NaNoWriMo is nine days, four hours, 56 minutes, and several seconds away. Well, it was when I wrote that, although it is now nine days, four hours, 55 minutes, and several seconds away.
But regardless of what it is now, you get the point.
I get it too. And have come to the unfortunate realization that I don't have a plot. And I'm not a "no plot, no problem" type of person. I NEED A PLOT. I don't even have a genre.
So I need your help. Yes, your help.
I have four rather vague possibilities:
1. Fantasy - I continue my somewhat cliche but very fun fantasy novel that I've been working on for several years. Pros: I have an extensive outline and know the characters well. Cons: I've done this for the past two WriMos and desperately need to branch out.
2. Southern Gothic (note several posts down) - A civil-war era novel, somewhat breaking the rules of the southern gothic novel. The novel would delve into the topics of love and forgiveness. I'd definitely be over-extending myself, no? Pros: I have a very, very rough outline and this would be branching out of the "norm." Cons: This would take a lot of historical research in the next nine days, four hours, 52 minutes and so-many-seconds, I doubt that I could pull it off (although it'd be fun to try), and it'd be really, really, weird. Although maybe the last one is a pro.
3. Historical Fiction - A novel involving a Khmer woman and an American journalist and their parallel journeys from the time of the Khmer Rouge up to the modern day KR Tribunals. Both of their paths would revolve loosely around Duch, even though they'd never see him face to face (until the very end and then only briefly, but that's a spoiler). The novel would basically revolve around the meaning of forgiveness. Pros: This would be so much fun, I really am fascinated by the topic, I love this idea, I know quite a bit about the KR tribunals and Duch, I have a rough idea of the plot, I have the final scene planned in detail. Cons: This would also take quite a bit of historical research, I'm not sure I could make it historically accurate (and you know how accurate I need to be) since I don't know intricate details about the historical aspect (although once I reached modern day it would be easy), and it'd be very hard to pull off.
4. Science Fiction - A forgotten Earth colony, exploited by a lone race of aliens, the problems of planet management, and psychological realism. That's all I've got. Pros: This would actually be really easy, since Sci-Fi is quite an easy genre to write, I like the idea, I've been wanting to try out psychological realism for ages, and I'm currently taking a sci-fi class. Cons: No plot, no characters, this wouldn't really be branching out (although I've never written a full-fledged sci-fi novel, I have done short-stories...so it'd be sortof branching out).
Further thoughts: I'm going to be stretched for time this year, so maybe I should pick one of the easier topics (fantasy or sci-fi). I'm leaning away from fantasy, however, since I've done it so much. I really love my historical & southern gothic ideas, but I'd be content with my other ideas as well... So in end conclusion, I cannot make up my mind.
So now it comes to you. I'd like you to vote for the novel you think I should write. If you have comments, feel free to comment on this post, but otherwise please head to the poll on the top right of this post to vote. Thank you so, so much! I really am having a bit of a dilemma here, and your vote will help!
~Manwathiel/Kath
p.s. Nine days, four hours, 45 minutes, and several seconds to go...
22 October, 2009
The Merits of Chocolate
Chocolate...
Imagine getting home from work, utterly exhausted because of a mere five hours of sleep the night before. You get home, gulp down a Royal D and simply want to go to bed. But you have schoolwork. Three quizzes (psychology, spanish, and physics, to be specific) lurk on the horizon of tomorrow. And you aren't even sure what to study for the psych quiz, since you have the wrong textbook. So you go up to your room and haul out your physics book, only to discover that your parakeet has become some sort of recluse who only talks to his mirror. You feel awful. You need chocolate.
And then you remember. Chocolate!
Pulling open a nearby drawer, you find, to your utter and complete delight, a forgotten Mars bar!
Unwrapping it, you bite into the sticky gooey chocolateness of it. Suddenly, you feel less stressed and less tired. Your parakeet smells the chocolate and comes flying over to get some of it (which he can't have, because parakeets can't digest it, alas). And suddenly physics seems so much more interesting.
The moral of the story is, always keep a spare bar of chocolate lying around.
Imagine getting home from work, utterly exhausted because of a mere five hours of sleep the night before. You get home, gulp down a Royal D and simply want to go to bed. But you have schoolwork. Three quizzes (psychology, spanish, and physics, to be specific) lurk on the horizon of tomorrow. And you aren't even sure what to study for the psych quiz, since you have the wrong textbook. So you go up to your room and haul out your physics book, only to discover that your parakeet has become some sort of recluse who only talks to his mirror. You feel awful. You need chocolate.
And then you remember. Chocolate!
Pulling open a nearby drawer, you find, to your utter and complete delight, a forgotten Mars bar!
