAH!
Also, cool thing: Chris Baty acknowledged the existence of the Ending of my novel. I feel really cool.
Anyhow, onto the real thing:
Though I have written the last words of Romeo's journey in pen, the typing and the editing still needs to happen. I need to see how many words I actually wrote, at the very least, but then I need to make it sound better than it already is (this is a very, very easy thing to do; it's the first draft, so it's its job to be kind of sucky). I don't know what I'm going to do with it after I type it up and edit it a bit; maybe I'll edit it some more and then do something with it. I really don't know.
I guess I could send it to a publisher, but I don't want to yet, because I'm a total amateur and I don't know what I'm doing.
But the significant part is over: the manuscript is written. I haven't been through the entire process of writing/ editing/ editing/ sending a novel, so I don't know what the hardest part is. But my personal major roadblock has been knocked down. HUZZAH!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Personal Style
There are two sorts of style when you write fiction: your style and the characters' style. I can't really dictate the former, unless it involves "don't screw with your sentence structure and remember to proofread and spell-check," but it is possible to offer some advice on the latter.
Like people who are not in books, what you wear is often a part of who you are. I, for example, wear jeans and a t-shirt every day; I only wear dresses if I have to go to something snazzy or if all my shirts are dirty, and I normally only wear one of the four dresses I brought (because it has POCKETS, which are the greatest invention ever, right behind Moose Tracks FroYo and bookstores). This could either read "college student" (which would be completely correct) or "reasonably practical" (which I hope is correct). If you work in high fashion and have to wear dresses and heels and need an hour in the mirror every morning, you could also view my jeans and lack of eyeliner as "lazy." That's your choice. I do not see myself in any situation where such effort is demanded of my personal appearance.
Similarly, the characters that have been written, both by myself and by others, also demonstrate themselves through their style. I once wrote a character that was a knight. There was a very good reason (her personal comfort and practicality for career choice) that she did not wear skirts and carry a purse everywhere. First off, what knight wears a skirt? Second off, you can't KEEP anything in a purse, especially if you're a knight. Because she has spent so much time around guys (read: HER ENTIRE LIFE), she is not horribly in touch with her femininity and dresses pretty much like the guys do, both on holiday and in school (and in the adventure, because she has nothing else to wear and doesn't really mind it).
I know it sounds superfluous, but it actually does matter. If you are writing a character where the difference between heels and flats is not going to make a difference in their career, then think about what else they would do: if they wear heels, fine. If they don't, that's cool too. If they show up to work in their beat-up hi-tops because they can, that's fine (I don't think too many jobs would actually let you do that, but it's your choice).
Like people who are not in books, what you wear is often a part of who you are. I, for example, wear jeans and a t-shirt every day; I only wear dresses if I have to go to something snazzy or if all my shirts are dirty, and I normally only wear one of the four dresses I brought (because it has POCKETS, which are the greatest invention ever, right behind Moose Tracks FroYo and bookstores). This could either read "college student" (which would be completely correct) or "reasonably practical" (which I hope is correct). If you work in high fashion and have to wear dresses and heels and need an hour in the mirror every morning, you could also view my jeans and lack of eyeliner as "lazy." That's your choice. I do not see myself in any situation where such effort is demanded of my personal appearance.
Similarly, the characters that have been written, both by myself and by others, also demonstrate themselves through their style. I once wrote a character that was a knight. There was a very good reason (her personal comfort and practicality for career choice) that she did not wear skirts and carry a purse everywhere. First off, what knight wears a skirt? Second off, you can't KEEP anything in a purse, especially if you're a knight. Because she has spent so much time around guys (read: HER ENTIRE LIFE), she is not horribly in touch with her femininity and dresses pretty much like the guys do, both on holiday and in school (and in the adventure, because she has nothing else to wear and doesn't really mind it).
I know it sounds superfluous, but it actually does matter. If you are writing a character where the difference between heels and flats is not going to make a difference in their career, then think about what else they would do: if they wear heels, fine. If they don't, that's cool too. If they show up to work in their beat-up hi-tops because they can, that's fine (I don't think too many jobs would actually let you do that, but it's your choice).
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Book to Life
Well, tonight marks the second time I've had an experience that reminds me of something I've read in some novel. Well, the first time was something I wrote, but the first time is not the time we are discussing.
Anyhow, if you haven't read The Name of the Wind, by Pat Rothfuss, you NEED TO DO SO NOW, because it's a brilliant novel. Also, this post will make no sense if you haven't read it.
But to the point.
So there's this one scene in The Name of the Wind where the main character, Kvothe, plays at a performance venue/ tavern place that is known for its musicians. You can try for your pipes, which basically means being super talented and performing for judges and an audience, and if you do absolutely brilliantly you get a little charm that is universally recognized as a Sign of Musical Awesome, and you can go to a great number of places and show your pipes and get to play because of the prestige it takes to earn the pipes.
