Best place on the Grinnell campus to write: Burling Library, hands down.
Let me explain, since I used to have a lot of trouble getting work done there. What makes it so ideal? The fact that you have total control over your environment. If you want total silence and solitude, go to the 4th floor. Seriously, you'll see one person in 24 hours. If you want to be able to see people walking around below you but maintain the quiet, work on the 2nd floor. If you want occasional human interaction (and natural light), work on the 1st floor.
It's so cool. I've written ~15 pages there in the last two days.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Thursday, March 8, 2007
NaNoEdMo
My project this month: National Novel Editing Month. The goal? 50 hours of editing my NaNo novel. So far I'm focusing on my NaNoWriDay novel, because I love it so much more, but if I stall out on that I suppose I'll switch to my WriMo novel.
Spring Break should be very helpful for this project.
Spring Break should be very helpful for this project.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Sisters, now
Continuing the topic of the last post: I've been trying to think of anything involving sisters or mothers and daughters. Now, obviously there are things like Gilmore Girls, but again there's that emphatic difference in power levels - any show with a mother/daughter has it.
I have another example of brothers, a movie this time: The Boondock Saints. Another pair of brothers who'll fight and die for each other.
Why can't I find anything out there like that for girls? Is it because girls aren't supposed to be violent, and therefore in books/movies/television they don't get the opportunity to fight for each other?
It seems like a gross oversight. Someone should write something and fix that.
ETA:
Oh, yeah, some mentioned Charmed as an example of sisters. Fair point, but I'd love to see something that didn't involve the heroines having magical powers. Let girls just be strong for once. On shows like Supernatural, The Black Donnellys, Prison Break, and in Boondock Saints, the brothers don't have magical powers or super-strength. They get shot or beat up; they get the crap kicked out of them, and they get pretty close to death. I've never seen Charmed, but from what I hear it was several semi-incompetent witch sisters. Even Buffy, which involved a very strong female character, never let the girls be strong fighters on their own. Buffy and Faith were Slayers, and thus imbued with all kinds of speed and strength. The mini-Slayers...well, they were mini-Slayers. Willow and Tara were powerful, but only because they were witches. They didn't get to be physically strong.
Damn, what's going on here? Seems like the last show on TV with a physically ass-kicking heroine was Alias. Which essentially ended when the main character got pregnant.
Someone needs to fix this, immediately.
I have another example of brothers, a movie this time: The Boondock Saints. Another pair of brothers who'll fight and die for each other.
Why can't I find anything out there like that for girls? Is it because girls aren't supposed to be violent, and therefore in books/movies/television they don't get the opportunity to fight for each other?
It seems like a gross oversight. Someone should write something and fix that.
ETA:
Oh, yeah, some mentioned Charmed as an example of sisters. Fair point, but I'd love to see something that didn't involve the heroines having magical powers. Let girls just be strong for once. On shows like Supernatural, The Black Donnellys, Prison Break, and in Boondock Saints, the brothers don't have magical powers or super-strength. They get shot or beat up; they get the crap kicked out of them, and they get pretty close to death. I've never seen Charmed, but from what I hear it was several semi-incompetent witch sisters. Even Buffy, which involved a very strong female character, never let the girls be strong fighters on their own. Buffy and Faith were Slayers, and thus imbued with all kinds of speed and strength. The mini-Slayers...well, they were mini-Slayers. Willow and Tara were powerful, but only because they were witches. They didn't get to be physically strong.
Damn, what's going on here? Seems like the last show on TV with a physically ass-kicking heroine was Alias. Which essentially ended when the main character got pregnant.
Someone needs to fix this, immediately.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Life continues on, plus a load of musings on brotherly dynamics
Another weekend gone, and suddenly Spring Break is only eleven days away. This semester sure is going fast...I wonder if it's because I love my classes, or just because I'm used to college now? Either way, I wish it would slow down. I'm not ready for my first year of college to be over.
