Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote here. It's been a long time since I've written generally, and I'm trying not to blame myself too much. I think most people would agree that the finishing of law school and commencement of bar study is sufficient excuse for a lapse. During this summer of bar study, I cannot bear to write much on my computer beyond my class notes and short things like email, livejournal comments, and instant messages. My headaches have been returning in force, so I've been spending a lot more time reading actual books than staring at screens.
I may have posted before, and I've certainly mentioned to people before, that the people in Oliver Sacks's "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" and their mental states would make fantastic fodder for alien races. I tend to hold in contempt alien races who are clearly just people with some or another exaggerated human trait or clearly based on a certain human civilization. They can be fun, no doubt, but it doesn't strike me as truly alien.
Along that line, I'm reading another Sacks book, "Awakenings," and this line jumped out at as something to file away for when my brain starts functioning again: "The problem of 'side-effects' is not only a physical but a metaphysical problem: a question of how much we can summon one world, without summoning others, and of the strengths and resources which go with different worlds." He's discussing the reactions of patients with Parkisonism to L-Dopa, which doesn't work like the drugs I'm used to: take a little bit for a little effect, take a lot for a stronger effect. It may start out working that way, but it tends to set off a whole chain of reactions, including increased sensitivity (like reverse tolerance).
Anyway, this seems like a wonderful way to think about a system of magic. And I was also wondering if a civilization made up of beings who alternated between states of Parkinsonism and L-Dopa dosing. Fun things to ponder, but now back to bar lecture.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Jemma-Verse III: Flensing
I'm sure my one reader who cannot attend the flensings is dying to know how it went. It went well! Overall people enjoyed the story, the larger universe, the characters, the runic art, and some little turns of phrase and description I threw in. The criticisms were helpful: further develop the Miqo/Kinarre relationship (perhaps with a scene at the bar), make clearer what's causing all hell to break loose, tie the larger story together somehow, bring the characters together to make these short stories mean something larger, re-visit some specific passages, end section with some sort of closure.
I'm thinking right now that I'll have the two agents of Jemma-Verse II be the thread that ties these together; I also like the idea of news articles and things floating through the story, seen by characters in different stories. My biggest problem is figuring out where the larger story goes (and for that matter, where exactly it begins - with Jemma or even earlier?).
Another big challenge will be bringing the characters back to continue their stories; as I've been thinking about it, Jemma and Elorna were killed. But that's actually not necessary to the over-arching plot, so I can mess with that. I was thinking I could either have the agents continue to be the Good Guys fighting the Bad Guys who have abducted (but not [yet] killed!) our heroines OR I could have the agents be unwitting pawns of the Bad Guys, and then they could have their own story, interspersed through the other stories, of finding out what they're doing. In that case, the Good Guys have abducted Jemma and Elorna to keep them safe. Maybe it's because I've been watching Alias lately, but I really like this second idea. The agents should get their own story beyond just the police investigation, after all! I was recently talking with one of my loyal readers about digging further into the agents' characters, and this would be a really fun way to do it.
I'm not wedded to anything, and this semester I'm not sure how much work I'll be able to do. But dang, I can almost see this turning into a Real Novel! It really helps that I can work on this in short bursts with these sections, so it doesn't feel like I have a gigantic stretch of Tens of Thousands of Words staring at me.
I'm thinking right now that I'll have the two agents of Jemma-Verse II be the thread that ties these together; I also like the idea of news articles and things floating through the story, seen by characters in different stories. My biggest problem is figuring out where the larger story goes (and for that matter, where exactly it begins - with Jemma or even earlier?).
Another big challenge will be bringing the characters back to continue their stories; as I've been thinking about it, Jemma and Elorna were killed. But that's actually not necessary to the over-arching plot, so I can mess with that. I was thinking I could either have the agents continue to be the Good Guys fighting the Bad Guys who have abducted (but not [yet] killed!) our heroines OR I could have the agents be unwitting pawns of the Bad Guys, and then they could have their own story, interspersed through the other stories, of finding out what they're doing. In that case, the Good Guys have abducted Jemma and Elorna to keep them safe. Maybe it's because I've been watching Alias lately, but I really like this second idea. The agents should get their own story beyond just the police investigation, after all! I was recently talking with one of my loyal readers about digging further into the agents' characters, and this would be a really fun way to do it.
I'm not wedded to anything, and this semester I'm not sure how much work I'll be able to do. But dang, I can almost see this turning into a Real Novel! It really helps that I can work on this in short bursts with these sections, so it doesn't feel like I have a gigantic stretch of Tens of Thousands of Words staring at me.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Jemma-Verse III: Fun Things
As I mentioned, two ideas from my brainstorming session about Jemma-verse Story III really stuck out to me: magical climate change and postmodern runes. Today during a class where students presented their research ideas, my laptop battery died and I was forced to write my questions for the presenters in my notebook. When I wasn't thinking up questions to ask (because I know I really appreciate people at least pretending to show interest in my presentations), I was doodling some of the postmodern runes that will appear in the MC's pet exhibition.