But to the point.
My friend did something similar tonight. Though Ashland Coffee and Tea does not offer any sort of prestigious Sign of Musical Awesome, you can sign up for an open mic night that's held once a week. You sing two songs, and the judges judge you, and the audience votes. Once all the votes and scores are in, there are callbacks; after that, I guess you vote again and then a winner is chosen (I missed this part; I had to go do homework that still hasn't happened yet because of laundry). Anyway, the cool bit is that the first place winner for each week gets called back for a Shootout (their term), which is a head-to-head of all the Weekly Winners of the past six months. It's super cool.
I'm glad I went, though now I have to study. Farewell.
Anyhow, if you haven't read The Name of the Wind, by Pat Rothfuss, you NEED TO DO SO NOW, because it's a brilliant novel. Also, this post will make no sense if you haven't read it.
But to the point.
So there's this one scene in The Name of the Wind where the main character, Kvothe, plays at a performance venue/ tavern place that is known for its musicians. You can try for your pipes, which basically means being super talented and performing for judges and an audience, and if you do absolutely brilliantly you get a little charm that is universally recognized as a Sign of Musical Awesome, and you can go to a great number of places and show your pipes and get to play because of the prestige it takes to earn the pipes.
But to the point.
My friend did something similar tonight. Though Ashland Coffee and Tea does not offer any sort of prestigious Sign of Musical Awesome, you can sign up for an open mic night that's held once a week. You sing two songs, and the judges judge you, and the audience votes. Once all the votes and scores are in, there are callbacks; after that, I guess you vote again and then a winner is chosen (I missed this part; I had to go do homework that still hasn't happened yet because of laundry). Anyway, the cool bit is that the first place winner for each week gets called back for a Shootout (their term), which is a head-to-head of all the Weekly Winners of the past six months. It's super cool.
I'm glad I went, though now I have to study. Farewell.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Endings
It's hard to say when I started to be a writer. Was it in third grade, when I started trying to write a story that was a barely concealed fanfiction of Harry Potter? Was it when I created one of my favorite characters to write, ever? Was it when I began to take creative writing classes in high school? Was it when I attempted my first novel?
Whenever it was, I have had a notorious lack of ability to finish anything. Maybe it's because I don't like saying goodbye to the characters. I've always had a bad history with saying 'goodbye' to stuff.
Well, regardless of the reason why I could never finish anything, I've FINALLY gotten to the point where I'm about to reach the end of a novel I'm writing.
It's the novel I started last November for National Novel Writing Month. It's kind of exciting, but also slightly terrifying, and I'm already thinking I want to change what just happened. But enough of that now. Right now, I need to finish it.
Actually, I need to finish my Intro to East Asia homework, and start some FYEC homework.
THEN I'll finish it.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
dialects and accents
Ahoy, fair readers! Since today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I'll be talkin' like a pirate for t' rest o' this post.
Because o' International Talk Like a Pirate Day, now be t' time t' discuss DIALECTS and ACCENTS!
How a character speaks be rather important. It reflects where they be from and how they were raised - I don't have t' same accent as me cousins, even though we be blood relatives; it be because I grew up farther north in t' US than they did.
Now, ye may be thinkin', why is Knitter talkin' of talkin'? What be so important about t' way t' characters be speakin'? T' importance be two ways:
First, the character be havin' a back-story. T' manner of speakin' reflects that. It makes yer characters more real, if ye know how ter write the dialect right. Jus' be wary o' overdoin' the dialect an' gettin' too far inter it, because then nobody will understand it, except ye.
Secondly, yer character's dialect can be a plot point. If Pakpla's long-lost cousin cannot understand what she be sayin', thar can be a drastic misinterpretation and t' Grand, Villain-Defeatin' Plan can go horribly awry because Pakpla's cousin does not know what he should be doin'. Also, Pakpla's long-lost cousin, due t' their different dialects, might not even realize that they are related, even if Pakpla has been lookin' for her cousin for t' last twelve years.
Since dialects be important for tellin' where a character be from, you could use them for character tension. There could be stigma between Pakpla and Habroje because Pakpla's accent says she be from t' West, and Habroje's says he be from t' east, and EVERYONE KNOWS that Easterners and Westerners hate each other. (not really. I made that up). People make assumptions based on how someone speaks, and an accent or a dialect be a way for someone t' pass judgement on someone else. I do not condone judgin', but if it makes for a good plot point, I may have me characters judge each other.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Grammar
Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today in the presence of the Internet to discuss something very, very, VERY important.
Grammar.
Friends, I fear that the apostrophe has died of misuse. To mourn its passing, it is time to go over some very important terms. There is, in fact, a difference between "it's" and "its," and the same thing goes for "you're" and "your." The latter is my particular pet peeve.
