Whew. So I've been neglecting this one.
What can I say? I can chatter on inanely about everything else but writing nowadays, it seems. Maybe I'm taking it too seriously.
So I was looking at my notebooks of story ideas, (OK, so it's not as much a notebook as much as it is a file on my hard drive...close enough though!) and I noticed a trend happening there.
One, I have a tendency of writing in first person for both my male and female protagonists. Two, there's always betrayals (usually by friends or family). Three, I spend entirely too long coming up with names.
I think there's a reason for the last one though. Well no, there's a reason for all of them. Some that probably require some expensive, over-extensive, utterly pointless psychotherapy sessions. But the last one is pretty easy to explain.
Names have personalities, or so I believe. The first thing that I do after I dream up a character is figure out his or her name. From their names, I create their personalities. In some cases, I actually go back to change their names because their personality sort of morphed halfway through the story. But when I change their names halfway through, it takes forever for me to get used to it. And it takes even longer for my characters to get used to it.
Sounds weird? It's more like, it's hard for me to picture them in a scene when their names changed. Their personality switch every so slightly and it drives me nuts and their dialogues feel lost. It's like naming your dog Fido and then changing it to Taxi and still expecting him to come when you call for him.
On the other hand...Titles are my nemesis. I don't think I have ever named anything before I'm done with the whole thing. Right now, in my WIP folders, I have:
1. asdf
2. little red
3. 2
See? The only reason why I name them is so that I can save the writing. The first one's some keyboard mashing, the second one actually makes sense, since it's little red riding hood set in a post-apocalyptic world, the last one...I think the last one is a second try of an old story. Yup. Masterpieces, they are.
This extends to beyond creative writing. One never expects an essay to have too interesting of a title, but I've actually had a high school teacher wrote on my paper: "Really? Couldn't think of anything more interesting for a title?" Or something to that effect. Yikes. Well what did you expect when the topic's about comparing A Tale of Two Cities to modern US history? "A Tale of Two (fill in the blank)" is bound to show up in one form or another.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Twenty-Four Hours?
So the school year's rolled around (whee!) and the readings are piled high to my eyeballs (quite literally, I'm afraid).
And meanwhile, my writings are taking a backseat. Just hanging there. Out of reach. Why? Because every single time I make a reach for it, another stack of reading gets dumped before my face. And there's no use in trying to wake up earlier (or go to sleep later) and add in that extra hour because I've been using up all those extra hours. (Seriously, 8am classes = 6am wake-up calls. Not. Cool.)
(And note to self...never, ever lend someone notes again unless holding something of equal value of theirs...say, their spleen? Last time I ever make that mistake.)
So I'm kind of stewing in this moment of utter defeat while I'm trying to remember everything that I'd put on my lecture notes and pour it all back down onto a blank sheet of paper again. Ok. Not so much stewing as seething.
Luckily (or unluckily), I'd never suffered from any hopes of trying to become a full-time writer. I think the demands that a schedule and a life like that puts more strain on one's mental and physical health than most would have you believe. I mean, sure, we all would like the idea of waking up at noon, writing a few hours and then taking the rest of the day off and doing whatever. The reality of it, from what I've both seen and heard, is quite different.
I mean, as a student and scribbling a little bit on the side, it's already driving me batty. As a writer, I'm pretty sure there's something else that has to be attended to aside from the actual putting words on paper itself- and I'm pretty sure that no matter what it is that you do, there will never be enough time in a day, nor will there ever be an end to bills. Yikes.
So how on earth is it that people can manage to do all the same things and more in the same twenty-four hours as me? Granted, today was a particularly crazy day, but still...it's leaving me gasping for breaths!
And meanwhile, my writings are taking a backseat. Just hanging there. Out of reach. Why? Because every single time I make a reach for it, another stack of reading gets dumped before my face. And there's no use in trying to wake up earlier (or go to sleep later) and add in that extra hour because I've been using up all those extra hours. (Seriously, 8am classes = 6am wake-up calls. Not. Cool.)
