One of the things I am afraid of is turning into one of those people who can't handle new things. I complain every time Facebook changes its layout, fret over the design of iTunes and how it no longer has colors and so is less pretty, hated Vista when it came out, and have some problems with Windows 7 in trying to fix it when there are problems. These are signs, to me, that I could get stuck technologically -- stuck on things like a certain kind of computer, or a way of living -- and end up clinging to things that have past.
In a word, I'm afraid I'm going to end up like my mother -- unable to even deal with Facebook or how to find her email.
So when it comes to books, I've begun to wonder if I could be stuck in a place about the printed word. The market right now for ebooks is smaller then you might think considering how much to-do there is about it. 10 - 15% of book sales come from ebook sales. Small -- but significant considering the market until the Kindle came out was about 0. As more people get ereaders, the market is likely to increase.
People say that ebooks and the Kindle could stay where they are -- people cling to the printed word, the pages still fresh and crisp with that specific new book smell -- but think about the fact that these people are our age. These are the last of the generation who grew up in a time when technology hadn't permeated the publishing market. Its like the people who said that the movies wouldn't catch on, because there was nothing like live theater.
No, there is nothing like live theater, but that didn't stop the movie industry, and from that the TV industry from flourishing. Nor did it stop live theater from continuing to exist.
I hope, and believe, that the printed page will continue to exist even as the market changes. But admission of technology's advances does seem to skew towards a new kind of reading experience -- one that exists in digital pages, libraries carried around in your pocket and the increase of power in the ebook.
In psychology we talk about habituation -- the fact that people can get used to anything -- and its true. I no longer complain about my Facebook profile having developed seven different new pages, a design that I think is less clean then the one that came before -- but merely accept that technology moves forward, and Facebook, Livejournal, or even Blogger, changing their designs and layouts is a sign that they are not stagnant, they are moving forward too.
So how do I move forward?
I'm buying a Kindle.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
If Novels Were People
If your novel was a person, how would you describe this person?
EoaW is a chubby high schooler, with a few pimples still. Its a little over eager, and tells you more information then you really wanted, rushing to speak as if its afraid that you'll get bored of what its saying.
Pawn is a bright seven year old that runs along in a world of its own, laughing and jumping over cracks, but its also a little worried, because its grandparent just died and it knows about death and how it can come after anyone, and its a little scared.
tRoD is a high schooler grown up too fast -- she wears too much make up and thinks that she is pretty, but inside she's just afraid that no one is going to love her ever.
NtOaFQ is a loner, the kind of kid who as soon as school was over, walked as quickly as possible from the building. It doesn't care what anyone thinks, though it has a soft spot for romance and sometimes wishes that it could be in one.
tBoG is a teenager who thinks its indestructible; everything is possible for this novel. It runs across streets without looking, rollerblades and skateboards, and wants to jump out of airplanes, spinning, spinning down towards the ground. It thinks there will be a soft landing.
How would you describe things you have written?
EoaW is a chubby high schooler, with a few pimples still. Its a little over eager, and tells you more information then you really wanted, rushing to speak as if its afraid that you'll get bored of what its saying.
Pawn is a bright seven year old that runs along in a world of its own, laughing and jumping over cracks, but its also a little worried, because its grandparent just died and it knows about death and how it can come after anyone, and its a little scared.
tRoD is a high schooler grown up too fast -- she wears too much make up and thinks that she is pretty, but inside she's just afraid that no one is going to love her ever.
NtOaFQ is a loner, the kind of kid who as soon as school was over, walked as quickly as possible from the building. It doesn't care what anyone thinks, though it has a soft spot for romance and sometimes wishes that it could be in one.
tBoG is a teenager who thinks its indestructible; everything is possible for this novel. It runs across streets without looking, rollerblades and skateboards, and wants to jump out of airplanes, spinning, spinning down towards the ground. It thinks there will be a soft landing.
How would you describe things you have written?
Friday, March 18, 2011
In the Interlude
A lot of books on writing suggest you put a manuscript to bed for a little while before beginning to edit. This gives you a little distance from the work, and the first blush of love you feel for any novel you've written, fades giving you the ability to 'kill your darlings' as it were.
I used to think this was hogwash -- shouldn't you know exactly what happened in your novel in order to go back and edit as soon as possible? As I've grown into the writer I am now, I find though, that I come to things with fresh eyes if I just give a little time for the novel to breathe. New ideas occur to me, I watch a new show and discover something that I want to add into my novel. Its a calming period, when I can think about what I have written and how to make it better.