The differences?
As stated in A Writer's Reference, Seventh Edition (which also reminded me that you italicize book titles, which I sometimes forget), the difference is that "Its is a possessive pronoun; it's is a contraction for it is." (Hacker and Sommers, p 147). Translation: it's means that IT has a current state of being; its means that you don't know the gender identity of something that owns something else (or it doesn't HAVE a gender identity), so you're calling that thing 'it.'
Now, for your and you're. Unlike with it's/ its, which is forgivable up through freshman year and sometimes beyond if you didn't pay attention in freshman year English class, your and you're is actually a thing you need to be aware of, if only because Spelling and Grammar Check may not yell at you for it. But the difference between these two is similar to the difference stated above: that is, you're is a state of being that YOU inhabit; your is something that belongs to you.
What I see here is a trend: many users of the English language can no longer differentiate between states of being and nouns. This is disturbing. Are we really that materialistic?
Whilst you are pondering the deep questions of the universe, I need to also mention something that is a peeve of mine as well.
I have noticed that some people (who shall remain nameless) use "yea" and "yeah" interchangeably. I did look up the definitions of each, and they are both statements of affirmation; however, PLEASE remember that "yea" is pronounced like "yay" and not like "yeah." If you wish to say "yeah," please do not text me the word "yea."
Thank you, and goodnight.
Grammar.
Friends, I fear that the apostrophe has died of misuse. To mourn its passing, it is time to go over some very important terms. There is, in fact, a difference between "it's" and "its," and the same thing goes for "you're" and "your." The latter is my particular pet peeve.
The differences?
As stated in A Writer's Reference, Seventh Edition (which also reminded me that you italicize book titles, which I sometimes forget), the difference is that "Its is a possessive pronoun; it's is a contraction for it is." (Hacker and Sommers, p 147). Translation: it's means that IT has a current state of being; its means that you don't know the gender identity of something that owns something else (or it doesn't HAVE a gender identity), so you're calling that thing 'it.'
Now, for your and you're. Unlike with it's/ its, which is forgivable up through freshman year and sometimes beyond if you didn't pay attention in freshman year English class, your and you're is actually a thing you need to be aware of, if only because Spelling and Grammar Check may not yell at you for it. But the difference between these two is similar to the difference stated above: that is, you're is a state of being that YOU inhabit; your is something that belongs to you.
What I see here is a trend: many users of the English language can no longer differentiate between states of being and nouns. This is disturbing. Are we really that materialistic?
Whilst you are pondering the deep questions of the universe, I need to also mention something that is a peeve of mine as well.
I have noticed that some people (who shall remain nameless) use "yea" and "yeah" interchangeably. I did look up the definitions of each, and they are both statements of affirmation; however, PLEASE remember that "yea" is pronounced like "yay" and not like "yeah." If you wish to say "yeah," please do not text me the word "yea."
Thank you, and goodnight.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Random Thoughts
I know NaNoWriMo is still a month and a half away, but I've already started thinking about what I want to write about. I've also started thinking about what I should put on the whiteboard on the door during the month of November. I've decided on something akin to the following:
Happy November!
Knitter and Pat are doing NaNoWriMo. Because we are writing novels and trying to pass college at the same time, please excuse any blatant lack of actions taken to complete laundry, ironing, sleep, and/ or showers. We promise to remedy the situation in December, and possibly during Thanksgiving break. In the mean time, feel free to trace our progress here:
Wild Card's word count: ________ The Physicist's word count:__________
And there we have it.
Now, time for me to stop procrastinating.
Happy November!
Knitter and Pat are doing NaNoWriMo. Because we are writing novels and trying to pass college at the same time, please excuse any blatant lack of actions taken to complete laundry, ironing, sleep, and/ or showers. We promise to remedy the situation in December, and possibly during Thanksgiving break. In the mean time, feel free to trace our progress here:
Wild Card's word count: ________ The Physicist's word count:__________
And there we have it.
Now, time for me to stop procrastinating.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
thanks, y'all
All right, I know this is kind of early, since I've only had this blog for... what, two and a half weeks? Three? Anyway, Blogger has a feature where I can track how many hits the blog has gotten. And by the end of the first week, the hit count has exceeded the post count.
This is ridiculous.
And I'm kind of excited.
It shows that people actually kind of care about what I have to say. Even if it's only my mom.
So, thanks!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Character Building
So some of you might not know, but I play Dungeons and Dragons. A new campaign is starting at my school, and I was working on building my character today. It really helped my perspective on character building on a whole - I mean, I'm going to be stuck with this chick for a while, so I might as well like her, and build her as well as I can, in both ranks and her story. Since I'm playing a human bard, there are things that I have to work with - the bard can do magic, but only a certain amount and in certain ways and stuff, and the human has a lot of adaptability, but isn't perfect. There are certain languages she can't speak because she's a human, but she might be able to learn them because she's a bard, and she travels a lot.
