Earlier this year, I joined a writing group comprise of a few of my neighbors. There's been a few projects that's reared itself in multiple iterations, but for various reasons, have been sidelined. All of these projects shared common themes and are inspired by some of the same people/events/memories.
This year, I'll be attempting one of these projects for NaNoWriMo. If you're interested in learning more, check out their website at www.nanowrimo.org. If you're interested in being my writing buddy, look me up! I'm julia0101.
I'm going to do all I can to give myself the best chances to accomplish NaNo this year. I'm taking a few days off of work as vacation days. Longer weekends means more time to stay up and write. I seem to get the most writing done in the super late evening and early morning hours. I'm giving myself rewards for hitting word count milestones. And I've signed up for yoga classes to give myself a scheduled mental break. One of the days when I'll be taking the classes is the morning of my vacation day - making sure I don't end up wasting the time.
The down side is always me not being able to spend a whole lot of time with friends while I do this. This year, it seems like my calendar cleared itself. Two of my closest friends are leaving for a trip to SE Asia. The hubby will be gone the first weekend of NaNo. If I don't have a decent word count after this weekend, I'll only have myself to blame. As usual, I fully expect to have plenty of time to work on the novel over Thanksgiving.
If you want to follow my progress, I'll be posting word counts on FB and Instagram (@jwmyles) and longer updates here. Cheer me on if you want to help. :)
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
When the lines of fiction and fantasy are blurred
I had a hard time deciding where this post was going to reside - my personal, everyday life blog, or this one, that houses my experiences and insights on writing. It doesn't quite belong in one or the other, but it's relevant to both. It's an experience that struck a personal note, yet it deals with character development.
The Background:
I'm a player in a tabletop RPG group. For those who haven't heard of this before, we're basically a group of people going through a choose-your-own-adventure story where each person creates and then controls one character. The Game Master is responsible for bringing the setting and Non-player characters to life. (S)he is essentially the narrator of the story that is getting unveiled.
Our group is playing a Pathfinder game in the Inner Sea World setting. My experiences with Fantasy as a genre, and with D&D and Pathfinder specifically, is that the world settings tend to break from being historically influenced norm of gender roles and sexism. The Iconic characters - the hero characters the game developers created as examples - are super diverse. All ages, genders, and yes, even sexual orientations. You see females excelling in roles that would normally be filled by males - classes and roles defined by strength and martial skill. So in short, the game itself is inviting and inclusive
At the (game) table:
Now, players tend to draw inspiration from a myriad of other fantasy/sci fi works - be it a futuristic space westerns like Firefly, urban fantasy like the Dresden Files or the Anita Blake series, or classics like Lord of the Rings - when they create their characters.
For my character in this game, I drew on several characters I've seen in various fantasy and sci-fi. I created a character that was alluring and charming, who uses her upper class station, Elven exoticism, education, and beauty as weapons. And if those fail, her skill with enchantment magic will turn most most enemies her friend. Why engage in a sword fight when you can convince your opponent to merely lay down their weapons?
The character is working out the way I'd intended. She's a wizard, wielding magic with subtlety and grace, specializing in the kind of magic that makes people want to be her friend, friends who were more than willing to do a favor if she asks. She charmed a guard into giving her information; she charmed a pirate captain into giving the group passage on his ship to a place that was kinda on his way. She failed to magically charm a lord, but she managed to talk her way out of a sticky situation and turn it into an opportunity for a win-win.
Now, during the last few times when my character used magic to charm a person, she's also flirty. The DM questions how far I was willing to take the character ie. was she going to seduce a guy to get what she wants? The answer every time he'd asked was, "depends on how attractive the guy is." The character is open to sexual encounters, but she is selective. And she has means to dissuade pushy suitors. As it stands, the character hasn't done anything beyond flirting.
But the latest interaction from the group went like this:
Me: "I'm going to talk to some ship's captains, see if I can secure passage, possibly at a discount."
DM: "Are you going to charm him?"
Me: "Only if I really need to."
Player 1: "Man, she certainly gets around."
Player 2: "She's in heat again?! I thought elves' cycles were much longer since they live so long."
Player 3: [something quippy that I can't remember since I was getting mad.]
Me to player 1: "Wait a minute. Do you sleep with every stranger that you talk to? Why would you think I do?"
Player 1: (jokingly) "YES!" (laughs it off)
Somehow, we moved on from the topic, getting back to the game, but the experience was unsettling. Here were guys slut shaming (out of character) a character that have not initiated or accepted any kind of sexual relationship in the game. The only thing that is different about this character from my other characters is that she uses her beauty and charm as power in both a literal and metaphorical sense. She's exhibiting female power rather than pursuing a more acceptable, traditionally masculine form of power. In the other games, where my character becomes involved in a romantic relationships - (romance and love being an acceptable and chaste form of female sexual expression) - no one blinks an eye. (It's also possible that those players were way more mature.)
Now, one might be able to argue that the shaming, the derogatory comments, was aimed at my character, not at me. Here's the kicker. It's my character and I'm the driving force of my character's behavior, actions, and decisions. Slut shaming in general, is NOT ok, whether it's projected at a player and live person or a fictional character.
Now, is there a time when slut shaming serves a purpose? Yes. In Firefly, Malcom Reynolds slut shames Inara all the time, calling her a whore. However, in the setting, it is Inara that has the power. Her profession as a Companion is a legitimate one where she has power and control. They've established that Inara doing business with Mal and his crew if in their benefit as her station gives them legitimacy, a good cover for their less-than-lawful endeavors. When Mal slut shames Inara, the audience can see that his comments stem from a place of insecurity and jealousy coupled with a need to emotionally distance himself from her. Additionally, no one on his crew shares the same view. He's being jerk on purpose and everyone knows that his slut shaming comments are out of line. It serves a purpose in establishing how that setting is different than the world we know and it establishes context for their characters' relationship with each other.
Now, relating it to writing - there are few examples that I can remember of a "strong female character" or a powerful female protagonist that unshamefully uses her body and beauty as a powerful tool. More commonly, you see a "good strong female" character take on the mantles of power and leadership by being a warrior woman. The villainess is the one who is wicked; who shows her wickedness through her sensuality and sexuality. A seductress, a monster that exploits the weakness of men - their desire.
Some fantasy writers are overt. I believe in Wheel of Time, only women can wield magic without going insane. In Anne Bishop's Dark Jewels series, the setting is compelling because it's a Matriarchal society - queens wield the most powerful magic and ruled. But Bishop's setting in the series is intentionally subversive where darkness is good and light is considered evil, wicked, or weak. But in these series, power is literal.
So I'm posing this question to the rest of you - in your creative works, how much does gender play in pushing the story? How much does gender and sexuality influence power and the type of power in your setting?
The Background:
I'm a player in a tabletop RPG group. For those who haven't heard of this before, we're basically a group of people going through a choose-your-own-adventure story where each person creates and then controls one character. The Game Master is responsible for bringing the setting and Non-player characters to life. (S)he is essentially the narrator of the story that is getting unveiled.
Our group is playing a Pathfinder game in the Inner Sea World setting. My experiences with Fantasy as a genre, and with D&D and Pathfinder specifically, is that the world settings tend to break from being historically influenced norm of gender roles and sexism. The Iconic characters - the hero characters the game developers created as examples - are super diverse. All ages, genders, and yes, even sexual orientations. You see females excelling in roles that would normally be filled by males - classes and roles defined by strength and martial skill. So in short, the game itself is inviting and inclusive
At the (game) table:
Now, players tend to draw inspiration from a myriad of other fantasy/sci fi works - be it a futuristic space westerns like Firefly, urban fantasy like the Dresden Files or the Anita Blake series, or classics like Lord of the Rings - when they create their characters.
For my character in this game, I drew on several characters I've seen in various fantasy and sci-fi. I created a character that was alluring and charming, who uses her upper class station, Elven exoticism, education, and beauty as weapons. And if those fail, her skill with enchantment magic will turn most most enemies her friend. Why engage in a sword fight when you can convince your opponent to merely lay down their weapons?
The character is working out the way I'd intended. She's a wizard, wielding magic with subtlety and grace, specializing in the kind of magic that makes people want to be her friend, friends who were more than willing to do a favor if she asks. She charmed a guard into giving her information; she charmed a pirate captain into giving the group passage on his ship to a place that was kinda on his way. She failed to magically charm a lord, but she managed to talk her way out of a sticky situation and turn it into an opportunity for a win-win.
Now, during the last few times when my character used magic to charm a person, she's also flirty. The DM questions how far I was willing to take the character ie. was she going to seduce a guy to get what she wants? The answer every time he'd asked was, "depends on how attractive the guy is." The character is open to sexual encounters, but she is selective. And she has means to dissuade pushy suitors. As it stands, the character hasn't done anything beyond flirting.