I am looking forward to Spring Break, though. Headed up to Quebec and the Ice Hotel for a relaxing, albeit chilly, vacation. It should provide some interesting writing material - the place is literally built from ice, and I've never been anywhere like it. Plus, Quebec...no offense to Iowa, which has its upsides, but I've been dying for a good baguette with butter. Boulangeries, patisseries...now I'm having terrific flashbacks to Paris in 2004. Cannot wait.
Some thoughts on television shows. Lately, there seem to be a lot of "brother" TV shows - I'm thinking in particular of Supernatural and The Black Donnellys. Far be it from me to suggest that there's anything wrong with this, but I do find it interesting. Both shows involve sets of brothers who have intensely close bonds, to the point that they would die/kill for each other. Both include plenty of violence, angst, and dysfunctionality (I'm inferring this from the pilot of The Black Donnellys, which is all that's aired as of today). I'm curious to see how the dynamic will play out on The Black Donnellys, particularly after the reveal at the end of the pilot episode.
In Supernatural we get a brotherly dynamic in which the older brother knows that he may have to kill his younger brother someday. At the same time, he's tasked with protecting his younger brother. Both brothers are fully informed. In The Black Donnellys, the younger brother has already done irreparable physical damage to his older brother. In return, he shields his brother from further harm, to the point of damning (not literally) himself.
Family dynamics actually fascinate me much more than romantic relationships on television. Both Supernatural and The Black Donnellys (so far) have presented brotherly relationships that are far more interesting than possible romantic interests. I do think it's intriguing that there don't seem to be any equivalents involving sisters. The only remotely similar show I can think of was the last few seasons of Buffy, and even then, a) the emphasis was always way more on romance and vampires and b) the sisters were nowhere near equals. Sam and Dean in Supernatural and Jimmy, Kevin, Tommy, and Sean in The Black Donnellys are presented as being of approximately equal ability.
Is there a book or TV show out there that has two sisters with this type of I'd-die-for-you bond? I'd be really curious to see it.
Currently displayed on my iTunes "Party Shuffle":
Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Patsy Cline, The Dandy Warhols, The Drifters, The Strokes, Magpie, Green Day, Tegan and Sara, KT Tunstall, Roisin Murphy, The Smiths, Linkin Park, The Sound of Music, Sum 41, The Decemberists, We Are Scientists, Tom Paxton, Blur, Phil Ochs, The Police, Star Wars Episode III, and Gorillaz. I have the weirdest collection of music.
I am looking forward to Spring Break, though. Headed up to Quebec and the Ice Hotel for a relaxing, albeit chilly, vacation. It should provide some interesting writing material - the place is literally built from ice, and I've never been anywhere like it. Plus, Quebec...no offense to Iowa, which has its upsides, but I've been dying for a good baguette with butter. Boulangeries, patisseries...now I'm having terrific flashbacks to Paris in 2004. Cannot wait.
Some thoughts on television shows. Lately, there seem to be a lot of "brother" TV shows - I'm thinking in particular of Supernatural and The Black Donnellys. Far be it from me to suggest that there's anything wrong with this, but I do find it interesting. Both shows involve sets of brothers who have intensely close bonds, to the point that they would die/kill for each other. Both include plenty of violence, angst, and dysfunctionality (I'm inferring this from the pilot of The Black Donnellys, which is all that's aired as of today). I'm curious to see how the dynamic will play out on The Black Donnellys, particularly after the reveal at the end of the pilot episode.
In Supernatural we get a brotherly dynamic in which the older brother knows that he may have to kill his younger brother someday. At the same time, he's tasked with protecting his younger brother. Both brothers are fully informed. In The Black Donnellys, the younger brother has already done irreparable physical damage to his older brother. In return, he shields his brother from further harm, to the point of damning (not literally) himself.