So, how does DnD character building relate to the character building of normal building, including non-fantasy genres?
Though it may be really annoying, you could look up the character sheets for DnD and just look them over. Though a human bard is not going to be built the same as someone from "The Devil Wears Prada," both of them need to be built well. DnD has Skill lists that certain classes can do - look those over, modify them to fit your genre, and think about it. You don't have to roll for Charisma, Intelligence, and Strength, but think about what alignment they might be if they lived in the DnD world. If you aren't familiar with the alignments, look up alignment memes in any image search engine, and you'll be able to find one that has various characters for each - there's one where Superman is Lawful Good and the Joker is Chaotic Evil. Additionally, tvtropes.org has a good explanation of them (just be wary: that website is very like Facebook: it can suck you in. The difference is, you'll figure out different archetypal things, whereas on Facebook you're just watching other people's drama unfold).
Anyhow, that's all I have for today.
Have fun!
So, how does DnD character building relate to the character building of normal building, including non-fantasy genres?
Though it may be really annoying, you could look up the character sheets for DnD and just look them over. Though a human bard is not going to be built the same as someone from "The Devil Wears Prada," both of them need to be built well. DnD has Skill lists that certain classes can do - look those over, modify them to fit your genre, and think about it. You don't have to roll for Charisma, Intelligence, and Strength, but think about what alignment they might be if they lived in the DnD world. If you aren't familiar with the alignments, look up alignment memes in any image search engine, and you'll be able to find one that has various characters for each - there's one where Superman is Lawful Good and the Joker is Chaotic Evil. Additionally, tvtropes.org has a good explanation of them (just be wary: that website is very like Facebook: it can suck you in. The difference is, you'll figure out different archetypal things, whereas on Facebook you're just watching other people's drama unfold).
Anyhow, that's all I have for today.
Have fun!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Week Two
Week two of college started today. So far, it's still sort of manageable.
Greek is beginning to creep up on me, but I've established friendly contact with another freshman in my class, so I'll have a study buddy/ reference point if I'm confused about what the homework is.
I had a panic attack about whether or not I should stay in chorus, but I decided I should - music is my sanity, and the Requiem that we're doing, by John Rutter, is kind of amazing. I love it, and we've only done a bit of two movements.
In Ancient Egypt, I have also established friendly contact with two other people (who are also in choir), and we're doing a mandatory major group project together. We were initially going to do Cleopatra, because one of them was doing something on her for another class, but the professor apparently emailed him back, saying that 1) This is ANCIENT Egypt, not Egypt Transitioning out of the Dynasties, and 2) Cleopatra was technically Greek. That was kind of unfortunate, so now we're thinking about doing Hatshepsut, because we covered her today and she seemed kind of cool. She also seemed like kind of a butt, but whatever. In all, I think she came up with a decent compromise - and if you're unfamiliar with Hatshepsut, look her up, because I don't have time to explain this.
In FYEC, we had class outside, where we saw a possum playing dead because a hawk was in a tree nearby. After a few minutes, I think the hawk left; at any rate, the possum got bored of shutting itself down and woke up and walked away. It had no relevance to the discussion of Buddhist and Taoist principles, except for the possum's being one with its state of being for a good ten minutes.
I also went to the activities carnival, where all the clubs try to get you to sign up for stuff. I put down my name for so many things that I KNOW I'm not going to make, but I've got info now on everything from Outdoors Club to Campus Ambassador to a co-ed service fraternity (which, honestly, I'm more interested in rushing for than the sororities; YES, MOM, I'M GOING TO RUSH SORORITIES ANYWAY, BECAUSE I PAID THE MONEY AND YOU'RE MAKING ME DO IT AND EVERYONE SEEMS REALLY NICE ANYWAY).
So far it's been a good week, I think. I'm getting used to being at college, though it still feels kind of odd to be living away from my parents and being responsible for my sleep and drinking orange juice and getting all my dairy and exercise and stuff.
Yes, Dad, I did discuss being Workout Buddies with one of my friends today, and I AM working on getting my daily orange and stuff.
And yes, one of my daily glasses of dairy IS chocolate milk. I know it's not healthy, but still. It's good. I COULD BE DOING WORSE. Like someone just outside our dorm who I think is drunk and trying to yodel or sing "We Are Young," or whatever that song is called. It's kind of hard to tell.
But anyway, I need to go to bed now, because I have to study in the morning. It's what I do.
Greek is beginning to creep up on me, but I've established friendly contact with another freshman in my class, so I'll have a study buddy/ reference point if I'm confused about what the homework is.