But the latest interaction from the group went like this:
Me: "I'm going to talk to some ship's captains, see if I can secure passage, possibly at a discount."
DM: "Are you going to charm him?"
Me: "Only if I really need to."
Player 1: "Man, she certainly gets around."
Player 2: "She's in heat again?! I thought elves' cycles were much longer since they live so long."
Player 3: [something quippy that I can't remember since I was getting mad.]
Me to player 1: "Wait a minute. Do you sleep with every stranger that you talk to? Why would you think I do?"
Player 1: (jokingly) "YES!" (laughs it off)
Somehow, we moved on from the topic, getting back to the game, but the experience was unsettling. Here were guys slut shaming (out of character) a character that have not initiated or accepted any kind of sexual relationship in the game. The only thing that is different about this character from my other characters is that she uses her beauty and charm as power in both a literal and metaphorical sense. She's exhibiting female power rather than pursuing a more acceptable, traditionally masculine form of power. In the other games, where my character becomes involved in a romantic relationships - (romance and love being an acceptable and chaste form of female sexual expression) - no one blinks an eye. (It's also possible that those players were way more mature.)
Now, one might be able to argue that the shaming, the derogatory comments, was aimed at my character, not at me. Here's the kicker. It's my character and I'm the driving force of my character's behavior, actions, and decisions. Slut shaming in general, is NOT ok, whether it's projected at a player and live person or a fictional character.
Now, is there a time when slut shaming serves a purpose? Yes. In Firefly, Malcom Reynolds slut shames Inara all the time, calling her a whore. However, in the setting, it is Inara that has the power. Her profession as a Companion is a legitimate one where she has power and control. They've established that Inara doing business with Mal and his crew if in their benefit as her station gives them legitimacy, a good cover for their less-than-lawful endeavors. When Mal slut shames Inara, the audience can see that his comments stem from a place of insecurity and jealousy coupled with a need to emotionally distance himself from her. Additionally, no one on his crew shares the same view. He's being jerk on purpose and everyone knows that his slut shaming comments are out of line. It serves a purpose in establishing how that setting is different than the world we know and it establishes context for their characters' relationship with each other.
Now, relating it to writing - there are few examples that I can remember of a "strong female character" or a powerful female protagonist that unshamefully uses her body and beauty as a powerful tool. More commonly, you see a "good strong female" character take on the mantles of power and leadership by being a warrior woman. The villainess is the one who is wicked; who shows her wickedness through her sensuality and sexuality. A seductress, a monster that exploits the weakness of men - their desire.
Some fantasy writers are overt. I believe in Wheel of Time, only women can wield magic without going insane. In Anne Bishop's Dark Jewels series, the setting is compelling because it's a Matriarchal society - queens wield the most powerful magic and ruled. But Bishop's setting in the series is intentionally subversive where darkness is good and light is considered evil, wicked, or weak. But in these series, power is literal.
So I'm posing this question to the rest of you - in your creative works, how much does gender play in pushing the story? How much does gender and sexuality influence power and the type of power in your setting?
Thursday, November 20, 2014
On determination, motivation, and drive - NaNoWriMo 2014
So on Day 18 of NaNoWriMo, I'm finally feeling like I've caught up, at least in regards to the word count. I hit the 30K mark just a couple of hours past midnight on 11/19. Not bad since at one point, I was 4666 words behind. I have two more weekends ahead of me, one of which is a 4-day weekend with no big travel plans this year. It's like gaining 2.5 writing days over previous years (days lost to Thanksgiving travel plans)!
This year, I'd not planned to do Nano. I'm buying a house and my husband and I are packing up our apartment to move. Our original move date was the end of November, meaning NaNo was going to be too much to handle along with packing, cleaning, and unpacking. But then, a good friend of mine decided at the last minute to throw his hat in. And something in me thought, "I can't let him do it on his own." So I decided, on Oct 30, to throw my hat in as well. And in doing so, we convinced two other local friends to do it with us. In 2013, I'd convinced a long distance friend to throw her hat in and she won it. I was glad to see that she was going to attempt it again.
As you can see, I was off to a slow start -
In fact, on Day 5, 2013, I was closer to reaching the goal of the day, but then followed several days of 0 progress, and I just lost momentum after that. I didn't make time every day and life stuff like going to IKEA got in the way. Sometime around day 10, I'd mostly given up. I was struggling with the work and because the 50K was no longer the finish line, I relaxed. I skipped days in writing, or sometimes just wrote 500 words and it was enough. By day 20, I let life take over and sidelined the story.
This year, despite falling behind, I maintained momentum so that catching up with an all-night writing binge was still feasible. My biggest motivation for keeping it up? My friends. I have some writing buddies that were falling behind, like me. I didn't want them to give up, so I couldn't give up. I wanted to set a good example - lead by doing. My second biggest motivation is the fact that I'm 1 for 2. I have a 50% success rate with NaNo and I want to improve it.
The third, and arguably the most important point of motivation is the book itself. Prior to going this particular direction with it, in a semi-pantsing NaNo strategy, I was stuck because I was overthinking it. I'd written some scenes that may or may not get included in this book, but it's going in a direction that feels good and natural. I've come up with potential plot twists that excite me, and I've fallen in love with these characters again.
And this NaNo, I'm determined to finish. I'm going to finish alongside a good friend that I encouraged to participate. I'm going to keep going and finish, even if it's passed Nov 30, because abandoning your work before Nov 30 or 50K sucks. I felt like I'd abandoned the work in 2013, and I'm determined to not do it again, so every day I will write as much as I can to keep the gap from getting too big. Marathon catch-up weekend all nighters will get me the word count I need.
I'm driven to get this done, and to show myself that I can do it a 2nd time.
Disclaimer: The 2013 story, like my 2014 story, was supposed to be a sequel to the book I wrote in 2012. 2013 followed one of 2 characters in Bk1 and I wrote 15K. 2014 follows the other character. I don't plan on using the words written in 2013 towards the 2014 NaNo, but I've not yet decided if I want to merge the two after NaNo 2014 is done. I plan on figuring out what's best for the story later. :)
This year, I'd not planned to do Nano. I'm buying a house and my husband and I are packing up our apartment to move. Our original move date was the end of November, meaning NaNo was going to be too much to handle along with packing, cleaning, and unpacking. But then, a good friend of mine decided at the last minute to throw his hat in. And something in me thought, "I can't let him do it on his own." So I decided, on Oct 30, to throw my hat in as well. And in doing so, we convinced two other local friends to do it with us. In 2013, I'd convinced a long distance friend to throw her hat in and she won it. I was glad to see that she was going to attempt it again.
As you can see, I was off to a slow start -
This year, despite falling behind, I maintained momentum so that catching up with an all-night writing binge was still feasible. My biggest motivation for keeping it up? My friends. I have some writing buddies that were falling behind, like me. I didn't want them to give up, so I couldn't give up. I wanted to set a good example - lead by doing. My second biggest motivation is the fact that I'm 1 for 2. I have a 50% success rate with NaNo and I want to improve it.
The third, and arguably the most important point of motivation is the book itself. Prior to going this particular direction with it, in a semi-pantsing NaNo strategy, I was stuck because I was overthinking it. I'd written some scenes that may or may not get included in this book, but it's going in a direction that feels good and natural. I've come up with potential plot twists that excite me, and I've fallen in love with these characters again.
And this NaNo, I'm determined to finish. I'm going to finish alongside a good friend that I encouraged to participate. I'm going to keep going and finish, even if it's passed Nov 30, because abandoning your work before Nov 30 or 50K sucks. I felt like I'd abandoned the work in 2013, and I'm determined to not do it again, so every day I will write as much as I can to keep the gap from getting too big. Marathon catch-up weekend all nighters will get me the word count I need.
I'm driven to get this done, and to show myself that I can do it a 2nd time.
Disclaimer: The 2013 story, like my 2014 story, was supposed to be a sequel to the book I wrote in 2012. 2013 followed one of 2 characters in Bk1 and I wrote 15K. 2014 follows the other character. I don't plan on using the words written in 2013 towards the 2014 NaNo, but I've not yet decided if I want to merge the two after NaNo 2014 is done. I plan on figuring out what's best for the story later. :)
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Nano 2014
We're nearly done with week one of Nano, and man, what a week.
I initially hadn't planned on participating this year because of the pending home move (and all the details that goes with that), but one of my closest friends decided that he's going to do it... and I couldn't let him go at it with only online support. The community nature coupled with the "official-ness" of the Nov NaNoWriMo seems to foster a lot of the motivation to keep writing the same way having a workout partner helps motivate a person training for a marathon or trying to get into a fitness routine.
