I realized that I don't like my post from yesterday very much so I thought I'd push it down so that this is the first one people see.
I don't really have much to say today about anything interesting so this will be quite short. I got good news at my job yesterday, I'm switching studies. It's a good thing. :)
So I'd like to remind all you readers out there that there are only a few short days until the poll is over! If you have any requests for which excerpt you'd like to see or how long etc then leave a comment. I was planning on just excerpting (it's a good non-word Sarah!) chapter 1. I can protect it easily with pdf stuff (I practiced!) so it'll be as secure as I can get it.
Sarah and I are going to take a fencing class this summer. We're total geeks and it'll be tons of fun and a good workout. She told me that it'll be good to know for all of my sword fighting scenes. Of course in The Blood of Renatus most of the fights are down and dirty and I told her fencing is pretty high class. I'm sure it'll help though and even if it doesn't it'll be loads of fun.
That's all I have for today friends. Have a nice day!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Origin of Story Ideas...and Write What You Know
So I wasn't planning on posting right now but the server I'm working on keeps shutting me down and consequently making me want to scream very very loudly. So since I'm unable to do any work I figure now is as good a time as any to do some blogging.
It's been brought to my attention that today's blogging topic should be on story ideas because everyone else is doing it. By everyone I mean Sarah and her friend Matt. Naturally I am required to follow suit. Plus Sarah told me to.
I am sure that everyone has read a book or watched a movie and asked "where do they come up with this stuff!" many times. That phrase can be used in a number of ways, most frequently it comes in one of three ways. Awesomeness, Suckiness and Grossoutness. I assure you that all of my ideas fall under the Awesomeness category...at least I pretend that they do.
I think that the origin of story ideas is quite synonymous with inspiration. So from where does inspiration come? I'm of the belief that regardless of the level of awesome or the level of suck the creator of the piece you are reading/watching has been inspired by something. It could be that dude walking down the street with the really cool sunglasses. Or maybe the horror film guy went to a modern art museum and liked the "sculpture" of the bathroom floor erupting with fleshy grossness. Perhaps someone was smoking pot in their basement and got a "brilliant" idea to write a screenplay about smoking pot. Regardless of the outcome is someone somewhere is being inspired by something profound or innocuous at any given moment.
So since this is my blog and I like to write about myself and my work I'll discuss what inspires me and how I come up with the majority of my own story ideas. While I don't put too much stock into the old idiom of "Write what you know" I do recognize that it some merit. I once wrote a short story about fraternal twins who had different fathers because we studied this event in one of my psychology classes and I thought it was a great idea for a story. I also wrote a short story about a group of teenage girls at a camp (like the one I went to as a teenager) playing a prank on the boys cabin (which I did). I even wrote a triptych of very short stories starting with a little boy buying a puppy, the second was the boy in high school with an adult dog and the third was the boy as a man and his poor puppy was too old to play anymore.
All of the above story ideas came from aspects of my life or information I had learned. "Write what you know" can be taken too literal. I was never a boy with a puppy but I was a little girl with a puppy and I'm obviously not a fraternal twin. However I was inspired by bits and pieces of my life and information I had soaked up and stored away. However most of my story ideas come from very vivid dreams.
I've always been a "dreamer", I dream in color and I dream whole scenes that I am not a part of. My dreams tend to be like watching movies and I'm frequently just an observer. Usually I'll wake up and remember an image or bits of dialogue but sometimes I'll remember an entire sequence of events. The origin of The Blood of Renatus came from a dream. I dreamt of a young woman stealing a bag of coins from a weary traveler. The weary traveler was looking for someone and he caught the thief, recognized her and then chased her through the city until she climbed a roof to get away. I wrote it out the next day, I think it was about 8 pages. It also does not appear anywhere in my book. Oh the weary traveler (Rafe) does get his coins stolen by the thief (Katze) but it's completely different and completely re-imagined.
What inspires you and what starts as the origin of your story does not necessarily end up being any part of the end product. The point, I think, is to be inspired at all. The point is to have a starting place, to see a character or an image and feel like there is a story behind it waiting to be told. And you're the only person who can tell it, it was your inspiration after all. Who else but me would tell Katze's story? And really, if nothing else The Blood of Renatus is Katze's story. Who else but Sarah would come up with her ideas? Who else but you can tell your own stories. Not me, not the person sitting next to you. Everyone has something inside of them, everyone has an imagination it's all about what triggers that imagination.
