Walking through the Desertland

I notice that I go through periods of writing and non-writing: I'm currently in a non-writing period. It started almost four weeks ago, after I finished a rather intense chapter in EoG. I can't say that I've lost my way in that story, because I know exactly where I need to go for the next chapter. I just can't seem to get up the drive to sit down and write. I like to call this period "walking through the desertland" because that's really what it feels like. My creativity, drive and passion are all being sucked dry by the desert sun. This week it seems that I've hit an oasis of sorts. I still haven't written any further in EoG, but I have a side project that might end up being quite enjoyable.

I've never been one to give great titles to my stories, so this one is currently labeled Untitled aka the Medium. The idea came to me in stages. I've been thinking up a new character, whose name is Sebastien Corbeau, the Marquis de la Fere. He's French and so far rather mysterious. I didn't think that he would fit in in any of my current writing projects, but I was having difficulties figuring out what kind of story he'd work best in. Sunday night I had a weird dream and my dear Sebastien was in it! So I decided "hey, that's the story for him!" and started writing it down. What came out is a little disturbing and definitely not my regular thing, but I'm open to possibilities, especially since it's the first thing I've been able to write in 3 and a half weeks.

The story takes place in an alternate 18th century France. Sebastien is the chief sorcerer to the king. He is part of the clan of Tamalik sorcerers who use mediums to harness their powers. Sebastien has lost several mediums during battles. He is currently being hunted by a general who has overthrown the crown and taken over leadership of France. Sebastien is trying to restore order to France, but first he must find a new medium.

Okay, so there are a few things going on here that are very atypical for me. First, I've never written a historical story before and never thought that I would. While I specifically said this was an alternate 18th century France, I imagine that certain historical figures will still be around. That requires research of a kind I don't like to do when I write. Second, this is another fantasy story (sigh). Third, not only is this a fantasy story, but it involves sorcerers, a fantasy element I'm really not fond of. So, this begs the question, why write something I'm sure to dislike? I guess I'm hoping that, since I dreamt it, I won't dislike it, or as it continues, I'll learn to love it. I keep saying that I don't like the fantasy/sci fi literary genre, but I don't think I've really given it a chance. The majority of stories I've written have been in this genre, so there must be something about it I enjoy. But for right now, I'm not going to research stories about wizards and sorcerers, nor am I going to run out and watch The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I want to see how far I can get on my own steam.

Book Review: Devil's Bride

Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


If memory serves me right, this is the first romance novel I've read cover to cover. While the general idea of this story was hilarious, it dragged on forever and failed to engage the reader in any way. The plot was predictable and unimaginative, the mystery was easily solved within the first hundred pages. What Stephanie Laurens does do an excellent job of is character development. I loved her characters and how they interacted with one another. Though Honoria was trying at times, her interactions wtih Devil Cynster were hilarious and kept me reading. I doubt that I will continue with the Cynster series, but I'm glad I broadened my horizens.

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Book Review: The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot

The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
While I have been told that my own writing is pretentious, I can't say that I love reading anything that is purposefully esoteric and pretentious. I sort-of enjoyed my trip down memory lane, recalling my studies of Greek, Roman and Shakespearean literature. But I think, at this point in my life, I'm more attracted to literature that welcomes, not isolates. I should have read this ten years ago - I would have appreciated it more then. Who knows what the future has in store, though. I'll revisit T.S. Eliot sometime to come and see how I've changed.

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Book Review: Wizard and Glass by Stephen King

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I completed the fourth and last of Frank Mueller's narrations of King's Dark Tower Series. Though it fills me with a bit of sadness, I think I'm ready to move on to someone else's interpretation. Wizard and Glass was over 25 hours long - the longest by far - and was not, on the whole, as entertaining as the previous installments. I do love this series, but I found myself more than relieved when Roland's re-telling was over and we were once again back with Eddie, Susannah, Jake and Oy. The ending sort of reminded me of the ending of an episode of a mini-series. I feel like I've been on a Dark Tower bender, and maybe it's time to pull back, get some perspective, and come back when my passion for this is rekindled. The next book, Wolves of the Calla, is even longer! But still, I can't wait to find out what's to become of Roland's ka-tet.