So, on Oct 31, I decided to jump on the NaNo wagon... and convinced 2 other writer friends of mine to do it as well. This is the first NaNo where I can turn a small part of my regular social group and make writing the activity that we do. I'm really excited at the support, and I'm looking forward to keeping up with my writing buddies. Since I've won one of the two Nanos I've attempted, I've been able to reflect and see what worked for me... and what didn't work. I'm glad for the opportunity to pass on my experiences and encouragement. I'm a firm believer of taking one's own advice, so I'm doubling my efforts and commitment to Nano this year because so many of my friends are doing it.
Maybe in Dec, we'll help each other edit.
I initially hadn't planned on participating this year because of the pending home move (and all the details that goes with that), but one of my closest friends decided that he's going to do it... and I couldn't let him go at it with only online support. The community nature coupled with the "official-ness" of the Nov NaNoWriMo seems to foster a lot of the motivation to keep writing the same way having a workout partner helps motivate a person training for a marathon or trying to get into a fitness routine.
So, on Oct 31, I decided to jump on the NaNo wagon... and convinced 2 other writer friends of mine to do it as well. This is the first NaNo where I can turn a small part of my regular social group and make writing the activity that we do. I'm really excited at the support, and I'm looking forward to keeping up with my writing buddies. Since I've won one of the two Nanos I've attempted, I've been able to reflect and see what worked for me... and what didn't work. I'm glad for the opportunity to pass on my experiences and encouragement. I'm a firm believer of taking one's own advice, so I'm doubling my efforts and commitment to Nano this year because so many of my friends are doing it.
Maybe in Dec, we'll help each other edit.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
On Creativity and projects
I'm having a hard time focusing on my current fiction project - the 2nd part to my first NaNo novel. Part of it is my need for consistency between books 1 and 2. I have a lot of plot holes in #1 that probably should be filled before I move on with book 2. I also think I need to map my book out because I feel like I'm wandering aimlessly. In looking at some of the work I've already done for book 2, I've caught myself needing to flesh out background details for some parts and repeating myself as I write about a character as if it's the first time my protagonist (and the reader) encounters her. So yes, there's are some issues I think I need to work out before I plunge forward.
I'm also spending more time focusing on health and diet. I like cooking, but with the food logging and calorie counting, it's important for me to write down/develop the recipes I use and figure out appropriate portion sizes.
Then, I had this crazy idea... write a cookbook. Most of the recipes, I'm going to post on my blog. First, I'll develop the recipes and have my friends try them. Then, I'll organize them into a book with some kind of story or intro into each recipe - whether it's a family recipe, an experiment, or a happy accident. Some of the dishes might inspire me in other projects.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
On Body Language
About a few weeks ago, my husband and I were at Lowe's shopping for a washer/dryer. We were looking at some of the models I'd pre-researched online and the sales associate came to help us. She wasn't pushy and she was really knowledgeable about her machines. She was really friendly and didn't push one machine over another, but she did spend the time to point out pros/cons of one model's design over another's or was quick to mention when one was a new (therefore unreviewed) model of a trusted line.
Then we went to a showroom that was kind of like a warehouse for appliances. Again, here was a nice sales associate who was knowledgeable. He pointed out slightly different things when comparing the models and Craig and I, using what we learned, made the best informed decision. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.
However, there was a distinct difference in the body language of salesgirl vs salesguy. Aleisha naturally spoke to the two of us, making eye contact and continually shifting focus between me and Craig. She was also good about keeping her body angle in such a way that she was facing both of us at the same time, not just one or the other.
On the other hand, Marty the sales guy, would talk more to Craig. Quite a few times, Craig actively shifted the conversation to me. And when I had some questions or concerned, I could tell that Marty was surprised I was the one who asked (like my request to see the machine's manual). He spent most of his time making eye contact with Craig and his body position was facing Craig. A couple of times, Marty turned his back to me while explaining something or demonstrating a feature - more than once I found myself moving closer to Craig so that he was facing, and speaking, to both of us.
The difference in body language was subtle, but it was there.
Then we went to a showroom that was kind of like a warehouse for appliances. Again, here was a nice sales associate who was knowledgeable. He pointed out slightly different things when comparing the models and Craig and I, using what we learned, made the best informed decision. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.
However, there was a distinct difference in the body language of salesgirl vs salesguy. Aleisha naturally spoke to the two of us, making eye contact and continually shifting focus between me and Craig. She was also good about keeping her body angle in such a way that she was facing both of us at the same time, not just one or the other.
On the other hand, Marty the sales guy, would talk more to Craig. Quite a few times, Craig actively shifted the conversation to me. And when I had some questions or concerned, I could tell that Marty was surprised I was the one who asked (like my request to see the machine's manual). He spent most of his time making eye contact with Craig and his body position was facing Craig. A couple of times, Marty turned his back to me while explaining something or demonstrating a feature - more than once I found myself moving closer to Craig so that he was facing, and speaking, to both of us.
The difference in body language was subtle, but it was there.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Encouragement and progress
Apparently, there are many people who work at Finance Company who are published authors with followings and substantial Kindle downloads. Some have 1 book under their belts. Others have several and are continuing to write. This is very encouraging.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
On sacrifice and dedication
Today, at work, we celebrated the contributions of an associate who is leaving the company. I'm sad to have not been able to get to know him much since I've only been with the company for 10 weeks. And for 6 of those weeks, I didn't really get to work with him. While I was going through my on-boarding process, he was taking his multi-week vacation. And it's not a remarkable thing that he's leaving the team and the company. In his 10-year tenure at the company, he's switched positions at least once as part of his professional growth. Life happens and there comes a point when everyone has to make a decision.
What is truly remarkable is his reason for leaving. He is a writer at heart and he's leaving his well paying, excellent benefits package, full time position to dedicate to his writing. He and his wife are packing things up and moving to the Oregon coast so that he can attend workshops and work on his first full-length novel, aiming for 500K words written and published in the next 3 years (while living off of savings and his wife's supplemental etsy income). I admire him for his courage and drive to pursue this dream. He also plans to self publish and write as much as possible.
(He also gave me this reference, as it inspired him to go through the self publishing route and just go for quantity of work. http://www.deanwesleysmith.com. I've yet to check it out, nor have I read and of Smith's work, so I've not garnered an opinion yet).
Besides the steady paycheck that funds a comfortable Los Angeles lifestyle, he's giving up (or delaying) home ownership. He and his wife have been saving up for a down payment on a house. Now, instead of getting the house, they'll be investing that money on his writing career. The cost of living in Oregon is apparently really low compared to L.A and will allow them to stretch their dollars.
As much as I admire him, I don't think leaving LA is my cup of tea. I do understand how awesome it would be to immerse oneself into writing. My experience doing Nano taught me that. In addition to being a writer, I've always wanted a level of security and independence that comes from earning a steady paycheck. My husband and I are in the midst of purchasing our own home, (thus achieving one of our life goals) and we have a very large, ever growing circle of friends. It doesn't seem like there's ever enough time on the weekends to connect with everyone we want to connect with.
I know a lot of writers juggled a job that earned money and writing. And I can't say I don't have the time. Truth is, I spend quite a few hours a night, every night, watching TV or consuming fluff on the internet. So starting tomorrow, I'm going to buckle down. One TV episode allowed per night, and only after I'd managed to get in a few pages of writing. Blog posts will count for the first 2 weeks. Starting tomorrow, for the next 30 days, I'll attempt a NaNo paced marathon to writing whatever. It may turn out to be a coherent piece of work. It may turn out to be nothing. But I'll be writing.
What is truly remarkable is his reason for leaving. He is a writer at heart and he's leaving his well paying, excellent benefits package, full time position to dedicate to his writing. He and his wife are packing things up and moving to the Oregon coast so that he can attend workshops and work on his first full-length novel, aiming for 500K words written and published in the next 3 years (while living off of savings and his wife's supplemental etsy income). I admire him for his courage and drive to pursue this dream. He also plans to self publish and write as much as possible.
(He also gave me this reference, as it inspired him to go through the self publishing route and just go for quantity of work. http://www.deanwesleysmith.com. I've yet to check it out, nor have I read and of Smith's work, so I've not garnered an opinion yet).
Besides the steady paycheck that funds a comfortable Los Angeles lifestyle, he's giving up (or delaying) home ownership. He and his wife have been saving up for a down payment on a house. Now, instead of getting the house, they'll be investing that money on his writing career. The cost of living in Oregon is apparently really low compared to L.A and will allow them to stretch their dollars.
As much as I admire him, I don't think leaving LA is my cup of tea. I do understand how awesome it would be to immerse oneself into writing. My experience doing Nano taught me that. In addition to being a writer, I've always wanted a level of security and independence that comes from earning a steady paycheck. My husband and I are in the midst of purchasing our own home, (thus achieving one of our life goals) and we have a very large, ever growing circle of friends. It doesn't seem like there's ever enough time on the weekends to connect with everyone we want to connect with.