Also keep in mind that there are good ideas and bad ideas. This goes back to the Awesomeness, Suckiness or Grossoutness factors. However all ideas should be given weight and it's up to you to decide if you want to write it/film it/trash it or whatever. The other night I thought up an idea that I think would snuggle into the middle of Suckiness but I'll probably write at least a few chapters of it (eventually) before I make that decision. It might have some potential, you never know. Because you'll never know I think that the good, bad and gross ideas that a person has should be written down. Even if it's just an image of a girl sitting beneath an apple tree, or humans with wings unable to fly because of pollution, or bathroom tile erupting with the fires of hell-it is still worthy of taking note. You did think the idea after all, it wouldn't be fair to just ignore it.
[edit]I'd just like to note that intelligence should not be denoted on the usage of non-words. Sometimes non-words are quite fun and really should be up for dictionary nomination or however it is that words become official "words". Also I really hate the word "accountable" and I'm very aware that the above post is incredibly disjointed. FIE! [/edit]
It's been brought to my attention that today's blogging topic should be on story ideas because everyone else is doing it. By everyone I mean Sarah and her friend Matt. Naturally I am required to follow suit. Plus Sarah told me to.
I am sure that everyone has read a book or watched a movie and asked "where do they come up with this stuff!" many times. That phrase can be used in a number of ways, most frequently it comes in one of three ways. Awesomeness, Suckiness and Grossoutness. I assure you that all of my ideas fall under the Awesomeness category...at least I pretend that they do.
I think that the origin of story ideas is quite synonymous with inspiration. So from where does inspiration come? I'm of the belief that regardless of the level of awesome or the level of suck the creator of the piece you are reading/watching has been inspired by something. It could be that dude walking down the street with the really cool sunglasses. Or maybe the horror film guy went to a modern art museum and liked the "sculpture" of the bathroom floor erupting with fleshy grossness. Perhaps someone was smoking pot in their basement and got a "brilliant" idea to write a screenplay about smoking pot. Regardless of the outcome is someone somewhere is being inspired by something profound or innocuous at any given moment.
So since this is my blog and I like to write about myself and my work I'll discuss what inspires me and how I come up with the majority of my own story ideas. While I don't put too much stock into the old idiom of "Write what you know" I do recognize that it some merit. I once wrote a short story about fraternal twins who had different fathers because we studied this event in one of my psychology classes and I thought it was a great idea for a story. I also wrote a short story about a group of teenage girls at a camp (like the one I went to as a teenager) playing a prank on the boys cabin (which I did). I even wrote a triptych of very short stories starting with a little boy buying a puppy, the second was the boy in high school with an adult dog and the third was the boy as a man and his poor puppy was too old to play anymore.
All of the above story ideas came from aspects of my life or information I had learned. "Write what you know" can be taken too literal. I was never a boy with a puppy but I was a little girl with a puppy and I'm obviously not a fraternal twin. However I was inspired by bits and pieces of my life and information I had soaked up and stored away. However most of my story ideas come from very vivid dreams.
I've always been a "dreamer", I dream in color and I dream whole scenes that I am not a part of. My dreams tend to be like watching movies and I'm frequently just an observer. Usually I'll wake up and remember an image or bits of dialogue but sometimes I'll remember an entire sequence of events. The origin of The Blood of Renatus came from a dream. I dreamt of a young woman stealing a bag of coins from a weary traveler. The weary traveler was looking for someone and he caught the thief, recognized her and then chased her through the city until she climbed a roof to get away. I wrote it out the next day, I think it was about 8 pages. It also does not appear anywhere in my book. Oh the weary traveler (Rafe) does get his coins stolen by the thief (Katze) but it's completely different and completely re-imagined.
What inspires you and what starts as the origin of your story does not necessarily end up being any part of the end product. The point, I think, is to be inspired at all. The point is to have a starting place, to see a character or an image and feel like there is a story behind it waiting to be told. And you're the only person who can tell it, it was your inspiration after all. Who else but me would tell Katze's story? And really, if nothing else The Blood of Renatus is Katze's story. Who else but Sarah would come up with her ideas? Who else but you can tell your own stories. Not me, not the person sitting next to you. Everyone has something inside of them, everyone has an imagination it's all about what triggers that imagination.
Also keep in mind that there are good ideas and bad ideas. This goes back to the Awesomeness, Suckiness or Grossoutness factors. However all ideas should be given weight and it's up to you to decide if you want to write it/film it/trash it or whatever. The other night I thought up an idea that I think would snuggle into the middle of Suckiness but I'll probably write at least a few chapters of it (eventually) before I make that decision. It might have some potential, you never know. Because you'll never know I think that the good, bad and gross ideas that a person has should be written down. Even if it's just an image of a girl sitting beneath an apple tree, or humans with wings unable to fly because of pollution, or bathroom tile erupting with the fires of hell-it is still worthy of taking note. You did think the idea after all, it wouldn't be fair to just ignore it.