(And note to self...never, ever lend someone notes again unless holding something of equal value of theirs...say, their spleen? Last time I ever make that mistake.)
So I'm kind of stewing in this moment of utter defeat while I'm trying to remember everything that I'd put on my lecture notes and pour it all back down onto a blank sheet of paper again. Ok. Not so much stewing as seething.
Luckily (or unluckily), I'd never suffered from any hopes of trying to become a full-time writer. I think the demands that a schedule and a life like that puts more strain on one's mental and physical health than most would have you believe. I mean, sure, we all would like the idea of waking up at noon, writing a few hours and then taking the rest of the day off and doing whatever. The reality of it, from what I've both seen and heard, is quite different.
I mean, as a student and scribbling a little bit on the side, it's already driving me batty. As a writer, I'm pretty sure there's something else that has to be attended to aside from the actual putting words on paper itself- and I'm pretty sure that no matter what it is that you do, there will never be enough time in a day, nor will there ever be an end to bills. Yikes.
So how on earth is it that people can manage to do all the same things and more in the same twenty-four hours as me? Granted, today was a particularly crazy day, but still...it's leaving me gasping for breaths!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Flight Project
I posted the rough drafts in my other blog, but I figured the final should go here. It's a personal project that morphed quite a bit. Sequential art is entirely not my forte, so this is a bit of an experiment.
(Click for full view.)
So uh. Yeah. This took about a month to complete. I would pop on, scribble a tiny bit, and then leave it alone for a few hours before coming back to splash on a little more color again. Not an endeavor that I think I'll be repeating anytime soon. But I'm glad to get this out of system and down onto "paper."
(Click for full view.)
So uh. Yeah. This took about a month to complete. I would pop on, scribble a tiny bit, and then leave it alone for a few hours before coming back to splash on a little more color again. Not an endeavor that I think I'll be repeating anytime soon. But I'm glad to get this out of system and down onto "paper."
Monday, September 7, 2009
Replicating
I'm one of those people that needs multiple projects for me to actually get something done. So right now on my plate, I have a few stories and a pretty big piece of drawing to get done. But I actually do have an excuse for the alarmingly large amount of things/WIPs piling up on me right now.
Earlier in the year, my laptop decided to up and quit on me. Bye-bye everything that I'd saved on it. So for the past few months or so, I've been working on trying to recover whatever is lost. I still have the longer WIPs pretty well-imprinted in my mind so I've been retyping that from the beginning.
But oh man. It's so not an easy thing to do. One part of me is telling myself to just see this as a forced revision. I'm not flying blind as I was before when I first wrote down the scenes and introduced the characters. But the other half is struggling like no other to try and replicate whatever it was that I'd lost:
"Hm. Did he make an entrance here?"
"I can't remember. Doesn't matter anyway. He's a secondary character. While we're at it, why don't we just cut him out entirely?"
"What?! No! But he helped later on to develop the MC!"
"Well, find some other way to do it."
"But it went this way for a reason!"
"It's called revisions."
"You know you have a habit of editing too much."
"...Yeah. Well...Screw you!"
...And nothing appears on the screen for the next hour or so, since I decided to give myself the cold shoulder (a.k.a. Can't make up my mind).
Ouch. So it's been one step forward and two step back here.
Earlier in the year, my laptop decided to up and quit on me. Bye-bye everything that I'd saved on it. So for the past few months or so, I've been working on trying to recover whatever is lost. I still have the longer WIPs pretty well-imprinted in my mind so I've been retyping that from the beginning.
But oh man. It's so not an easy thing to do. One part of me is telling myself to just see this as a forced revision. I'm not flying blind as I was before when I first wrote down the scenes and introduced the characters. But the other half is struggling like no other to try and replicate whatever it was that I'd lost:
"Hm. Did he make an entrance here?"
