...almost. But plans for tonight include cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, and champagne, so that should be fun.
I've been editing at last. I went through my NaNoWriDay of August 2006 (feels like a long time ago) and removed everything that doesn't work within the confines of the new story. I was left with 50 pages of workable material, most of it added after NaNoWriDay. But it's progress, so I feel good about it, and I can't wait to do more.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying being back in Portland. There was a lovely detour to the Methow Valley, WA for two feet of fresh powder, and even though the weather here is gross, we have New Seasons Market and my comfortable bedroom with its desk that wraps around two entire walls.
I'm sure I'll be sick of my family soon, but for now, life's pretty good.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Nearly finished with finals
Whoa. I've been focusing so hard on that English final for so long that it's a bit hard to pull away from it and realize that I've still got a history take-home final to write. The end of the semester is so close that I can practically taste breakfast at the Des Moines Airport, and yet I have two take-home essays to write on the French & Russian Revolutions and ideologies that formed opposing laissez-faire liberalism. Gack.
One reason I'm looking forward to going home is that the library at home is absolutely fantastic (not that the school library isn't), and I'll have all this gorgeous free time to do research. I have ten John Keegan (military historian) books on hold, along with a number of others related to various topics I'm writing about, and there are at least fifteen hours of long driving trips in my future. Here's to Dramamine and the Cedar Mill Library.
In the meantime, I'll be answering the burning question that's on everyone's minds this holiday season: "During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries a number of ideologies and movements arose that directly challenged the ideology of Liberalism. What were these movements? What criticisms of Liberalism did these ideologies and movements offer?"
One reason I'm looking forward to going home is that the library at home is absolutely fantastic (not that the school library isn't), and I'll have all this gorgeous free time to do research. I have ten John Keegan (military historian) books on hold, along with a number of others related to various topics I'm writing about, and there are at least fifteen hours of long driving trips in my future. Here's to Dramamine and the Cedar Mill Library.
In the meantime, I'll be answering the burning question that's on everyone's minds this holiday season: "During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries a number of ideologies and movements arose that directly challenged the ideology of Liberalism. What were these movements? What criticisms of Liberalism did these ideologies and movements offer?"
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A matter of taste
I'm getting started on my personal essay for Craft of Poetry, which includes a section on my personal tastes in poetry, and it reminded me of an pre-NaNo exercise: you write down two "Magna Cartas", as Chris Baty describes them, one listing characteristics of a novel you enjoy and the other listing novel characteristics you dislike.
At the same time, I was going through one of my notebooks and - surprise! - found the two novel magna cartas that I wrote while my mom and I were getting a flat tire fixed. Because I think they're an interesting window into what I like to write, they are included below. Note: by no means does this mean that I automatically hate novels including the "bad" char., it's just an indication of my preferences.
Likes
No, wait, I have finals. Blast. At least I've finished and turned in my Japanese final; all that remains is my poetry final essay, my history final, and - gulp - my English final.
At the same time, I was going through one of my notebooks and - surprise! - found the two novel magna cartas that I wrote while my mom and I were getting a flat tire fixed. Because I think they're an interesting window into what I like to write, they are included below. Note: by no means does this mean that I automatically hate novels including the "bad" char., it's just an indication of my preferences.
Likes
- Humor (especially dark humor)
- Emotionally damaged/stunted characters (especially guys)
- Flirting and banter, eventual romance after difficulty
- Action (as in battles and chases)
- 1st or 3rd person
- Happy endings
- Kickass heroines
- People who've worked for what they have
- Characters with unusual mental/physical features (synaesthesia, heterochromia, one hand)
- Weird family dynamics/dysfunctional families
- Foreign locales (not necessarily other countries, just places/cultures I have little experience with)
- Lots of food
- Novels that try too hard to be edgy or hip
- Graphic or gratuitous abuse
- Novels where nothing happens (I don't mean "quiet" novels, I mean novels where nothing happens)
- Unhappy endings
- Non-endings
- Characters who get everything easily
- Weak, whiny girls who need guys to do everything
- Gratuitous drug use (see above re: edgy/hip)
- Perfect families with no hidden issues
No, wait, I have finals. Blast. At least I've finished and turned in my Japanese final; all that remains is my poetry final essay, my history final, and - gulp - my English final.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Little bit of breathing room
Done with my Japanese presentation - now I just have to write a 10-page paper, write a 7-page paper, study for my history final, and (the biggie) study for my English final. Gulp.