In the story already is a piece which looks a little like a camera. When someone stands in front of the circle, blobs of color appear on a canvas behind the piece. Magic! These other pieces I'll have to mention because they were a lot of fun to draw and ponder. One looks like a bowl of fruit, which you lick; it's perfectly sanitary! Another looks like an origami crane; it just flies around and maybe makes a noise. Another is a structure of some sort built entirely out of spheres. Another is a carved heart inside a vase; when you touch it, it may or may not zap you. My favorite two are: the reverse Jackson Pollack (it's a painting with squiggles of paint on it, but when you walk past it, the paint flies backward and spatters on you!) and the mouth, which has a lot of scary teeth. When you touch it, it bites you and you bleed - but when you step away, you're all better!
And now I must return to the story itself. I had such fun drawing these, though, that I thought I'd share them with my two loyal readers.
In the story already is a piece which looks a little like a camera. When someone stands in front of the circle, blobs of color appear on a canvas behind the piece. Magic! These other pieces I'll have to mention because they were a lot of fun to draw and ponder. One looks like a bowl of fruit, which you lick; it's perfectly sanitary! Another looks like an origami crane; it just flies around and maybe makes a noise. Another is a structure of some sort built entirely out of spheres. Another is a carved heart inside a vase; when you touch it, it may or may not zap you. My favorite two are: the reverse Jackson Pollack (it's a painting with squiggles of paint on it, but when you walk past it, the paint flies backward and spatters on you!) and the mouth, which has a lot of scary teeth. When you touch it, it bites you and you bleed - but when you step away, you're all better!
And now I must return to the story itself. I had such fun drawing these, though, that I thought I'd share them with my two loyal readers.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
New Story
Because I am a demented human being, I once again volunteered to be the next sacrificial victim for my writers group. This is not demented because they're all insane flensers - they are, but I'm almost used to it by now - but because I have so much else I should be spending my time on, like my two papers and the two presentations that go with them that are due this semester. One of these presentations is due a week from the day of this posting. Oh God.
The story is another tale of what's coming to be known in my head as the Jemma-verse. So far I've produced two short stories, but with this one I think I should admit to myself that I'm really creating a novel here out of these vignettes. I have other ideas for big writing projects, but I don't want to start those out of writers group-induced "oh noes I have a week and a half to write this" panic. And once I got to thinking ideas and scribbling them on the back of a law review article, I had two concepts that I will not be able to put down until I have them fixed in a tangible medium: postmodern runes and magic climate change.
Actually, the runes aren't exactly postmodern because these people don't use that term to describe that sort of art, and the magic climate change is both highly accelerated and very localized compared to actual climate change. The MC of this is a museum director whose story opens with (probably) her dealing with the latest art exhibition of runic art, though it'll be called something different. For some mysterious reason--magic climate change induced by super-secret gov't testing of magical weapons--the pieces are't working right, and of course the artist(s) are being very difficult about it.
I sketched out a very vague plot arc for this which may well change when I sit down to write this. I have a bunch of homework right now, so this will probably wait for the weekend, but I'm suddenly excited about writing again! My evening classes have been terrible about deflating my enthusiasm because my most creativity productive time has been eaten up by class, travel time, and late dinner. But that class ends at the beginning of March, and I think this story will be a great start to shove me back into semi-regular writing.
The story is another tale of what's coming to be known in my head as the Jemma-verse. So far I've produced two short stories, but with this one I think I should admit to myself that I'm really creating a novel here out of these vignettes. I have other ideas for big writing projects, but I don't want to start those out of writers group-induced "oh noes I have a week and a half to write this" panic. And once I got to thinking ideas and scribbling them on the back of a law review article, I had two concepts that I will not be able to put down until I have them fixed in a tangible medium: postmodern runes and magic climate change.
Actually, the runes aren't exactly postmodern because these people don't use that term to describe that sort of art, and the magic climate change is both highly accelerated and very localized compared to actual climate change. The MC of this is a museum director whose story opens with (probably) her dealing with the latest art exhibition of runic art, though it'll be called something different. For some mysterious reason--magic climate change induced by super-secret gov't testing of magical weapons--the pieces are't working right, and of course the artist(s) are being very difficult about it.
I sketched out a very vague plot arc for this which may well change when I sit down to write this. I have a bunch of homework right now, so this will probably wait for the weekend, but I'm suddenly excited about writing again! My evening classes have been terrible about deflating my enthusiasm because my most creativity productive time has been eaten up by class, travel time, and late dinner. But that class ends at the beginning of March, and I think this story will be a great start to shove me back into semi-regular writing.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
New Year - Writing Round-Up
I did not post as much as I ideally would have liked in 2009, but it was still more creativity-oriented effort than I've ever engaged in before except perhaps the headiest days of my fanfic-writing days. I did write more non-NaNo original fiction than ever - two connected short stories, some more UFPE, and some RP with an original character of mine I've had in the back of mine for forever now. I've got a much better handle on her now that I've been forced to write her interacting with people and doing things. I may have written other things too, but those are what stand out - again, aside from my two fanfiction pieces, one revived and one started for a friend's birthday.
So overall, I count this blog a success! I'm not going to make a formal resolution on the subject because that's probably the best way to make me procrastinate, but I'm going to try very hard to write more in this blog and more in my Creativity folder in My Documents. My main ideas for this year are: more UFPE and a new story, which is currently called "Alien UN story" in my head.