[edit]I'd just like to note that intelligence should not be denoted on the usage of non-words. Sometimes non-words are quite fun and really should be up for dictionary nomination or however it is that words become official "words". Also I really hate the word "accountable" and I'm very aware that the above post is incredibly disjointed. FIE! [/edit]
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Soundtrack of our Lives
I believe that at any given point in time in our lives we can listen to a song and really relate to it. We, as humans, can listen to poignant lyrics and feel moved and say to ourselves 'hey that's me right now!' It's quite common and I think perfectly normal, if one did not relate on a deep level to a song then I think I'd question either that person's honesty or sanity. So is it not equally logical to superimpose meaningful songs onto fictional characters? I propose that not only is it logical to do so but natural. With the never-ending variety of song choices of every lyrical meaning, of every genre out there it seems like a second nature to me to assign a theme song if you will not only to books I read or movies I watch but also in my own writing.
Before I began The Blood of Renatus I created a playlist basically of motivational music to keep me focused and pumped up through Nanowrimo. I included songs that were soothing as well as angry. I have a section of my playlist devoted to what I dub "battle music". You can almost hear the sword fights in the background of Metallica, Velvet Revolver and Godsmack. I also included songs just because of their title, for instance I have: 1000 Words; Famous Last Words; Things I'll Never Say; Speak; and Paperback Writer. As I wrote more and as I became more in tune with the specific needs and traits of my characters I started to think about what their theme songs would be.
Most of my characters I can assign one or two songs that feel like "them". Perhaps I've simply been inspired by the music that I listen to or perhaps I listen to that music more because I want to get into the mindset of whichever character I'm writing. Because I switch between my characters each chapter I have to really focus on making sure that the Rafe chapters sound like Rafe and that they don't sound like Katze. It's harder than you'd think mostly because Rafe and Katze are quite similar in some ways. To do that I tend to listen to music that I feel fits with that character. I find it so helpful that after a few bars of a single song I can suddenly write all Rafe in all his moody glory.
My character Katze--who I don't think I've really talked about much in this blog--gets an entire playlist all to herself. Why does she get 36 songs and everyone else gets lumped into the general "writing" playlist? Well mostly because she was the first character I created and is probably the most important and most complex character in the whole book. She's full of rage all the time, slightly crazy and kind of mean. There were just so many songs that kept coming to me that just were Katze. I'll give you a selection of my Katze playlist:
Before I began The Blood of Renatus I created a playlist basically of motivational music to keep me focused and pumped up through Nanowrimo. I included songs that were soothing as well as angry. I have a section of my playlist devoted to what I dub "battle music". You can almost hear the sword fights in the background of Metallica, Velvet Revolver and Godsmack. I also included songs just because of their title, for instance I have: 1000 Words; Famous Last Words; Things I'll Never Say; Speak; and Paperback Writer. As I wrote more and as I became more in tune with the specific needs and traits of my characters I started to think about what their theme songs would be.
Most of my characters I can assign one or two songs that feel like "them". Perhaps I've simply been inspired by the music that I listen to or perhaps I listen to that music more because I want to get into the mindset of whichever character I'm writing. Because I switch between my characters each chapter I have to really focus on making sure that the Rafe chapters sound like Rafe and that they don't sound like Katze. It's harder than you'd think mostly because Rafe and Katze are quite similar in some ways. To do that I tend to listen to music that I feel fits with that character. I find it so helpful that after a few bars of a single song I can suddenly write all Rafe in all his moody glory.
My character Katze--who I don't think I've really talked about much in this blog--gets an entire playlist all to herself. Why does she get 36 songs and everyone else gets lumped into the general "writing" playlist? Well mostly because she was the first character I created and is probably the most important and most complex character in the whole book. She's full of rage all the time, slightly crazy and kind of mean. There were just so many songs that kept coming to me that just were Katze. I'll give you a selection of my Katze playlist:
- Uninvited-Alanis Morissette
- Losing Grip-Avril Lavigne
- Learn to Live With What You Are-Ben Folds
- Bruised-Ben Folds
- Going Under-Evanescence
- Hollow-Godsmack
- Whatsername-Green Day
- Dead!-My Chemical Romance
- The Sharpest Lives-My Chemical Romance
- Damaged-Plumb
- Stranded-Plumb
- Life's a Bitch-Shooter
- You Got No Right-Velvet Revolver
That's just a few of Katze's songlist, I didn't want to post all 36. I'm pretty sure if she were a real person in modern day she would only ever listen to Emo or angry chick music. I think if you listened to those songs you would probably get a pretty good feel for her psyche without reading a word. For those of you who know Katze's character you can probably understand why I chose some of those songs based only on the title. I'd tell all you innocuous readers out there more about her but that would spoil the fun wouldn't it?