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Traveling the Warrior's Path

I stayed up until almost 1am last night trying to finish a rather difficult scene in EoG. I even woke up at 6am this morning and went back to writing until 7 just to get that much closer to the end. In the end I only wrote 6 pages or so, but the worst of this scene is over. Somehow, within those six pages, I managed to finish chapters 6 and 7, and am nearly done with chapter 8. Even though this story is sort of challenging, what I love about it is how a myriad of possibilities open up at each twist and turn. I can spend weeks figuring out exactly how a scene is going to go and, when I finally sit down to write it, it's like doors open up and I see how many different ways the scene could go, each changing the story, some slightly and some drastically. I think that feeling is the best part of writing.

This scene that I've been worrying over since my hermitage is a fight scene, the first for the story. I'm sort of fond of reading fight scenes and not at all fond of writing them, so I think a lot of my angst was simply fear and dread. I have to thank Stephen King and the Dark Tower Series for giving me that final push to just write it and get it over with. When I got home yesterday, I spent about five or six hours just listening to Wizard and Glass before I finally jumped up from my bed, ran my cat around for a few minutes and went back to my comupter and started writing. Listening to the Tower Series always makes me feel a little crazy, so I'm not actually sure if what I wrote was good, or even makes sense. I'm not going to think about it too much until Saturday when I can get some feedback from the Writer's Circle. My goal right now is to finish chapter 8.

Gareth is taking his first steps from being a boy to becoming a man. I keep yelling at him to move it and hurry up, but he is a meticulous one, and will not be hurried for anything. Perhaps I can learn something about the value of patience from him...

Alchemy and The Waste Lands

I started two new books today: Al-Ghazali's The Alchemy of Happiness and T.S. Eliot's The Waste Lands. Both are part of my writing research. These are relatively short books, and I hope to be done with both of them by week's end. I had read Alchemy in college for an Islamic Philosophy course. It struck me then as a good read, and I'm revisiting it now to help with the religious aspect of the Lisiria Chronicles. Eliot's poem, though also labeled "research", is more just for my personal interest. I've been wanting to read this poem for some time, and never quite got around to it.

I really need to hunker down and write in something this week; I had nothing prepared for the Writer's Circle last week, so that's one strike against me. One more and I'll have to face "punnishment". (I hate writing exercises!) If I can't get the next scene finished in EoG, I'm thinking of taking a break and working on Sanguine Summer, the sequel to the CdB. I have some good ideas for that story, but I really want to continue in EoG and move on to the next part of the story. Hopefully I won't be too exhausted when I get home tonight and can get some work done!

Parallel Worlds: Conquered!

So, I finally finished this mammoth book (not in size but content). Check out my review on goodreads.com. I'm so excited to be done with this one, it took way too long. What a mistake to try to read a physics book on my daily commute! I kept having to put it down and just try and digest what I'd read over the din of irritating school kids and babies crying, evangelists and all that makes the NYC transit system so unique. I just decided when I got home today to hunker down and finish the last 50 pages. I had an idea that the second half of the book would be far more interesting than the first, which goes over a lot of what I already learned in school and read in other books, like Einstein's Relativity. I took a lot of good notes, and even got a burst of ideas for possible future stories. Kaku-san throws out a lot of sci-fi ideas, like consciousness independent of physical forms, beings existing in multiple states simultaneously, a universal song, etc. He also notes a lot of science fiction novels and authors, many of whom I'm not ashamed to say I'd never heard of before. He spends a good deal of time explaining some of the stories relevant to his topics, and while I wouldn't run out and buy every title he mentions, it certainly gave me some fodder to work with. As I've mentioned before, I'm very new to the sci-fi literary genre, so getting some tips on potential authors is always a bonus. It also gives me an idea of what's already been done.

In other news, I spent my vacation two weeks ago hunkered down and writing in Education of Gareth. I got three and a half chapters completed, a personal accomplishment. Since then, I've been on a sort of extended siesta. Perhaps it's the lack of focus on writing and increased focus on gaming and movie-watching. A friend of mine lent me the Alternative Realities Star Trek Fan Collective and I think I finished it in the span of three days, with the exception of the Enterprise episodes, which I will never watch. Not the best use of time, perhaps, but it's been hard to concentrate after working so hard! I need to get back my focus though; this book isn't going to write itself!