I am in the waiting period, letting EoaW (I wrote out the title recently and realized to my horror that there was an 'a' in the title) settle into what it will become in my mind. There are things that have to change about it, I know, but for now I am letting it rest.
But just because I'm letting something rest doesn't mean I don't have a million other ideas. Two things have happened since I finished my novel that are related to this: one, I attempted to plot the next five books after Pawn and I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Pawn is troubling to me because I don't know exactly where its going. The unfortunate thing about knowing how tropes work is that I know the expected path for a story like Pawn, and know that you can only deviate from it somewhat without violating the agreement with the reader -- to tell a story that is different yet the same in exchange for their willing suspension of disbelief. But I don't like the expected path, and to be honest the whole thinking about the whole series has made me slightly disappointed that it appears to have a moral.
This leads to a niggling, scary thought, that I am going to have to re-write a large portion of the backstory, and probably the majority of the story. While I know that this probably will be the result, I don't think I can handle re-writing the story right now. I'm in the middle of editing EoaW and I need that energy for the editing process.
Anyways, so that has me a little stumped. I think though, that the second thing that happened has opened up something for me.
The Hunger Games was given to me by a resident last night and I read it in one giant gulp. I don't remember the last time I read something new like this. I mean, I read The Dark Jewels trilogy like this, and Harry Potter, but even for authors I love, it usually takes me a couple of days to get through a book -- partly because of a decreased attention span and partly because -- well I get ideas and head over to word to start writing.
I suppose the last new book I read like this was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and that was almost five years ago now (ignoring the Harry Potter books, because those were expected). Part of this is due to being in college, and finding less and less time to read, and part of this is the fact that it doesn't happen often me me.
The Hunger Games was another wonderful example of pacing done right. It had captivating characters and the narration -- wow the narration was done brilliantly. You are swept alone in Katniss's world, and feel the same confusion about characters, the same little loves and joys as her. It was extremely well done. But I don't want to spoil it right now. I have to read the next two books and see what happens and then I'll probably do a giant recap post.
Anyways, if you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it. At least the first book.
Anyways, The Hunger Games made Alane pop up again. Probably because I have twelve books to fill with her, but almost anything can happen in Alane's books, I just have to create a sequence and follow my larger plot driven arcs. The point being, the idea of an arena, fighting, lead me to the beginning of Alane's story -- something I had been trying to find for a long time.
So, in the interlude between finishing and editing, I am going to keep on writing... its all I know how to do.
I used to think this was hogwash -- shouldn't you know exactly what happened in your novel in order to go back and edit as soon as possible? As I've grown into the writer I am now, I find though, that I come to things with fresh eyes if I just give a little time for the novel to breathe. New ideas occur to me, I watch a new show and discover something that I want to add into my novel. Its a calming period, when I can think about what I have written and how to make it better.
I am in the waiting period, letting EoaW (I wrote out the title recently and realized to my horror that there was an 'a' in the title) settle into what it will become in my mind. There are things that have to change about it, I know, but for now I am letting it rest.
But just because I'm letting something rest doesn't mean I don't have a million other ideas. Two things have happened since I finished my novel that are related to this: one, I attempted to plot the next five books after Pawn and I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Pawn is troubling to me because I don't know exactly where its going. The unfortunate thing about knowing how tropes work is that I know the expected path for a story like Pawn, and know that you can only deviate from it somewhat without violating the agreement with the reader -- to tell a story that is different yet the same in exchange for their willing suspension of disbelief. But I don't like the expected path, and to be honest the whole thinking about the whole series has made me slightly disappointed that it appears to have a moral.
This leads to a niggling, scary thought, that I am going to have to re-write a large portion of the backstory, and probably the majority of the story. While I know that this probably will be the result, I don't think I can handle re-writing the story right now. I'm in the middle of editing EoaW and I need that energy for the editing process.
Anyways, so that has me a little stumped. I think though, that the second thing that happened has opened up something for me.
The Hunger Games was given to me by a resident last night and I read it in one giant gulp. I don't remember the last time I read something new like this. I mean, I read The Dark Jewels trilogy like this, and Harry Potter, but even for authors I love, it usually takes me a couple of days to get through a book -- partly because of a decreased attention span and partly because -- well I get ideas and head over to word to start writing.