UFPE: There's so much to do! Perhaps my most important goal is to figure out exactly what tone to take with this burgeoning epic. I have enough genuinely cool things that I want to write it as at least a halfway serious story, but the whole point of the UFPE originally was to indulge in the kind of overwrought prose I do so love writing. That has been a lot of fun! If UFPE were too serious, I might have to spend a few less paragraphs (that is mild exaggeration) describing A's color-changing eyes and Z's long-winded affections. That would be a tragedy.
I want to re-write the first volume. I have to re-write it at least to add a lot more punch to the opening scenes and to improve the pace of the story generally, and I might have to re-think the story extensively because I want a posse for A to travel with, at least for awhile. There's just too much internal monologue, even for a Parody Epic. I should sketch the other characters more fully - I know A and L pretty well, I know Z less than I should, and the others (aside from the Prince I interviewed on this blog) remain foggy figures. In fact, I should sketch more characters period, especially a posse for A. She does have that nymph who appears periodically, but she's too flighty and alien. Hmmm.
I also want to write some short stories set in the Ten Free Cities. I had a wonderful time naming and describing the Ten Free Cities in a notebook, along with the central character in each city that the short stories will revolve around. Each is based extremely loosely on an existing city. I have to say, my excitement for writing fantasy has jumped with my reading of the latest "Wheel of Time" volume, which encompasses both the excellent and the meh in fantasy.
Alien UN: this story was first inspired by my viewing of the first season of "Babylon 5." I want to create something like a United Nations of aliens, except it's completely useless. Okay, more useless than its critics today say. They're purely a figurehead so the powerful races can wreak havoc and the weak races can feel like they aren't total chumps. Except one day, for reasons I've not yet fully comprehended, they suddenly are forced to become relevant. Do I know where this is going? Not really. But I love the idea, and I really want to try my hand at some original science fiction. I also have a character, the RP character I mentioned earlier, who's been in my head for years but unable to find her own story. She would not be one of the diplomats; I think she would be first mate on a spaceship run by a shady bounty hunter. I think there's going to be a huge disaster, natural or otherwise, that wipes out a LOT of the races' leadership, and the Alien UN are so desperate for info/communication/travel/whatever that they basically commandeer this bounty ship. Wacky antics ensue! I don't even know where the focus of the story will be; it could even be several interconnected tales.
So those are my goals! I'm not sure which is my priority, but I should poke myself to post something here once a week or so and to write... well... more often than I do now.
So overall, I count this blog a success! I'm not going to make a formal resolution on the subject because that's probably the best way to make me procrastinate, but I'm going to try very hard to write more in this blog and more in my Creativity folder in My Documents. My main ideas for this year are: more UFPE and a new story, which is currently called "Alien UN story" in my head.
UFPE: There's so much to do! Perhaps my most important goal is to figure out exactly what tone to take with this burgeoning epic. I have enough genuinely cool things that I want to write it as at least a halfway serious story, but the whole point of the UFPE originally was to indulge in the kind of overwrought prose I do so love writing. That has been a lot of fun! If UFPE were too serious, I might have to spend a few less paragraphs (that is mild exaggeration) describing A's color-changing eyes and Z's long-winded affections. That would be a tragedy.
I want to re-write the first volume. I have to re-write it at least to add a lot more punch to the opening scenes and to improve the pace of the story generally, and I might have to re-think the story extensively because I want a posse for A to travel with, at least for awhile. There's just too much internal monologue, even for a Parody Epic. I should sketch the other characters more fully - I know A and L pretty well, I know Z less than I should, and the others (aside from the Prince I interviewed on this blog) remain foggy figures. In fact, I should sketch more characters period, especially a posse for A. She does have that nymph who appears periodically, but she's too flighty and alien. Hmmm.
I also want to write some short stories set in the Ten Free Cities. I had a wonderful time naming and describing the Ten Free Cities in a notebook, along with the central character in each city that the short stories will revolve around. Each is based extremely loosely on an existing city. I have to say, my excitement for writing fantasy has jumped with my reading of the latest "Wheel of Time" volume, which encompasses both the excellent and the meh in fantasy.
Alien UN: this story was first inspired by my viewing of the first season of "Babylon 5." I want to create something like a United Nations of aliens, except it's completely useless. Okay, more useless than its critics today say. They're purely a figurehead so the powerful races can wreak havoc and the weak races can feel like they aren't total chumps. Except one day, for reasons I've not yet fully comprehended, they suddenly are forced to become relevant. Do I know where this is going? Not really. But I love the idea, and I really want to try my hand at some original science fiction. I also have a character, the RP character I mentioned earlier, who's been in my head for years but unable to find her own story. She would not be one of the diplomats; I think she would be first mate on a spaceship run by a shady bounty hunter. I think there's going to be a huge disaster, natural or otherwise, that wipes out a LOT of the races' leadership, and the Alien UN are so desperate for info/communication/travel/whatever that they basically commandeer this bounty ship. Wacky antics ensue! I don't even know where the focus of the story will be; it could even be several interconnected tales.
