I hate how I only want to write when I'm stressed. My week for classes blows, but here I am and it's 10:30 on Monday night and what have I accomplished today? I wrote 5k lousy words in my book. 5k words? From a writer's standpoint that's great - really productive! Even if they're kind of crappy, that's what editing is for. You go back, you make it funny, you clean it up and put a shine on it. At least there's something there to work with.
From a school standpoint, this is not so much with the good.
I should have watched at least one lecture today. I should have studied for my test-out, or for my exam on Wednesday. But I didn't, and tomorrow I will be stressing out like crazy, wondering where I went wrong. I will know, of course, but it's more dramatic to throw yourself around and say "Why?! Where did I veer off on this tragic path?" And I do love to create some drama.
On the writing front, though, I feel like I'm kind of struggling with my main character. Normally my main characters are what Christopher Moore refers to as "beta males". Meek, bookish guys with a hint of a badass in them but far too much natural politeness to let it out. But you get tired of those things, and I wanted my story to convey both the challenges and the fun parts of being a young woman in the modern world. I'm a girl, so that should be easy, right?
Wrong. She's much more emotional than I am, and way more feminine. She has a boyfriend. She isn't a big nerd, although the situations she's finding herself in are kind of forcing her to be one. She's extroverted, she's talkative, she's short-tempered. What am I? Kind of talkative, when I get comfortable with people, definitely somewhat short-tempered. I mean, thank God she's not me, I was kind of afraid of that, but seriously. It shouldn't be this hard.
How do you write a strong, powerful but very feminine character? How do you balance confidence with emotion? She's been put in some very difficult situations, and I'm struggling with how she should react. Of course she's going to cry, but I'm not looking to overdo that. But when does she stop crying, dry her tears and soldier on? It's a hard balance to find.
Editing is going to be an exercise in both self-loathing and patience, I can tell you that right now. But right now that's a long way off; we don't even have the main story introduced. She hasn't even told her boyfriend she's a superhero yet, for goodness' sake. So I guess I'll kick back and enjoy the process, and getting to know my characters. Some are recycled, old friends almost, others are new and I'm still figuring them out. It's kind of like making all new friends, starting at a new school, with the unusual element that all these people exist in your head.
I'm not crazy, really, honest. It's just a thing I do.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
It'd be a funny old world if we were all the same.
And believe me, the irony of that subject is not lost, as I lay here in my glorious bed starting a blog simply because "everyone else is doing it." It's the done thing right now, isn't it? So here we are.
The first post is an interesting phenomenon that has often plagued me, for a given value of plague. In fact, I really don't think plagued is the right word. Endemic-ed me, maybe, or even just mildly irritated. It's a curious thing, the first post, because there are so many things you could do with it:
1) You could give a great deal of background about yourself, your life, your hobbies and your job. Typically, I find this is the approach that is taken, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. After all, it's a first post, and while this is where you, the writer, begins, most of your readers probably won't. Who reads a blog from beginning to end? Think about it, of the blogs you follow, how many did you start following right at the beginning, so that you could really catch that possibly-crucial information download in post #1? Very few, I'm willing to bet. No, you were probably linked to a post in a blog and started following it because it was interesting, or funny. You missed post #1. And if the author of the blog filled post #1 with all sorts of details that are essential to you reading the blog and really getting the point of it, well, you'll always be a bit lost, won't you? There will always be questions.
And frankly, if the blog has the sort of author that keeps referencing post #1, like "as I said in my first post, I really have a deep fear of de-icing salt on the roads . . ." it's probably not a blog you'd want to follow, first of all because an author shouldn't have to reference their past entries - that's a bit too much like studying. And also, if they're truly frightened of salt, then perhaps they're not really the sort of person you want to follow anyway, or maybe they are, on the basis that anyone that's afraid of that sort of thing is clearly deeply strange and troubled, and probably hilarious.