That's really my only news, other than my recent discovery that fresh nail polish is really irritating when trying to type.
Deep breath, and back into Hell Week.
That's really my only news, other than my recent discovery that fresh nail polish is really irritating when trying to type.
Deep breath, and back into Hell Week.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Oops.
Uh...I just wrote five pages of a brand-new story. I mean, it's been in my head for a while, but now it's on paper and I like it. I really, really like it. I know where it could go, I have lots of possible ideas for it...my brain feels like it's overflowing, and I just want to keep writing.
But can I do this? No. Instead, I have to finally work on this damned Japanese project. Clearly I should've done the project two nights ago, when I stayed up all night doing absolutely nothing, so that I would have been able to write now.
Of course, if I'd done that, I'd have no impetus to write at the moment. It's a catch-22 that always results in my schoolwork suffering.
Crap. I'm going to try to work on my Japanese project some, and then try to sleep until 7 AM or so, get some breakfast, and get back to work on the Japanese project. Class doesn't start until 2 PM, so I'll have 6+ hours. That's enough time to get everything done AND do some writing. If I'm efficient, which I never am.
But can I do this? No. Instead, I have to finally work on this damned Japanese project. Clearly I should've done the project two nights ago, when I stayed up all night doing absolutely nothing, so that I would have been able to write now.
Of course, if I'd done that, I'd have no impetus to write at the moment. It's a catch-22 that always results in my schoolwork suffering.
Crap. I'm going to try to work on my Japanese project some, and then try to sleep until 7 AM or so, get some breakfast, and get back to work on the Japanese project. Class doesn't start until 2 PM, so I'll have 6+ hours. That's enough time to get everything done AND do some writing. If I'm efficient, which I never am.
Oh, crap.
Now I'm dying to work on the aforementioned writing project. Instead of the Japanese paper. Which is 30% of my grade. Did I mention that?
Honestly. This always happens at the most inconvenient times.
Honestly. This always happens at the most inconvenient times.
New strategy, and some ideas
So I've got this new strategy for getting my work done. I've got this huge Japanese presentation due tomorrow. I work on it till I'm going out of my mind, and then I head over to FreeRice and play until I've donated 500 grains of rice. Then I go back to work (or at least, I'm supposed to).
Of course, mostly how this works out is: I work a bit. I play FreeRice. I get to Level 46, hang on, and then get knocked down. I consider going back to work, then figure I'll clean off my desk. Or paint my nails (I have no nail-polish remover, so this is a risky proposition). In fact, I'm so sick of working that I'm actually considering going back to a certain writing project (no, nothing NaNo) and starting it over.
Gah. The semester went so fast, and now I wish I could go back and tell myself at the beginning, "Work harder! Turn your assignments in on time!" But that's not really an option, now is it? Instead, I will toil away over books with titles like Tradition and Change in the Asian Family and Marriage, Work & Family Life in Comparative Perspective and Family Change and the Life Course in Japan. It's not that I don't find this interesting - I actually find it very interesting - it's just that when I'm forced to write what boils down to a report, the fun goes out of it.
Ooh, I'm struck by a desire to write something set in alt-world Japan. There's a lack of non-manga, non-TV-tie-in YA fiction set in Japan. Note to self: address this deficiency, once done with all other writing projects currently in progress.
Of course, mostly how this works out is: I work a bit. I play FreeRice. I get to Level 46, hang on, and then get knocked down. I consider going back to work, then figure I'll clean off my desk. Or paint my nails (I have no nail-polish remover, so this is a risky proposition). In fact, I'm so sick of working that I'm actually considering going back to a certain writing project (no, nothing NaNo) and starting it over.
Gah. The semester went so fast, and now I wish I could go back and tell myself at the beginning, "Work harder! Turn your assignments in on time!" But that's not really an option, now is it? Instead, I will toil away over books with titles like Tradition and Change in the Asian Family and Marriage, Work & Family Life in Comparative Perspective and Family Change and the Life Course in Japan. It's not that I don't find this interesting - I actually find it very interesting - it's just that when I'm forced to write what boils down to a report, the fun goes out of it.