So those are my goals! I'm not sure which is my priority, but I should poke myself to post something here once a week or so and to write... well... more often than I do now.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Excerpt - NaNo 09
I may fail to post anything creative during NaNo, but that doesn't mean by two faithful readers should be completely deprived. Well, one of them is actually not deprived at all because I email him excerpts. Well, here's an entire Chapter of the Book of Venire for your perusing pleasure. Now let's see how screwy Blogger can possibly make the html here...
Oh, and I have removed the footnotes. They're fun, but this part is long enough without them.
Oh, and I have removed the footnotes. They're fun, but this part is long enough without them.
Excerpt: The Book of Venire, Chapter in which believer Kinshos receives a True Dream but denies His True Word
Author: Unknown
Publisher: AuthorHouse
The Power That Dreams did touch the mind of a believer, Kinshos, and Kinshos did dream. The dreams of Kinshos foretold a new world, and in that world, Kinshos told all peoples about The Power That Dreams. Far did he travel and far did he preach the Word of the Supreme Lover of Souls. Though he did the work of the Higher Power, yet was he spat upon and kicked and thrown to the dust. Though he preached the Words of Love, yet was he battered by the people tainted by the whispers of the mongers of hate, the winged ones. Kinshos awoke with tears streaming from his eyes, for he had witnessed in his True Dream his own death. The Power That Dreams had shown him that the claws of the winged ones would tear Kinshos in twain, and again in twain, until naught remained of Kinshos but blood on sand.
Kinshos told no one of his True Dream, not his brothers and sisters in the True Faith, not his wife and children. The Power That Dreams saw all this as He slept 'neath the sea, and He did tremble with a most holy wrath. Kinshos forsook his brothers and sisters in the True Faith, his wife and children, and fled for a distant port on waters sapphire and still. But when Kinshos placed his unworthy foot on the ship that was to carry him far from his home and community, lo! The seas foamed as if beaten and the waters ran red as blood. The heavens darkened. Great storms whipped the seas into a screaming frenzy and harried the ship until it was many leagues off course. Monstrous creatures never glimpsed by human eyes rose from the seas, gnashing their many teeth and moaning their hunger.
“Surely a god has set his wrath upon this ship!” the sailors cried, but Kinshos remained silent. These sailors were masters of their seafaring craft, yet their every trick only cast the ship further and further from familiar stars and familiar waters.
“Surely a god is demanding vengeance!” the sailors wept, but Kinshos remained silent. He knew that his disobedience to the True Dream had sent this storm, yet the same fear that had driven him from his home and the course he had dreamed now drove him to silence.
The surface of the waters broke as a mountain appeared to rise from the sea. Luminous it was, shining though there were no stars to light its skin. The sailors fell upon their deck and hid their eyes, for they knew without understanding the reason that one glance upon this Great and Mighty Creature would drive them utterly from their senses. Only Kinshos dared to look, for he knew that he gazed upon the Power That Dreams. Still the Supreme Lover of Souls dreamed, but in His True Dream, he lashed out with one mighty tentacle to destroy the one who had defied the True Dream He had sent.
It was not a mountain that parted the foam, but a tentacle, as long as the horizon. Kinshos wept to see The Power That Dreams, no longer for fear but for the love he felt. The Power That Dreams sends True Dreams to those He Loves most dearly, and this man's treachery had cut him to His Loving Soul. For even in anger, the Power That Dreams Loves humanity with a Love that is beyond our reckoning. Kinshos leapt to the bow and spread his arms wide.
“Supreme Lover of Souls!” he wept. “I have failed the True Dream. Though I have woken Your Wrath, I do not deserve this glance upon Your Shining Flesh! Only spare these sailors, and I shall preach Your Word this very day. I shall preach it until the day I perish, whether that be this day 'neath Your Sea or a century from now in a far land.”
The Power That Dreams then Dreamt that He touched Kinshos as gently as a mother kissing her newborn babe. The waters stilled, the thunderheads departed, and the sailors stood again, amazed at what they had witnesses.
“'twas you!” they cried. “Kinshos, you brought this storm upon us!” He confessed that he had provoked the Power That Dreams, and they spat at him. They kicked him and battered him, but as the blows landed on his flesh, Kinshos proclaimed the True Word of the Power That Dreams. When the sailors tired, they found that their ship had drifted back to its course. They tied the moorings of their ship and brought Kinshos to the front of the bow.
“Kinshos! You have caused the wrath of the seas to rise against us, yet you also calmed them. Even as we punished you, you preached the True Word of the Power That Dreams. We must cast you now from our ship, but we must also confess that we are eternally indebted to you. For your faith, we have realized the error of our false faiths and have accepted the Supreme Lover of Souls into our hearts. Go now and do not curse our ship again, but spread the True Word that the Power That Dreams has tasked you to spread.”
Kinshos wept many tears. The sailors cast him from the ship, and he fell on sharp rocks as he tumbled to the sands of the shore. At that moment did he understand the True Dream the Supreme Lover of Souls had sent him. In truth, he had been spat upon, kicked, cursed, and battered. In truth, he now lay upon sands of a distant land as his blood spilled from him. In truth, he died, but it was his fear that died, his hardness of heart. All these were the claws of the winged ones he had seen in his dreams. After a day and a night on the sand, Kinshos arose again and began to preach the True Word of the Power That Dreams. He showed many of his brothers and sisters the Way of Love and Unity, and together they rejected hate and fear.
