I wrote 1K today! *happy dance* The only problem is that the scene I wrote is something that took place ten years prior to the book. lol How's that for irony? I finally manage to write something and it's not even anything I can get real wordcount points for. *sigh* But regardless, I think that writing this scene is helping me work out some kinks in my MC for WIP#3.
She had a very earth-shattering event happen to her ten years ago and it's helping me get a handle on her psyche to get it all written out. It's one thing to say, "When she was eighteen years old, such and such happened. Blah blah blah." It's another thing to actually write it out and discover firsthand (okay, first person) the details of what happened. I learn who my MC was back then and how much of a contrast that is to who she is now.
Oh, and the songs that were on repeat during the writing of this?
Olafur Arnalds: 1440 and Raein
I think you can listen to Raein here. Click on Day 2 to listen to it. And you can even download it! I sure did! ;-) It even gives you directions on how to. And the low-res version sure sounds good enough for me. I guess my ears aren't discerning enough.
Anyway, Raein is an incredibly beautiful, incredibly sad song IMO and thus, perfectly suited for this scene. Well, I just had to post my success, what little there is to be had for today. I don't get to update a word count meter, but oh well. I'll take what I can get I guess. :)
*edit* Strike that, 1800 words not a mere 1000. Bam, said the lady (yes, that is Nathan Fillion verbage there)!
About Me
I'm a third year pharmacy student and aspiring writer.
Procrastination and holding out on the reader
It's been entirely too long since I've actually posted a "real" blog. That goes for any progress in writing or really, anything of interest. I mean, the cat .gif and video are perfectly entertaining and still make me laugh every time... but the blog has been sparse as of late. I wish I could say it's been because I've been hard at work on school matters or at least getting some writing done. Such is not the case. :( I will give myself forty lashes for that, don't worry. While I could ramble on for a long time about how frustrated I am with 3 WIPs, I actually HAVE something in particular to talk about today...
I just finished Robert Ludlum's The Matarese Circle a couple nights ago (freaking finally!) and I noticed something that happens every once in a while in books. It's a device that always gets on my nerves as a reader... but not necessarily in a bad way. The device? Say the MC has some dialogue with someone who's finally bringing the plot threads and story together. It's a book-making moment. The identity of the villain is revealed. The place a hostage was taken. Something vitally important. And what does the author do? In Ludlum's case (I'm paraphrasing here). "Bray asked the identity of the man in the picture." / "She told him."
My reaction to these devices? Every single time, without fail: "WTF?!?!?! TELL ME!!!! I don't care if she told him. I'm the one that needs to know here! Hello! Faithfully been reading for like 500 pages!"
See, my problem is I'm pretty historically inaccurate at guessing the secret in any story. CSI? I think I've guessed right maybe 2 episodes out of hundreds. My track record with books isn't much better. Now, in The Matarese Circle's case I actually knew who was in the picture. But he'd done the same thing before in the book.
The thing is, this is a very valid plot device... one that never occurs to me when I'm writing. I'd keep typing on thinking, "Well, golly gee, I wish there was a way for my MC to know this piece of information, but then the audience will know too!"
I guess my question is this: If you write, have you ever thought of incorporating (or actually done it) this "holding out on the reader" thing. Or, if you read, what's your reaction to this type of thing? Does it make you frustrated? Or do you like it?
Oh, and do you know of any real name for this? It's not a cliffhanger. It's not misdirection. It's just... not telling. Anywho... I guess I should get back to studying now, though my motivation to do so is pitifully low. *trudges off*
I just finished Robert Ludlum's The Matarese Circle a couple nights ago (freaking finally!) and I noticed something that happens every once in a while in books. It's a device that always gets on my nerves as a reader... but not necessarily in a bad way. The device? Say the MC has some dialogue with someone who's finally bringing the plot threads and story together. It's a book-making moment. The identity of the villain is revealed. The place a hostage was taken. Something vitally important. And what does the author do? In Ludlum's case (I'm paraphrasing here). "Bray asked the identity of the man in the picture." / "She told him."
My reaction to these devices? Every single time, without fail: "WTF?!?!?! TELL ME!!!! I don't care if she told him. I'm the one that needs to know here! Hello! Faithfully been reading for like 500 pages!"