Ooh, I'm struck by a desire to write something set in alt-world Japan. There's a lack of non-manga, non-TV-tie-in YA fiction set in Japan. Note to self: address this deficiency, once done with all other writing projects currently in progress.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
New interviews!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Thoughts on happy endings
Yes, I do have homework I should be doing. But this has been bugging me since a friend brought it up post-Waltz last night, so I figured I'd mention it.
Warning: if, by some chance, you have not read the 7th Harry Potter book, I'm about to spoil the ending. Sorry. Go read it.
I don't mean to beat up on Deathly Hallows, because I think it's taken its fair share of abuse and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But...the first time I read it, I was fine with the epilogue. I wasn't totally wild about it, but I understood the reasoning behind it. The more I think about it, though, the more it bothers me.
Plenty of other books have epilogues. That's not my problem. What I object to is the total feeling that every loose end has been tied up, that there are no more adventures left to happen. Sure, in DH, Harry's kids can still have adventures. But the characters that we've invested more than seven years of our lives in, characters that we really care about - their stories are done. There's very little room for the reader to imagine what might come next. Not only that, but everyone is exactly the same person that he/she was nineteen years ago. The couples are neatly paired up, and everyone has married at just the right age so that their children can be just the right ages.
Compare it to a wildly different epilogue scenario: the series finale of Alias. We see Sydney and Vaughn maybe five years after the end of the story. They've settled down with their family, and we catch little snippets of what's happening with everyone else - and they're mostly doing what they were, but that's okay because this is only five years later. An old CIA contact shows up, updates them on an old bad guy - and they're pulled back into the spy world. Why is this "better" than the way DH ended? First, the time lapse is much smaller. It makes sense that people are in similar places in their lives. Second, the finale closes with both a happy image - Sydney and Vaughn's family - and the feeling that even without us watching, Sydney's adventures as a spy continue. We're free to picture the missions she might go on, the way her life might play out. It's an open-ended ending.
More than that, the idea of a blanket "happy ending" just bothers me. That's not how people's lives work out. Life is messy and complicated - not everyone marries their high school sweetheart and has kids at twenty-one and takes the job that they thought they would. You lose track of your high school friends, you move away from home, you turn into different people. I understand the impulse to give all the characters that you've fallen in love with a happy future, but...it feels forced to me.
My friend said - and I agree - that it might have been better, in an artistic sense, for J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter books if she'd finished the series and then they'd become an international phenomenon. If there hadn't been such intense pressure to make them OMGSOGREAT!!1! then I think she could've done what felt natural for the characters. Instead, it read a bit like she shoved them into their future lives.
So, I guess my verdict on happy endings: temporary happy endings, optimistic endings, open-ended endings; yes. Absolutely final happy complete endings; no. If you want to read an actual qualified person's thoughts on the ending of DH, check out this link.
Whew. I'm really trying to avoid work, aren't I?
Random thoughts: I'm sick of the way that my refrigerator reeks and won't actually close. Sixth night of Hanukkah tonight, and I've got this bar of 100% dark chocolate that I'm dying to try. That will be my reward for finishing my 10-page research project on Japanese family structure, which is 30 freakin' percent of my grade. Yeesh. After I finish this, though, I have only a 7-page paper on my personal poetry habits, a history take-home exam, and an English exam - not bad, considering what a lot of other people have to deal with.
Where did the damn semester go? This week is Hell Week, next week is Finals Week, and then it's break for a month! I've got a job working two shifts a week in the Writing Lab next semester. Finally I'll be a productive taxpayer again.
Man, I heard that Jimmy Eat World song "The Middle" in the campus grill a couple days ago, and I've been listening to it like crazy ever since.
Warning: if, by some chance, you have not read the 7th Harry Potter book, I'm about to spoil the ending. Sorry. Go read it.
I don't mean to beat up on Deathly Hallows, because I think it's taken its fair share of abuse and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But...the first time I read it, I was fine with the epilogue. I wasn't totally wild about it, but I understood the reasoning behind it. The more I think about it, though, the more it bothers me.