"I can't remember. Doesn't matter anyway. He's a secondary character. While we're at it, why don't we just cut him out entirely?"
"What?! No! But he helped later on to develop the MC!"
"Well, find some other way to do it."
"But it went this way for a reason!"
"It's called revisions."
"You know you have a habit of editing too much."
"...Yeah. Well...Screw you!"
...And nothing appears on the screen for the next hour or so, since I decided to give myself the cold shoulder (a.k.a. Can't make up my mind).
Ouch. So it's been one step forward and two step back here.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Bubbles
I love blowing bubbles and watching it float away. The iridescent glow shimmering while it just goes higher and higher and higher...And look! She got to capture her wishes in the bubbles!
It's been a while since I've blown bubbles. Hm...
[rummages for a bottle]
Anyway. Just a brief sketch. I don't think I'll develop it further than this.
It's been a while since I've blown bubbles. Hm...
[rummages for a bottle]
Anyway. Just a brief sketch. I don't think I'll develop it further than this.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
August Absolute Write Blog Chain: Environmental Causes
So it's time for another Absolute Write blog chain! If ya'll haven't checked out the blogs of the participants, you should. There are some pretty interesting reads there.
So, bsolah asked me:
"How does being a student and the life and culture around student life, influence the genres in which you write? Does it affect the story lines and/or how does it affect your choice of genre?"
Now that's a pretty interesting question. I think as artists (literary or otherwise), we are inspired by everything about us, people, other pieces, situations, circumstances, and yes, culture and general surroundings.
What makes this interesting is that since the majority of my writing is in - drumroll please - fantasy! Yup. I'm a dreamy-eyed, unicorn-princess, fairies-dusted girl. But as you all know, fantasy have a huge series of subgenres, and I do think the reason why I gravitated toward the specific subgenres that I do.
One of the subgenres that I definitely spend the majority of my time playing around with is urban fantasy, and yes, the ages of the MCs are generally in my age bracket and a lot of the story involves school settings. I think the main reason for this though, is that in the position of a college student, the characters are allowed more freedom than, say, someone already in the workforce and have a list of obligations attached. At the same time though, college students are perched at a point where they do have a multiple of directions to go from there. It ups the ante of the story and allow for some personal conflict within the greater story arc.
At the same time, I think I do choose my genres because it is so unlike real life. Real life can get so mundane (even with all of the small dramas that happen about me- two girls sitting each other in the same/similar outfits and spending their entire time glaring at each other. As entertaining as that is, it can get too predictable after a few hours), it's fun to have an outlet where I can just explore the impossibilities. Of course there has to be little dashes of realities. (Said girls with the dearth glares show up in the stories with actual death glares. There's something about paranormal hissy fits that make it just oh-so-entertaining to write).
So the answer? Yes. And no. The whole student life and culture (hookah, bong and all) definitely play a part in what I write. But the way that they influence the stories vary from story to story.
And the question for JamieMT:
What prompted you to start the serial novels on your blog? And does the progression of the serial novels affect your other writings?
So, bsolah asked me:
"How does being a student and the life and culture around student life, influence the genres in which you write? Does it affect the story lines and/or how does it affect your choice of genre?"
Now that's a pretty interesting question. I think as artists (literary or otherwise), we are inspired by everything about us, people, other pieces, situations, circumstances, and yes, culture and general surroundings.
What makes this interesting is that since the majority of my writing is in - drumroll please - fantasy! Yup. I'm a dreamy-eyed, unicorn-princess, fairies-dusted girl. But as you all know, fantasy have a huge series of subgenres, and I do think the reason why I gravitated toward the specific subgenres that I do.
One of the subgenres that I definitely spend the majority of my time playing around with is urban fantasy, and yes, the ages of the MCs are generally in my age bracket and a lot of the story involves school settings. I think the main reason for this though, is that in the position of a college student, the characters are allowed more freedom than, say, someone already in the workforce and have a list of obligations attached. At the same time though, college students are perched at a point where they do have a multiple of directions to go from there. It ups the ante of the story and allow for some personal conflict within the greater story arc.