I know a lot of writers juggled a job that earned money and writing. And I can't say I don't have the time. Truth is, I spend quite a few hours a night, every night, watching TV or consuming fluff on the internet. So starting tomorrow, I'm going to buckle down. One TV episode allowed per night, and only after I'd managed to get in a few pages of writing. Blog posts will count for the first 2 weeks. Starting tomorrow, for the next 30 days, I'll attempt a NaNo paced marathon to writing whatever. It may turn out to be a coherent piece of work. It may turn out to be nothing. But I'll be writing.
Friday, May 30, 2014
WIP - (Fission and Fusion - Mei)
The following text is part of a piece of fiction I'm currently working on. If you want to see more of it, +1 , comment, or share. This is more like a vignette than a short story or chapter. Maybe the beginning of a chapter...
There was never enough light in the room. But after fourteen
years, she didn’t need the light. She efficiently slipped out of her pajamas
and into the simple pantsuit she’d laid out the night before on the small
dresser at the foot of her bed. With a flick of her wrist and a plump of the
pillow, her bed was made and she silently made her way to the door and slipped
out onto the six by five strip of linoleum tile that functioned as a hallway.
One step to the linen closet on her left. Two steps away was the closed door to
her son’s room. A third step would bring her to a six by six square space that
held a simple shower converted from a bathtub, a western toilet, and a small wall
mirror that hung over a pedestal sink.
Muscle
memory had her turning right to step into the living room. Her slippered feet
barely registered the difference as linoleum made way to industrial carpeting,
then back to linoleum. Here, in this apartment, there was no wall to separate
the living area from the areas where one sleeps or eats. Instead, you had to look at the floors,
or the strategic placement of furniture, to see where one room ended and
another began. Perhaps she should
be grateful that they had the luxury of different spaces for eating and
sleeping.
She
made her way to the dilapidated pressed wood and vinyl dining table to pick up
the single plate, teacup, and fork that was left there. She shuffled into the kitchenette where
she quickly washed the errant dishes and put some water into a small sauce pot
to boil. Then, she took the four steps to the sideboard where the teapot was
nestled in its basket. The remaining tea in the teapot was still tepid, but it
wouldn’t be proper to keep it. She poured the pot down the sink before breaking
small chunk off of the tea brick and adding to the leaves that were still in
the pot. The leaves weren’t at that stage where they needed to be changed just
yet. And it really didn’t matter as very few guests crossed the threshold, but
propriety and traditional hospitality dictated that a pot of tea be kept ready.
As steam rose from the pot and tiny bubbles began to cling to the stainless
steel sides, Mei turned off the flame and deftly brought the saucepot to
teapot. The scent of strong pur-reh
She
then reached behind the sugar canister to retrieve the packet made from
meticulously folded facial tissue paper. There, nestled in the folds were a
handful of tablets and capsules that she’s supposed to take for her health. One
for blood pressure, one for her cholesterol, and a handful for everything else
that was ailing her at the moment. Dutifully, she took them, chasing each one
with a swallow of water, wrinkling her nose as the bitter uncoated tablets
touched her tongue.
It
wasn’t long before she heard the knock on the door. Her other son was at the
door, dropping off the child. They exchanged their usually pleasantries as he
walked in, carrying the still sleeping girl in his arms. He gently transferred her onto the
couch. Impervious to the rough fabric or the firmness of the seats, she
continued sleeping. Her son then left, with the usual mumblings of when he and
his wife will come take the girl again. The actual words may be different from
day to day, but the sentiment is always the same.
Leaving
the sleeping child, she shuffled back into the kitchen to prepare the morning
meal. Taking the same pot she’d used earlier to boil water, she put in a
measure of rice and proceeded to triple wash it as her mother had taught
her. Back in China, she’d have a
proper pot, made of simple clay and steel wire, for cooking rice like this. But
she’d learned how to make do. The cling-clang of the flimsy lid told her that
the rice was now at the first boil. As she reduced the heat on the burner with
one hand, the other reached toward the plastic Tupperware her son had brought
with him, containing the piece of squab marinating in soy and ginger. With a
deftness that belied her age, the meat and marinade was added to the cooking
rice.
Minutes
passed as the aromas of the cooking bird and rice began to fill the apartment.
Mei scowled as she adjusted the flame one more time, getting the cooking
process to slow down just a little, so that it would be ready once the child
wakes up. She shuffled back into the living room as there wasn’t anything else
to do now, but wait. As she paced the length of the room – thirteen paces one
way, thirteen another – she looked on the child, sprawled unseemingly on her
stomach on the couch – and scowled further. She didn’t understand the whole
point of this ritual. The girl wouldn’t amount to anything, considering the
child’s mother. The only thing the girl was a testimony to was that she, Mei,
was right to disapprove of the union. The chit couldn’t even give her son a son
of his own, and denied her a grandson.
But
this was America. And in America, things were different. Here, it doesn’t
matter if you’re the family Matriarch. Here, your sons leave the family house
just like a daughter would. Mei scowled. Here, girls are cherished as much as
boys.
Mei
went back into the kitchen tend to the rice, mixing it and fluffing it.
Satisfied, she proceeded to fill a bowl with the tender grains and topped it with
the pieces of bird. She brought out the bowl and placed it on the dining table
with a pair of bamboo chopsticks that should have been too big for the little
hands.
Without
being called, the child shambled to the table and climbed up the chair and
proceeded to attack the bowl with a voraciousness that was more appropriate for
a son. Mei then made her way back into the kitchen, and transferred the
remaining rice into a bowl for herself before adding a cup of water into the
pot to loosen the bits of crust stuck to the bottom. She leaned against the
counter as she picked at the bowl with her chopsticks, savoring the rice. At
least it was an improvement over the white rice and fermented bean curd she
would be eating if she’d not had the child to cook for. Mei scowled at the
thought that she should be grateful for a girl child’s leftovers.
Between
bites of her own food, Mei checked the softening rice crust, taking a moment to
scrape down the sides and bottom to loosen it further. She then went to
retrieve the girl’s bowl where a few morsels of rice remained. Into the bowl went the watery gruel from
the pot. She shook her head and
scowled with disdain. This slop was only good for dogs and servants. Her lips
pursed tightly as she remembered the days when all she had was this gruel made
from bland white rice. She’d be
lucky if the family she was cleaning for allowed her some soy sauce or
fermented daofu to flavor it.
When
the bowl was returned to the child, she dug in with gusto, gulping the broth
and shoveling the still crunchy bits of toasted rice into her tiny mouth with
as much grace as any peasant. Stupid girl.
Perhaps it is fitting that she likes it.
Shortly
after the child finished her morning meal, and Mei had cleaned up and put away
the dishes and the pot, the bedroom door opened and her husband, clad from neck
to toe in his pajamas, would shuffle from the room to the bathroom. Eventually,
he would come out into the kitchen and make a cup of tea from the bags held in
the yellow and red box with the bak-guai prominently
displayed, sipping from a western style cup. He would drink it like them too, with sugar and milk.
Mei
went into the room, as she did every day, and straightened up her husband’s
bed. She didn’t bother to open the curtains, but rather made the bed and
plumped his pillow in the same manner that she’d done for hers. She then gathered the clothes he’d
strewn on the floor or the bed and meticulously folded them, placing them on
his dresser where he’ll use them again when he went out tonight; as he did
every night. When she stepped back
into the living room, the child was standing on the sofa, chattering away at
him in a hodgepodge of Chinese and that infernal American tongue. He smiled at her and she gleefully
hopped before settling down into the seat and turned her attention to the large
screen that was now alive with lights and sounds.
The
moving pictures of people, jumping up and down in unbridled joy were
accompanied with bells, flashing lights, and confetti. Occasionally, a screen
would be pulled away to reveal cars, or the machines that made life easier; a
large refrigerator, stove, or a washing machine. Sometimes, the pictures were
those of beautiful places with gold sand, clear water, and tall trees. She
scowled as numbers in the hundreds and thousands flashed across the screen, a
testimony to the luck bestowed on undeserving lo-fan and hak-guai that appeared on the show.
Mei
settled into her chair, a beat-up construct of coarse fabric and wood with
sagging cushions that offered little support. She was tired of pacing, but not
able to do anything else for the time being. And so she stared at the picture
box, watching the people get excited about cars, vacuums, and a spinning wheel
of color.
He
went to the door and retrieved the newspaper that was delivered without fail,
then reclaimed his place in his recliner. Still nursing his tea, he lit a
cigarette, unfurled the rolled up newsprint and proceeded to scan through then.
