So I was going along, minding my own post-Nano business, finishing off architecture finals, when I noticed something.
There was a tiny bunny following me. Now, this bunny was of the rare Ploteus Bunnius species, the kind that won't stop following you till you turn and give them attention.
So I did. I stopped, filled half a page with scrawled notes on the interesting creature, and moved on. However, much to my surprise, I soon found another, possibly related to the first, following me as well.
Accordingly, I filled up the rest of the page with illegible scrawlings on the exact nature of this one, and moved on once more.
Imagine my surprise, when a third bunny hopped out of the bushes and joined the gathering crowd. At this point, I realized that not only had my brief foray into writing reawakened normal writing tendencies, it had only produced a litter of plot bunnies.
And bunnies tend to breed with surprising rapidity.
I shall have to fill up my wall with these if they continue to come.
Being a blog of writerly ramblings and jotted notes “For what is said is forgotten in time, but that which is written endures"
December 13, 2013
December 6, 2013
Welp.
Well, if you haven't guessed, I didn't quite finish Nano this year. In fact, I threw in the towel about the fifteenth. There are a lot of reasons why, but the least was the busyness of school. While definitely a contributing factor, there were other, more serious problems with my story.
As evidenced in previous posts, I lost my sense of direction on The Imaginarium/Fair too Far/The Farthest Mile fairly early on, and it was only after fifteen days of wrestling with a story that was fighting tooth and nail to go a different direction that I realized my mistake.
See, the story I had set out to write was far different from the one I found myself writing, and while that can often be a good thing, in this case it left me hogtied, trying to finagle characters and settings into a plot that wasn't theirs.
In addition, by the fifteenth, even though I was a good deal behind on my word count, the story was gearing toward the final act. Which meant that the story would be a great deal shorter than 50,000. That was the final piece of a rather complex puzzle of problems that contributed to my decision to stop and try again later.
Because that's what I plan to do. And though planning and writing have not always seen eye to eye in my mind, there are two full-fledged stories floating around in my brain right, just waiting for me to sit down and write them. One of them is The Farthest Mile, the final iteration of the story I settled on.
Mashing together themes from the parable of the prodigal son and awesome setting of steampunk, coupled with some good old-fashioned story tropes turned on their head will make a wonderful story, once I can separate it from The Imaginarium in my head.
So we shall see. I've been writing a bit since, in tiny spurts and leaps, and plan to continue doing so for some time, perhaps even setting a much smaller goal for myself every other day or so. And since that is the case, the blog shall remain open for a bit longer, though I highly doubt regular posts will become... regular again.
All said and done, I had a blast Nanoing this year, and thoroughly enjoyed diving back into writing. I'm already looking forward to next year!
As evidenced in previous posts, I lost my sense of direction on The Imaginarium/Fair too Far/The Farthest Mile fairly early on, and it was only after fifteen days of wrestling with a story that was fighting tooth and nail to go a different direction that I realized my mistake.
See, the story I had set out to write was far different from the one I found myself writing, and while that can often be a good thing, in this case it left me hogtied, trying to finagle characters and settings into a plot that wasn't theirs.
In addition, by the fifteenth, even though I was a good deal behind on my word count, the story was gearing toward the final act. Which meant that the story would be a great deal shorter than 50,000. That was the final piece of a rather complex puzzle of problems that contributed to my decision to stop and try again later.
Because that's what I plan to do. And though planning and writing have not always seen eye to eye in my mind, there are two full-fledged stories floating around in my brain right, just waiting for me to sit down and write them. One of them is The Farthest Mile, the final iteration of the story I settled on.
Mashing together themes from the parable of the prodigal son and awesome setting of steampunk, coupled with some good old-fashioned story tropes turned on their head will make a wonderful story, once I can separate it from The Imaginarium in my head.
So we shall see. I've been writing a bit since, in tiny spurts and leaps, and plan to continue doing so for some time, perhaps even setting a much smaller goal for myself every other day or so. And since that is the case, the blog shall remain open for a bit longer, though I highly doubt regular posts will become... regular again.
All said and done, I had a blast Nanoing this year, and thoroughly enjoyed diving back into writing. I'm already looking forward to next year!
November 8, 2013
A Change of Pace
With the transitions outlined in my last post, it became apparent that my novel needed both a change of title, as well as a slightly different direction to aim for. So, unless I find a more aptly suited name in the future, the title is now Fair too Far. We'll see how long that sticks.