At the same time, I think I do choose my genres because it is so unlike real life. Real life can get so mundane (even with all of the small dramas that happen about me- two girls sitting each other in the same/similar outfits and spending their entire time glaring at each other. As entertaining as that is, it can get too predictable after a few hours), it's fun to have an outlet where I can just explore the impossibilities. Of course there has to be little dashes of realities. (Said girls with the dearth glares show up in the stories with actual death glares. There's something about paranormal hissy fits that make it just oh-so-entertaining to write).
So the answer? Yes. And no. The whole student life and culture (hookah, bong and all) definitely play a part in what I write. But the way that they influence the stories vary from story to story.
And the question for JamieMT:
What prompted you to start the serial novels on your blog? And does the progression of the serial novels affect your other writings?
Monday, August 10, 2009
(sub)Genre Jumping
So it's late and the heat is absolutely stifling (actually, it's not that bad. I just can't stand the heat. Don't ask me why I live in a place where there are only two seasons in the entire year: Summer, not-so-much-Summer/Fall-ish). What's a girl to do? Wisk myself off to the nearest Borders, of course.
Early on in my rabid bookshopper career (read: ten-year-old), I've learned to develop a method of shopping so that I wouldn't get sucked into a book or a section in the store and get completely lost in it (although it still does happen). First, is a brief peruse through the big displays that they have up front. You know, the bestsellers, the new arrivals. Usually, I spy a few interesting things here or there, but being the rebel that I am (Baaaaad to the bones...), I usually leave that section empty handed, if only to pick up a copy of said bestseller on another shelf. Then I dive headfirst into the "literary" and "sci-fi/fansy" sections. For literary, because there are so many books, I generally do a little research ahead of time before diving in. For sci-fi/fantasy though...it's down and dirty.
Ahem. Got carried away.
So while I looked around, clutching The Historian to me (a few years late, I know. Hence the reason why I'm finally picking it up), I found myself getting drawn to the sci-fi/fantasy section again. I looked along the "C"s and then let out a little delighted squeal.
I spy, with my little eyes, Jacqueline Carey with a new book! And whoa, it's not set in the fantasy world of powerful gods/goddesses, court intrigues, and all topped off with sinfully delicious characters (insert dreamy sigh). The cover of Santa Olivia boasts the silhouette of a woman (who is covered from head to toes! Alert the media! Although I do spy some leather in the background...) and the overall design is very different from the Kushiel series. So of course I had it within my grubby little hands in three seconds flat.
So I did my usual checking. Scan through the back cover. Look at the reviews. These I did quickly because I didn't worry about Carey's storytelling abilities. Then I flipped open the first page to check out the voice.
Damn.
I think what I love most about Carey's stories (aside from the awesome/complex storytelling), is the decadent and luscious writing. It fits perfectly with the fantasy world that she'd created in the Kushiel's series and it definitely fit the genre of epic fantasy. And I think had the setting been different, the whole thing would have crumbled about my head.
And Santa Olivia has a different setting. It's set in the near future, and from what I could tell? Not epic fantasy.
And while I'm sure the story there is as lovely as always, it's not exactly what I was expecting from Carey. Maybe I should try again later when I'm less in the mood for lyrical pieces and more for fast, heavy bass.
Another familiar name that popped up though, was Robin McKinley. My first introduction to her stories was through the Blue Sword. It's lovely. I still have a copy of it on my shelves, the pages yellowing and smudged with fingerprints but treasured nonetheless. Lores-filled, the world-building leaves me craving for more of it. I moved on from that for a taste of her retelling fairytales and folklores.
So imagine my surprise when I saw Sunshine on the shelf. Hello. First thing that crossed my mind was: "What fairytale can you link to 'sunshine?'"