The child said something, and smiling, he pull out a section – the one with
drawn pictures – and gave it to the girl who promptly spread the filthy pages
on the floor so she can see it all, just like him. Mei couldn’t hide her
disdain as she glared at the stupid child. The chit could not read, yet
pretends. If only those words were characters, Mei thought to herself, I’d be able to decipher their contents,
unlike the ignorant child. But her husband preferred the American news.
The
child eventually grew tired and climbed up into the sofa again, falling asleep
as she the stared at the moving pictures, as he puffed away on his cigarette
and nursed his second cup of tea. Hours would pass as the picture box droned on
and on and on, until the child would wake and immediately turn to her
grandfather and excitedly ask him something. Smiling at her excitement, he
meticulously exchanged his indoor slippers for his walking shoes, and made a
motion for the child to get hers. She could slip them on, but he would always
make sure the Velcro or laces were tied tight. Finally, he would light a fresh
cigarette before taking the girl’s hand and walking out of the apartment, letting
the door close behind them.
Mei
reveled in the silence as she shut off the machine. Taking her time, she moved
about the room, opening windows to let in some fresher air, picking up the
discarded newspapers and folding them the best she could, taking the tea cup
with the remaining dregs to the sink where she washed, dried, and put it away
with practiced efficiency. She heard the door open and shut again; the sounds
of careless footsteps crossing the rough carpet followed by the squeak on the
linoleum, and then the rattle of the loose, flimsy doorknob as it was turned.
The careless thunk of her younger son’s bedroom door being kicked closed,
followed by the rhythmic thumping of music being unsuccessfully muffled by the
thin walls, told her that he was home.
With
the day dwindling, she brought out the vacuum, turning it on and was comforted
by the constant, loud hum as she passed it over the thin, rough carpets, worn
from the years of use. The carpet was pragmatic choice of the landlord’s; having
chosen a heavy industrial one in a brown that would look the same after years
at it did when it was installed. Mei passed the vacuum over a patch of carpet
that had a spill just a couple of days ago. Careless
chit. The stain was barely noticeable. Water, soap, and hard scrubbing
would take out some of the stains, but would just as likely bring up dirt
trapped in the thin padding underneath.
From
the corner of her eye, Mei saw the door open and the child bound in ahead of
her grandfather, clutching a new treasure in her grubby little paws. Mei shut
off the vacuum and put it away. When she joined them again, she bit her tongue
as she saw that the child had a new coloring book and a handful of
crayons. The spot of soy sauce on
the child’s dress, the smattering of crumbs, and the large Styrofoam cup next
to the child was enough for Mei to know that she wouldn’t need to prepare a
mid-day meal for them. Her husband then gathered up his hat and jacket, then
left again, lighting up another cigarette with the Bic he kept on the side
table near his chair.
Before
too long, her elder son would knock on the door, respectfully nodding to her
has she answered, letting him in. After some pleasantries, he gathered the
child and her belongings before whisking out the door, needing to pick up his
wife from the nearby garment factory as they let out their workers for the day.
Mei shuffled back into the kitchen and prepared a simple meal from the
leftovers of three dinners past, heating it in the contraption that was plugged
into the wall near the far side of the table. As she pulled out the warmed up
bowl of rice and saucer of seasoned gai
lan, her younger son emerged from his room, made a beeline for the door,
and was gone as swiftly and unexpectedly as he appeared.
She
slowly ate her meal in silence, and took care to tidy up after herself, wiping
down the table, the counters, and finally the sink when she finished. She
reached behind the sugar canister again and found the evening packet of pills
her husband had left for her, taking them as she had taken the ones in the
morning. The bitterness of the uncoated tablets was not noticeable as she took
these with the sweetened orange drink that her husband always buys. She checked
the doors, making sure that each of the three locks are secure, and leaving at
least one lamp on, shuffles into the bedroom. There, she pulls a set of clothes
from her husband’s closet and lays them out the foot of the bed on the side he
doesn’t sleep on. She follows with her own clothes, folding them and laying
them neatly on her dresser at the foot of the firm twin she calls her own,
before donning her sleepwear.
Leaving
the dim lamp on by her husband’s bed, Mei slipped under her covers, closed her
eyes, and willed herself to sleep.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Content and Form
A long time ago... when I first began to write creatively, I learned that the rules of grammar could be broken. I was reminded of this as I listened to three literary authors talk about their work in the Library Foundation of Los Angeles' ALOUD series. My Big Brother sent me info regarding the library event and I'm glad I decided to go. This talk was Sentence After Sentence After Sentence: Three Writers on the Not-Exactly-Random Extraordinary Ordinary Key of Life.
After a brief reading from each author, each author then sat in a fire-side chat setting and spoke about their work, the use of fragments, and a little bit about their writing processes, taking questions from the audience.
A few take-aways - breaking the grammar rules or conventional forms take thought. One of the authors, Anne Germanacos, talked about how deliberate she was in the editing process, cutting out about 80% of the original draft in order to insert the necessary fragmentation and abruptness that was needed in order to get the right "feel." Using fragments - because of how normal thought gets interrupted - gives the sense of presence in the present. The use of fragments and pauses hints to what is possible and gives the readers a chance to contemplate what is between the lines. What's left unsaid.
The writing was a form of self discovery and reflection. They brought the stories forth from their own experiences.
One of the most profound statements of the night -- when you're writing, what question are you answering? (Sometimes, you won't know that question until you've discovered the answer.)
The second most profound piece of writing advise - it isn't so much as a beginning, middle and end. Rather, it's more of finding a good starting point and a good stopping point.
As writers, we are imposing sense to an experience.
Coming out of the ALOUD event, I was... thoughtful. It was definitely a change of form from the work I'd been reading lately and reminded me of the difference between the fine art of literary work and the popular art of mass market fiction.
With this, I'm going to change the direction of my work in progress. I'm keeping the basic premise, but I'll be shifting the approach. I think I've been fighting my natural inclination of writing a short story and trying to push for a novel. Let's see what this new direction takes me, and how many short stories I can piece together into a cohesive story.
For info about the talk and links to the podcast, click here. If any of you are in the LA area, I highly recommend going to one of these talks and supporting the library.
After a brief reading from each author, each author then sat in a fire-side chat setting and spoke about their work, the use of fragments, and a little bit about their writing processes, taking questions from the audience.
A few take-aways - breaking the grammar rules or conventional forms take thought. One of the authors, Anne Germanacos, talked about how deliberate she was in the editing process, cutting out about 80% of the original draft in order to insert the necessary fragmentation and abruptness that was needed in order to get the right "feel." Using fragments - because of how normal thought gets interrupted - gives the sense of presence in the present. The use of fragments and pauses hints to what is possible and gives the readers a chance to contemplate what is between the lines. What's left unsaid.
The writing was a form of self discovery and reflection. They brought the stories forth from their own experiences.
One of the most profound statements of the night -- when you're writing, what question are you answering? (Sometimes, you won't know that question until you've discovered the answer.)
The second most profound piece of writing advise - it isn't so much as a beginning, middle and end. Rather, it's more of finding a good starting point and a good stopping point.
As writers, we are imposing sense to an experience.
Coming out of the ALOUD event, I was... thoughtful. It was definitely a change of form from the work I'd been reading lately and reminded me of the difference between the fine art of literary work and the popular art of mass market fiction.
With this, I'm going to change the direction of my work in progress. I'm keeping the basic premise, but I'll be shifting the approach. I think I've been fighting my natural inclination of writing a short story and trying to push for a novel. Let's see what this new direction takes me, and how many short stories I can piece together into a cohesive story.
For info about the talk and links to the podcast, click here. If any of you are in the LA area, I highly recommend going to one of these talks and supporting the library.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
On What's Original (and what's derivative)
I was having a conversation with my husband the other day and an interesting point came up... a point that most artists struggle with - the idea of original work vs derivative work.
Specifically, it was about that moment when what you're working on seems like such an awesomely original idea that you furiously write it all down. And as you're working on it, as you're working to revise it, or you're getting it reviewed/critiqued, you realized.... it's been done before. The horror.
But what's wrong with derivative? Can one truly have an idea/theme/story that's never been done? In today's time? I don't think so.
I think writers/artist take their inspiration from the world around them and from other forms of art. That's how ideas generate - when people are exposed to new/foreign ideas or view something from a new perspective. Derivative art is original art.
Imagine if some of our favorite writers didn't write because something's "been done." What if Laurel K Hamilton decided to give up on her Anita Blake books because the whole Vampire-Hunter love-hate thing's "been done" ala Buffy? Or Stephanie Meyer decided to not write her Twilight series because Vampire-Human-Werewolf stories "have been done." Or the creators/writers of Vampire Diaries decided to not do pursue the series since there's so much Vampire-Werewolf-Witch- Supernatural stuff already out there? Or how about where the stories of Vampires, Werewolves, Witches and other supernatural beings originate? Are we not supposed to write about them because Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley got there first? These supernatural beings can be traced back to folktale origins... so when or what constitutes as the line for something that's "been done before?"