Music's good for the soul and to me one of the points of being a writer is to give soul to the people I've created on paper. At some point, they stop being text on a paper and become people with thoughts and feelings that as far as I'm concerned can easily be expressed in song. Anyway, I'd post my other MC's (main characters) theme song but it's time to go home. Maybe another day. :)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Coffee Shops...Boon or Bane?
So I spent some time Saturday over at JPs coffee house with Sarah. We were supposed to be working on our various writing projects but we ended up spending the majority of our time there chatting...because we don't talk daily or anything.
During November I spent about 2 nights a week at coffee shops writing in a frenzy to complete my 50k words. But I wrote just as much or more every other night of the week not at a coffee house. Lately it seems to me that whenever I go to JPs or Doozens I spend more time chatting or playing spider solitaire than writing. Yet there are those wonderful nights where I'll get my soy mocha and write 3000 in a sitting without looking up from my laptop.
Lets not forget that a coffee shop does usually provide the best atmosphere for projects of any kind. You have unlimited (depending on your bank account) coffee, free wi-fi, soothing music and just a general laid back feel. I especially like Doozen's for that atmosphere...and their quiche. You also don't have the many distractions that home provides. No TV, no chores that need doing, games that need playing or books that need reading. However, sometimes the small cozy one room shop becomes crowded and loud and you can't focus even with your ipod crammed deep into your ear canals. So you join in the conversations and make it that much more loud for the person sitting next to you. And then that person decides to start sending you dangerously blush-worthy pictures of celebrities and you get even less done than you planned.
That being said, i did manage to pen almost a full page in the 2 and a half hours I sat at JPs. Of course almost a page isn't anything to write home about. It's like...400 words or something stupidly low. So the question of the day is are coffee shops conducive to writing or not? I would say that it's just me but I've been observing others during my many moments of utter procrastination and it seems they have the same problem. Of course it could just be that I'm so vibrant and awesome they feel more compelled to chat with me than to work on their own stuff. yeah...I like that explanation we'll go with it.
Okay so my conclusion is this: I am just so awesome that everyone wants to talk to me and that's why I don't get very much done at coffee shops. :) What's your opinion?
During November I spent about 2 nights a week at coffee shops writing in a frenzy to complete my 50k words. But I wrote just as much or more every other night of the week not at a coffee house. Lately it seems to me that whenever I go to JPs or Doozens I spend more time chatting or playing spider solitaire than writing. Yet there are those wonderful nights where I'll get my soy mocha and write 3000 in a sitting without looking up from my laptop.
Lets not forget that a coffee shop does usually provide the best atmosphere for projects of any kind. You have unlimited (depending on your bank account) coffee, free wi-fi, soothing music and just a general laid back feel. I especially like Doozen's for that atmosphere...and their quiche. You also don't have the many distractions that home provides. No TV, no chores that need doing, games that need playing or books that need reading. However, sometimes the small cozy one room shop becomes crowded and loud and you can't focus even with your ipod crammed deep into your ear canals. So you join in the conversations and make it that much more loud for the person sitting next to you. And then that person decides to start sending you dangerously blush-worthy pictures of celebrities and you get even less done than you planned.
That being said, i did manage to pen almost a full page in the 2 and a half hours I sat at JPs. Of course almost a page isn't anything to write home about. It's like...400 words or something stupidly low. So the question of the day is are coffee shops conducive to writing or not? I would say that it's just me but I've been observing others during my many moments of utter procrastination and it seems they have the same problem. Of course it could just be that I'm so vibrant and awesome they feel more compelled to chat with me than to work on their own stuff. yeah...I like that explanation we'll go with it.
Okay so my conclusion is this: I am just so awesome that everyone wants to talk to me and that's why I don't get very much done at coffee shops. :) What's your opinion?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Wicked
So Daren and I went to see Wicked last night...it was sooooo good.
I've always been a bit of a Theater connoisseur(ish) and I'm pretty sure that Wicked is one of the best I've seen. It's somewhat hard to compare it with classics like Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables but the quality was definitely up there. The voice talents of the touring cast is fantastic and it makes me want to go see it on Broadway. The writing is witty and the score is wonderful. I walked out of the theater wishing I could go straight back in and watch it again...and again...and again.
The last two productions I've seen prior to Wicked were Avenue Q and Spamalot. Both were delightfully entertaining and I loved it. Spamalot however doesn't really hold a candle to Wicked and Avenue Q is in a whole awesome category all by itself. I think everyone should see theater productions whenever time and finances allow, it's soul enriching.