I had a panic attack about whether or not I should stay in chorus, but I decided I should - music is my sanity, and the Requiem that we're doing, by John Rutter, is kind of amazing. I love it, and we've only done a bit of two movements.
In Ancient Egypt, I have also established friendly contact with two other people (who are also in choir), and we're doing a mandatory major group project together. We were initially going to do Cleopatra, because one of them was doing something on her for another class, but the professor apparently emailed him back, saying that 1) This is ANCIENT Egypt, not Egypt Transitioning out of the Dynasties, and 2) Cleopatra was technically Greek. That was kind of unfortunate, so now we're thinking about doing Hatshepsut, because we covered her today and she seemed kind of cool. She also seemed like kind of a butt, but whatever. In all, I think she came up with a decent compromise - and if you're unfamiliar with Hatshepsut, look her up, because I don't have time to explain this.
In FYEC, we had class outside, where we saw a possum playing dead because a hawk was in a tree nearby. After a few minutes, I think the hawk left; at any rate, the possum got bored of shutting itself down and woke up and walked away. It had no relevance to the discussion of Buddhist and Taoist principles, except for the possum's being one with its state of being for a good ten minutes.
I also went to the activities carnival, where all the clubs try to get you to sign up for stuff. I put down my name for so many things that I KNOW I'm not going to make, but I've got info now on everything from Outdoors Club to Campus Ambassador to a co-ed service fraternity (which, honestly, I'm more interested in rushing for than the sororities; YES, MOM, I'M GOING TO RUSH SORORITIES ANYWAY, BECAUSE I PAID THE MONEY AND YOU'RE MAKING ME DO IT AND EVERYONE SEEMS REALLY NICE ANYWAY).
So far it's been a good week, I think. I'm getting used to being at college, though it still feels kind of odd to be living away from my parents and being responsible for my sleep and drinking orange juice and getting all my dairy and exercise and stuff.
Yes, Dad, I did discuss being Workout Buddies with one of my friends today, and I AM working on getting my daily orange and stuff.
And yes, one of my daily glasses of dairy IS chocolate milk. I know it's not healthy, but still. It's good. I COULD BE DOING WORSE. Like someone just outside our dorm who I think is drunk and trying to yodel or sing "We Are Young," or whatever that song is called. It's kind of hard to tell.
But anyway, I need to go to bed now, because I have to study in the morning. It's what I do.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
exposition
Well, since I've gone over random little things about writing, I might as well go over some big stuff. Like exposition.
Before exposition happens (aka before you start writing), there's something you need to consider. You could consider it and decide to see what happens, but you need to think about how you're going to do your exposition. One way is that you explain everything as you go - "this is how the monarchy works;" "this is how the trade route works;" "this is where the dragons live;" "this is what I eat for breakfast," and so on. Another way it could happen is that Plot could happen and, with A VERY WELL ESTABLISHED WORLD, let the reader figure stuff out for themselves.
These are only two ways to do exposition; you might combine them or think of a completely different way to do it. However, if you go with the former, you can't explain the way the trade routes work if your character has been summoned for an audience with the king. Similarly, your character can't be thinking of the monarchy when they decide to slip onto a trade caravan headed South (unless, of course, your character is running away from the palace, in which case you should have established why they're leaving, unless you want it to be a mystery). If you jump right in to the exposition, it might be a good idea for you, the author, to already know about the Senate's plan to assassinate the King, whether there are multiple trading peoples and where they might be headed in any given season, and what the current dragon population is. If breakfast is generic, don't go on about it in either form of exposition. Most people, when going about their daily routine, don't give their breakfast more than a few moment's thought; similarly, you should only give your character's meal more than a sentence or two if Senate has decided to poison the King at the Winter Festival, and the character, while surveying the scrumptious feast, is trying to remember whether the poison in question is derived from spinach or potatoes. In that case, something should give it away. Funny blue stuff on the spinach. A bit of red that might be cinnamon, but probably not, on the potatoes. Things like that.
When dealing with exposition, there are several things you have to establish.
1. world exposition - this is especially important in fantasy novels. As mentioned, you should only bring up dragons and the oligarchy if it's of moderate to severe importance that one is destroying the other. Otherwise, only bring up dragons and government in forms of complaint. Still, remember to set up your monsters and government even if your novel is a romance set amongst fairies. Even if one of your lovers doesn't get captured by a dragon, think about how the dragon population might affect them. If you know that, you could use it as Plot.