I suppose the last new book I read like this was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and that was almost five years ago now (ignoring the Harry Potter books, because those were expected). Part of this is due to being in college, and finding less and less time to read, and part of this is the fact that it doesn't happen often me me.
The Hunger Games was another wonderful example of pacing done right. It had captivating characters and the narration -- wow the narration was done brilliantly. You are swept alone in Katniss's world, and feel the same confusion about characters, the same little loves and joys as her. It was extremely well done. But I don't want to spoil it right now. I have to read the next two books and see what happens and then I'll probably do a giant recap post.
Anyways, if you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it. At least the first book.
Anyways, The Hunger Games made Alane pop up again. Probably because I have twelve books to fill with her, but almost anything can happen in Alane's books, I just have to create a sequence and follow my larger plot driven arcs. The point being, the idea of an arena, fighting, lead me to the beginning of Alane's story -- something I had been trying to find for a long time.
So, in the interlude between finishing and editing, I am going to keep on writing... its all I know how to do.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
How to Prove You're A Nerd
Sooooooo, I finished my first draft. :D
Of course my first thing to do is to find out some stats about my novel.
105,784 words in total.
2,394 paragraphs.
Of the three main characters, Molly's name is used the least at 1278, while Ian is at the most with 1374, and Alice coming in at second with only fourteen more then Molly at 1292. The three minor characters who have the most used are Alex (277), Owen (262) and Clara (261), impressive for Owen considering he was barely in the rough draft.
Here is a wordle without the names:
Of course my first thing to do is to find out some stats about my novel.
105,784 words in total.
2,394 paragraphs.
Of the three main characters, Molly's name is used the least at 1278, while Ian is at the most with 1374, and Alice coming in at second with only fourteen more then Molly at 1292. The three minor characters who have the most used are Alex (277), Owen (262) and Clara (261), impressive for Owen considering he was barely in the rough draft.
Here is a wordle without the names:
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Distractions
I feel pretty good about the past week. There was a ton of stuff I should have done (read: studying for my immunology exam on Thursday, applied for more jobs, read my magazines, ect.) and I didn't complete all (or any?) of my goals, but I still feel pretty good. The novel editing is still going well, despite a definite slow down. I have something like five or six scenes to write left and I'm going to try and get them done before break ends so I can feel like something was accomplished. I managed to clean my room thoroughly for the first time since before break (I clean often, don't worry, its more about organization and things like that).
Having said that there were plenty of distractions this week, despite not having a social life. I didn't really want to see many people this week; not because I don't love people and spending time with them, but because I wanted to recharge and feel like myself again and I needed to do that alone. It was good in that respect because most of my floor was gone and I worked late shifts at the desk (though ahaha, 40 hours of work means PAYDAY). So it wasn't people who distracted me.
The obvious: TV. I started watching the British version of Being Human (and am annoyed that the American [well Canadian] version is set in Boston and I want to watch it now, but don't know if I can handle the changes) and loved it. Fantasy/Sci-fi shows are a place where you can have the sort of drama you get over loaded on in other TV. There are so many great elements to Being Human, and considering my novel, it is actually really helpful in making me think about other considerations for what's going to happen (vague enough for you?). Still, its distracting to have a new show, even a British show that isn't as long as the American half season. I haven't gotten half way through season 2 though, because I keep stopping and going and writing.
The not so obvious: Reading has not gone as well as I would have liked. I mean, I ripped right through The Art of War for Writers (a really good book for writers. Bell described it was filling in bits from his other books on writing, but to me it was a condensation of all the best tidbits about writing that I needed), but the fiction reading didn't go so well. Part of this is due to the fact that I would start reading at 4 am and then want to sleep, and part of it was due to wanting to write myself, and part of it, a small part of it, is that I can't read fiction the way I used to. Anyways this leads to disappointments in books that I think I would have liked before, but now find trite and unfortunately cliche (even when most would say they aren't). Certain plots gets under my skin in the annoying way, and I find it hard to focus on what is good.
And disappointment leads to other things. Two years ago I decided to use NaNoWriMo's deal with Amazon to get a proof copy of my novel that year (the book is called Pawn) and I picked it up yesterday and started reading. I picked it up because I was trying to get into the headspace of an action novel and I feel as if Pawn despite certain other flaws, has a lot of exciting and emotional action (one of my favorite scenes in it is an intense action sequence), and its probably my best action writing thus far. So I started rereading it.
