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another WriMo

1 April, 2011 1 comment

Well, it’s only appropriate that, since my last post was about NaNoWriMo, this one will be about NaPoWriMo. Is ‘appropriate’ the right word?
I’m not planning on any running theme or anything special (that would be a shouted invitation to the twin demons of Perfectionism and False Accomplishment, parents to Procrastination and grandparents of… well, you get the idea). Just poems. I might try and cut my teeth on a few poetic forms that I’m not acquainted with, but no promises.

Special shout out to Oaxaca for bringing NaPoWriMo to my attention!

Day 1

a winter morning
yields to autumn winds, and spring
falls further away

For today’s poem, I went with a haiku (because it was a long day) about the obnoxious weather. I know, how pedestrian could I get, right?
We woke up and there was snow covering the ground (not to mention falling from the sky), and the rest of the day was full of crisp winds! It only began feeling like spring right before sunset. Nature’s little April Fools joke, I guess.

Poetry, Writing haiku, i feel like every state is in constant shock at their weather despite how much it remains the same

Nega Carta (Magna Carta II)

22 October, 2010 1 comment

Here it is, my list of Thou Shalt Nots (or, at the least, the Me No Like-ys). What are yours?

Nega Carta

Steep Learning Curve – (I’m looking at you, Robert Jordan circa-WoT-book-7.) Even if the book has a lot of names and places, they need to be slowly added. Having to dog ear a page where 6 different characters are introduced (to later use as a reference) is a bad sign. Plus, when a dozen characters are added mid-book, I have trouble caring about their fates

Excessive Recap – I know this only applies to series, but I hate it when there are two chapters of catching-up (the second book of a series is an exception… maybe). If you want to know what happened in the first four books of Harry Potter, then read the first four books of Harry Potter (in the authors’ defense, this is probably forced on them by someone else)

Love Stories – I’m not against a love story being part of the plot but, when it’s the whole plot, I tend to get bored. As we’ve learned from Edward and Bella, there are only so many ways in which you can describe someones breath being taken away before it becomes tiresome

Predictable Twists… that are Stupid – *gasp* the butler (who was a ghost the whole time) did it! (Admittedly, as we get in an increasingly media-saturated, post-modern world, this becomes more and more difficult)

Abuse of Women/Children – it may be a powerful subject, but it gets me too angry/depressed to be worth it

Long-winded Description – unless you are one of the lucky few that gazes in wonder every day at the miracles that surround you on your way to work, then you don’t think in uninterrupted parcels of descriptive prose. It’s more like “huh, I never noticed that that sign had red trim around it before.” An excellent example of the balance to aim for is Hugh Grant’s character’s monologue at the beginning of Notting Hill

Obvious Comic Relief – no offense to Shakespeare here, but this makes part of me shut down (or, at least, skim). There’s a difference between a character that lightens the mood because that’s his personality and a character that lightens the mood because that’s his purpose in the novel

No Character Development – unless you’re Asimov or it’s a short story

2-Dimensional Bad Guys – evil for the sake of evil is un-compelling; even the Biggest, Baddest, Evilest Guy is evil for a reason. If you need a villain that destroys for the sake of destruction, make it a Force instead of a person

“It’s Society’s Fault” – (in contrast to the previous rule) Evil != Misunderstood. Just because the BBEG is evil because he was made fun of in school doesn’t mean that he’s not evil. As Mom always said “there is a difference between a reason and an excuse.” Explain, don’t excuse

(I know, I’m pretty critical of how villains are written)

Condescending Anachronism – when all “reasonable” characters have a modern outlook in a non-modern setting (e.g.: medieval fantasy novels where every female protagonist is a women’s rights advocate)

People Not Reacting Like People – if it comes down to it, I’d rather have a plot feel contrived and the characters genuine than the other way around

Confusing Strength with Abrasiveness - strong women don’t necessarily have to be bitchy. Strong men aren’t all alpha-males

Updates none

Magna Carta I

5 October, 2010 2 comments

I’ve decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. The founder suggests that, in preparation, you list all of the things that you love in novels.

The things that you appreciate as a reader are also the things you’ll likely excel at as a writer. These bits of language, color and technique, for whatever reason, make sense to your creative brain. These are the Things You Understand.

He calls this your Magna Carta I. I don’t necessarily think that I’ll excel at the things on my list, but they are the things that will most likely hold my interest for 50,000 words.

Since it was a fun exercise, I’ve decided to post my list. Mostly though, I’m curious about what would be on your lists. Please share!

Magna Carta I

Unexplained mysteries – not too many per story, but I enjoy the Tom Bombadils and Hoids of the world. These are like magic tricks: once explained, they will forever lose their impressiveness

Chuck Klosterman/Douglas Adams/Nick Hornby tone – while I’m aware that I need to find my own voice, it would kick butt if mine ended up in their ballpark

Short chapters – if I pause in the middle of a chapter to count how many pages are left, that’s a bad sign. 10 pages seems to be approaching the limit

Framed-tales – I love illuminating mini-stories, e.g.: the tales of Capitol, the history of the Aiel. Just make sure that they don’t go on for too long

Predictable plot twists – if there’s one thing I love more than predicting a plot twist, it’s being right. If the predictable plot twist is tripped at the right moment, it even gets me to stop trying to further predict twists. That’s when I become immersed despite myself

Unpredictable plot twists – are you even allowed to write books without these anymore?

“Brandon avalanche” endings – It’s hard to beat a breathless, 100-page dash to the end

Epic scope – while this is probably outside of my wheelhouse, I am drawn to stories with worlds at stake (or at least life-as-we-know-it)

Philosophy – What can I say? I love me some raw philosophy. Orson Scott Card can talk about philotes and political philosophy all he wants

Death – I have to admit, I like it when at least one important person dies

Fundamental moral conflict – I love characters that end up questioning the ultimate point of life, and who, step-by-justifiable-step, are forced to do something that seems unthinkable to them

Gaining wisdom –I want my characters to be wiser (if not necessarily happier) than they began when I am done with them

Deeply flawed characters – I like my Oedipuses (Oedipi?). While I’m all for character growth, I want there to be something about them that (a) I wouldn’t like in a friend and (b) is not going to change any time soon

Intelligent perspective – while I appreciate unintelligent characters, the main character needs to look at the world differently and that usually requires a unique intelligence. The perspective needs to not just describe, but editorialize in an enlightening way

“Average guy” protagonist – possibly in direct opposition to the previous rule, but I love stories of the Everyman surrounded by extraordinary individuals

Female characters with strong-but-unorthodox life philosophies – e.g.: Karla from Shantaram

Banter – Witty, full of puns, inside jokes. I like to chuckle when I read character interaction

Unique magic systems – if a magic system is presented wherein I don’t think “cool!” within the first 50 pages, you might as well embrace the inevitable and change the “fantasy” to “fiction”

Memorable fight scenes – to this day, the only thing I remember about 24 is Jack Bauer ripping out someone’s trachea with his teeth. (I know that’s not a book example, but I’ve already made too many Sanderson references.)

Stay tuned for the Magna Carta II (or, as I like to call it, the “Nega-Carta!” The Bizarro-Carta?)

Updates NaNoWriMo, now i can't stop thinking of awesome fight scenes that I've read, try not to get too depressed by how much you've forgotten of the books that you've read

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