The world that Kinshos witnessed in his True Dream did not come to pass within his lifetime, for his brothers and sisters in faith were sworn to secrecy. Thus he had been taught, and thus would the True Faith thrive for thousands of years. Yet Kinshos did expand the community of True Faith, and many more reached out to trusted brothers and sisters. Thus for the first time did the community reach across the globe, like the great tentacles of the Power That Dreams.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Plotting - NaNo 09
Only 8k words in, and I began despairing of making word count. This isn't because I don't have sufficiently rich fodder for my fictional non-fiction account of a made-up cult but because I have a hard time organizing it and keeping the passages different from one another and interesting to write. I can only say "Cthulhu loves us" in so many ways, so many times.
But then I had a revelation: if I ever am desperate for words, I can re-write various Bible stories according to my modified Cthulhu mythos. The most fun of these will of course be Cthulhu Genesis and Cthulhu Revelation (in which we actually are eaten, but in being eaten, we are transported to a dimension of pure love and union and wisdom), but the more I think about it, the more I think that any Bible story can be re-written as a Cthulhu story. One of the founders claims to be the illegitimate son of African dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa. I forgot which country he dictated, but the important thing is that he claimed to be the 13th Apostle secretly anointed by the Pope. Admirably crazy. This is a great way for this character to claim that he is a prophet and so has visions of the way various Biblical stories REALLY went.
Jonah and the whale? Jonah and the tentacle monster (who just ate him because he wanted to enlighten him). Dude on the road to Damascus? Dude on a sea voyage where he meets Cthulhu. Tower of Babel? Big tower that gets destroyed by the evil winged creatures because people were working together too much. I think there's definitely 50K worth of material there if I can't think of anything else. But I draw the line at the begats. Oh, and I also have arbitrary rules to make up. Woohoo!
But then I had a revelation: if I ever am desperate for words, I can re-write various Bible stories according to my modified Cthulhu mythos. The most fun of these will of course be Cthulhu Genesis and Cthulhu Revelation (in which we actually are eaten, but in being eaten, we are transported to a dimension of pure love and union and wisdom), but the more I think about it, the more I think that any Bible story can be re-written as a Cthulhu story. One of the founders claims to be the illegitimate son of African dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa. I forgot which country he dictated, but the important thing is that he claimed to be the 13th Apostle secretly anointed by the Pope. Admirably crazy. This is a great way for this character to claim that he is a prophet and so has visions of the way various Biblical stories REALLY went.
Jonah and the whale? Jonah and the tentacle monster (who just ate him because he wanted to enlighten him). Dude on the road to Damascus? Dude on a sea voyage where he meets Cthulhu. Tower of Babel? Big tower that gets destroyed by the evil winged creatures because people were working together too much. I think there's definitely 50K worth of material there if I can't think of anything else. But I draw the line at the begats. Oh, and I also have arbitrary rules to make up. Woohoo!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Fanfiction - plotting the end
Not the end of fanfiction as a phenomenon, the end of a particular piece of fan fiction. As my two readers may recall, I have two outstanding - as in incomplete, not wonderful - fanfic pieces. One I've been working on with something like regularity, and the other has, until this afternoon, lain dormant for about two years.
No more! At the funniest request I've ever received, I decided to resurrect that story and to finish it once and for all. To my immense surprise I discovered that, despite some issues especially in the early part (wherein I try to be way too clever), I really enjoy this tale. I stopped where I did because I had a chapter to write that didn't fit very much into the larger story arc and because, until I had the action in mind, it seemed like a pretty boring chapter. I had it end with the return of a character who left the story ages ago, a gunfight, the uncovering of a genocidal secret rising to the highest levels of government, and our MC skillfully turning her enemies on each other.
The request went something like this: I'm really glad you're working on the story you're writing for me, [it's a birthday gift for an online friend of mine who loves fanfic more than some people love their spouses] but I feel bad that it's taking your time away from your other unfinished fanfic. We gotta be nice to our readers, right? So maybe you could take some time off my fanfic and update the other one, and I won't feel bad.
Or something. It was strangely sweet.
Anyway, I'm feeling a surge of affection for the story which I hope will be able to last me through the last couple of chapters. I even wrote up a two-page summary and posted it along with the new chapter, for any remaining readers I may have. It was a lot of fun re-reading my story, especially the romantic/sexual tension scenes between the MC and her two loves. So now I must plot the end and get writing it, hopefully before NaNo steals all my time and writing energy!
The fandom is Andromeda, and this fanfic is very AU. The MC is Beka Valentine, and the two male leads are Tyr Anasazi and Charlemagne Bolivar. For the first part of the story, Beka is wreaking criminal havoc and falling in love with Tyr as her loyal bodyguard under the auspices of a crime boss, Darjella Milein. For the second part, she's negotiating an alliance with Charlemagne Bolivar, a powerful leader of his Pride, after Tyr has left to pursue his Nietzschean ambitions. He keeps trying to seduce her, and she wants to marry him off. But Nietzschean family arrangements are odd, and the prospective bride is eager to become Beka's sister; she's under the impression that Beka and Charlemagne are lovers because only a Nietzschean's family would make such an offer on his behalf. Beka's seriously considering fulfilling the other woman's expectations.