I was surprised to find how complete Pawn was. My current project, EoW, is very incomplete -- it needs (needed) a lot of restructuring to make it novel shaped. Pawn read like a real novel. Sure things needed fleshing out, there were many spelling and grammar mistakes, and issues on that level, but it felt like the story was complete when I got to the last page (well ish, it ends on a cliffhanger).
So I'm having a minor crisis about EoW. I am suddenly unable to deal with the fact that its not complete and there was a section in the middle that I just didn't write because I was bored. If I'm bored writing it, how could anyone be interested reading it? (I qualify this by saying the actual scene writing isn't boring, but it takes a lot of effort for me to get into the right mindset to be writing these scenes and I feel as if overall plot has slowed down too much. I don't know how to fix this but will be examining it). Pawn never slows down. Its one thing to another to another, with lots of fighting, action, running, jumping and climbing up trees (one of the characters is a squirrel after all). Admittedly, Pawn is a children's (12+) book, where as I think that EoW despite its lack of sex and gore (some blood), is not a children's book (more an emerging adult, you know the 20-somethings generation), and the distinction makes me uncomfortable (I read young adult novels because they are better).
Anyways, this second distraction is what is stopping me from finishing the last five/six scenes of EoW and making me unsure I'm focusing on the right book...
Or maybe I'm handicapping myself.
Having said that there were plenty of distractions this week, despite not having a social life. I didn't really want to see many people this week; not because I don't love people and spending time with them, but because I wanted to recharge and feel like myself again and I needed to do that alone. It was good in that respect because most of my floor was gone and I worked late shifts at the desk (though ahaha, 40 hours of work means PAYDAY). So it wasn't people who distracted me.
The obvious: TV. I started watching the British version of Being Human (and am annoyed that the American [well Canadian] version is set in Boston and I want to watch it now, but don't know if I can handle the changes) and loved it. Fantasy/Sci-fi shows are a place where you can have the sort of drama you get over loaded on in other TV. There are so many great elements to Being Human, and considering my novel, it is actually really helpful in making me think about other considerations for what's going to happen (vague enough for you?). Still, its distracting to have a new show, even a British show that isn't as long as the American half season. I haven't gotten half way through season 2 though, because I keep stopping and going and writing.
The not so obvious: Reading has not gone as well as I would have liked. I mean, I ripped right through The Art of War for Writers (a really good book for writers. Bell described it was filling in bits from his other books on writing, but to me it was a condensation of all the best tidbits about writing that I needed), but the fiction reading didn't go so well. Part of this is due to the fact that I would start reading at 4 am and then want to sleep, and part of it was due to wanting to write myself, and part of it, a small part of it, is that I can't read fiction the way I used to. Anyways this leads to disappointments in books that I think I would have liked before, but now find trite and unfortunately cliche (even when most would say they aren't). Certain plots gets under my skin in the annoying way, and I find it hard to focus on what is good.
And disappointment leads to other things. Two years ago I decided to use NaNoWriMo's deal with Amazon to get a proof copy of my novel that year (the book is called Pawn) and I picked it up yesterday and started reading. I picked it up because I was trying to get into the headspace of an action novel and I feel as if Pawn despite certain other flaws, has a lot of exciting and emotional action (one of my favorite scenes in it is an intense action sequence), and its probably my best action writing thus far. So I started rereading it.
I was surprised to find how complete Pawn was. My current project, EoW, is very incomplete -- it needs (needed) a lot of restructuring to make it novel shaped. Pawn read like a real novel. Sure things needed fleshing out, there were many spelling and grammar mistakes, and issues on that level, but it felt like the story was complete when I got to the last page (well ish, it ends on a cliffhanger).
So I'm having a minor crisis about EoW. I am suddenly unable to deal with the fact that its not complete and there was a section in the middle that I just didn't write because I was bored. If I'm bored writing it, how could anyone be interested reading it? (I qualify this by saying the actual scene writing isn't boring, but it takes a lot of effort for me to get into the right mindset to be writing these scenes and I feel as if overall plot has slowed down too much. I don't know how to fix this but will be examining it). Pawn never slows down. Its one thing to another to another, with lots of fighting, action, running, jumping and climbing up trees (one of the characters is a squirrel after all). Admittedly, Pawn is a children's (12+) book, where as I think that EoW despite its lack of sex and gore (some blood), is not a children's book (more an emerging adult, you know the 20-somethings generation), and the distinction makes me uncomfortable (I read young adult novels because they are better).
Anyways, this second distraction is what is stopping me from finishing the last five/six scenes of EoW and making me unsure I'm focusing on the right book...