And as for the change in direction, perhaps a change of theme would be a more accurate description. I try to let everything I write have a purpose. I.e. I try not to write something simply for the heck of it, or simply because its awesome or hilarious. I write because there's a story that needs telling, and hopefully a truth that can be investigated or made clear.
One of my ultimate goals in writing is to create a vacuum of space where I can make a darkness so deep that when it cracks, the light shines through with stunning brilliance. That's why I love writing, because I can create awful scenarios, horrendously dark moments, and put my characters through more than they rightly deserve, so that the reader sees the truth with the same clarity that my characters do.
Sometimes that truth is simple. Or straightforward. Other times it is not. Sometimes it is very clear before I begin writing what the end goal will be. Other times it is not. This time is one of the not so clear times. But at the story gains more strength in my mind, and as words add to words, it will become more and more clear to me what exactly I need to bring to light in this particular tale. Perhaps hope. Or justice. Or patience. Most likely something more complex than that.
I am reminded of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. There is a deep message in that book, behind all the wonderful action and science, but it is sometimes hard to put in words that will not make the story seem cheap and fake. The best way to understand what I am talking about is of course to read the book itself.
Hopefully that is what Fair too Far will end up being like.
Gaining courage,
Farjag
And as for the change in direction, perhaps a change of theme would be a more accurate description. I try to let everything I write have a purpose. I.e. I try not to write something simply for the heck of it, or simply because its awesome or hilarious. I write because there's a story that needs telling, and hopefully a truth that can be investigated or made clear.
One of my ultimate goals in writing is to create a vacuum of space where I can make a darkness so deep that when it cracks, the light shines through with stunning brilliance. That's why I love writing, because I can create awful scenarios, horrendously dark moments, and put my characters through more than they rightly deserve, so that the reader sees the truth with the same clarity that my characters do.
Sometimes that truth is simple. Or straightforward. Other times it is not. Sometimes it is very clear before I begin writing what the end goal will be. Other times it is not. This time is one of the not so clear times. But at the story gains more strength in my mind, and as words add to words, it will become more and more clear to me what exactly I need to bring to light in this particular tale. Perhaps hope. Or justice. Or patience. Most likely something more complex than that.
I am reminded of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. There is a deep message in that book, behind all the wonderful action and science, but it is sometimes hard to put in words that will not make the story seem cheap and fake. The best way to understand what I am talking about is of course to read the book itself.
Hopefully that is what Fair too Far will end up being like.
Gaining courage,
Farjag
November 6, 2013
On Existential Crises and Ninjas
So after the good start on day one, day two found me suffering from an existential crisis.
I had no idea where my story was going to go. Which is bad. Because I thought I knew that already.
It turns out, the plot I had outlined prior to November 1st didn't have enough forward impetus to be properly labeled a plot. It had character development by the buckets, danger and mystery by the tons, but nothing to dictate what happened next, no forward catalyzation.
Which evidently isn't a word.
Anyways, that was the main problem, but there was a second problem hiding behind it. And that was a lack of setting. I had characters, but nowhere particular for them to inhabit. Which quickly caused the story, already lagging from a lack of forward motion, to stagnate in a undecided place somewhere between Transylvania and the southern half of Virginia.
I.e. nowhere particular.
So all this is running through my head on day two and into day three. The setting was a relatively fix, and helped me push through the existential crisis of wether or not I should even continue Nano.
And then, late on day four, I remembered the old Nano adage: "If your story stalls, add ninjas!" Or something similar. While ninjas aren't exactly suitable to my story, it definitely started me thinking on what I could inject in the plot to completely create a new story. I realized that the plot I had was very thematically similar to 2011's Nano novel, The Trust Hole. I.e. A young, innocent character enters a dark place, meets colorful characters with dark secrets, and turns the place around, learning in the process their place in the world.
So while by day four I was really warming to the characters and setting, I realized the plot had to go.
So I added ninjas.
Or more properly an armada of death-dealing dirigibles breaking out of a cloud-filled sky to the sounds of hundreds of gatling guns.
I'm pretty sure this is going in a far more interesting direction than previously. :)
I had no idea where my story was going to go. Which is bad. Because I thought I knew that already.
It turns out, the plot I had outlined prior to November 1st didn't have enough forward impetus to be properly labeled a plot. It had character development by the buckets, danger and mystery by the tons, but nothing to dictate what happened next, no forward catalyzation.
Which evidently isn't a word.
Anyways, that was the main problem, but there was a second problem hiding behind it. And that was a lack of setting. I had characters, but nowhere particular for them to inhabit. Which quickly caused the story, already lagging from a lack of forward motion, to stagnate in a undecided place somewhere between Transylvania and the southern half of Virginia.