Book Review: Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku

Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a fascinating book to start me on my journey learning about string theory and cosmology. I got quite a lot of ideas for not only current writing projects but future ones. Kaku-san does such a good job of bringing together cosmology, quantum physics, theology, morality and ethics, environmental issues, and more. Towards the end it got a bit overwhelming, but I worked through and took diligent notes. I don't know that I agree with Kaku-san's belief that we are living in the most desirable time for humanity, but I do agree that we are on the cusp of achieving something really big - or loosing it all. If you're interested in getting a "bigger picture" look at where we are (as of 2005), I highly recommend this read. You won't be disappointed.

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Book Review: On Writing by Stephen King

On Writing by Stephen King


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There seems to be magic in the simple and practical suggestions the master of horror provides in this memoir. Since finishing this book about four weeks ago, I've discussed it with several people, including my weekly writer's group. I've also gotten feedback from people with whom I've discussed it, including a pre-doctorate student who told me King's advice helped her finish her qualifying papers, and an English professor who said she planned on incorporating his book into her lesson plans.

For me, this book was not only fun to read, but was very supportive. I call myself a writer, but I definitely lack strong discipline, and I am very much a perfectionist/procrastinator. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that King acts as a personal trainer for the novice writer, he does offer quite a bit of encouragement. I recently lent my copy of the book to a friend, but I know that I'll be referencing it again and again in the future.

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Practice Makes Perfect

I've been working hard to make some changes in my life (what else is new), to try to hunker down and finish a writing project, start sending stuff out to publishing houses, you know, the regular stuff. I also told myself I would stop blogging and writing while at work, but here I am, staring out at the beautiful sun beating down on me, my desk covered with paperwork and my supervisor harrassing me about unrealistic deadlines, typing away on Blogger without a care at all. Well, that's a bit of hyperbole; obviously I have some cares or else I wouldn't be trying to overhaul my entire lifestyle. But you get what I'm saying...

I'm currently reading (or almost finished with) Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir. This is a great book, especially for aspiring writers as myself who just want to get some inspiration and maybe a kick in the pants to get going. It's working...a bit. I've spent the last two days trying to stick to a pattern: read a physical book whenever I'm traveling or waiting for something; write for a minimum of two hours each day (or approx. 1000 words); knit and listen to an audiobook for 2-3 hours in the evening. It's worked out pretty well, actually. I find it somehow amusing that when I straighten up with some things in my life, other, less desirable chores start falling into place as well. Like taking out the trash and cleaning the litter box on a daily basis. Yesterday I spent about a half hour attempting to convince myself of the merits of moving the television/playstation out of the bedroom and into the living room. "There's a demon in my room!" I kept telling myself. It needs to be done; Stephen King doesn't approve, neither does any feng shui practitioner. The bottom line is that it's distracting, unhealthy and promotes the worst kind of laziness. But it's also so great to just lie back in bed, especially with a friend, and watch a movie. You don't get that kind of intimacy in the living room. But, alas, if I want to become a "serious writer" I need to actually have a dedicated place to write in my apartment. And really, what's more intimate than right by my bedroom window?

I almost felt last nght - after my two days of being really really good - that I just can't keep up this kind of reading pace. I was feeling a bit over-saturated with the written word. Yesterday alone I probably read for a combined 6 hours, give or take. Usually when I go through these kinds of binges (Les Mis comes to mind...shudder) I tend to take a break from reading for a long long time. Don't get me wrong, I love to read. But I think there comes a point when there are just too many books, and too many varied stories rolling around in my head. My headaches start encroaching on me when I read too much. I think my distate with reading might also have a lot to do with the kinds of books I decide to read at one time. A book lightly admonishing me about my laziness as a writer combined with an epic like Dune might not have been the best combination. I think epics need to be balanced with fluff. So I think my next few books need to be a bit more fluffy and not so serious.

We'll see. As I look over my inventory on GoodReads.com, I realize that my "currently reading" books are far from being labeled "fluff". Perhaps I'll start balancing these intense books with book reviews on BNS Review. If I accomplish another two books down in one month, along with another knitting project, I'll feel quite proud of myself indeed.

Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune by Frank Herbert


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the second time I have read Dune. My first attempt was as a youngster, problably at 12 or 13 years old. I have to give myself credit that I made it about 1/3 of the way through the book then. This time I enlisted the help of Audible.com and my trusty knitting needles. I often found myself paused in my shawl pattern, transfixed as I listened to the plight of Paul and the Fremen. Herbert does an amazing job of carefully crafting the story. He doesn't rush through with plot twist after plot twist but really focuses on developing characters and making the universe he created believable. The pace picks up dramatically as we head towards the climax (actually I was taken a bit off guard at how quickly the pace picks up) and he gives us a roaring finish.

Although the audiobook was 21+ hours long, I was entranced throughout the entire reading. I'm even looking forward to picking up the next installment in the series, but I might take a break before I do that...

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Phases of Oblivion

So, I haven't really been writing and I haven't been blogging for a bit. Why, you ask? To put it simply, I've been too busy playing video games and listening to audiobooks. But, enough of that! Now that I have emerged from yet another phase of playing too much Oblivion, I can go back to what I once was.

Now, seriously, I've only spent the last two days playing Oblivion, but somehow it seems like forever. Video games are generally weekend-only hobbies and maybe only twice a month at that. What's really been eating up my time is knitting and listening to Dune on Audible.com. I don't know why I must always go for epic books (eg Lord of the Rings) but I figured "21 hours guaranteed knitting time". I have been knitting and listening to audio books and podcasts every day since Ash Wednesday, and it seems that this book is never going to end. I'm really enjoying the experience, though. I often think to myself while at work, "what was that sci-fi movie I was watching last night? Oh, I was listening to Dune".

Today's excuse for not writing is that the landlady is blasting the heat again and I can't think straight. I'm currently sitting in front of an open window with a gusty wind blowing on my back and will probably come down with a cold this week. That's just a guess. I've written four chapters of Education of Gareth, mapped out a basic sketch of how the rest of the story is going to go, and have absolutely no desire to write any of it. I have a Writer's Meeting in one hour and honestly all I want to do is play Dune! It's a shame, a real shame. I think my current addiction has everything to do with the fact that I don't have cable and there's nothing to watch on TV. Oh well, might as well get an hour in there while I can...

Audible Part 2

So my second audiobook experience is Dune by Frank Herbert. I began reading this book when I was in middle school, but never managed to get through it. I loved the made-for-tv movie, though. I'm definitely into a sci-fi/fantasy kick right now, so this seemed a perfect bet for my audible experiement.

This particular audiobook is far more exciting than The Screwtape Letters. For one, the narrator is better;  Dune includes a whole cast of narrators to help move the story along and to differientiate between characters. There's also some well-composed mood music that plays behind the narrators. Overall the effect is one of listening to a radio broadcast as opposed to a lecture. I also found that, if I get in a comfortable seat and take up my knitting, I can listen for hours on end, which is quite beneficial considering this book is more than 20 hours long!

I must mention as a sidebar: I find it quite facinating that Audible is a part of the Amazon family. It seems that Amazon is finding all sorts of ways of taking my money. I keep getting emails about the Kindle and it's starting to drive me batty. I have to tell myself that it's simply an expense I can't afford, now or in the near future. I told myself I would cancel my Audible subscription once the "trial" was over, but like so many things, I've let it linger on, despite the fact that I'm so unsure about it. The only excuse I can come up with is that it does give me space to knit for extended periods of time, without the distraction that watcing TV brings. But, really Amazon? Why do you insist on taking my money? They should have perks for loyal customers, because loyal I am. I truly am.

Going back to the topic of reading, now that I've started Dune, I have a worrisome number of books I'm reading at once: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin, On Writing by Stephen King and Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin. I generally like all of these books, and I don't know why I kept picking up new ones even though I'm not even halfway through any of them. I'm honestly feeling oversaturated by reading these days. It's a pastime I heartily enjoy and I truly believe it helps with my writing, but honestly when am I supposed to write if I'm reading all the time? I've decided that I need to cut back and focus on one book at a time. I think that I don't want to focus too much on the advise books until I have made significant progress with The Education of Gareth. I really enjoy The Dispossessed, and Le Guin is one of my favorite authors, so I think that one's the winner.

I have a lot of books in my queue for after this first group is done. I bought the Jan/Feb edition of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literary Magazine which I wanted to read through. I also have The Drawing of the Two, the second part of the Dark Tower Series.

Next time I'll give an update re: the last writer's meeting I attended and progress with EoG.