Anyway that's all I have to say about it I suppose but really you need to go see it. No book updates this time sorry, I was busy last night. Go see Wicked. :)
I've always been a bit of a Theater connoisseur(ish) and I'm pretty sure that Wicked is one of the best I've seen. It's somewhat hard to compare it with classics like Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables but the quality was definitely up there. The voice talents of the touring cast is fantastic and it makes me want to go see it on Broadway. The writing is witty and the score is wonderful. I walked out of the theater wishing I could go straight back in and watch it again...and again...and again.
The last two productions I've seen prior to Wicked were Avenue Q and Spamalot. Both were delightfully entertaining and I loved it. Spamalot however doesn't really hold a candle to Wicked and Avenue Q is in a whole awesome category all by itself. I think everyone should see theater productions whenever time and finances allow, it's soul enriching.
Anyway that's all I have to say about it I suppose but really you need to go see it. No book updates this time sorry, I was busy last night. Go see Wicked. :)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Mondays and Villains
Okay so I'm fully aware that it is no longer Monday. However, I had such a bad case of feeling "Mondayish" yesterday that I could barely bring myself to think let alone write a deeply profound (I know, right?) blog post.
So this weekend I didn't get as much writing done as I wanted. I did manage to squeeze in a few pages but nothing spectacular. I did however, clean the master bathroom (a daunting task) and unpack the remaining boxes (except for 2) left in the house on Saturday. Sunday was spent visiting the wonderful Mothers in my life. Yesterday was spent being a full blown Monday in all its woeful glory. I feel like the whole day passed by me while I was in a Monday daze. I'm really glad today is Tuesday.
So now lets talk about my book. It's written in 3rd person limited with several different POVs. Which in my opinion is the best way to write an epic fantasy novel. First person just would be far too limited with the scope of the novel. I can't write it all from Gabriel's perspective because he spends pretty much the first 3/4 of the book on an island instead of where the rest of the action takes place. I've also never really been a fan of 3rd person omniscient because I feel like I know too much and I'd prefer to find things out with the characters. I won't even talk about writing in 2nd person.
Okay now I have a slight dilemma with my limited 3rd person pov. I realized that my villain(s) have no voice whatsoever in my novel as of yet. They are amorphous bad guys. Not good. The protagonists all talk about how evil the Emperor is (except Shay but that's not important) but we never see his pov and we never hear his motivations. That's really bad on my part and I need to remedy it. The problem I have is if the Emperor has his own chapter from HIS pov then it'll give way too much plot away too quickly. Can't have the reader knowing exactly what's going on so early. I've thought about sticking a chapter in of someone close to the Emperor but I'm dubious.
I could always wait until after some important stuff happens in the middle of the book to give voice to the evil bad guy in question. I mean Gabriel (good guy) has chapter 1 and then doesn't appear again until chapter 21. That's 20 chapters sans Gabriel...granted he isn't in the thick of the action but he's a very important character. Maybe I'm just over analyzing it all. Sarah would tell me just to stop thinking and start writing. I do like writing bad guys, I'm really excited to write chapter 22 which is a "bad" guys' (but not a villain) chapter.
Like I said before, part of why I like 3rd person limited is because you learn what's truly going on with the characters. If I add in information about the villain(s) too soon then some climatic events won't be as ermm climatic.
Any advice? I wish I knew an editor, I'm stumped.
So this weekend I didn't get as much writing done as I wanted. I did manage to squeeze in a few pages but nothing spectacular. I did however, clean the master bathroom (a daunting task) and unpack the remaining boxes (except for 2) left in the house on Saturday. Sunday was spent visiting the wonderful Mothers in my life. Yesterday was spent being a full blown Monday in all its woeful glory. I feel like the whole day passed by me while I was in a Monday daze. I'm really glad today is Tuesday.
So now lets talk about my book. It's written in 3rd person limited with several different POVs. Which in my opinion is the best way to write an epic fantasy novel. First person just would be far too limited with the scope of the novel. I can't write it all from Gabriel's perspective because he spends pretty much the first 3/4 of the book on an island instead of where the rest of the action takes place. I've also never really been a fan of 3rd person omniscient because I feel like I know too much and I'd prefer to find things out with the characters. I won't even talk about writing in 2nd person.