Or maybe I'm handicapping myself.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Notes on the Zone
Editing is going well. I've got 1 full chapter to write, but I've filled in some of the gaps that were there and I'm getting back into the place where I feel good about writing the characters. I wrote one bit that was just plain awful at the beginning and was surprised at how unnatural it felt to be writing Ian and Molly again.
I've never thought of myself as a 'zone' writer. What does this mean? Well, I can slip between characters and stories easily, something that comes in useful when I'm in the middle of four different novels in different states. I can stop in the middle of one novel and start or work on another one without loosing a sensation of closeness to all the characters I am juggling (that being said, I do focus when I get to the end of a novel, but that's usually because it rips itself from me so I don't have time to think about other things. This is the source of my 10,000 word days). Currently I have three novels I am playing with (including the editing one) and I think its relatively easy to move between them, especially since I'm a write and get the hell out of their kind of writer -- editing is when you fix the mistakes you made.
But the last couple of days I've been struggling a little to get Molly and Ian's voices back. Funnily enough Alice remains pretty clear, and in some ways I almost think the break has done her good because she was starting to sound too much like Molly (as a result of spending time with her in my head, and not in the reality of the novel). It took about 2000 words to get me Molly's voice back, which is fine for the most part, but I haven't had a chance to do it with Ian yet and that's worrying as he's about to have a lot on his plate.
I think the problem is I just haven't written them in a while. I think about them probably once a week and about how I should be doing things with them, but it has been a while since I've officially written them, and it feels/felt unnatural. Apparently I am a little bit of a 'zone' writer. I need to have the characters in my head and around in order for this process to be easy.
Practice once again makes things easier. As I write more and more with them, the words come easier, and I find the infinite joy of discovering the story once again. Its been good to get back into this headspace. Its helped me immensely and is making me quite cheerful and hopeful about my prospects.
Then again, there is liable to be a low period coming up where I think everyone will hate it FOREVER. :D
I've never thought of myself as a 'zone' writer. What does this mean? Well, I can slip between characters and stories easily, something that comes in useful when I'm in the middle of four different novels in different states. I can stop in the middle of one novel and start or work on another one without loosing a sensation of closeness to all the characters I am juggling (that being said, I do focus when I get to the end of a novel, but that's usually because it rips itself from me so I don't have time to think about other things. This is the source of my 10,000 word days). Currently I have three novels I am playing with (including the editing one) and I think its relatively easy to move between them, especially since I'm a write and get the hell out of their kind of writer -- editing is when you fix the mistakes you made.
But the last couple of days I've been struggling a little to get Molly and Ian's voices back. Funnily enough Alice remains pretty clear, and in some ways I almost think the break has done her good because she was starting to sound too much like Molly (as a result of spending time with her in my head, and not in the reality of the novel). It took about 2000 words to get me Molly's voice back, which is fine for the most part, but I haven't had a chance to do it with Ian yet and that's worrying as he's about to have a lot on his plate.
I think the problem is I just haven't written them in a while. I think about them probably once a week and about how I should be doing things with them, but it has been a while since I've officially written them, and it feels/felt unnatural. Apparently I am a little bit of a 'zone' writer. I need to have the characters in my head and around in order for this process to be easy.
Practice once again makes things easier. As I write more and more with them, the words come easier, and I find the infinite joy of discovering the story once again. Its been good to get back into this headspace. Its helped me immensely and is making me quite cheerful and hopeful about my prospects.
Then again, there is liable to be a low period coming up where I think everyone will hate it FOREVER. :D
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Editing
So my NaNoWriMo from 2009 is the novel I feel like has the best of me in it. The characters are dynamic and full of confusing emotions (for them), and want to fight and love and be. The plot also forces them to make tough decisions and the conflict comes from their own lives. Currently it is called EoW (not really, an acronym of the title) but I think I'm going to try and come up with some better title, because if this book were to lead to sequels, the series would take on that name. I'm working on it.
Anyways. I wrote this NaNo with an outline, which was ditched at about chapter 5, or half way through, which makes the first couple of chapters quite good in terms of having scenes that make sense and have action in them, but makes the last few and the middle a mess of false starts and stories that could be told but were left by the wayside. I knew when I was going to start editing I was going to need to fill in the gaping hole that was the middle because something happened with one of the main characters that was not good (in the sense that it didn't make sense) and I needed a few more scenes with the other two to explain what was going on in the middle. Indeed I thought I was going to have to write a huge portion of the middle over again. Turns out, yes I do have to rewrite the middle, and add in what happens with the character who's story got derailed, I have quite a lot of the middle.