See, my problem is I'm pretty historically inaccurate at guessing the secret in any story. CSI? I think I've guessed right maybe 2 episodes out of hundreds. My track record with books isn't much better. Now, in The Matarese Circle's case I actually knew who was in the picture. But he'd done the same thing before in the book.
The thing is, this is a very valid plot device... one that never occurs to me when I'm writing. I'd keep typing on thinking, "Well, golly gee, I wish there was a way for my MC to know this piece of information, but then the audience will know too!"
I guess my question is this: If you write, have you ever thought of incorporating (or actually done it) this "holding out on the reader" thing. Or, if you read, what's your reaction to this type of thing? Does it make you frustrated? Or do you like it?
Oh, and do you know of any real name for this? It's not a cliffhanger. It's not misdirection. It's just... not telling. Anywho... I guess I should get back to studying now, though my motivation to do so is pitifully low. *trudges off*
The muse has released me... I think
I've never been in quite a situation like this. Three completely separate works-in-progress. I think my muse has finally realized that. She had a chokehold on my creativity for the past several weeks, demanding I figure out the main plot of WIP#3. I sort of did. Not all of the details, but I got more figured out than I had known before.
The problem was, the narrative wasn't writing itself. Nowhere near as well as Angie's voice in WIP#2 (aka Reaper). So is it destined to be written third person? Who knows. I'll take that as it comes. What's interesting to me now is that Alex's world is starting to come back to me, likely thanks to BBC's Being Human. Filled with beautiful accents that I adore and a tortured vampire that could beat Edward's ass any day. And in his character, I saw a little bit of Kade. I'd forgotten how much I missed writing him! Ever since I finished the VERY rough draft of Untitled 1, I've been pretty much removed from their world. I'd written about 7.5K in Untitled 2 of Alex's world, making that story WIP#1.
Confused? Let me recap:
- WIP#1 is Alex's world complete with murder, intrigue, vampires and werewolves.
- WIP#2 is Angie's world complete with angels, demons, rogues, and a battle over Sin City
- WIP #3 is Sam's world complete with a chaos-wielding assassin, deception, and a high school sweetheart who thought Sam died ten years ago when she went missing...
The problem is, all three of these things are immensely interesting to me and I want to write all of them. Could I be one of those people capable of writing multiple stories at once? Do I have writing ADD? Who knows. Maybe this is the solution... rotating between WIPs. Regardless, I'm taking advantage of the reprieve the muse has alotted me. If she'll let me work on Alex and crew, then what am I waiting for, hm? Off to see what writing I can get done today. And studying. Argh.
And yes, I have tweaked this template. Made it a little more colorful. Played with fonts, etc. Would help if I knew more html, but I'm happy with what I have so far. :)
The problem was, the narrative wasn't writing itself. Nowhere near as well as Angie's voice in WIP#2 (aka Reaper). So is it destined to be written third person? Who knows. I'll take that as it comes. What's interesting to me now is that Alex's world is starting to come back to me, likely thanks to BBC's Being Human. Filled with beautiful accents that I adore and a tortured vampire that could beat Edward's ass any day. And in his character, I saw a little bit of Kade. I'd forgotten how much I missed writing him! Ever since I finished the VERY rough draft of Untitled 1, I've been pretty much removed from their world. I'd written about 7.5K in Untitled 2 of Alex's world, making that story WIP#1.
Confused? Let me recap:
- WIP#1 is Alex's world complete with murder, intrigue, vampires and werewolves.
- WIP#2 is Angie's world complete with angels, demons, rogues, and a battle over Sin City
- WIP #3 is Sam's world complete with a chaos-wielding assassin, deception, and a high school sweetheart who thought Sam died ten years ago when she went missing...
The problem is, all three of these things are immensely interesting to me and I want to write all of them. Could I be one of those people capable of writing multiple stories at once? Do I have writing ADD? Who knows. Maybe this is the solution... rotating between WIPs. Regardless, I'm taking advantage of the reprieve the muse has alotted me. If she'll let me work on Alex and crew, then what am I waiting for, hm? Off to see what writing I can get done today. And studying. Argh.
And yes, I have tweaked this template. Made it a little more colorful. Played with fonts, etc. Would help if I knew more html, but I'm happy with what I have so far. :)
Random kitty laughs
Okay, I just had to post this. I haunt icanhascheezburger.com daily, but I Stumbled onto this .gif and couldn't help but post this. It just needs to be seen.