Okay now I have a slight dilemma with my limited 3rd person pov. I realized that my villain(s) have no voice whatsoever in my novel as of yet. They are amorphous bad guys. Not good. The protagonists all talk about how evil the Emperor is (except Shay but that's not important) but we never see his pov and we never hear his motivations. That's really bad on my part and I need to remedy it. The problem I have is if the Emperor has his own chapter from HIS pov then it'll give way too much plot away too quickly. Can't have the reader knowing exactly what's going on so early. I've thought about sticking a chapter in of someone close to the Emperor but I'm dubious.
I could always wait until after some important stuff happens in the middle of the book to give voice to the evil bad guy in question. I mean Gabriel (good guy) has chapter 1 and then doesn't appear again until chapter 21. That's 20 chapters sans Gabriel...granted he isn't in the thick of the action but he's a very important character. Maybe I'm just over analyzing it all. Sarah would tell me just to stop thinking and start writing. I do like writing bad guys, I'm really excited to write chapter 22 which is a "bad" guys' (but not a villain) chapter.
Like I said before, part of why I like 3rd person limited is because you learn what's truly going on with the characters. If I add in information about the villain(s) too soon then some climatic events won't be as ermm climatic.
Any advice? I wish I knew an editor, I'm stumped.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Two hours until the weekend...
So it's come to my attention that there are in fact two hours remaining until the end of the work day.
Two hours until I'm free for the weekend.
Two hours until I can go home and watch my DVR'd "A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila" (I kid you not, it's solid gold programming).
Two hours until I can play mario kart...well only if i play before watching the above otherwise it's more like three hours.
Anyway you get the idea, two more hours of work. So what am I doing right now? Obviously I'm working see? I don't have anything planned tonight (except for mario kart and tila tequila) which strikes me as very unfamiliar. I honestly can't tell you the last time that Daren and I did not have something planned for a Friday night. We don't have anything planned for tomorrow either which is equally odd. It's a good thing though. I think I'll go to JP's tomorrow afternoon and do some writing with Sarah. Well not WITH Sarah but you know what I mean. Maybe I'll finish the chapter I'm working on. It's a Katze chapter, one of my favorite to write. Maybe I'll just write another blog entry, we'll see.
I've been thinking a lot about one of my characters lately and why I just can't seem to get his chapters quite right. I'm pretty sure it's because I tried to change his character from being quite moody into something much less moody. It didn't work, Rafe just wants to be moody. So that got me thinking about characterization in general. For me characters just seem to pop into my head as whole people. Rafe started off as a moody guy with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. When I tried to change that and failed miserably I realized that I just have to let him be what he was always meant to be.
If you're doing any bit of creative writing think about your characters first before you really put pen to paper. Characters are malleable...what didn't I just say the opposite about Rafe? Well yes but that doesn't mean I can't add quirks or other characteristics. Moody is just one. It's a base to work from. I see moody Rafe...but I can add that he's incredibly protective and has a slow burning temper. He's not one to flare up at people and if he does is alone or with just one other person he can trust. But all throughout that he's moody. See? No probably not because I don't think I'm making much sense.
I said something to Sarah once about how our characters become real people to us (us meaning writers) and I still think it's true. I think that characters drive the story and we should listen to them. For a non-writer that might be a hard thing to comprehend but it's true. To make a story-a plot-meaningful I think an author has to be able to stand on the characters. I'm pretty sure my Grandfather (an avid reader) once told me it didn't matter to him what genre he read as long as he cared about the people in the story. So if your character wants to be moody, let him be moody but don't be afraid to also add other aspects. Nobody wants to read about a guy who does nothing but sulk and sulk and sulk. But reading about a guy who sulks...and then protects his best friend...and then helps start a revolution to overthrow the empire WHILE sulking. Now that might be interesting. At least I think so...obviously I did write it.
Two hours until I'm free for the weekend.
Two hours until I can go home and watch my DVR'd "A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila" (I kid you not, it's solid gold programming).
Two hours until I can play mario kart...well only if i play before watching the above otherwise it's more like three hours.
Anyway you get the idea, two more hours of work. So what am I doing right now? Obviously I'm working see? I don't have anything planned tonight (except for mario kart and tila tequila) which strikes me as very unfamiliar. I honestly can't tell you the last time that Daren and I did not have something planned for a Friday night. We don't have anything planned for tomorrow either which is equally odd. It's a good thing though. I think I'll go to JP's tomorrow afternoon and do some writing with Sarah. Well not WITH Sarah but you know what I mean. Maybe I'll finish the chapter I'm working on. It's a Katze chapter, one of my favorite to write. Maybe I'll just write another blog entry, we'll see.