Plenty of other books have epilogues. That's not my problem. What I object to is the total feeling that every loose end has been tied up, that there are no more adventures left to happen. Sure, in DH, Harry's kids can still have adventures. But the characters that we've invested more than seven years of our lives in, characters that we really care about - their stories are done. There's very little room for the reader to imagine what might come next. Not only that, but everyone is exactly the same person that he/she was nineteen years ago. The couples are neatly paired up, and everyone has married at just the right age so that their children can be just the right ages.
Compare it to a wildly different epilogue scenario: the series finale of Alias. We see Sydney and Vaughn maybe five years after the end of the story. They've settled down with their family, and we catch little snippets of what's happening with everyone else - and they're mostly doing what they were, but that's okay because this is only five years later. An old CIA contact shows up, updates them on an old bad guy - and they're pulled back into the spy world. Why is this "better" than the way DH ended? First, the time lapse is much smaller. It makes sense that people are in similar places in their lives. Second, the finale closes with both a happy image - Sydney and Vaughn's family - and the feeling that even without us watching, Sydney's adventures as a spy continue. We're free to picture the missions she might go on, the way her life might play out. It's an open-ended ending.
More than that, the idea of a blanket "happy ending" just bothers me. That's not how people's lives work out. Life is messy and complicated - not everyone marries their high school sweetheart and has kids at twenty-one and takes the job that they thought they would. You lose track of your high school friends, you move away from home, you turn into different people. I understand the impulse to give all the characters that you've fallen in love with a happy future, but...it feels forced to me.
My friend said - and I agree - that it might have been better, in an artistic sense, for J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter books if she'd finished the series and then they'd become an international phenomenon. If there hadn't been such intense pressure to make them OMGSOGREAT!!1! then I think she could've done what felt natural for the characters. Instead, it read a bit like she shoved them into their future lives.
So, I guess my verdict on happy endings: temporary happy endings, optimistic endings, open-ended endings; yes. Absolutely final happy complete endings; no. If you want to read an actual qualified person's thoughts on the ending of DH, check out this link.
Whew. I'm really trying to avoid work, aren't I?
Random thoughts: I'm sick of the way that my refrigerator reeks and won't actually close. Sixth night of Hanukkah tonight, and I've got this bar of 100% dark chocolate that I'm dying to try. That will be my reward for finishing my 10-page research project on Japanese family structure, which is 30 freakin' percent of my grade. Yeesh. After I finish this, though, I have only a 7-page paper on my personal poetry habits, a history take-home exam, and an English exam - not bad, considering what a lot of other people have to deal with.
Where did the damn semester go? This week is Hell Week, next week is Finals Week, and then it's break for a month! I've got a job working two shifts a week in the Writing Lab next semester. Finally I'll be a productive taxpayer again.
Man, I heard that Jimmy Eat World song "The Middle" in the campus grill a couple days ago, and I've been listening to it like crazy ever since.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Snow
I know I'll be dead sick of it by February, but...golly gee, I love snow. My Minnesotan roommate sees nothing particularly special about it, but here in Grinnell, where we get significant accumulation in a day, it changes the whole landscape. Love, love, love!
Of course, that doesn't mean I'll enjoy trudging through it in my fancy clothes to Winter Waltz tonight. Ah well, sacrifices must be made, and I'll suffer through just about any weather for the Waltz pre-parties with their fancy chocolate-covered strawberries and hors d'oeuvres.
Speaking of which, I've found a new website that I love: Epicurious. It has a food dictionary, technique videos, and all kinds of good stuff. Cool resource.
Of course, that doesn't mean I'll enjoy trudging through it in my fancy clothes to Winter Waltz tonight. Ah well, sacrifices must be made, and I'll suffer through just about any weather for the Waltz pre-parties with their fancy chocolate-covered strawberries and hors d'oeuvres.
Speaking of which, I've found a new website that I love: Epicurious. It has a food dictionary, technique videos, and all kinds of good stuff. Cool resource.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Oh, man, I almost forgot...
So I've got this friend, right? And he subscribes to all kinds of RSS feeds that let him know about cool new technology.
Imagine my surprise (and amusement) when he sent me this: Glucoboy. As far as I can tell, it's a blood glucose meter that doubles as a video game? You can progress faster through the games by having good blood sugars. I definitely see a market for this, but apparently it's quite expensive and only available in Australia right now. We'll see.