This poor cat. Wait 'til the end... It's the horrible comedy of it. I can't stop laughing.
Almost as bad as when I first saw this:
It's absolutely horrible to laugh at, but I just can't stop. I think I watched it about 20 times in a row the first time I saw it. I love my cat and would never want her to fall like that, but... well, it is what it is.
This poor cat. Wait 'til the end... It's the horrible comedy of it. I can't stop laughing.
Almost as bad as when I first saw this:
It's absolutely horrible to laugh at, but I just can't stop. I think I watched it about 20 times in a row the first time I saw it. I love my cat and would never want her to fall like that, but... well, it is what it is.
My lost week...
How is it time for class again already?! This was my last week off until next June for heaven's sake! I was supposed to be able to cherish it. *sigh* Oh well. Can't make time go backward or anything. However, I did have a fantastic massage this morning. That helped make the blow a little less painful, I guess.
There is really no point to this blog entry as I have done nothing productive on the SNI/assassin project front. Well, in terms of word count. I have done plenty of brainstorming and thinking and napping about it. Yes, I nap when I plot. My creative mind seems to work better when I'm only partially awake. :-) That probably says something about me being a control freak or something, but I promise I'm not. Not much, anyway.
I'm running ideas for said SNI past my beloved cousin and my close friend to see if they can poke some holes in whatever I've come up with. But it's really me I need to be relying on to come up with the serious stuff. After all, I'm the one who's going to be spending hours writing this thing. *sigh* I've come to the conclusion that I can sub-plot like nobody's business, but when it comes to the main conflict I'm basically crap at it until the muse decides to take pity on me and throw me a bone. I've yet to receive said bone so I'll keep trudging on, through school and through plotting. Yes, while complaining I actually managed to NOT say, "Woe is me." ;-) Hopefully the next post will report slightly better results and spirits.
There is really no point to this blog entry as I have done nothing productive on the SNI/assassin project front. Well, in terms of word count. I have done plenty of brainstorming and thinking and napping about it. Yes, I nap when I plot. My creative mind seems to work better when I'm only partially awake. :-) That probably says something about me being a control freak or something, but I promise I'm not. Not much, anyway.
I'm running ideas for said SNI past my beloved cousin and my close friend to see if they can poke some holes in whatever I've come up with. But it's really me I need to be relying on to come up with the serious stuff. After all, I'm the one who's going to be spending hours writing this thing. *sigh* I've come to the conclusion that I can sub-plot like nobody's business, but when it comes to the main conflict I'm basically crap at it until the muse decides to take pity on me and throw me a bone. I've yet to receive said bone so I'll keep trudging on, through school and through plotting. Yes, while complaining I actually managed to NOT say, "Woe is me." ;-) Hopefully the next post will report slightly better results and spirits.
Not another SNI?!
So remember that little gem of an idea that the muse forced me to write a month or so back? Yeah. It's back. With a vengeance. The muse is holding me hostage again regardless of how much I want to focus on my dear Angie and all the dilemmas I plan to throw at her. But dammit, this new one is so interesting. Did you hear that whine? Yeah. I did too. I'm in a whiny mood.
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad for the ideas and I really do like it. A lot. I've wanted to write about an assassin for a while now (just ask Cari). And the supernatural part to it is really cool. Since I wasn't sure if there would be a supernatural part to it when I wrote that initial 800 word scene, I got all giddy when I figured out what it was. And IMO it's cool. To my knowledge I haven't read of an MC with quite this set of skills. I still need to settle on a name, though.
Ya know what? Even though not many people read this, why don't we have a vote? :) Leave a comment letting me know which name you think flows best...
- Samantha (Sam) Cooper
- Samantha (Sam) Larson
- Valeri (Val) Sanderson
... okay I totally can't think of the last name "Cooper" without thinking of David Tennant and Catherine Tate's sketch. The way David Tennant says it is just so... *sigh* Scottish. How I love him. ;-) Okay enough of my Doctor Who fangirl-ness
I'm leaning toward Sam but dunno which surname sounds better. Or if you have a better one, I'm open to suggestions. :) I may not be able to go with Cooper simply because I will always hear David Tennant say it and then I'll get all giddy. If you have no clue to what I am referring to, check this out. If you get British humor and/or have ever watched Doctor Who/The Catherine Tate Show you should find it entertaining. And yes, I have watched it so many times I can quote the entire thing.