I've been thinking a lot about one of my characters lately and why I just can't seem to get his chapters quite right. I'm pretty sure it's because I tried to change his character from being quite moody into something much less moody. It didn't work, Rafe just wants to be moody. So that got me thinking about characterization in general. For me characters just seem to pop into my head as whole people. Rafe started off as a moody guy with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. When I tried to change that and failed miserably I realized that I just have to let him be what he was always meant to be.
If you're doing any bit of creative writing think about your characters first before you really put pen to paper. Characters are malleable...what didn't I just say the opposite about Rafe? Well yes but that doesn't mean I can't add quirks or other characteristics. Moody is just one. It's a base to work from. I see moody Rafe...but I can add that he's incredibly protective and has a slow burning temper. He's not one to flare up at people and if he does is alone or with just one other person he can trust. But all throughout that he's moody. See? No probably not because I don't think I'm making much sense.
I said something to Sarah once about how our characters become real people to us (us meaning writers) and I still think it's true. I think that characters drive the story and we should listen to them. For a non-writer that might be a hard thing to comprehend but it's true. To make a story-a plot-meaningful I think an author has to be able to stand on the characters. I'm pretty sure my Grandfather (an avid reader) once told me it didn't matter to him what genre he read as long as he cared about the people in the story. So if your character wants to be moody, let him be moody but don't be afraid to also add other aspects. Nobody wants to read about a guy who does nothing but sulk and sulk and sulk. But reading about a guy who sulks...and then protects his best friend...and then helps start a revolution to overthrow the empire WHILE sulking. Now that might be interesting. At least I think so...obviously I did write it.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The scoop
First of all let me clarify...a robot would totally win in a fight between a robot and a werewolf. They have lasers and rockets and stuff. I don't even think that the claws of a werewolf would penetrate the titanium shell of a robot. Also Mr. Fantastic would totally win in a stretchy contest. But I digress...
So I've been writing on and off since I was 12. I'm sure my mother and probably my cousin Nikki (as she was my co-author) remember my glorious first work of fiction. It was 13 page hand written and wonderfully crafted masterpiece...about a ghost murderer in the computer lab of an elementary school. I know. How can it get any better than that? Well my friends it can't. But we all must strive to better ourselves.
I started writing a bit more seriously in college when I took several creative writing courses and began my first (unfinished) novel. But it wasn't until this past November with http://nanowrimo.org/. I'd been playing around with the idea of different religions and ensuing misunderstandings for awhile. I feel like I've been deeply affected by the current war but more so how Muslims are sometimes treated in this country. So that became the springboard for my current novel.
Of course my novel is completely fictional, it's set in a fantasy world (sans elves and dwarfs etc...) that I completely made up. While I have drawn parallels to the situations and conflicts going on in our world that is all it is, a parallel.
So some basic info. The title of my book is The Blood of Renatus which has a duel meaning. It Renatus is the surname of two of my main characters (a brother and a sister) who both think the other sibling died many years in the past. Renatus also means "Rebirth" in Latin and you can draw your own conclusions about what that exactly means (pssst read the book!) It's currently about 61,500 words which equals about 120 pages in non-manuscript format. In manuscript format It'd be about double the page length I think. The word count is about half of what it will end up being although where I'm going to end the book is still a mystery to me. It will be a series although a short one, I don't really like the series that go on forever and ever without end.
So the plot...it's pretty complicated as are most epic fantasies but if you strip away all of the character development then it's about an evil bad guy who surreptitiously takes over what has always been a war faring religion/country without their knowledge. He uses their army and tries to take over the world al la Pinky and the Brain style. Good guys who are prejudiced against that religion must team up with them and overcome their differences to defeat the evil bad guy. There so that's the very very basic plot.
But that not even really a drop in the bucket. We have presumed dead princesses who've gone crazy, bands of thieves, resistance to the empire, stoic good guys, cheerfully ship captains, spies and battles on one hand and then on the flip side we have a brother and sister team who are super awesome but running away from people who want to kill them including their other, older brother who's pretty mean. It's a good time...well not really nobody wants to be sacrificed to a false god. Oh yeah plus there's an interesting magic system that feels a little bit like Magneto's powers only isn't reliant on metals. Anyway it's complex, the whole thing is complex but super awesome all the same.
So my goal is to be finished with the first draft sometime this summer. Which means stepping up my writing game. We'll see what happens. Someday though this baby is definitely going to be sent off to various literary agents and publishing houses. But probably not this year.
So I've been writing on and off since I was 12. I'm sure my mother and probably my cousin Nikki (as she was my co-author) remember my glorious first work of fiction. It was 13 page hand written and wonderfully crafted masterpiece...about a ghost murderer in the computer lab of an elementary school. I know. How can it get any better than that? Well my friends it can't. But we all must strive to better ourselves.