2. Character exposition. This is more directly important to your novel. The characters run the show, so make sure you know each one starting out. This isn't just what Regreeya's height and hair colour are; this is how she gets along with Grescire and what each thinks of the other. Though Regreeya's height and hair colour might be a contributing factor to why Grescire never really liked her, despite the fact that Regreeya is madly in love with him, this is also a way to develop Plot. Does Regreeya KNOW that Grescire doesn't like blue-haired girls that are a foot shorter than he is? If she does, what does she do about it? If she doesn't, what does she do to try to get his attention instead? How does this affect their relationship? Think about motives as well - why is Regreeya trying to get his affections? Why doesn't Grescire like blue-haired short girls? Additionally, though appearance should be taken into account, an important thing is also character strength. Regreeya can't be only good at trying to win over Grescire. NOBODY would like it if she did that. Sure, she could be a relationship therapist, an avid reader, or an advice columnist for fictional characters. Whatever. But what she and Grescire are good and bad at - and what their core values are - are going to determine whether or not the readership wants them to get together.
3. Plot exposition. This is on par with Character exposition for importance; frequently it's higher than Characters, depending on whether the plot drives the characters or the characters drive the plot. Establishing the plot, whether it's Regreeya's futile attempts to win Grescire's affections, or Grescire's accidental arrival on the scene of the king's death and the subsequent accusation of his guilt, it's important to establish what it is your characters are trying to accomplish. Even more importantly, is it Regreeya, Grescire, or both of them who are trying to clear his name? This also ties into motive - Grescire doesn't want to get put to death (king-killing is a capital offense, you know), and Regreeya wants to be with Grescire, so she helps him - so what do they do about it? More importantly, how do Grescire's traits as the town's Resident Snotty Hunter and Regreeya's skills as the Shy Fictional Advice Giver help (or hurt) them in the course of the story?
Okay, I know that was a lot, but I was on a roll. Also, exposition is important.
SO, a summary:
1. Know what you're doing, even if your audience doesn't. Yet.
2. Know your world, who inhabits it, and what your characters are doing.
3. Don't talk about it if you don't have to. Grescire's ability to identify the native flora and fauna should only be mentioned in foreshadowing his attempts to identify the poison used on the king.
Before exposition happens (aka before you start writing), there's something you need to consider. You could consider it and decide to see what happens, but you need to think about how you're going to do your exposition. One way is that you explain everything as you go - "this is how the monarchy works;" "this is how the trade route works;" "this is where the dragons live;" "this is what I eat for breakfast," and so on. Another way it could happen is that Plot could happen and, with A VERY WELL ESTABLISHED WORLD, let the reader figure stuff out for themselves.
These are only two ways to do exposition; you might combine them or think of a completely different way to do it. However, if you go with the former, you can't explain the way the trade routes work if your character has been summoned for an audience with the king. Similarly, your character can't be thinking of the monarchy when they decide to slip onto a trade caravan headed South (unless, of course, your character is running away from the palace, in which case you should have established why they're leaving, unless you want it to be a mystery). If you jump right in to the exposition, it might be a good idea for you, the author, to already know about the Senate's plan to assassinate the King, whether there are multiple trading peoples and where they might be headed in any given season, and what the current dragon population is. If breakfast is generic, don't go on about it in either form of exposition. Most people, when going about their daily routine, don't give their breakfast more than a few moment's thought; similarly, you should only give your character's meal more than a sentence or two if Senate has decided to poison the King at the Winter Festival, and the character, while surveying the scrumptious feast, is trying to remember whether the poison in question is derived from spinach or potatoes. In that case, something should give it away. Funny blue stuff on the spinach. A bit of red that might be cinnamon, but probably not, on the potatoes. Things like that.
When dealing with exposition, there are several things you have to establish.
1. world exposition - this is especially important in fantasy novels. As mentioned, you should only bring up dragons and the oligarchy if it's of moderate to severe importance that one is destroying the other. Otherwise, only bring up dragons and government in forms of complaint. Still, remember to set up your monsters and government even if your novel is a romance set amongst fairies. Even if one of your lovers doesn't get captured by a dragon, think about how the dragon population might affect them. If you know that, you could use it as Plot.
2. Character exposition. This is more directly important to your novel. The characters run the show, so make sure you know each one starting out. This isn't just what Regreeya's height and hair colour are; this is how she gets along with Grescire and what each thinks of the other. Though Regreeya's height and hair colour might be a contributing factor to why Grescire never really liked her, despite the fact that Regreeya is madly in love with him, this is also a way to develop Plot. Does Regreeya KNOW that Grescire doesn't like blue-haired girls that are a foot shorter than he is? If she does, what does she do about it? If she doesn't, what does she do to try to get his attention instead? How does this affect their relationship? Think about motives as well - why is Regreeya trying to get his affections? Why doesn't Grescire like blue-haired short girls? Additionally, though appearance should be taken into account, an important thing is also character strength. Regreeya can't be only good at trying to win over Grescire. NOBODY would like it if she did that. Sure, she could be a relationship therapist, an avid reader, or an advice columnist for fictional characters. Whatever. But what she and Grescire are good and bad at - and what their core values are - are going to determine whether or not the readership wants them to get together.