I.e. nowhere particular.
So all this is running through my head on day two and into day three. The setting was a relatively fix, and helped me push through the existential crisis of wether or not I should even continue Nano.
And then, late on day four, I remembered the old Nano adage: "If your story stalls, add ninjas!" Or something similar. While ninjas aren't exactly suitable to my story, it definitely started me thinking on what I could inject in the plot to completely create a new story. I realized that the plot I had was very thematically similar to 2011's Nano novel, The Trust Hole. I.e. A young, innocent character enters a dark place, meets colorful characters with dark secrets, and turns the place around, learning in the process their place in the world.
So while by day four I was really warming to the characters and setting, I realized the plot had to go.
So I added ninjas.
Or more properly an armada of death-dealing dirigibles breaking out of a cloud-filled sky to the sounds of hundreds of gatling guns.
I'm pretty sure this is going in a far more interesting direction than previously. :)
November 4, 2013
On Arson
Now, some of the very astute readers here will notice that the name "Arson" has been used once before here on the blog. Back in March of this year (so long ago!) I waxed lyrical about a plot bunny that momentarily distracted me from my other current literary projects.
That trail went nowhere particular in the end, I wrote about another half page before the trail dead-ended. The reason was very clear, I had no plot. I had two very distinct characters, without a true trail for them to follow. So they were forgotten.
But I very much liked the name, and so I resurrected it from the grave of unfinished tales, dusted it off and set it back to work. And while female protagonist's name stayed buried, the character itself soon found its way into my pre-Nano scribblings and plot prep.
So, in a way the story is finding new life. I took characters with no plot and placed them in a plot that had no characters, and hopefully I shall find a happy marriage between the two before the end of November!
Writing on,
Farjag
That trail went nowhere particular in the end, I wrote about another half page before the trail dead-ended. The reason was very clear, I had no plot. I had two very distinct characters, without a true trail for them to follow. So they were forgotten.
But I very much liked the name, and so I resurrected it from the grave of unfinished tales, dusted it off and set it back to work. And while female protagonist's name stayed buried, the character itself soon found its way into my pre-Nano scribblings and plot prep.
So, in a way the story is finding new life. I took characters with no plot and placed them in a plot that had no characters, and hopefully I shall find a happy marriage between the two before the end of November!
Writing on,
Farjag
November 1, 2013
Off To A Good Start
Well, today went well. Not only was I able to turn in my architectural homework on time, but I also happened to finish off my first 1,700 words just now. Which means I have time tonight to relax and write a blog post!
What's that? Getting ahead while I have time? Pssh!
We shall see. I enjoy stopping writing at particularly chewy points of the story, much like commercial breaks for a tv show. It gives me an impetus to finish the next part the next time I sit down to write, sort of like a self-propelling kick in the rear. All that to say I stopped at a particularly delicious point, more on the comedic than suspense side, but still very much a kicker. To illustrate my point:
Arson grumbled. “Your head’s a little big for your shoulders, Alice.”
“Exactly what will get me a job someday. Or today, for that matter. Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal. If I impress your boss, Mr. What’s-what’s-face with what I can do, I get to stay. If he won’t hire me, than I’ll be off back home and you can keep on your merry, solitary way.”
Arson frowned in thought before extending a hand to his sister. “Deal.”
A half hour later Arson found himself setting Alice up in a bunk next to the juggler twins. Apparently her sleight-of-hand magic had duly impressed Mr. Kash.
What's that? Getting ahead while I have time? Pssh!
We shall see. I enjoy stopping writing at particularly chewy points of the story, much like commercial breaks for a tv show. It gives me an impetus to finish the next part the next time I sit down to write, sort of like a self-propelling kick in the rear. All that to say I stopped at a particularly delicious point, more on the comedic than suspense side, but still very much a kicker. To illustrate my point:
Arson grumbled. “Your head’s a little big for your shoulders, Alice.”
“Exactly what will get me a job someday. Or today, for that matter. Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal. If I impress your boss, Mr. What’s-what’s-face with what I can do, I get to stay. If he won’t hire me, than I’ll be off back home and you can keep on your merry, solitary way.”
Arson frowned in thought before extending a hand to his sister. “Deal.”
A half hour later Arson found himself setting Alice up in a bunk next to the juggler twins. Apparently her sleight-of-hand magic had duly impressed Mr. Kash.
Mwuah-ha-ha!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)