2) You could simply jump right in to posting, to blogging. Start with a routine entry. This is an approach that is frequently taken with travel blogs, which makes sense. But to start a blog of one's daily living, without acknowledging a beginning, is a bit silly, isn't it? I mean, it's all well and good for your first post to read "Today I landed in Barcelona, and we straightaway traveled through the city to Las Ramblas," especially if you're not from Spain. If you are from Spain, you have failed to acknowledge the beginning of the blog, which is just awkward. You can't start a blog with "My apartment is filthy and I've been meaning to clean it for about a week but I really just haven't been able to find the time." First of all, no one cares about your apartment, unless you're a hoarder, in which case you probably don't think it's filthy. Secondly, no acknowledgment for the blog? Nothing to salute its beginning? Sort of disgraceful.
3) You could write about the tribulations of starting a blog, and what to put in the first post. This is a little satirical, and a little ironic, and probably appeals to the sort of people that use Macintosh computers and get a thrill out of how clever they are.
Since I am one of those people, I went with option #3. See what I did there? It's fairly transparent, really, so if you didn't I recommend you work a bit harder; do try to keep up.
The beginning thus acknowledged, I feel like this is a good place to start talking about the mundane things I do with my life. Today, for example, I will be driving around a local neighborhood, for a group project. This is the second group project I've had to do in the course of getting my BSN (bachelor's of science in nursing, because the fact that previously I'd somehow managed to get a bachelor's of arts in biology was a bit confusing and embarrassing) and, hopefully, it won't be unbearable. In fact, I'm fairly sure it won't be unbearable for me, because all I have to do is drive. My partner has to do all the actual work of writing things down, so that's kind of brilliant for me. All I have to do is obey traffic laws. Fairly simple.
Watch me get a ticket, that would be rich.
Following said group project, I will be going to work. As a writer, I really love my job, because I get to talk to people. Terry Pratchett, possibly the best author ever to live, said that the key to becoming a good author is to read, as much as you can, anything you can get your hands on. It's good advice, very sound, but it's missing something. People who do nothing but read seldom make good authors, I think, because you can only learn so much from a book. So the key, in my personal philosophy, is to read all you can, but for God's sake, talk to people. All the time. Talk to people socially, talk to them on business terms, talk to them like they're your best friend. This goes double if you're struggling with characters - everybody has a little character in them, so TALK. People can be kind or cruel, interesting or monotonous, organized or a hot mess, but they are always and forever hilarious and unique. My job lets me talk to people non-stop (I call people and ask for money but I am definitely not a telemarketer, no sir, absolutely not, according to the organization I work for. The moment they told me this was the moment I figured they're probably liars with an excellent PR department). It's fun, and it's entertaining, and it's quite nice that they can't see my face when I'm talking to them, because that makes sounding sincere and caring so much easier.
In my last job, they could see my face. Equally instructive, because lying with your voice is easy. Lying with your whole face is like the painting the Mona Lisa, although less messy and infinitely less likely to land you in a museum one day. That said, someone needs to rope off a spot in the Louvre for Queen Elizabeth II. Woman has that grandmotherly smile down to a science.
In any case, I will endeavor to update this daily, although that's a long shot and I'm telling you right now that won't happen.
And should I somehow manage to break a traffic law today I will definitely be back later, because I do love myself some irony.
The first post is an interesting phenomenon that has often plagued me, for a given value of plague. In fact, I really don't think plagued is the right word. Endemic-ed me, maybe, or even just mildly irritated. It's a curious thing, the first post, because there are so many things you could do with it:
1) You could give a great deal of background about yourself, your life, your hobbies and your job. Typically, I find this is the approach that is taken, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. After all, it's a first post, and while this is where you, the writer, begins, most of your readers probably won't. Who reads a blog from beginning to end? Think about it, of the blogs you follow, how many did you start following right at the beginning, so that you could really catch that possibly-crucial information download in post #1? Very few, I'm willing to bet. No, you were probably linked to a post in a blog and started following it because it was interesting, or funny. You missed post #1. And if the author of the blog filled post #1 with all sorts of details that are essential to you reading the blog and really getting the point of it, well, you'll always be a bit lost, won't you? There will always be questions.