Oh yes, and people keep trying to kill Beka for various reasons. She's made a lot of enemies. This story is going to end in a glorious Shakespearean bloody melee, complete with Tyr and possibly Charlemagne delcaring their love for Beka in very extravagant terms. I did already write one line of faux-poetry for Tyr to recite, and I have to say, crafting it was a lot of fun. The line is: “Never have mortals set mortal eyes upon these stygian flames resplendent, aureate damnation.” He doesn't usually talk like that, but he was rendered poetic by circumstances.
Good lord, this post is getting long. I just got a review from ff.net, thanking me in particular for the recap. I wrote it partly for myself, I must say. I would not have remembered half of what was going on if I'd just started writing cold.
Anyway, the plot!
-Having narrowly escaped an yet another assassination attempt, Beka finally going to allow herself to be seduced by Charlemagne, but not before getting a good night's sleep.
-The aftermath of her report on the investigation that nearly got her killed will be widespread chaos and violence on that world, not to mention serious threats of reprisals by the few remaining members of the decimated race.
-I'm not sure if Beka's going to have moral qualms about her job and lifestyle. I think that if she did, Darjella would be willing to employ her in a more diplomatic avenue, which would be fantastic. But that might draw out the ending more than I like. Hmm...
-After a series of meetings which will prove completely surreal for Beka, Charlemagne marries the other woman, and Beka for the first time in a loooong time will have something resembling a family. She will find this highly unsettling.
-Meanwhile, Tyr has started gathering the smaller Prides to him with the bones of Drago Museveni. I'm trying to decide whether he impregnates Freya as he does in the TV series... having little Tamerlane running around would complicate things, especially his willingness to die at the end. One of these Prides the Volsung, which are after all distantly related to his Pride (which is canon!).
-So the whole lot of our heroes are drawn back together again. Tyr needs Charlemagne to bring the Jaguar Pride to his alliance to counter the strength of his mortal enemies, the Drago-Kazov Pride. Awkward times ensue! Beka was once deeply in love with Tyr, and even though her feelings for Charlemagne aren't nearly as strong, she IS sleeping with him and sister to his wife. Soooo huzzah.
-The Jaguar Matriarch, whom we've already met, agrees to discuss the possibility of throwing her support to Charlemagne, against the Jaguar Alpha who hates Charlemagne on principle and opposes the alliance with Tyr precisely because Charlemagne supports it (and probably for various reasons of strategery). Beka goes planetside while Tyr and Charlemagne are negotiating furiously, and the ladies chit chat. Sidebar: conversations between humans and Nietzscheans are just as much fun to write as the ludicrously fancy places I have these characters visit. Nietzscheans cannot resist highly charged conversations, and humans are always intent to prove that they can hold up their end of any discussion.
-The Jaguar Alpha finds out about the meeting and stealthily brings his secretest forces to kill Beka and, if necessary, the Matriarch. It's a bold and probably stupid move, especially considering that Charlemagne finds out about the Alpha finding out and brings Tyr along, ostensibly to stop them from killing the Matriarch and destroying the aliance but obviously in large part to stop them from killing Beka.
-People die. Trance, who's been telling us this whole story, gives us a cryptic epilogue. Everyone proclaims their love for Beka.
Excellent! This is a very exciting prospect, full of loaded conversations and sexual tension and angsty romance. I think I can fit this all into something like three chapters, excluding the epilogue, unless I decide that more sexual tension is needed. It might be.
No more! At the funniest request I've ever received, I decided to resurrect that story and to finish it once and for all. To my immense surprise I discovered that, despite some issues especially in the early part (wherein I try to be way too clever), I really enjoy this tale. I stopped where I did because I had a chapter to write that didn't fit very much into the larger story arc and because, until I had the action in mind, it seemed like a pretty boring chapter. I had it end with the return of a character who left the story ages ago, a gunfight, the uncovering of a genocidal secret rising to the highest levels of government, and our MC skillfully turning her enemies on each other.
The request went something like this: I'm really glad you're working on the story you're writing for me, [it's a birthday gift for an online friend of mine who loves fanfic more than some people love their spouses] but I feel bad that it's taking your time away from your other unfinished fanfic. We gotta be nice to our readers, right? So maybe you could take some time off my fanfic and update the other one, and I won't feel bad.
Or something. It was strangely sweet.
Anyway, I'm feeling a surge of affection for the story which I hope will be able to last me through the last couple of chapters. I even wrote up a two-page summary and posted it along with the new chapter, for any remaining readers I may have. It was a lot of fun re-reading my story, especially the romantic/sexual tension scenes between the MC and her two loves. So now I must plot the end and get writing it, hopefully before NaNo steals all my time and writing energy!
The fandom is Andromeda, and this fanfic is very AU. The MC is Beka Valentine, and the two male leads are Tyr Anasazi and Charlemagne Bolivar. For the first part of the story, Beka is wreaking criminal havoc and falling in love with Tyr as her loyal bodyguard under the auspices of a crime boss, Darjella Milein. For the second part, she's negotiating an alliance with Charlemagne Bolivar, a powerful leader of his Pride, after Tyr has left to pursue his Nietzschean ambitions. He keeps trying to seduce her, and she wants to marry him off. But Nietzschean family arrangements are odd, and the prospective bride is eager to become Beka's sister; she's under the impression that Beka and Charlemagne are lovers because only a Nietzschean's family would make such an offer on his behalf. Beka's seriously considering fulfilling the other woman's expectations.