And with that, I'm afraid I've gotta run. Benadryl hitting and all that jazz. Why do I always blog when I'm getting too tired to think coherently?
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad for the ideas and I really do like it. A lot. I've wanted to write about an assassin for a while now (just ask Cari). And the supernatural part to it is really cool. Since I wasn't sure if there would be a supernatural part to it when I wrote that initial 800 word scene, I got all giddy when I figured out what it was. And IMO it's cool. To my knowledge I haven't read of an MC with quite this set of skills. I still need to settle on a name, though.
Ya know what? Even though not many people read this, why don't we have a vote? :) Leave a comment letting me know which name you think flows best...
- Samantha (Sam) Cooper
- Samantha (Sam) Larson
- Valeri (Val) Sanderson
... okay I totally can't think of the last name "Cooper" without thinking of David Tennant and Catherine Tate's sketch. The way David Tennant says it is just so... *sigh* Scottish. How I love him. ;-) Okay enough of my Doctor Who fangirl-ness
I'm leaning toward Sam but dunno which surname sounds better. Or if you have a better one, I'm open to suggestions. :) I may not be able to go with Cooper simply because I will always hear David Tennant say it and then I'll get all giddy. If you have no clue to what I am referring to, check this out. If you get British humor and/or have ever watched Doctor Who/The Catherine Tate Show you should find it entertaining. And yes, I have watched it so many times I can quote the entire thing.
And with that, I'm afraid I've gotta run. Benadryl hitting and all that jazz. Why do I always blog when I'm getting too tired to think coherently?
What a week(end)
Holy cow... I have done so many things in the past five days I'm amazed I'm still alive. Granted, all of the sleeping (both scheduled and random naps) seem to have made it all possible. Unfortunately, I haven't made any word count headway, but I feel the need to update anyone who happens to read this thing as to what I've been up to the past week.
Wednesday after class I drove up to Prescott Valley with my friend and coworker to see the 3 Doors Down concert. I really only went for Safetysuit. Don't get me wrong, 3DD is pretty cool, but I haven't really been searching out their music for a while. Though they did play Duck and Run, which is my favorite song of theirs. So props to 3DD. Safetysuit was, as I expected, freaking FANTASTIC! What was even better was that they stayed after the show at the merch table to sign things/take pictures/talk. We left the 3DD act a little early to intercept Safetysuit before the throng hit. I actually got a minute or so to talk to the bassist and lead guitarist. Man, they're such sweethearts! And very easy on the eyes too. Poor Doug, the lead singer. He got MOBBED. His solution to signing and taking pictures was to turn around in a circle since he was literally surrounded on all sides. But anyway, I was so excited to get to meet everyone, including the WAY attractive drummer, Tate. Greatest birthday present this year!
So I didn't get to sleep 'til around 1, had to get up at 7:30 for an appointment and class. Then guess what I did when I got home from class?! That's right. I took a two hour nap. On my 22nd birthday. Who's the social butterfly? Yeah, that's right. ;-) My brother joined us for dinner that night and we had chicken parmesan and my favorite cake.
As for birthday presents, I got chocolate from my parents and Jamie. And I got B&N/Borders gift cards from my parents and Kelly. Apparently my preference for chocolate and books is well known or something. ;-)
I went shopping on Friday (which I never do... I swear, I hadn't been in the mall in months) with my mom and found a few things. Nothing jackpot worthy, but hey it's something. Promptly fell asleep (again) when I got home before heading over to J&J's so I'd have a DD. Then Friday evening I celebrated my birthday with my friends and BJ's for dinner. I had two drinks and a shot on an empty stomach. Didn't get sick, but I unfortunately didn't get to enjoy my pizzookie. *haz a sad* On the bright side, I had no hangover whatsoever Saturday morning which was great seeing as I had to work. The wonders of water and ibuprofen.
After I got off work I took *gasp* yet another nap before picking up Kelly and going over to J&J's 4th of July celebration. It was more drunk drama than I cared for and since I didn't get any more than a little buzzed, I found myself only mildly entertained and home by 11. But there was great food. And I got home without getting run over by a drunk person so hey! There we go!