Back on Track

The Education of Gareth continues on.

I am very thankful that I was able to find the hard copy of chapter one. Transcribing chapter two was very time-consuming. I read very fast, even when out loud, so I was having to pause the video every few phrases to ensure that I wouldn't forget. But, it is done, and I have continued on.

I have been reminded throughout this process of my college days, when I worked at Mortensen Library. Especially during the cram periods, the computer lab was always filled with students frantically trying to finish up papers. I worked at the Circulation desk, and more than once I had a student run up to me to report that their paper had suddenly been deleted, or their computer had mysteriously crashed. "I'd been working on that paper for 6 hours!" one might say. Or, equally heart-rending: "I just lost 15 pages of my term paper!" My answer was almost always the same, and, as I recall, I always said it with a sigh.

"Did you save the file to the desktop? Never save it to the desktop."

Now, this story doesn't quite equate to my situation. No, I didn't save EoG to the desktop, I saved it to a flashdrive. But, I was transferring that flashdrive between my modern, updated, Windows 7 laptop and the piece of crap they make us use at work. Which has since been sent away for a rather funky malfunction. Still, I can still hear my own voice echoing in my head. Why didn't I save it to multiple places?! It's a habit I gained while in college, in the midst of hearing horror stories and having computers crashing on me while I tried to get my own work done. I have four or five different saved copies of Snow Falls Slowly. The problem with this is that it becomes rather difficult to figure out which one is the most recently updated, and then to go back and update the rest, or copy over them. It's very time-consuming, and I thought, "hey, I'm not in college anymore, I shouldn't have to worry about such things anymore." But clearly I'm still having this problem.

I think, however, I have found a solution. I had fixed up the first chapter of EoG at work. Instead of pulling out my trusty (or not so trusty) flash drive, I simply emailed the document to myself. That way, it's always on gmail, and therefore easily accessible should something (G Forbid!) happen to it. I'm thinking that, every so often, I'll burn all the copies onto a cd and label them as I do my versions of reports I do at work: EoG2.8.10, EoG2.11.10, and so forth. All I can do is hope nothing happens to my gmail account.

Thwarting Disaster!

This week was poised to start off with me lost somewhere in Dante's Inferno. Somehow I managed to corrupt the word document that contained the story I've been working on for the past two weeks. It was the only copy I had (obviously the perils of college life have been lost on me) and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get it to open. The only copy I'd printed I had given away, and that had been only after the first day of writing. Here I was, ten minutes before having to leave for work, freaking out as I stared into the precipice that would possibly have been my undoing. Could it be re-created? Do I remember it well enough to capture all of the little things that actually made it sort of brilliant?

My first instinct was to call up the person who had the only hard copy, incomplete as it was. My hopes were on her, my possible angel. But, it seemed that perhaps there was some curse put on me, for the copy was missing.

Then I had a moment of clarity. I've been video-journaling! And for my last entry, I remembered with waves of euphoria, I read the entire story out loud to myself in an attempt to spark inspiration. So now I'm faced with the prospect of sitting in front of the computer, transcribing from a video file, which I've never done before.

Luck seems to have returned to me, however, in the form of the missing hard copy. So now it's only a matter of two or three pages that will be transcribed. I'll do it tonight so that I can get back into the groove of the story and then just keep on going. In the end, I was screwed and saved by technology...somehow it reminds me of the U2 song, "With or Without You". Huh.

Book Review: Cinnamon Kiss

Cinnamon Kiss: A Novel by Walter Mosley


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Walter Mosley provides another great Easy Rawlins tale. This time Easy is racing the clock to save his daughter's life, but nothing seems to be going right for him. It's one plot twist after another, and by the end I was so enthralled I wanted it to keep going. I think it'd be great if there was another Easy Rawlins movie, if only because all of the books in this series have great story lines that are sure to transfer well to film. There's a magic to Mosley's writing that I wish I had.

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Book Review: Twin-Shadowed Knight

Vampire Hunter D Volume 13: Twin-Shadowed Knight Parts One And Two by Hideyuki Kikuchi


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In this installment, the vampire hunter is pitted against his doppleganger and, in the process, begins to uncover some of his past. I find it amusing that it took 13 volumes to actually learn something about D, but part of having the mystery is what keeps me wanting to read more.