None, apparently. McKinley had crossed over to the dark side (briefly, it seems)- the dark fantasy side! Yeah yeah. My puns left much to be desired. But! It is urban fantasy.
But when I flipped open the pages and read the introduction, I slipped right in. The voice fits the character, and the writing fits the world that Rae is in.
I'm not exactly sure what is the difference between these two writers. It might just be my own perception and expectations of their writings that color my opinions. But I can see why some authors would opt to use another name when writing in a different genre, even if it's more of a subgenre leap than a genre leap.
That being said though, I wonder how many author started thinking that they would write in more than one genre and being equally prolific in all? And if that was the case, would they opt to use the same name or adopt a pen name?
Early on in my rabid bookshopper career (read: ten-year-old), I've learned to develop a method of shopping so that I wouldn't get sucked into a book or a section in the store and get completely lost in it (although it still does happen). First, is a brief peruse through the big displays that they have up front. You know, the bestsellers, the new arrivals. Usually, I spy a few interesting things here or there, but being the rebel that I am (Baaaaad to the bones...), I usually leave that section empty handed, if only to pick up a copy of said bestseller on another shelf. Then I dive headfirst into the "literary" and "sci-fi/fansy" sections. For literary, because there are so many books, I generally do a little research ahead of time before diving in. For sci-fi/fantasy though...it's down and dirty.
Ahem. Got carried away.
So while I looked around, clutching The Historian to me (a few years late, I know. Hence the reason why I'm finally picking it up), I found myself getting drawn to the sci-fi/fantasy section again. I looked along the "C"s and then let out a little delighted squeal.
I spy, with my little eyes, Jacqueline Carey with a new book! And whoa, it's not set in the fantasy world of powerful gods/goddesses, court intrigues, and all topped off with sinfully delicious characters (insert dreamy sigh). The cover of Santa Olivia boasts the silhouette of a woman (who is covered from head to toes! Alert the media! Although I do spy some leather in the background...) and the overall design is very different from the Kushiel series. So of course I had it within my grubby little hands in three seconds flat.
So I did my usual checking. Scan through the back cover. Look at the reviews. These I did quickly because I didn't worry about Carey's storytelling abilities. Then I flipped open the first page to check out the voice.
Damn.
I think what I love most about Carey's stories (aside from the awesome/complex storytelling), is the decadent and luscious writing. It fits perfectly with the fantasy world that she'd created in the Kushiel's series and it definitely fit the genre of epic fantasy. And I think had the setting been different, the whole thing would have crumbled about my head.
And Santa Olivia has a different setting. It's set in the near future, and from what I could tell? Not epic fantasy.
And while I'm sure the story there is as lovely as always, it's not exactly what I was expecting from Carey. Maybe I should try again later when I'm less in the mood for lyrical pieces and more for fast, heavy bass.
Another familiar name that popped up though, was Robin McKinley. My first introduction to her stories was through the Blue Sword. It's lovely. I still have a copy of it on my shelves, the pages yellowing and smudged with fingerprints but treasured nonetheless. Lores-filled, the world-building leaves me craving for more of it. I moved on from that for a taste of her retelling fairytales and folklores.
So imagine my surprise when I saw Sunshine on the shelf. Hello. First thing that crossed my mind was: "What fairytale can you link to 'sunshine?'"
None, apparently. McKinley had crossed over to the dark side (briefly, it seems)- the dark fantasy side! Yeah yeah. My puns left much to be desired. But! It is urban fantasy.
But when I flipped open the pages and read the introduction, I slipped right in. The voice fits the character, and the writing fits the world that Rae is in.
I'm not exactly sure what is the difference between these two writers. It might just be my own perception and expectations of their writings that color my opinions. But I can see why some authors would opt to use another name when writing in a different genre, even if it's more of a subgenre leap than a genre leap.
That being said though, I wonder how many author started thinking that they would write in more than one genre and being equally prolific in all? And if that was the case, would they opt to use the same name or adopt a pen name?
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