3. Plot exposition. This is on par with Character exposition for importance; frequently it's higher than Characters, depending on whether the plot drives the characters or the characters drive the plot. Establishing the plot, whether it's Regreeya's futile attempts to win Grescire's affections, or Grescire's accidental arrival on the scene of the king's death and the subsequent accusation of his guilt, it's important to establish what it is your characters are trying to accomplish. Even more importantly, is it Regreeya, Grescire, or both of them who are trying to clear his name? This also ties into motive - Grescire doesn't want to get put to death (king-killing is a capital offense, you know), and Regreeya wants to be with Grescire, so she helps him - so what do they do about it? More importantly, how do Grescire's traits as the town's Resident Snotty Hunter and Regreeya's skills as the Shy Fictional Advice Giver help (or hurt) them in the course of the story?
Okay, I know that was a lot, but I was on a roll. Also, exposition is important.
SO, a summary:
1. Know what you're doing, even if your audience doesn't. Yet.
2. Know your world, who inhabits it, and what your characters are doing.
3. Don't talk about it if you don't have to. Grescire's ability to identify the native flora and fauna should only be mentioned in foreshadowing his attempts to identify the poison used on the king.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
languages
Languages are fun. Though it can be really difficult to learn sometimes (aka all the time), Ancient Greek is kind of cool. I just finished my first bit of translation. It took forever, since I've never actually translated anything before, but still.
Though the paragraph they were having us translate was kind of boring. It was about a farmer. The farmer worked hard. Then the farmer was like, "O Zeus, I work hard, but I don't have a lot of food." And then he worked and then he rejoiced because he was free and everything was beautiful and he loved life. The end.
In all, though, I'm ready to do more.
Tomorrow.
alpha
beta
gamma
delta
epsilon
zeta
eta
theta
iota
kappa
lambda
mu
nu
xi
omicron
pi
rho
sigma
tau
umicron
phi
chi
psi
omega
Yes, I DID just recite the entire Greek alphabet, in case you were wondering. I needed the practice because I have a quiz on it on Friday. I need to keep up to date on this stuff, you know.
Anyhow, languages are important in writing, especially if you have a multinational fantasy novel on your hands. You could go the Tolkien route and set up two complete languages, right down to grammar, syntax, genitive verb tenses, and a complete vocabulary, AND set up a few others but less complex, but most people don't opt for this route. This is why people can write their dissertations on Tolkien languages and not any other fictional languages (seriously, my Elvish grammar book is, I think, the author's final Ph.D. thing for linguistics or something).
Anyway, the point is, keep language in mind. It's an important part of a culture, and you can have your characters cuss in whatever words they want. Just remember consistency - you can't have your character say Argana and have it mean 'poop' one time, and then have ganega mean 'poop' the next time. (that also means that argana and ganega should also always have their own assigned meanings, too, and not mean 'poop' one time and 'procreate' another time).
And that's where I leave you, because sleep is something I have been lacking. Farewell!
Though the paragraph they were having us translate was kind of boring. It was about a farmer. The farmer worked hard. Then the farmer was like, "O Zeus, I work hard, but I don't have a lot of food." And then he worked and then he rejoiced because he was free and everything was beautiful and he loved life. The end.
In all, though, I'm ready to do more.
Tomorrow.
alpha
beta
gamma
delta
epsilon
zeta
eta
theta
iota
kappa
lambda
mu
nu
xi
omicron
pi
rho
sigma
tau
umicron
phi
chi
psi
omega
Yes, I DID just recite the entire Greek alphabet, in case you were wondering. I needed the practice because I have a quiz on it on Friday. I need to keep up to date on this stuff, you know.
Anyhow, languages are important in writing, especially if you have a multinational fantasy novel on your hands. You could go the Tolkien route and set up two complete languages, right down to grammar, syntax, genitive verb tenses, and a complete vocabulary, AND set up a few others but less complex, but most people don't opt for this route. This is why people can write their dissertations on Tolkien languages and not any other fictional languages (seriously, my Elvish grammar book is, I think, the author's final Ph.D. thing for linguistics or something).
Anyway, the point is, keep language in mind. It's an important part of a culture, and you can have your characters cuss in whatever words they want. Just remember consistency - you can't have your character say Argana and have it mean 'poop' one time, and then have ganega mean 'poop' the next time. (that also means that argana and ganega should also always have their own assigned meanings, too, and not mean 'poop' one time and 'procreate' another time).
And that's where I leave you, because sleep is something I have been lacking. Farewell!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
music
Music is probably one of the best inventions ever. It helps people express feelings. You can use it for writing. It sets the mood of countless movies.
Most of all, if it's composed by Hans Zimmer, it's probably epic and suitable for all occasions.