I keep getting recommendations from people who see me reading this series, people who will say "hey, if you like that sort of thing, you should read the Twilight Series!" I haven't read the Twilight series, nor have I seen either of the movies, but I have to say that not all vampire books are the same. Vampire Hunter D belongs in the same catagory as Stephen King, in my opinion; it's closer to horror. There's no romance in it whatsoever, not in the classical sense, anyway.

I think one of the things I like most about this series is the melding of fantasy and science fiction. I really like dytopias; Revelations is my favorite book of the Bible. Lord of the Flies has been one of my favorite books since I was a child. Maybe that makes me a bit morbid, but hey, that's me. All I can do is patiently wait for the next volume, which hopefully hits shelves in March.

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Book Review: The Gunslinger

The Gunslinger: Revised and Expanded by Stephen King


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I can see why this series is so popular. Once again King gives us a great storyline that's delivered beautifully. I felt the book could have stood alone, but I'm also looking forward to the next installment, The Drawing of the Three...

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Forgive the Fugative

Once a week I visit one of the other foster care sites in my agency, just to touch base with workers and gather documents relevant to adoption. Right across the street is my local public library. Now, as my mother is a librarian, I've always loved to be in libraries, but this particular public branch plagued me for a little over 4 years. Every week when I went to do my site visit, I felt like a fugitive, sneaking by the guard tower. I had visions of searchlights suddenly focusing on me and a loud voice booming over a PA system: "Give us back our book or pay your fine!"

Simply put, I borrowed a book in 2005 which has sat on my bookshelf ever since. The local branch is a mere 10 minute walk from my house, and even less on the bus. But, I'm sad to say, none of that mattered much. I just let the book sit. I only received one call back in September 2005, but never heard from them since. So I decided to let it go. Now this isn't the first time I've "forgotten" to take back a library book. The last big incident was a children's book that had been borrowed in 1991 that I never took back and didn't show up at the library until 7 years later. The result of that incident was that the entire library record system crashed not 10 minutes before I got to the desk and they re-registered me instead of waiting for the system to come back online. Technical malfunction, or divine intervention? Either way, I knew I was one lucky girl, especially since I overheard a guy in front of me having to pay $85 in fines.

So, I let it go this time, as well. Until 2o10, that is. I mean, I was going on 5 years that I had not been to a public library and it was getting to be ridiculous. This still feels like a recession, whatever Wall Street says, and I just can't afford to buy every book I want to read. So, I gathered my courage and went to the library at the end of one of my visits. I walked up to the desk and told the man behind the counter in an oh-so-innocent voice that I had lost my card (not a lie) and was wondering if I could get a new one. It took 3 or 4 minutes for him to look up my account, but finally he did.

"You have a fine on your account," he said. I inwardly sighed and realized I was not going to get out of this by any technical malfunction.

"I see. How much?"

"$28.00".

Okay. So 28 isn't half as bad as 85. I was actually quite relieved when he quoted me my fine. $28 is a lot of money to be wasted on an overdue book, but I paid it anyway and felt relieved. And I was able to borrow books right away! Let's just try to get these back on time..

Left Behind....

It occured to me while thinking of famous stories of journies that there are forgotten characters, or those "left behind". There is always the hero in these stories who is on a journey of either a personal or epic nature, who, somewhere along the way stumbles upon benevolent characters (some maned, some nameless) who in some way assist the hero in his quest. These characters appear for the short number of scenes required and are quickly disgarded, forgotten by the hero and readers/viewers as the story continues and the hero's plight intensifies.



Specifically I suppose I was thinking of Lord of the Rings (what else?). I was having a wonderful "what if" moment. What if Gandolf had not told Sam to go with Frodo? Besides the obvious ultimate failure that would follow, Sam would have been left prey to the Dark Riders when they came looking for the ring. He simply knew too much. But what about those characters who don't have the option of going along? I'm actually finding it difficult to think of such characters. My feeling is that it's because these characters are meant to be forgotton. I think it would be an interesting exercise to write a short story about them, those "left behind", with their fates unresolved. What happens to the woman at the well after Jesus performs his miracle and moves on?



For whatever reason, I can only think stories where such characters are left behind simply because they're killed off, thus further fueling the hero's search for vengence and justice. I'll have to bring this up at the next Writer's Circle Meeting...