Family dynamics actually fascinate me much more than romantic relationships on television. Both Supernatural and The Black Donnellys (so far) have presented brotherly relationships that are far more interesting than possible romantic interests. I do think it's intriguing that there don't seem to be any equivalents involving sisters. The only remotely similar show I can think of was the last few seasons of Buffy, and even then, a) the emphasis was always way more on romance and vampires and b) the sisters were nowhere near equals. Sam and Dean in Supernatural and Jimmy, Kevin, Tommy, and Sean in The Black Donnellys are presented as being of approximately equal ability.
Is there a book or TV show out there that has two sisters with this type of I'd-die-for-you bond? I'd be really curious to see it.
Currently displayed on my iTunes "Party Shuffle":
Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Patsy Cline, The Dandy Warhols, The Drifters, The Strokes, Magpie, Green Day, Tegan and Sara, KT Tunstall, Roisin Murphy, The Smiths, Linkin Park, The Sound of Music, Sum 41, The Decemberists, We Are Scientists, Tom Paxton, Blur, Phil Ochs, The Police, Star Wars Episode III, and Gorillaz. I have the weirdest collection of music.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
It's NaNoEdMo, right?
Isn't March NaNoEdMo? It seems fitting, then, that instead of editing my NaNo novel I'm busy writing a sequel. Yes, I put those long lecture classes to excellent use, continuing my National Novel Writing Day novel.
I think my problem is that I fall deeply in love with some of my characters - frequently, peripheral characters - and then can't quite bring myself to let go of them. At the same time, I'll be working on a project and eventually realize that I no longer even care what happens to a character. Once that happens, it's just sad.
A few examples:
Robin Oliver, in my NaNoWriDay novel. He went from being an incompetent voice down in the air control tower to the man who kills the Ultimate Bad Guy. Now I've brought him back as the major male character in my sequel.
Doon/Danny Steadman, in my untitled actual-project novel. He's always been a main character, but I'm absolutely in love with his terrific brotherly bond and his fierce loyalty to Lidie.
Lydia (Lidie) Jenkins, in the actual-project novel. I don't have as certain a feel for her as I do for Doon/Danny, but again, I love their brother/sister bond and their loyalty to each other.
And alarmingly, Connor's manipulative and spiteful younger sister Ana, in the actual-project novel. I started out writing her as this hateful girl, and all of a sudden she turned into a character that it actually hurts to write.
Inconvenient as it may be, I love it when this happens - when you realize that you've come to adore a character in your story so much that he or she feels like a real person. There's a danger there too, of course: if a character feels real, you hate to hurt them. In these cases, though, I think their lives are fairly well-balanced. Except for Ana, but her life is supposed to be unbalanced.
I think my problem is that I fall deeply in love with some of my characters - frequently, peripheral characters - and then can't quite bring myself to let go of them. At the same time, I'll be working on a project and eventually realize that I no longer even care what happens to a character. Once that happens, it's just sad.
A few examples:
Robin Oliver, in my NaNoWriDay novel. He went from being an incompetent voice down in the air control tower to the man who kills the Ultimate Bad Guy. Now I've brought him back as the major male character in my sequel.
Doon/Danny Steadman, in my untitled actual-project novel. He's always been a main character, but I'm absolutely in love with his terrific brotherly bond and his fierce loyalty to Lidie.
Lydia (Lidie) Jenkins, in the actual-project novel. I don't have as certain a feel for her as I do for Doon/Danny, but again, I love their brother/sister bond and their loyalty to each other.
And alarmingly, Connor's manipulative and spiteful younger sister Ana, in the actual-project novel. I started out writing her as this hateful girl, and all of a sudden she turned into a character that it actually hurts to write.
Inconvenient as it may be, I love it when this happens - when you realize that you've come to adore a character in your story so much that he or she feels like a real person. There's a danger there too, of course: if a character feels real, you hate to hurt them. In these cases, though, I think their lives are fairly well-balanced. Except for Ana, but her life is supposed to be unbalanced.
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