In fact, I only have to write 21 more scenes to get to a complete first draft (I currently have a rough draft, which is the mess that doesn't have a solid plot, and has missing scenes as a result). Average word count of a scene for me is 1306 words (yes I have a spreadsheet with word counts of all my scenes, this reorganization happened in excel because I'm just that cool... and wanted to be able to do stats on my novel :P). That means, I'm about 27,000 words away from a first draft. 27,000 words is easy. I mean, if I can write 10,000 in a day, then its about 3 days. So new goal, finish the first draft this week.
I don't know if it will work but I hope it will. I've decided that I won't show anyone this novel until I'm at the second draft stage. First draft is where the kinks in terms of major overarching story are fixed. Second draft is where the fine tuning begins -- changing out parts of scenes that don't work, fiddling with the bits that almost, but don't quite work, cutting scenes that I thought were necessary that aren't.
So, second draft by June is my goal. So that I can utilize the NaNo offer and get it "printed" in book form to send to people for comments and so on for free.
I'm excited.
Anyways. I wrote this NaNo with an outline, which was ditched at about chapter 5, or half way through, which makes the first couple of chapters quite good in terms of having scenes that make sense and have action in them, but makes the last few and the middle a mess of false starts and stories that could be told but were left by the wayside. I knew when I was going to start editing I was going to need to fill in the gaping hole that was the middle because something happened with one of the main characters that was not good (in the sense that it didn't make sense) and I needed a few more scenes with the other two to explain what was going on in the middle. Indeed I thought I was going to have to write a huge portion of the middle over again. Turns out, yes I do have to rewrite the middle, and add in what happens with the character who's story got derailed, I have quite a lot of the middle.
In fact, I only have to write 21 more scenes to get to a complete first draft (I currently have a rough draft, which is the mess that doesn't have a solid plot, and has missing scenes as a result). Average word count of a scene for me is 1306 words (yes I have a spreadsheet with word counts of all my scenes, this reorganization happened in excel because I'm just that cool... and wanted to be able to do stats on my novel :P). That means, I'm about 27,000 words away from a first draft. 27,000 words is easy. I mean, if I can write 10,000 in a day, then its about 3 days. So new goal, finish the first draft this week.
I don't know if it will work but I hope it will. I've decided that I won't show anyone this novel until I'm at the second draft stage. First draft is where the kinks in terms of major overarching story are fixed. Second draft is where the fine tuning begins -- changing out parts of scenes that don't work, fiddling with the bits that almost, but don't quite work, cutting scenes that I thought were necessary that aren't.
So, second draft by June is my goal. So that I can utilize the NaNo offer and get it "printed" in book form to send to people for comments and so on for free.
I'm excited.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Spring Break
Spring break began about eight hours ago for me. I got out of Genetics lab and came home and, because I am working from midnight to 8 am tomorrow, went to sleep. When I got up four hours after going to sleep I showered, meandered the internet and then, quite spur of the moment, decided to go to Borders down the way.
The idea had been peculating for a while because Margot, who works the front desk, had been talking about going because this one is going out of business. All books were 25% off, which is an all right amount to be off, so I decided as I purused the shelves to just pick up anything that caught my interest.
My first stop in any bookshop is to go to the "reference" section. I like looking at books about writing -- which coincidentally are always next to books about science. There is something nice about the juxtaposition. I riffled through a few, and found several books that were inspirationals for writers -- exercises, and so on for people who might be a little stuck. I picked up two of them, and The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell which seemed a little more about the practicalities of writing.
Having looked in that section I went straight for fantasy, but found, in the end, nothing of interest. Its not that I don't like fantasy, but I actually prefer young adult fantasy, and that was where I found myself eventually. I picked up books that looked interesting and eventually had quite a pile which I sorted through and picked two of.
In the end these are the books I bought:
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Naming by Alison Croggon
The Art of War for Writers James Scott Bell
The 3 am Epiphany by Brian Kiteley
Now, spring break is a week long and I'm working at the desk for 32 hours of it, so I've decided I should attempt to read both fiction books. The other thing I've decided to do is go through The 3 am Epiphany and write something for each exercise -- at least one a day.
Now because these are exercises and not terribly likely to get published, I'm thinking about posting them up here. Just as an experiment.
We'll see.