A personal experience of when I was confronted with the "It's been done" monster - when I was in college, I was in a creative writing class. For one of my assignments, I'd written an crime story from the POV of the person committing the crime. It was a girl who was bent on revenge, aiming to kill a man that was the leader of a crime group. Twist at the end... he's her father!
One of the guys who critiqued it said I ripped off Star Wars. Imagine my surprise and distress... since I've not ever seen Star Wars. By this time, all 6 episodes were already out and many many many people had seen it. I was one of the few whose parents were not big movie people, and i didn't have friends who were into the sci-fi/fantasy scene. But that's not the point. The point is... the ONLY commonality between Star Wars and my short story was the "I'm your father" twist.
Umm... the Greeks got there first. Oedipus. Kills his father, marries his mother - all because (surprise!) he didn't know his real parents! It was prophesied. And in Daytime soap operas... the real parent of the baby/child reveal or hidden/lost love child reveal was almost an annual thing. It's a drama trope! I'm pretty sure they did it before Lucas wrote it into Star Wars.
So... if you have an idea, run with it. Someone else did something similar? So what? You may have similar ideas, but your execution of the story will be different. Every writer has his/ her own distinct style and voice and how (s)he treats the theme/idea is just as important as what is told. Don't keep from writing what you want to write because of the idea that someone else wrote about it first.
Did you have an enthusiasm dampening experience where you stopped working on a project because, "It's been done?" What did you do to overcome it and move on?
Specifically, it was about that moment when what you're working on seems like such an awesomely original idea that you furiously write it all down. And as you're working on it, as you're working to revise it, or you're getting it reviewed/critiqued, you realized.... it's been done before. The horror.
But what's wrong with derivative? Can one truly have an idea/theme/story that's never been done? In today's time? I don't think so.
I think writers/artist take their inspiration from the world around them and from other forms of art. That's how ideas generate - when people are exposed to new/foreign ideas or view something from a new perspective. Derivative art is original art.
Imagine if some of our favorite writers didn't write because something's "been done." What if Laurel K Hamilton decided to give up on her Anita Blake books because the whole Vampire-Hunter love-hate thing's "been done" ala Buffy? Or Stephanie Meyer decided to not write her Twilight series because Vampire-Human-Werewolf stories "have been done." Or the creators/writers of Vampire Diaries decided to not do pursue the series since there's so much Vampire-Werewolf-Witch- Supernatural stuff already out there? Or how about where the stories of Vampires, Werewolves, Witches and other supernatural beings originate? Are we not supposed to write about them because Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley got there first? These supernatural beings can be traced back to folktale origins... so when or what constitutes as the line for something that's "been done before?"
A personal experience of when I was confronted with the "It's been done" monster - when I was in college, I was in a creative writing class. For one of my assignments, I'd written an crime story from the POV of the person committing the crime. It was a girl who was bent on revenge, aiming to kill a man that was the leader of a crime group. Twist at the end... he's her father!
One of the guys who critiqued it said I ripped off Star Wars. Imagine my surprise and distress... since I've not ever seen Star Wars. By this time, all 6 episodes were already out and many many many people had seen it. I was one of the few whose parents were not big movie people, and i didn't have friends who were into the sci-fi/fantasy scene. But that's not the point. The point is... the ONLY commonality between Star Wars and my short story was the "I'm your father" twist.
Umm... the Greeks got there first. Oedipus. Kills his father, marries his mother - all because (surprise!) he didn't know his real parents! It was prophesied. And in Daytime soap operas... the real parent of the baby/child reveal or hidden/lost love child reveal was almost an annual thing. It's a drama trope! I'm pretty sure they did it before Lucas wrote it into Star Wars.
So... if you have an idea, run with it. Someone else did something similar? So what? You may have similar ideas, but your execution of the story will be different. Every writer has his/ her own distinct style and voice and how (s)he treats the theme/idea is just as important as what is told. Don't keep from writing what you want to write because of the idea that someone else wrote about it first.
Did you have an enthusiasm dampening experience where you stopped working on a project because, "It's been done?" What did you do to overcome it and move on?
Friday, April 11, 2014
On Culture, Customs, Class lines, and Outsiders
A writer I occasionally follow wrote about an observation he made at a Thai restaurant. It seems like he did an exercise that all of us writers do when we people-watch, make the observation and create a story to go with it. When the hostess/woman and waiter at the counter bowed to a non-assuming asian college student, the assumption that it was a sign of respect to someone of higher stature. He wrote that this bowing and the girl's hand-wave was a clear and overt display of class distinction where the lower class revered the higher class. There was also the supposition that the US doesn't have hard lines of class distinction. It's a "quirk" of "our" culture. By "our" did he mean "American?" Was there a presumption that the "young Asian-American college student" didn't share in the "American" culture since she was clearly part of the "other" culture?
I had a slightly visceral reaction to his post mainly because of all the second generation baggage I grew up with (some would define me as 1st gen since I was born in the US, but my parents are immigrants). Additionally, I have all of the cultural the baggage that comes from growing up in a cultural enclave. Also, if a person has not experienced/observed class lines & distinctions, have not had to navigate those lines, then (s)he is in a position of privilege (but not so privileged that (s)he identified as part of the elite class).
That being said, I think a presumption of culture, rituals, and protocol is a slippery slope towards misrepresentation, stereotyping, and covert racism. As authors and writers, I think it's important to do our best to truly understand a culture before we build a world that incorporates aspects of it.
So... I'm just going to present 2 videos that represent...
1)
And 2) ... as food for thought.
What about you? What's your take on cultural gestures, customs, and the like? Do you know of any writer who did a great job at creating and/or representing different cultures? Any authors/writers that you've read (or work you've seen) who created a unique/distinct culture that is not easily (or disrespectfully) identifiable as "ethnic"?
I had a slightly visceral reaction to his post mainly because of all the second generation baggage I grew up with (some would define me as 1st gen since I was born in the US, but my parents are immigrants). Additionally, I have all of the cultural the baggage that comes from growing up in a cultural enclave. Also, if a person has not experienced/observed class lines & distinctions, have not had to navigate those lines, then (s)he is in a position of privilege (but not so privileged that (s)he identified as part of the elite class).
That being said, I think a presumption of culture, rituals, and protocol is a slippery slope towards misrepresentation, stereotyping, and covert racism. As authors and writers, I think it's important to do our best to truly understand a culture before we build a world that incorporates aspects of it.
So... I'm just going to present 2 videos that represent...
1)
And 2) ... as food for thought.
What about you? What's your take on cultural gestures, customs, and the like? Do you know of any writer who did a great job at creating and/or representing different cultures? Any authors/writers that you've read (or work you've seen) who created a unique/distinct culture that is not easily (or disrespectfully) identifiable as "ethnic"?
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Back to Basics and whatever it takes
So last night, I went back to basics. I pulled out a journal I'd been kinda using (it's over 10 years old judging by the first entry in it) and used it to pen some ideas and notes on my most current project. I ended up writing for a few hours and 7 pages worth of notes, giving the project a little but more clarity and structure. Now, I've torn those pages out and tucked them into the pocket of my Moleskine journal.
I thought it was appropriate for the story that I'm writing - one that's steeped in Chinese superstition and death rituals - that I succumb to a but of writer superstition as well. For those of you who don't know, Moleskine notebooks have a bit of legend to it, being the notebook of choice for artists and writers like Van Gogh and Hemmingway. They're also my favorite since they're so portable, yet well made (sewn pages, some perforated for easy tear-out when needed, durable cover, good paper).
So now, I carry my Moleskine with me where ever I go. I just need to find the nifty pen holster for it so I don't need to dig around for a pen. I'm also staying up later and consuming inordinate amounts of coffee (even by my standards). But all of this will be worth it.
I thought it was appropriate for the story that I'm writing - one that's steeped in Chinese superstition and death rituals - that I succumb to a but of writer superstition as well. For those of you who don't know, Moleskine notebooks have a bit of legend to it, being the notebook of choice for artists and writers like Van Gogh and Hemmingway. They're also my favorite since they're so portable, yet well made (sewn pages, some perforated for easy tear-out when needed, durable cover, good paper).
So now, I carry my Moleskine with me where ever I go. I just need to find the nifty pen holster for it so I don't need to dig around for a pen. I'm also staying up later and consuming inordinate amounts of coffee (even by my standards). But all of this will be worth it.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Death Rituals
I've had this one line that I wrote a long long time ago that I love. It's been the first line of at least 2 works that never got finished (for a myriad of reasons) and I really really really want to use that line. I'm thinking maybe now, with April's Camp NaNo coming up, I'll use it for a project featuring that line, and something revolving around death rituals. One of my favorite stories is that of Antigone. When a person dies, there are just things to do and things you don't do - which varies from culture to culture.