Oh yes, and people keep trying to kill Beka for various reasons. She's made a lot of enemies. This story is going to end in a glorious Shakespearean bloody melee, complete with Tyr and possibly Charlemagne delcaring their love for Beka in very extravagant terms. I did already write one line of faux-poetry for Tyr to recite, and I have to say, crafting it was a lot of fun. The line is: “Never have mortals set mortal eyes upon these stygian flames resplendent, aureate damnation.” He doesn't usually talk like that, but he was rendered poetic by circumstances.
Good lord, this post is getting long. I just got a review from ff.net, thanking me in particular for the recap. I wrote it partly for myself, I must say. I would not have remembered half of what was going on if I'd just started writing cold.
Anyway, the plot!
-Having narrowly escaped an yet another assassination attempt, Beka finally going to allow herself to be seduced by Charlemagne, but not before getting a good night's sleep.
-The aftermath of her report on the investigation that nearly got her killed will be widespread chaos and violence on that world, not to mention serious threats of reprisals by the few remaining members of the decimated race.
-I'm not sure if Beka's going to have moral qualms about her job and lifestyle. I think that if she did, Darjella would be willing to employ her in a more diplomatic avenue, which would be fantastic. But that might draw out the ending more than I like. Hmm...
-After a series of meetings which will prove completely surreal for Beka, Charlemagne marries the other woman, and Beka for the first time in a loooong time will have something resembling a family. She will find this highly unsettling.
-Meanwhile, Tyr has started gathering the smaller Prides to him with the bones of Drago Museveni. I'm trying to decide whether he impregnates Freya as he does in the TV series... having little Tamerlane running around would complicate things, especially his willingness to die at the end. One of these Prides the Volsung, which are after all distantly related to his Pride (which is canon!).
-So the whole lot of our heroes are drawn back together again. Tyr needs Charlemagne to bring the Jaguar Pride to his alliance to counter the strength of his mortal enemies, the Drago-Kazov Pride. Awkward times ensue! Beka was once deeply in love with Tyr, and even though her feelings for Charlemagne aren't nearly as strong, she IS sleeping with him and sister to his wife. Soooo huzzah.
-The Jaguar Matriarch, whom we've already met, agrees to discuss the possibility of throwing her support to Charlemagne, against the Jaguar Alpha who hates Charlemagne on principle and opposes the alliance with Tyr precisely because Charlemagne supports it (and probably for various reasons of strategery). Beka goes planetside while Tyr and Charlemagne are negotiating furiously, and the ladies chit chat. Sidebar: conversations between humans and Nietzscheans are just as much fun to write as the ludicrously fancy places I have these characters visit. Nietzscheans cannot resist highly charged conversations, and humans are always intent to prove that they can hold up their end of any discussion.
-The Jaguar Alpha finds out about the meeting and stealthily brings his secretest forces to kill Beka and, if necessary, the Matriarch. It's a bold and probably stupid move, especially considering that Charlemagne finds out about the Alpha finding out and brings Tyr along, ostensibly to stop them from killing the Matriarch and destroying the aliance but obviously in large part to stop them from killing Beka.
-People die. Trance, who's been telling us this whole story, gives us a cryptic epilogue. Everyone proclaims their love for Beka.
Excellent! This is a very exciting prospect, full of loaded conversations and sexual tension and angsty romance. I think I can fit this all into something like three chapters, excluding the epilogue, unless I decide that more sexual tension is needed. It might be.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Brainstorming - NaNo 09
Something I forgot to mention in yesterday's post about Made-Up Religion is the financial shenanigans, which I'm thinking will prompt the investigative journalism that will make up part of the book. And what self-respecting wacky cult doesn't engage in financial (and possibly legal) shenanigans??
My ideas so far, are...
1) "Free" dream interpretation - I also forgot to mention that, because Cthulhu our all-loving savior sleeps under the sea, dreams are very important to this religion - which inevitably leads to harassing people for a longer, paid report or session.
2) Expensive hypnotherapy sessions to tap into the humanity's collective unconscious. During one's intensive hypnotherapy, one is encouraged to cut off contact with non-believers, even loved ones.
3) Expensive training to become an expensive hypnotherapist (unlicensed by the ignorant state boards, of course)
4) Ridiculous claims of trademarks over common phrases and the lines they use in hypnotherapy sessions
5) Ponzi investment schemes. As investors get higher in the ranks, Slytherin claims that they get more in tune with humanity and thus the stock market - and their returns will increase as more people join, especially if they become hypnotherapy trainers.
6) Aggressive litigation against people who criticize them. The journalist undertaking this book is risking a major suit and will probably remind the reader of this many, many times.
I think six financial/legal schemes is sufficient fodder, at least to begin with, in addition to the other things I need to figure out. Very exciting!
A friend linked me to this article, which I'm reading right now. I suspect it will be inspiring.
My ideas so far, are...
1) "Free" dream interpretation - I also forgot to mention that, because Cthulhu our all-loving savior sleeps under the sea, dreams are very important to this religion - which inevitably leads to harassing people for a longer, paid report or session.