The idea had been peculating for a while because Margot, who works the front desk, had been talking about going because this one is going out of business. All books were 25% off, which is an all right amount to be off, so I decided as I purused the shelves to just pick up anything that caught my interest.
My first stop in any bookshop is to go to the "reference" section. I like looking at books about writing -- which coincidentally are always next to books about science. There is something nice about the juxtaposition. I riffled through a few, and found several books that were inspirationals for writers -- exercises, and so on for people who might be a little stuck. I picked up two of them, and The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell which seemed a little more about the practicalities of writing.
Having looked in that section I went straight for fantasy, but found, in the end, nothing of interest. Its not that I don't like fantasy, but I actually prefer young adult fantasy, and that was where I found myself eventually. I picked up books that looked interesting and eventually had quite a pile which I sorted through and picked two of.
In the end these are the books I bought:
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Naming by Alison Croggon
The Art of War for Writers James Scott Bell
The 3 am Epiphany by Brian Kiteley
Now, spring break is a week long and I'm working at the desk for 32 hours of it, so I've decided I should attempt to read both fiction books. The other thing I've decided to do is go through The 3 am Epiphany and write something for each exercise -- at least one a day.
Now because these are exercises and not terribly likely to get published, I'm thinking about posting them up here. Just as an experiment.
We'll see.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Investment (Episodes)
I started Episodes, Matt Le Blanc's new show, because of Matt. I mean, come on, I'm obsessed with Friends, so it makes sense for me to start the show. It just got to the end of its seven episode first season.
I actually quite liked the first episode. It was funny, and invested me in the relationship between Beverley and Sean. It didn't have much Matt, but I was okay with that. There were some interesting characters, Carol being my favorite for her entirely fake personality -- which then turned into one of my favorite characters because she's clearly in a place where she has to do it.
I thought it was interesting to have Matt playing a version of himself. I know its been done before, but I don't think its ever been done in the same way. Imagine playing someone who has your name, and some parts of your life, but other parts fictionalized. Matt does it beautifully though, and there are moments that feel really true and interesting.
So, now having finished the first season, I am going to do a half plug / half warning. Episodes is hilariously funny. I mean, really, really funny. There are some great parts to it and you get this amazing sense of what its like to be in Hollywood. It also will break your heart -- over and over and over again. These are moments that feel infinitely human, but they are painful to watch.
If you plan to watch this show, then spoilers occur after this point, stop reading. I say this because I am about to go into the painful moments. If you have been turned off by this advertisement for the show, or think you would get spoiled anyways, I suppose you can go on.
SPOILERS
I like Matt, I really do, but the pull of this show is the relationship between Bev and Sean. They are so happy and normal and in love with one another. They work well with one another. They also have normal couple flaws: Sean's inability to let go of a dream that is clearly hurting his wife, Bev's controlling personality (not overbearing as such, but she does like to know things) and a little bit her jealousy. They are people, and they are in love, and you can tell. And the show lets you know its all going to fall apart at the start, so seeing them so happy makes it hurt even more to see them being so normal with one another.
Now as the show begins to unfold, you get both of their points of view. Bev is unhappy, and its clear that she is unhappy. She wants to be somewhere else and not in America making a show that is so clearly not the show she wrote in the UK. She also has a few problems making friends, being somewhat shrewish (yeah, not particularly great feminism-wise, but she's not unbelievable, and it plays into the overall result of the show, so I'm okay with it) and Matt drives her up the wall basically because they have a bad impression of each other from the beginning.
Meanwhile Sean is happy in LA. He's the well liked writer, and he and Matt's relationship unfold nicely. It hurts later when Sean says that he has only a few guy friends. Matt fulfills a role in Sean's life that I don't think he got before. So, yes, we're happy for Sean. And the thing with Morning is complicated, but I think the show handles it delicately. After all, he is adamantly against doing anything about his feelings towards Morning and I honestly got the sense it was only a physical thing for Morning and not about the emotional things.
I totally get why Bev would be upset by this and I totally get why Sean decides to hide the fact that Morning went to the benefit with him and Matt because they are sketched out so well in the episodes preceding. So when it comes -- when Bev sleeps with Matt, you both understand her impulse, and it tears you up inside because Sean was trying so hard to do the right thing and he's getting screwed either way.