Well, most occasions. You probably wouldn't play the Dark Knight soundtrack at your high school prom. The Prom Queen would probably hate it, and the King would like it, and the whole committee would cave under the pressure of the Prissy In Charge.
Also, I don't know how many DJ's (or live bands, for that matter) have the entire Dark Knight soundtrack on hand.
Anyhow, music can be, as I said before, a very good thing for your writing. Especially movie scores. They're instrumentals (if you're like me, that's a good thing, because if a song has lyrics, I'll probably wind up focusing on their words rather than mine, which is rather counterproductive), and they're very scenic, meaning they help set the scene really well - that's part of the point they were composed, except for a movie and not your novel. Except you can use it for your novel anyway, because you're not going to be quoting it so it's only for helping you come up with something to put on the page.
So. Food for thought. :)
Most of all, if it's composed by Hans Zimmer, it's probably epic and suitable for all occasions.
Well, most occasions. You probably wouldn't play the Dark Knight soundtrack at your high school prom. The Prom Queen would probably hate it, and the King would like it, and the whole committee would cave under the pressure of the Prissy In Charge.
Also, I don't know how many DJ's (or live bands, for that matter) have the entire Dark Knight soundtrack on hand.
Anyhow, music can be, as I said before, a very good thing for your writing. Especially movie scores. They're instrumentals (if you're like me, that's a good thing, because if a song has lyrics, I'll probably wind up focusing on their words rather than mine, which is rather counterproductive), and they're very scenic, meaning they help set the scene really well - that's part of the point they were composed, except for a movie and not your novel. Except you can use it for your novel anyway, because you're not going to be quoting it so it's only for helping you come up with something to put on the page.
So. Food for thought. :)
Monday, September 3, 2012
Class
Fact: College classes are harder than I expected. Welcome to college life. Right now, I'm procrastinating on doing said homework, because I just got back from a choir audition. I did okay - I kind of screwed with the high notes but the director agreed with the statement that I'm an alto. Now I'm just procrastinating on all this homework that I have to do. I've already studied an hour for Greek (which you have to study an hour every day, apparently, including weekends and holidays, even though we're only learning the alphabet right now), and I need to do some reading for Ancient Egyptian history and some journal entry things that are due on Sunday for my FYEC, which I can probably work on tomorrow because I have more time.
You know what's important for characters? Learning stuff. If there's no character development, there's no story. If there's no story, then what are you there to do? But be wary of putting your characters in class - if you do, whatever you write the teacher saying invariably MUST come up in The Final Countdown. That's the way Plot works.
You know what's also important for characters? Surprises. If they're not surprised, then the story's really boring because the characters are really bored. Boredom can be the inciting action - someone is bored, so they Go Off To Seek Their Fortune or something - but it can't be the journey. That's just boring. Duh.
But surprises are also important for Plot. If the reader isn't surprised, then they'll stop reading. That's the short of it. If someone can predict every twist and turn of a storyline, then there's no fun in going along with it.
Sure, you could stick a princess in a tower and send some noble after her. But the noble could be a complete idiot. The princess could be found having tea with the dragon. The prince could have attended Hero's University, graduated with full honors, and be blundering around the area wreaking worse havoc than the dragon. There could be a mistake with the dragon - the Hero could be really stupid, so he doesn't realize that the princess and the dragon have become great friends. In that vein, the princess could just climb on the back of the dragon, char the Hero to dust, and ride off into the sunset.
Or the Hero could have arrived twenty years after that had happened.
Just some ideas.
Teach your characters well.
You know what's important for characters? Learning stuff. If there's no character development, there's no story. If there's no story, then what are you there to do? But be wary of putting your characters in class - if you do, whatever you write the teacher saying invariably MUST come up in The Final Countdown. That's the way Plot works.
You know what's also important for characters? Surprises. If they're not surprised, then the story's really boring because the characters are really bored. Boredom can be the inciting action - someone is bored, so they Go Off To Seek Their Fortune or something - but it can't be the journey. That's just boring. Duh.
But surprises are also important for Plot. If the reader isn't surprised, then they'll stop reading. That's the short of it. If someone can predict every twist and turn of a storyline, then there's no fun in going along with it.
Sure, you could stick a princess in a tower and send some noble after her. But the noble could be a complete idiot. The princess could be found having tea with the dragon. The prince could have attended Hero's University, graduated with full honors, and be blundering around the area wreaking worse havoc than the dragon. There could be a mistake with the dragon - the Hero could be really stupid, so he doesn't realize that the princess and the dragon have become great friends. In that vein, the princess could just climb on the back of the dragon, char the Hero to dust, and ride off into the sunset.
Or the Hero could have arrived twenty years after that had happened.
Just some ideas.
Teach your characters well.
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