And I spent all of today "trying" to "study" for my cumulative final for Integrated tomorrow. I interspersed it with watching TV and *double gasp* more napping! I swear, I feel like an old person... or a very young person. Is that really what a couple lost hours of sleep on Wednesday night does to me? Or is it still the atenolol? Can't quite tell.
Regardless, anyone reading this is now caught up on my goings on for the past week. Hopefully I can get back into the writing swing of things this coming week once my finals are all done with. Took a few notes here and there in my notebook, but nothing made it into a Word file. *sigh* Maybe I'll try to get some word count in before the benadryl hits. Cheers.
******
And since I promised my CP that I'd post pictures of my concert adventure, here are a few. :)
Here is myself with the super-sweet Dave (guitar)
Here's me and my wonderful friend with Doug, the lead singer.
And here's me with Jeremy and Tate, the bassist, and drummer respectively. I think this picture is just too full of amazingness for words. Oh man.
Wednesday after class I drove up to Prescott Valley with my friend and coworker to see the 3 Doors Down concert. I really only went for Safetysuit. Don't get me wrong, 3DD is pretty cool, but I haven't really been searching out their music for a while. Though they did play Duck and Run, which is my favorite song of theirs. So props to 3DD. Safetysuit was, as I expected, freaking FANTASTIC! What was even better was that they stayed after the show at the merch table to sign things/take pictures/talk. We left the 3DD act a little early to intercept Safetysuit before the throng hit. I actually got a minute or so to talk to the bassist and lead guitarist. Man, they're such sweethearts! And very easy on the eyes too. Poor Doug, the lead singer. He got MOBBED. His solution to signing and taking pictures was to turn around in a circle since he was literally surrounded on all sides. But anyway, I was so excited to get to meet everyone, including the WAY attractive drummer, Tate. Greatest birthday present this year!
So I didn't get to sleep 'til around 1, had to get up at 7:30 for an appointment and class. Then guess what I did when I got home from class?! That's right. I took a two hour nap. On my 22nd birthday. Who's the social butterfly? Yeah, that's right. ;-) My brother joined us for dinner that night and we had chicken parmesan and my favorite cake.
As for birthday presents, I got chocolate from my parents and Jamie. And I got B&N/Borders gift cards from my parents and Kelly. Apparently my preference for chocolate and books is well known or something. ;-)
I went shopping on Friday (which I never do... I swear, I hadn't been in the mall in months) with my mom and found a few things. Nothing jackpot worthy, but hey it's something. Promptly fell asleep (again) when I got home before heading over to J&J's so I'd have a DD. Then Friday evening I celebrated my birthday with my friends and BJ's for dinner. I had two drinks and a shot on an empty stomach. Didn't get sick, but I unfortunately didn't get to enjoy my pizzookie. *haz a sad* On the bright side, I had no hangover whatsoever Saturday morning which was great seeing as I had to work. The wonders of water and ibuprofen.
After I got off work I took *gasp* yet another nap before picking up Kelly and going over to J&J's 4th of July celebration. It was more drunk drama than I cared for and since I didn't get any more than a little buzzed, I found myself only mildly entertained and home by 11. But there was great food. And I got home without getting run over by a drunk person so hey! There we go!
And I spent all of today "trying" to "study" for my cumulative final for Integrated tomorrow. I interspersed it with watching TV and *double gasp* more napping! I swear, I feel like an old person... or a very young person. Is that really what a couple lost hours of sleep on Wednesday night does to me? Or is it still the atenolol? Can't quite tell.
Regardless, anyone reading this is now caught up on my goings on for the past week. Hopefully I can get back into the writing swing of things this coming week once my finals are all done with. Took a few notes here and there in my notebook, but nothing made it into a Word file. *sigh* Maybe I'll try to get some word count in before the benadryl hits. Cheers.
******
And since I promised my CP that I'd post pictures of my concert adventure, here are a few. :)
Here is myself with the super-sweet Dave (guitar)
Here's me and my wonderful friend with Doug, the lead singer.
And here's me with Jeremy and Tate, the bassist, and drummer respectively. I think this picture is just too full of amazingness for words. Oh man.
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