Unwrapping it, you bite into the sticky gooey chocolateness of it. Suddenly, you feel less stressed and less tired. Your parakeet smells the chocolate and comes flying over to get some of it (which he can't have, because parakeets can't digest it, alas). And suddenly physics seems so much more interesting.
The moral of the story is, always keep a spare bar of chocolate lying around.
21 October, 2009
Drip, drip, drip...
I made a fascinating discovery last night (or perhaps I should say la madrugada, or the early hours, if I'm keeping my Spanish at least mostly correct). Going downstairs to get a drink of water, I discovered that I love the sound of dripping faucets.
Fascinating, no?
Walking through the silence, I came into the kitchen to hear a slow, steady, drip, drip, drip. Or perhaps it was a splat, splat, splat. Or maybe even a frenzied tink, tink tink. It sounded so...alive. The dripping of the water seemed to tell a story to my tired, half-asleep mind. It sounded desolate, alone in the silence. Forgotten and forsaken. Just a steady, never wavering, drip, drip, drip.
It's amazing what a dripping faucet can tell you about itself.
Fascinating, no?
Walking through the silence, I came into the kitchen to hear a slow, steady, drip, drip, drip. Or perhaps it was a splat, splat, splat. Or maybe even a frenzied tink, tink tink. It sounded so...alive. The dripping of the water seemed to tell a story to my tired, half-asleep mind. It sounded desolate, alone in the silence. Forgotten and forsaken. Just a steady, never wavering, drip, drip, drip.
It's amazing what a dripping faucet can tell you about itself.
14 September, 2009
Southern Gothic
Today is the perfect day to begin drafting the plot for my very first southern gothic novel. Monsoon rains pour down outside from a dreary sky, making everything cold, damp, and listless. Upstairs a green tea, chocolate bar, bag of skittles, and notebook await me. Despite the fact that my ideas are all vague, I'm getting quite excited... Most of my stories fall into more common genres (Fantasy and sci-fi being the obvious two). But ever since I stumbled across its wikipedia page while researching To Kill a Mockingbird, the premise of the southern gothic novel has fascinated me. Go here to find out what, exactly, a southern gothic novel is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_gothic
Maybe, just maybe, this plot idea will turn into my story for NaNoWriMo this November. If not, I fall back upon the trusted and tried genre of fantasy, which has brought me safely through two NaNoWriMos. But I think that it is time that I stepped outside of my writing box... It's high time I took on a genre that I've never tried before.
And with that said, I head upstairs to begin drafting my novel. Wish me luck!
Maybe, just maybe, this plot idea will turn into my story for NaNoWriMo this November. If not, I fall back upon the trusted and tried genre of fantasy, which has brought me safely through two NaNoWriMos. But I think that it is time that I stepped outside of my writing box... It's high time I took on a genre that I've never tried before.
And with that said, I head upstairs to begin drafting my novel. Wish me luck!
27 August, 2009
Around the Corner Lurks....
NaNoWriMo!!!! Yes, friends, National Novel Writing Month is a mere two months and four days away! I need a plot...I need a plan... and I don't have one! But I am getting excited.
This year I want to... not get burned out by the end and avoid writing large pieces of fiction for the next year (silly last year, wasted...)
and... to write 75,000 words instead of 50,000. I know it's possible! And I'm definitely going to try.
Now, I'm off to do some plot-hunting. So many options... The next portion of my fantasy novel? A complete reworking of the first part (bending NaNo rules, but so what)? A new plot in a new genre (Southern Gothic, anyone?)? So many choices...so little time! What to write...what to write...
~Katherine
This year I want to... not get burned out by the end and avoid writing large pieces of fiction for the next year (silly last year, wasted...)
and... to write 75,000 words instead of 50,000. I know it's possible! And I'm definitely going to try.
Now, I'm off to do some plot-hunting. So many options... The next portion of my fantasy novel? A complete reworking of the first part (bending NaNo rules, but so what)? A new plot in a new genre (Southern Gothic, anyone?)? So many choices...so little time! What to write...what to write...