Never in my life have I watched a comedy in which the show is so depressing and laughed so much. The fight between Matt and Sean was hilarious (the perfume anyone? The cactus! The cactus!) and even the moments between Bev and Sean when they were fighting (and Matt's comedic relief) were funny. Horrible, but you still laughed. I've never seen something like that executed so well and I think it comes from the fact that the characters were so likable and their actions so understandable and human.
Plus you invest from the beginning. You want people to be happy.
I know the show was picked up for the second season, and I'm excited for the second season. I think it will be interesting to see what they do next and if they can salvage the remains of the relationships they so thoroughly destroyed in the last episode. I am invested heavily in Sean and Bev working things out. I kind of want Matt and Carol to get together, but that's random. But yes, want Sean and Bev to be together, though I don't know if they can manage it. I hope they can. There is so much between them and come on -- "You were my partner."
They are meant to be together. They write together. There is no way they can be 'just friends'.
I actually quite liked the first episode. It was funny, and invested me in the relationship between Beverley and Sean. It didn't have much Matt, but I was okay with that. There were some interesting characters, Carol being my favorite for her entirely fake personality -- which then turned into one of my favorite characters because she's clearly in a place where she has to do it.
I thought it was interesting to have Matt playing a version of himself. I know its been done before, but I don't think its ever been done in the same way. Imagine playing someone who has your name, and some parts of your life, but other parts fictionalized. Matt does it beautifully though, and there are moments that feel really true and interesting.
So, now having finished the first season, I am going to do a half plug / half warning. Episodes is hilariously funny. I mean, really, really funny. There are some great parts to it and you get this amazing sense of what its like to be in Hollywood. It also will break your heart -- over and over and over again. These are moments that feel infinitely human, but they are painful to watch.
If you plan to watch this show, then spoilers occur after this point, stop reading. I say this because I am about to go into the painful moments. If you have been turned off by this advertisement for the show, or think you would get spoiled anyways, I suppose you can go on.
SPOILERS
I like Matt, I really do, but the pull of this show is the relationship between Bev and Sean. They are so happy and normal and in love with one another. They work well with one another. They also have normal couple flaws: Sean's inability to let go of a dream that is clearly hurting his wife, Bev's controlling personality (not overbearing as such, but she does like to know things) and a little bit her jealousy. They are people, and they are in love, and you can tell. And the show lets you know its all going to fall apart at the start, so seeing them so happy makes it hurt even more to see them being so normal with one another.
Now as the show begins to unfold, you get both of their points of view. Bev is unhappy, and its clear that she is unhappy. She wants to be somewhere else and not in America making a show that is so clearly not the show she wrote in the UK. She also has a few problems making friends, being somewhat shrewish (yeah, not particularly great feminism-wise, but she's not unbelievable, and it plays into the overall result of the show, so I'm okay with it) and Matt drives her up the wall basically because they have a bad impression of each other from the beginning.
Meanwhile Sean is happy in LA. He's the well liked writer, and he and Matt's relationship unfold nicely. It hurts later when Sean says that he has only a few guy friends. Matt fulfills a role in Sean's life that I don't think he got before. So, yes, we're happy for Sean. And the thing with Morning is complicated, but I think the show handles it delicately. After all, he is adamantly against doing anything about his feelings towards Morning and I honestly got the sense it was only a physical thing for Morning and not about the emotional things.
I totally get why Bev would be upset by this and I totally get why Sean decides to hide the fact that Morning went to the benefit with him and Matt because they are sketched out so well in the episodes preceding. So when it comes -- when Bev sleeps with Matt, you both understand her impulse, and it tears you up inside because Sean was trying so hard to do the right thing and he's getting screwed either way.
Never in my life have I watched a comedy in which the show is so depressing and laughed so much. The fight between Matt and Sean was hilarious (the perfume anyone? The cactus! The cactus!) and even the moments between Bev and Sean when they were fighting (and Matt's comedic relief) were funny. Horrible, but you still laughed. I've never seen something like that executed so well and I think it comes from the fact that the characters were so likable and their actions so understandable and human.
Plus you invest from the beginning. You want people to be happy.
I know the show was picked up for the second season, and I'm excited for the second season. I think it will be interesting to see what they do next and if they can salvage the remains of the relationships they so thoroughly destroyed in the last episode. I am invested heavily in Sean and Bev working things out. I kind of want Matt and Carol to get together, but that's random. But yes, want Sean and Bev to be together, though I don't know if they can manage it. I hope they can. There is so much between them and come on -- "You were my partner."
They are meant to be together. They write together. There is no way they can be 'just friends'.
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