An Overactive Mind Part II

I realize every so often that I have a horrible habit of over-analysing my stories, especially before they've even gotten a chance to get off the ground! It's so frustrating; I wish I had an "off" button that allowed me to just move on.



I was just re-reading my writings from last night and I thought "there are some interesting parallels between Gareth and Paladin". So, I'm writing it, putting it out there, and moving on. That's the proper thing to do, I guess. I just hope that now that it's out, I'll stop thinking about it and just keep writing. ^^



Another thought that popped up in my mind has to do with naming. In the Lisiria Chronicles, I spend a good deal of time discussing names and how every character has different names. Paladin is also Barduin - The Divine Hand of the North. Semele is also Vaingauzai - The Great East Wind Purifies the Flames. And now, Gareth is also Silithaun - The Forgotten Child. This is obviously a culture that places great emphasis on names. It also seems that there is a public name and a private name. The Leume King is known in history as Barduin, but his birth name is Paladin. Are people given nicknames as children and then given titles once they "make it"? I wrote in The Reign of Kings that people knew him as Barduin but that's not who he was. That's something that intrigues me, that people are given names which they don't necessarily deserve or that don't really speak to who they really are.



Another fleeting thought...why are there no women in these stories? The only female characters in these stories are Chloe and Pein. I should write more Paume stories, since they seem to be a matriarchal society.

The Perils of Writing

As part of new beginnings in the new year, I sort of stated to myself that Wednesdays would be writing day. This morning I gave myself the goal of writing 5 pages in a story by the end of the day. Well, that didn't happen. I got 3 pages written, which isn't quite so bad, actually. And it was in a new short story, part of the Lisiria Chronicles. I'm hoping that it will be the first of the Chronicles that will actually be completed, as a first draft in any case. I find myself working hard to develop these characters as separate entities from their original incarnations and I think I'm succeeding well in this case. The story is entitled The Education of Gareth. The first chapter is completed, and I anticipate there being no more than 3 more to come. A short story by far.

Today marks my first experiment with video journaling. Only time will tell whether or not this is a useful tool, but it's certainly entertaining. It's really embarrassing to watch myself talk - that's definitely a point of low self-esteem for me and something I should probably work on. But I imagine that it would be useful as I talk far faster than I type, and my thoughts race even faster. Really I just want to ensure that I have some work to present at the upcoming Writer's Circle meeting. I have a new chapter of Snow Falls Slowly, but that story is in such a state of disarray that I am weary of presenting it right now. I met with a psychology professor a couple weeks ago to discuss mental heath disorders and now I'm a bit confused. I definitely need some work on that story...maybe some video journaling. ^^

Going Green in the New Year

It seems that, like many, I've been moving ever forward towards being greener. I'd love to say that this is purely due to my desire to save the planet, etc. But the reality is that it just makes sense. Sure I want to save the environment, but on a more selfish side, I can't use a lot of commercial products because of my allergies. And I noticed that I spent a lot of money last year on repeat buys (eg: sponges for cleaning and loofah pads). I've been starting small - using eco-friendly drain cleaners, for example - but then I realized that I can make things that will help save the environment and money in the long run. I started knitting and crocheting dishcloths and washcloths, which work just as well if not better than pricey alternatives. Plus they look so much nicer! I also changed out my shower liner from vinyl to fabric so that it can be laundered repeatedly.

One of the great brands that I'm really attached to is Mrs. Meyers. I discovered it at The Container Store, and it's definitely more expensive then more commercial brands, but I've been continually impressed. Not only is it all-natural, it has a light scent that makes the whole house smell really good, and it's a powerful cleaner, to boot. More powerful than most of the cleaners I'd been using before, actually. I've been nursing a bottle of the all-purpose solution (it's concentrated so a little can be diluted for a whole project) and have been using to clean countertops, floors, the stove, the tub, even for cleaning my finished hardwood furniture. I got my mom hooked on these products - she's ventured out to the dishwashing liquid, hand soap and surface scrub - and now she's raving about them too. Sure I end up shelling out a little more money up front, but overall they last longer from visiting doctors and buying medication, so I think it's a winner.

They're small changes, but in the long run I think they'll make a difference, not only in my own life, but in the life of the planet. I can only hope that 2010 will continue to open up new avenues to making everyone a little greener.