Imagine my surprise (and amusement) when he sent me this: Glucoboy. As far as I can tell, it's a blood glucose meter that doubles as a video game? You can progress faster through the games by having good blood sugars. I definitely see a market for this, but apparently it's quite expensive and only available in Australia right now. We'll see.
Food. Music. Not writing.
The posting drought is due to a significant writing drought. Plus I've been sick, so...you know how it goes.
I have discovered an excellent stress-reduction technique, due to a recent Hanukkah present received from my mother: darts. I prop the dartboard up in one of my drawers, which happens to be at just the right height, and fling darts at it until I feel better. I think maybe I'm supposed to put batteries in it or something, so that it'll record my scores electronically, but this way works too.
Recently discovered song through Gossip Girl: "Secret", by The Pierces. Creepy and slightly morbid, but very addictive. Also listening to "Time Is Running Out", by Muse. I generally like their songs, and this one is no exception.
So here I sit, eating squares of Lindt 85% Cocoa Extra-Dark Chocolate and wondering why I'm not writing. Mmmm, chocolate.
Oh, and I hear decidedly mixed things about the Golden Compass movie. Won't stop me from seeing it, though.
I have discovered an excellent stress-reduction technique, due to a recent Hanukkah present received from my mother: darts. I prop the dartboard up in one of my drawers, which happens to be at just the right height, and fling darts at it until I feel better. I think maybe I'm supposed to put batteries in it or something, so that it'll record my scores electronically, but this way works too.
Recently discovered song through Gossip Girl: "Secret", by The Pierces. Creepy and slightly morbid, but very addictive. Also listening to "Time Is Running Out", by Muse. I generally like their songs, and this one is no exception.
So here I sit, eating squares of Lindt 85% Cocoa Extra-Dark Chocolate and wondering why I'm not writing. Mmmm, chocolate.
Oh, and I hear decidedly mixed things about the Golden Compass movie. Won't stop me from seeing it, though.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Interesting
An interesting blog post on writer's block, discovered through Nadia Cornier's blog. Essentially, it says that fear is what keeps writers from writing - and having spent much of the pre-November period in a state of severe writer's block, I would have to agree. A book on the same topic: Art & Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orland.
Hey...
I just found an old interview that I don't think I ever saw published: Diabetes Teen Talk interview. Well, that's cool.
Winter arrives, part deux
Because I couldn't resist and I'm addicted to my camera, here's the current view through my dorm room window.
In other, less snowy news, I'm going to make this a writing day. Grab a book of writing exercises and just start working. Like NaNoWriMo, but with no restrictions to a single story or characters. I'll see where that takes me - I need a project.
I really love this new White Stripes song, "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)". Also, I foresee that much of this winter will be spent figuring out the thermostat in our room.
In other, less snowy news, I'm going to make this a writing day. Grab a book of writing exercises and just start working. Like NaNoWriMo, but with no restrictions to a single story or characters. I'll see where that takes me - I need a project.
I really love this new White Stripes song, "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)". Also, I foresee that much of this winter will be spent figuring out the thermostat in our room.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Walkin' in a winter wonder-- wait.
First snow, or at least the first snow that I've been around for. And when I say "snow", what I really mean is "freezing rain driving into your face as you walk to breakfast". We got maybe half an inch, maybe an inch, of accumulation, and the sidewalks are all slippery from the freezing rain. Grumble.
I'm going to try and get some writing done today, or at least do a bit of research for the steampunk train novel. Unfortunately, I got no sleep last night, due to my roommate humming "Like A Prayer" as she slept.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting here eating Pringles and watching Season 3 of Stargate: SG-1. There's a big picture window behind my desk, so I can see the nasty freezing rain falling on what is now very dirty snow in the parking lot.
No wonder I never get anything done. Wow. I shouldn't have taken a break after finishing my NaNo novel - now I'm out of the habit of writing every day.
I'm going to try and get some writing done today, or at least do a bit of research for the steampunk train novel. Unfortunately, I got no sleep last night, due to my roommate humming "Like A Prayer" as she slept.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting here eating Pringles and watching Season 3 of Stargate: SG-1. There's a big picture window behind my desk, so I can see the nasty freezing rain falling on what is now very dirty snow in the parking lot.
No wonder I never get anything done. Wow. I shouldn't have taken a break after finishing my NaNo novel - now I'm out of the habit of writing every day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)