I remember, for my grandfather, my mother and grandmother insisted on a traditional Chinese ritual where we work white and tied cloth to our hair. During any instances of procession, everyone was lined from eldest to youngest. As we passed the casket in the viewing, we'd place ceremonial money and bow three times with incense. He was cremated and his remains were held in an ancestral alter until my grandmother passed, then his remains and portrait were buried with her.
For my grandmother, in addition to the ceremonial money, incense, and bowing, we did a very western thing. At her grave site, each person took a handful of earth and tossed it into the grave after the casket was lowered.
I was recently reading this article about a young girl who has complications during surgery and bled too much. She's been pronounced brain dead and multiple doctors have said that she would not live without the aid of breathing and feeding tubes. The girl's parents insist that the child is still alive due to a heartbeat and used the courts to keep the hospital from removing life support and they were able to get her moved to a facility that would keep the girl on life support indefinitely. Currently, the mother is attending the child - painting her fingernails, brushing her hair, while hospital staff work with the body in a measure of physical therapy. The parents cling to the hope that their child will wake up.
It just made me wonder, what happens to the souls who are in that in-between space of life/death due to things like life support?
I remember, for my grandfather, my mother and grandmother insisted on a traditional Chinese ritual where we work white and tied cloth to our hair. During any instances of procession, everyone was lined from eldest to youngest. As we passed the casket in the viewing, we'd place ceremonial money and bow three times with incense. He was cremated and his remains were held in an ancestral alter until my grandmother passed, then his remains and portrait were buried with her.
For my grandmother, in addition to the ceremonial money, incense, and bowing, we did a very western thing. At her grave site, each person took a handful of earth and tossed it into the grave after the casket was lowered.
I was recently reading this article about a young girl who has complications during surgery and bled too much. She's been pronounced brain dead and multiple doctors have said that she would not live without the aid of breathing and feeding tubes. The girl's parents insist that the child is still alive due to a heartbeat and used the courts to keep the hospital from removing life support and they were able to get her moved to a facility that would keep the girl on life support indefinitely. Currently, the mother is attending the child - painting her fingernails, brushing her hair, while hospital staff work with the body in a measure of physical therapy. The parents cling to the hope that their child will wake up.
It just made me wonder, what happens to the souls who are in that in-between space of life/death due to things like life support?
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Writing as a social exercise
For the most part, writing is a fairly solitary exercise. But maybe, sometimes, I doesn't need to be. Or, sometimes, it shouldn't be.
This past Nano, it feels like I failed miserably because I couldn't devote the same time or energy as I did for NaNo 2013. I did it once, I can do it again. One of the hardest things about NaNo were the social bits - parties, standing RPG gatherings, and of course, the holidays. I found it harder to seclude myself away from friends and family for the month. I manage to eek out a measly 13K.
This April, I'm going to give Camp NaNo another try. My goal - 25, 000 words. It's half the goal of classic NaNo, but considering my work situation, commute, the holidays and out of town friends coming to town, I think the 25K will be plenty. I'm also going to try to write a little differently. Being in a crowded public space to write does no appeal to me, but I do find value in the social aspect of the write-ins that NaNo's Municipal Liaisons host. So, I've decided to make the writing process for April a little more social by convincing a few of my writer friends to participate in Camp NaNo and host a weekly write-in for our little group. Let's see if getting social with the writing will help me stay on track.
Monday, March 24, 2014
On Identifying as a Writer - when does it count?
One of my friends wrote a blog entry about writing and identifying as a writer. It got me thinking, when does a writer takes ownership of being a writer? When she finally publishes a novel? When one makes a lucrative career by writing like JK Rowling, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, or Stephanie Meyer? Or are REAL writers the literary authors like Twain, Hemingway, Lovecraft, Joyce, or Tan?
Sometimes, when I call myself a "writer," it feels a little fraudulent. I mean, am I really a writer? Do I have enough writing cred to call myself a writer, having nothing significant published under my own name?
When I was working on my creative writing chops in college, I had years of indoctrination on the idea that one was not a real writer unless one wrote literary works. Bullshit.
As for making a living writing? It's way harder, and way less money than people assume.
When I was in high school, I wrote for the school paper, got my poetry published in the school's lit mag, and wrote more short stories than I can remember. During my college years, I'd contributed as a writer for an anthology published by Harper Collins. Since someone else, someone who didn't personally know me, liked my writing enough to publish it, it validates me as a writer, right? Does it not count because I was so young? Does it matter now, as I re-read my published work, that I think it's horribly written?
Some of the best advice I've heard to date - If you want to be something, then be it. If you want to be a writer, then you should be writing. Not tomorrow, today.
So... do I consider myself a writer? Only on the days I write.
Sometimes, when I call myself a "writer," it feels a little fraudulent. I mean, am I really a writer? Do I have enough writing cred to call myself a writer, having nothing significant published under my own name?
When I was working on my creative writing chops in college, I had years of indoctrination on the idea that one was not a real writer unless one wrote literary works. Bullshit.
As for making a living writing? It's way harder, and way less money than people assume.
When I was in high school, I wrote for the school paper, got my poetry published in the school's lit mag, and wrote more short stories than I can remember. During my college years, I'd contributed as a writer for an anthology published by Harper Collins. Since someone else, someone who didn't personally know me, liked my writing enough to publish it, it validates me as a writer, right? Does it not count because I was so young? Does it matter now, as I re-read my published work, that I think it's horribly written?
Or maybe I'm a writer because that's just what I do. At work, writing is something that is part of the development process, where I'm creating content for our e-learning platform, technical manuals, tip-sheets. Or when I'm writing up lesson plans or creating practical application exercises. "Writer" is not part of my job title, nor is it explicitly something that's written in my job description, but it's a big part of what I do.
I do NaNoWriMo because it pushes and focuses me to not over think the process and just do it. Writing a 50k word "novel" in 30 days is daunting, but exhilarating. I did it once. Now, I just need to push myself to do it again. And to revise it to the point where I'm OK with sending it out for strangers to read.
Some of the best advice I've heard to date - If you want to be something, then be it. If you want to be a writer, then you should be writing. Not tomorrow, today.
So... do I consider myself a writer? Only on the days I write.
Making Money with Writing.
A few years ago, I took on a freelance job writing for Demand Media Studios, a supplier of original articles for knowledge bank type websites like eHow.com and Ask.com, (and thus contributing to the rest of the travel, etiquette and advice drivel that's on the internet.) I'm even embarrassed to say that I wrote those pieces because it's far from quality writing and haven't done a thing to share my work, but here's a picture of an article title and my by-line:
Want to know why most of these types of link-bait, how-to articles sound the same? Because all of the writers use the internet for research. And the pay kinda sucked at $7.50 - $15 per article accepted by the editors (and published). If you were really good, really fast at typing, and never had any revisions that were needed, then you may eek out $15/hr to earn $30K for the year. But a more realistic average is somewhere around $10/hr. The 3-5 hours a day that I was spending stressing about my articles wasn't worth the check at the end of the week. Instead, I pushed for a promotion at work - and got it. Now, I make enough that it's hard to justify taking on the small writing gigs, writing stuff I just didn't enjoy writing.
And here's a big reality - sometimes, a writer will spend years writing (and revising, and re-writing) for no pay. And when one does get published and paid, it's going to be very very little at first. That's why most writers when they were starting out, had day jobs to pay the bills.
Want to know why most of these types of link-bait, how-to articles sound the same? Because all of the writers use the internet for research. And the pay kinda sucked at $7.50 - $15 per article accepted by the editors (and published). If you were really good, really fast at typing, and never had any revisions that were needed, then you may eek out $15/hr to earn $30K for the year. But a more realistic average is somewhere around $10/hr. The 3-5 hours a day that I was spending stressing about my articles wasn't worth the check at the end of the week. Instead, I pushed for a promotion at work - and got it. Now, I make enough that it's hard to justify taking on the small writing gigs, writing stuff I just didn't enjoy writing.
And here's a big reality - sometimes, a writer will spend years writing (and revising, and re-writing) for no pay. And when one does get published and paid, it's going to be very very little at first. That's why most writers when they were starting out, had day jobs to pay the bills.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
NaNoWriMo 2013
So this year's NaNo attempt is not looking great for me. I've not hit any of my daily goals and have fallen more and more behind each day. The weekends were an opportunity to catch up on word count, but there are are myriad of responsibilities I didn't have the luxury of putting off for the month.
As it stands, knowing some of the commitments I have around the holidays and my work schedule... there's no way I'll hit 50K by the end of Nov 30.
What does this mean?