And frankly, if the blog has the sort of author that keeps referencing post #1, like "as I said in my first post, I really have a deep fear of de-icing salt on the roads . . ." it's probably not a blog you'd want to follow, first of all because an author shouldn't have to reference their past entries - that's a bit too much like studying. And also, if they're truly frightened of salt, then perhaps they're not really the sort of person you want to follow anyway, or maybe they are, on the basis that anyone that's afraid of that sort of thing is clearly deeply strange and troubled, and probably hilarious.
2) You could simply jump right in to posting, to blogging. Start with a routine entry. This is an approach that is frequently taken with travel blogs, which makes sense. But to start a blog of one's daily living, without acknowledging a beginning, is a bit silly, isn't it? I mean, it's all well and good for your first post to read "Today I landed in Barcelona, and we straightaway traveled through the city to Las Ramblas," especially if you're not from Spain. If you are from Spain, you have failed to acknowledge the beginning of the blog, which is just awkward. You can't start a blog with "My apartment is filthy and I've been meaning to clean it for about a week but I really just haven't been able to find the time." First of all, no one cares about your apartment, unless you're a hoarder, in which case you probably don't think it's filthy. Secondly, no acknowledgment for the blog? Nothing to salute its beginning? Sort of disgraceful.
3) You could write about the tribulations of starting a blog, and what to put in the first post. This is a little satirical, and a little ironic, and probably appeals to the sort of people that use Macintosh computers and get a thrill out of how clever they are.
Since I am one of those people, I went with option #3. See what I did there? It's fairly transparent, really, so if you didn't I recommend you work a bit harder; do try to keep up.
The beginning thus acknowledged, I feel like this is a good place to start talking about the mundane things I do with my life. Today, for example, I will be driving around a local neighborhood, for a group project. This is the second group project I've had to do in the course of getting my BSN (bachelor's of science in nursing, because the fact that previously I'd somehow managed to get a bachelor's of arts in biology was a bit confusing and embarrassing) and, hopefully, it won't be unbearable. In fact, I'm fairly sure it won't be unbearable for me, because all I have to do is drive. My partner has to do all the actual work of writing things down, so that's kind of brilliant for me. All I have to do is obey traffic laws. Fairly simple.
Watch me get a ticket, that would be rich.
Following said group project, I will be going to work. As a writer, I really love my job, because I get to talk to people. Terry Pratchett, possibly the best author ever to live, said that the key to becoming a good author is to read, as much as you can, anything you can get your hands on. It's good advice, very sound, but it's missing something. People who do nothing but read seldom make good authors, I think, because you can only learn so much from a book. So the key, in my personal philosophy, is to read all you can, but for God's sake, talk to people. All the time. Talk to people socially, talk to them on business terms, talk to them like they're your best friend. This goes double if you're struggling with characters - everybody has a little character in them, so TALK. People can be kind or cruel, interesting or monotonous, organized or a hot mess, but they are always and forever hilarious and unique. My job lets me talk to people non-stop (I call people and ask for money but I am definitely not a telemarketer, no sir, absolutely not, according to the organization I work for. The moment they told me this was the moment I figured they're probably liars with an excellent PR department). It's fun, and it's entertaining, and it's quite nice that they can't see my face when I'm talking to them, because that makes sounding sincere and caring so much easier.
In my last job, they could see my face. Equally instructive, because lying with your voice is easy. Lying with your whole face is like the painting the Mona Lisa, although less messy and infinitely less likely to land you in a museum one day. That said, someone needs to rope off a spot in the Louvre for Queen Elizabeth II. Woman has that grandmotherly smile down to a science.
In any case, I will endeavor to update this daily, although that's a long shot and I'm telling you right now that won't happen.
And should I somehow manage to break a traffic law today I will definitely be back later, because I do love myself some irony.
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