I started writing a bit more seriously in college when I took several creative writing courses and began my first (unfinished) novel. But it wasn't until this past November with http://nanowrimo.org/. I'd been playing around with the idea of different religions and ensuing misunderstandings for awhile. I feel like I've been deeply affected by the current war but more so how Muslims are sometimes treated in this country. So that became the springboard for my current novel.
Of course my novel is completely fictional, it's set in a fantasy world (sans elves and dwarfs etc...) that I completely made up. While I have drawn parallels to the situations and conflicts going on in our world that is all it is, a parallel.
So some basic info. The title of my book is The Blood of Renatus which has a duel meaning. It Renatus is the surname of two of my main characters (a brother and a sister) who both think the other sibling died many years in the past. Renatus also means "Rebirth" in Latin and you can draw your own conclusions about what that exactly means (pssst read the book!) It's currently about 61,500 words which equals about 120 pages in non-manuscript format. In manuscript format It'd be about double the page length I think. The word count is about half of what it will end up being although where I'm going to end the book is still a mystery to me. It will be a series although a short one, I don't really like the series that go on forever and ever without end.
So the plot...it's pretty complicated as are most epic fantasies but if you strip away all of the character development then it's about an evil bad guy who surreptitiously takes over what has always been a war faring religion/country without their knowledge. He uses their army and tries to take over the world al la Pinky and the Brain style. Good guys who are prejudiced against that religion must team up with them and overcome their differences to defeat the evil bad guy. There so that's the very very basic plot.
But that not even really a drop in the bucket. We have presumed dead princesses who've gone crazy, bands of thieves, resistance to the empire, stoic good guys, cheerfully ship captains, spies and battles on one hand and then on the flip side we have a brother and sister team who are super awesome but running away from people who want to kill them including their other, older brother who's pretty mean. It's a good time...well not really nobody wants to be sacrificed to a false god. Oh yeah plus there's an interesting magic system that feels a little bit like Magneto's powers only isn't reliant on metals. Anyway it's complex, the whole thing is complex but super awesome all the same.
So my goal is to be finished with the first draft sometime this summer. Which means stepping up my writing game. We'll see what happens. Someday though this baby is definitely going to be sent off to various literary agents and publishing houses. But probably not this year.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
To Blog
After much prodding from my friend Sarah I've decided to blog...
For those of you who have seen the Corner Gas episode called "Hank Talkin" fear not I won't be writing about who would win in a fight between werewolves and robots. Nor will I talk about which super hero is stretchier.
Lee Horne is going to be my alter ego, my pen name if you will for my endeavors to be published in the future. It's quite a bit easier for potential readers or publishers to say "Hey have you read the latest Lee Horne book?" than to butcher my married name. Also since my genre of choice is Fantasy I'd like my gender to remain anonymous. For those of you who are wondering, Lee Horne is from Leanne (my middle name) and Horne (my maiden name). I also think that there was a great grandfather or something named Lee Horne in my family tree.
Now on with the blogging. I read an article not too long ago by the illustrious George RR Martin about the pitfalls of blogging authors. They spend so much time writing on their blogs that they forget to write on their novels. But you all know me and you all probably realize that my blogging will go in spurts of frequent updates and then none at all for months. Just like my writing.
I've never really blogged before, although used to have a "xanga" back in high school. The goal and intention of this blog is simply to keep a record of my writing progress as well as provide excerpts if they're requested. Of course I also wanted to grab the domain of Lee Horne as my chosen pen name before anyone else did.
For those of you who have seen the Corner Gas episode called "Hank Talkin" fear not I won't be writing about who would win in a fight between werewolves and robots. Nor will I talk about which super hero is stretchier.
Lee Horne is going to be my alter ego, my pen name if you will for my endeavors to be published in the future. It's quite a bit easier for potential readers or publishers to say "Hey have you read the latest Lee Horne book?" than to butcher my married name. Also since my genre of choice is Fantasy I'd like my gender to remain anonymous. For those of you who are wondering, Lee Horne is from Leanne (my middle name) and Horne (my maiden name). I also think that there was a great grandfather or something named Lee Horne in my family tree.
Now on with the blogging. I read an article not too long ago by the illustrious George RR Martin about the pitfalls of blogging authors. They spend so much time writing on their blogs that they forget to write on their novels. But you all know me and you all probably realize that my blogging will go in spurts of frequent updates and then none at all for months. Just like my writing.
I've never really blogged before, although used to have a "xanga" back in high school. The goal and intention of this blog is simply to keep a record of my writing progress as well as provide excerpts if they're requested. Of course I also wanted to grab the domain of Lee Horne as my chosen pen name before anyone else did.
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