It means I'll finish this marathon at a pace that won't break me, even if I don't get a finisher medal (or rather NaNo Winner icon). The most important thing I'm going to get out of this is that I didn't give up and finished the writing.
Using Scrivener, I'm setting a new due date - Dec 15. This allows me to have a daily goal of 1,666 with a couple of 0-word days built in. I'll be fine if I continue with my current pace/daily average.
I can give a myriad of excuses for why I'm not going to finish in time.
As it stands, knowing some of the commitments I have around the holidays and my work schedule... there's no way I'll hit 50K by the end of Nov 30.
What does this mean?
It means I'll finish this marathon at a pace that won't break me, even if I don't get a finisher medal (or rather NaNo Winner icon). The most important thing I'm going to get out of this is that I didn't give up and finished the writing.
Using Scrivener, I'm setting a new due date - Dec 15. This allows me to have a daily goal of 1,666 with a couple of 0-word days built in. I'll be fine if I continue with my current pace/daily average.
I can give a myriad of excuses for why I'm not going to finish in time.
- I have an intense job with a longer commute. It also is a new job which means I can't take a few days off of work to focus on the writing. This is also a job that has required me to stay late or go in early a couple of times, so it's not as flexibly accommodating as my situation last year.
- Craig and I are finally hosting a party at our place after 2 (nearly 3) years of nothing more than a few friends over for a board game night. This meant a top-to-bottom apartment cleaning that has been long overdue. We even found ourselves getting something new at IKEA to store wedding/xmas/bday gifts that we've received in the last 2 years so that they'd have a proper home.
- Reiterate bullet #2 in regards to the bedroom and overflowing closets. It's time to purge what I don't need/use and find a space for what I want to keep.
- It's mid-November and I have no more weekends that I can completely devote to writing.
- I need to sleep.
When all is said and done, life happens and sometimes, we just can't get away for 30 days and write with abandon.
However, I can't find a good excuse to stop writing before I hit the 50K mark of this book. There's no excuse of why I can't prioritize the writing over shopping, TV watching, Facebooking, or Candy Crushing. There's no excuse for not sitting down and writing for at least 2-4 hours every day in the attempt to hit that 50K word goal sooner than later. I know if I don't have a deadline, I'm going to put off the writing one day at a time until it's September again and I'm thinking of preparing for the next NaNo run.
So I'm going to carve out as much time as possible to write out 50K. Then, I will evaluate my progress in the book itself, and will set a new series of goals that will push me to finish this book, then go back and revise/flesh out book 1 with a smidgeon of more clarity than I had last year.
Having a second novel written is a damn good consolation prize for finishing late.
Friday, September 20, 2013
On Race
The other day, as I was working on the novel, I was debating on the merits of including race - Elves, dwarves, snake people, etc that are are human-like, very Tolkien and D&D. Yesterday, I read a blog post by a fellow Fantasy author, Marshal Ryan Maresca, talking about the difficulties of including race in fantasy and sci-fi. But it's not your typical Fantasy Race distinctions, but Race as subcatagories of humans.
In his post, he only touched upon the topic in terms of clarity and description, avoiding the deep-seeded cultural, societal, and emotional baggage that comes with Race and Race issues. He goes on and describes two characters in an exercise to describe racial traits... and I immediately saw a reinforcement of American societal "norms" in terms of race - the light skinned, light haired, light eyed character gets an easier time because he can pass for "local." To that, I'd like to point you to the follow YouTube satire that captures the sentiment of race/ethnicity and "local normal" sentiments.
And then there was racist, vitriolic reaction when Miss New York, a woman of Indian descent who was born in the US and grew up in New York, won the Miss America 2014 title. Many of the people who were outraged felt that Miss Kansas - tattooed blond beauty who is in the National Guard and hunts is more representative of "American" than the dark-skinned "foreigner."
So, authors, when you're considering race in your work, take a deep pause and research the loaded history of racism and ask yourself if you want to give your world that amount of cultural depth. If you are writing a world where race doesn't matter anymore, take an example from Suzanne Collins. She did a really good job of it in Hunger Games
when Katniss meets and describes the District 11 tributes - Rue and Thresh, who are black. But even though you describe a character as dark skinned, your readers my picture the character totally unlike how you pictured her, as evident by the racist reaction to how Rue was cast in the movie.
Also, writers, be cognizant of your word choice and connotation when describing physical features that has racial tones. You may be reinforcing racial "norms" of your society, undercutting it (what if dark-skinned was the norm and light-skinned was the "other"?), or attempting to show that race is no longer an issue for a culture/society (often seen in "future" settings).
Writers, ask yourself - what purpose does race have in my work? If I have race, do I need to include racism and what purpose does it have in my world?
Here's more food for thought -
How do you deal with race in your work? Do all Humans look the same? Do all Humans enjoy the same ranks/privileges, etc despite the differences in their physical features? Does the racial norms, hierarchies, and [insert colored/racial majority here] privilege exist? How do you react as a reader when you see it in others' works?
In his post, he only touched upon the topic in terms of clarity and description, avoiding the deep-seeded cultural, societal, and emotional baggage that comes with Race and Race issues. He goes on and describes two characters in an exercise to describe racial traits... and I immediately saw a reinforcement of American societal "norms" in terms of race - the light skinned, light haired, light eyed character gets an easier time because he can pass for "local." To that, I'd like to point you to the follow YouTube satire that captures the sentiment of race/ethnicity and "local normal" sentiments.
And then there was racist, vitriolic reaction when Miss New York, a woman of Indian descent who was born in the US and grew up in New York, won the Miss America 2014 title. Many of the people who were outraged felt that Miss Kansas - tattooed blond beauty who is in the National Guard and hunts is more representative of "American" than the dark-skinned "foreigner."
So, authors, when you're considering race in your work, take a deep pause and research the loaded history of racism and ask yourself if you want to give your world that amount of cultural depth. If you are writing a world where race doesn't matter anymore, take an example from Suzanne Collins. She did a really good job of it in Hunger Games
when Katniss meets and describes the District 11 tributes - Rue and Thresh, who are black. But even though you describe a character as dark skinned, your readers my picture the character totally unlike how you pictured her, as evident by the racist reaction to how Rue was cast in the movie. Also, writers, be cognizant of your word choice and connotation when describing physical features that has racial tones. You may be reinforcing racial "norms" of your society, undercutting it (what if dark-skinned was the norm and light-skinned was the "other"?), or attempting to show that race is no longer an issue for a culture/society (often seen in "future" settings).
Writers, ask yourself - what purpose does race have in my work? If I have race, do I need to include racism and what purpose does it have in my world?
Here's more food for thought -
How do you deal with race in your work? Do all Humans look the same? Do all Humans enjoy the same ranks/privileges, etc despite the differences in their physical features? Does the racial norms, hierarchies, and [insert colored/racial majority here] privilege exist? How do you react as a reader when you see it in others' works?
Monday, September 16, 2013
On Character Development
Today I managed to do several character sketches to prep for my NaNo project. On a break, I checked out this article pertaining to a school assignment focusing on a child's development. In the article, it describes an assignment were children (with their parent's permission) were to venture out on their own to tackle a task that they wanted to tackle - taking the bus by himself, going to the store by herself, trying something new, preparing his own food for the first time, - tackle it, then write about it.
Reading the excerpts from the kids' essays were inspiring. The kids were taking their first steps to become independent adults - pushing their own boundaries and comfort zones, their awe and wonderment of that "I did it!" moment, and the pride and growing confidence in knowing they can accomplish something.
With that in mind, I'm revisiting the character sketches of my primary characters (and if I have time, my secondary characters) and adding developmental background information that mirrors the developmental markers of people in general -
Reading the excerpts from the kids' essays were inspiring. The kids were taking their first steps to become independent adults - pushing their own boundaries and comfort zones, their awe and wonderment of that "I did it!" moment, and the pride and growing confidence in knowing they can accomplish something.
With that in mind, I'm revisiting the character sketches of my primary characters (and if I have time, my secondary characters) and adding developmental background information that mirrors the developmental markers of people in general -
- First time they accomplished something they didn't know they could do
- First time they accomplished something they struggled to do
- First time they failed at something they thought would be easy
- The biggest failure that resonates with them
- First time the character experienced a sense of loss
- Any lasting rivalries with another character
- Fears (and explain the origins of the fears)
I know that some of these "first" or landmark incidents could happen during your story. Sometimes, the 2nd or 3rd "fail" is the one that resonates with a character the most. I expect very few of these scenes/markers to make their way onto the pages of the main story, but it will go a long way in explaining why a person is a wallflower, or why they always have to make sure everyone is safe, why they notice the littlest details (ala Monk's OCD) and how that can be a flaw.
How do you develop your characters? What thoughts drive you or inspire you?
How do you develop your characters? What thoughts drive you or inspire you?
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