~Katherine
13 August, 2009
Imitation
Ok readers, let's test your literary knowledge (or not). Which famous author's style have I imitated (or tried to imitate), in the following paragraph:
"I surveyed closely the bare features of the vista before me. The stark contrast between the brilliant sky and the monotonous earth seemed almost as if someone had taken pieces of two different jigsaw puzzles and pressed them together. Twisted clumps of plants grew up from cracks between the jutting rocks. Past the foremost perspective of barrenness the small plants bore an almost abnormal look of vitality and strength. The idiosyncrasy of the life among the dirt and dust struck me as being almost as odd as the sharp dissimilarity between earth and sky. Yet the pieces of the puzzle still seemed to fit together in a peculiar expression of fatality. Above I saw the harsh beams of sunlight engulfing the heavens. In the earth I saw wilting and burning foliage, killed by the glare of the sun. Nothing in the desert moved, but as the ruthless light of the sun reflected off the dry sands, one could all but see the leaves of the plants bursting into flame as the beams of the sun struck down upon them. "
~Manwathiel
"I surveyed closely the bare features of the vista before me. The stark contrast between the brilliant sky and the monotonous earth seemed almost as if someone had taken pieces of two different jigsaw puzzles and pressed them together. Twisted clumps of plants grew up from cracks between the jutting rocks. Past the foremost perspective of barrenness the small plants bore an almost abnormal look of vitality and strength. The idiosyncrasy of the life among the dirt and dust struck me as being almost as odd as the sharp dissimilarity between earth and sky. Yet the pieces of the puzzle still seemed to fit together in a peculiar expression of fatality. Above I saw the harsh beams of sunlight engulfing the heavens. In the earth I saw wilting and burning foliage, killed by the glare of the sun. Nothing in the desert moved, but as the ruthless light of the sun reflected off the dry sands, one could all but see the leaves of the plants bursting into flame as the beams of the sun struck down upon them. "
~Manwathiel
12 August, 2009
Times New Roman, Size 12
Don't you just love Times New Roman, size 12 font? It irritates me to no end that what I use here on my blog is technically size 13, even though it looks like size 12. I find it difficult to type essays or stories if I'm using anything other than Times New Roman, size 12. Needless to say, I think my TPS English teachers are succeeding with the whole brainwashing thing. The next thing you know I'll be taking be verbs and contractions entirely out of my writing! (I've already started cutting back...eep) But without any more rambling, I'm utterly happy to say that I have grown to like Times New Roman, size 12. Thank you, to my wonderful English teachers, for giving me a love of this font and font size. If I had never taken TPS English I might have continued writing in sundry fonts, none as stylish or as professional as Times New Roman. Stuck in a rut of irregular fonts.
Ooh...I just had a wonderful idea for a poem. I can call it "Ode to Times New Roman, Size 12"
Ooh...I just had a wonderful idea for a poem. I can call it "Ode to Times New Roman, Size 12"
In the Library, Surrounded with Books
I just returned from working in the library. I absolutely love libraries--I always have. Some of my earliest memories include looking through picture books at the library in San Diego. And now I get paid to surround myself with books! As I said, I love libraries...so many books, all around, each with a new and unique story somewhere within the book's printed pages. Books really are powerful tools. People use them to have fun, to sway others, to learn, and much more. Someday I hope to walk into a library and see my name on the spine of a book--or perhaps several books. Wouldn't that feel wonderful?
But even without my name on a shelf, I enjoy spending time in libraries, especially my library. I feel like I know every corner of it, and almost like I'm friends with many of the books. And I need to read more! It's so much fun to hear the kids say "Hi Miss Librarian!" and ask me about new books. I hope that I don't have to quit working there, once school picks up pace. Without a doubt I'd miss my little library. I've practically grown up in the place--I even remember when we got our first two shelves!
Anyway, I'm off to either read or write, two tasks well fitted for a librarian, no?
~The Librarian
But even without my name on a shelf, I enjoy spending time in libraries, especially my library. I feel like I know every corner of it, and almost like I'm friends with many of the books. And I need to read more! It's so much fun to hear the kids say "Hi Miss Librarian!" and ask me about new books. I hope that I don't have to quit working there, once school picks up pace. Without a doubt I'd miss my little library. I've practically grown up in the place--I even remember when we got our first two shelves!
Anyway, I'm off to either read or write, two tasks well fitted for a librarian, no?
~The Librarian
11 August, 2009
A New Page
So, my readers, I all but gave up on my blog, Lost in Middle Earth, a long time ago. But of late I've been wanting to write, without any inspiration, or any inspiring place to do my writing. Thus I've decided to create a new place to muse and pound out my thoughts--my writer's tower, made of words and thought. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this blog more than my previous one. Likewise, with any luck I'll be able to maintain a certain level of writing style that I never maintained in my old blog (don't expect me to stop rambling, however!).
A brief update on my life: this year I have attained the lovely status of "junior" (or some such thing) in school. I spent my summer doing almost no writing, but plenty of reading and quite a bit of money-earning. Since today is the first day of the school year, it seems a fitting time to start a new blog. I'm looking forward to most (but not all, alas) of my classes... The start of youthgroup also has me very excited. From the look of things, this year could be a wonderful one!
Still writing,
Manwathiel
A brief update on my life: this year I have attained the lovely status of "junior" (or some such thing) in school. I spent my summer doing almost no writing, but plenty of reading and quite a bit of money-earning. Since today is the first day of the school year, it seems a fitting time to start a new blog. I'm looking forward to most (but not all, alas) of my classes... The start of youthgroup also has me very excited. From the look of things, this year could be a wonderful one!
Still writing,
Manwathiel
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