2) Expensive hypnotherapy sessions to tap into the humanity's collective unconscious. During one's intensive hypnotherapy, one is encouraged to cut off contact with non-believers, even loved ones.
3) Expensive training to become an expensive hypnotherapist (unlicensed by the ignorant state boards, of course)
4) Ridiculous claims of trademarks over common phrases and the lines they use in hypnotherapy sessions
5) Ponzi investment schemes. As investors get higher in the ranks, Slytherin claims that they get more in tune with humanity and thus the stock market - and their returns will increase as more people join, especially if they become hypnotherapy trainers.
6) Aggressive litigation against people who criticize them. The journalist undertaking this book is risking a major suit and will probably remind the reader of this many, many times.
I think six financial/legal schemes is sufficient fodder, at least to begin with, in addition to the other things I need to figure out. Very exciting!
A friend linked me to this article, which I'm reading right now. I suspect it will be inspiring.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Brainstorming - NaNo 09
My vast and varied body of readers knows of my plan for NaNo 09, so I'll recap very briefly: made-up religion. Actually, that's exactly how it started in my head after I read a wiki article on one of those cult religions. I've been thinking about it ever since that fateful wiki surf, and I've had some more ideas elaborating the story.
For one thing, it will be written like a non-fiction documentation of the religion, with both narrative passages by the author describing the founders and practices, as well as pamphlets and things written by them. I'm not sure who the narrator will be; actually, this is the first time I've even thought to wonder about that. Hmm.
There are four founders, who my brain insists on associating with the Hogwarts founders. I may change the genders of some of them. Slytherin = the sleazy businessman who engineers the profit-making part of the enterprise. Hufflepuff = the clueless, obscure daughter of minor royalty who finances everything. Ravenclaw = the hardline fanatic who believes passionately in the religion. Gryffindor = the classic insane demagogue personality who attracts all the attention. I think he's the one who made it up in the first place. He's so self-deluded that he may actually believe in it.
The basic tenet of the religion is that Cthulhu loves us all. He wants us to be happy and to enjoy our full potential as his equals, which means accessing our collective magic. He sleeps under the sea and rules it through his disciples, but he's happy to give us the land. His enemies are the cloud-dwelling beings (sometimes mistaken for angels) who want complete dominion over the earth, including the land and the sea. The cloud-dwelling beings have been working all throughout human history to divide us and to pit us against each other so we don't learn to use our communal magic. They've also been working to give Cthulhu a bad name, and as you probably know, they succeeded pretty well on both counts.
So there are some points I need to ponder further, perhaps even outline. These are:
The backgrounds of the Founders, especially Hufflepuff's (supposed) lineage
The history of the cloud-dwelling beings
The history of Cthulhu
However, one of the best part of this project is that the details are completely allowed to be contradictory. The factual parts, the biographies, should be fairly consistent (though differing reports would be fun), but I imagine that some contradictions would not only be realistic for a made-up religion but also present a lot of fodder for pamphleteering and speechifying.
I'm very excited about this. It's an ultimate parody epic in its own right!
For one thing, it will be written like a non-fiction documentation of the religion, with both narrative passages by the author describing the founders and practices, as well as pamphlets and things written by them. I'm not sure who the narrator will be; actually, this is the first time I've even thought to wonder about that. Hmm.
There are four founders, who my brain insists on associating with the Hogwarts founders. I may change the genders of some of them. Slytherin = the sleazy businessman who engineers the profit-making part of the enterprise. Hufflepuff = the clueless, obscure daughter of minor royalty who finances everything. Ravenclaw = the hardline fanatic who believes passionately in the religion. Gryffindor = the classic insane demagogue personality who attracts all the attention. I think he's the one who made it up in the first place. He's so self-deluded that he may actually believe in it.
The basic tenet of the religion is that Cthulhu loves us all. He wants us to be happy and to enjoy our full potential as his equals, which means accessing our collective magic. He sleeps under the sea and rules it through his disciples, but he's happy to give us the land. His enemies are the cloud-dwelling beings (sometimes mistaken for angels) who want complete dominion over the earth, including the land and the sea. The cloud-dwelling beings have been working all throughout human history to divide us and to pit us against each other so we don't learn to use our communal magic. They've also been working to give Cthulhu a bad name, and as you probably know, they succeeded pretty well on both counts.
So there are some points I need to ponder further, perhaps even outline. These are:
The backgrounds of the Founders, especially Hufflepuff's (supposed) lineage
The history of the cloud-dwelling beings
The history of Cthulhu
However, one of the best part of this project is that the details are completely allowed to be contradictory. The factual parts, the biographies, should be fairly consistent (though differing reports would be fun), but I imagine that some contradictions would not only be realistic for a made-up religion but also present a lot of fodder for pamphleteering and speechifying.
I'm very excited about this. It's an ultimate parody epic in its own right!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Short Story - CannRomCom
For the livejournal writing community of which I'm a member, I wrote this short story in the CannRomCom-verse. Sadly, I finished a day after the challenge ended, but I should be able to post it this weekend. I had no idea what to do with the prompts for the longest time, but suddenly, just a couple days ago, I started writing something--and it turned out to be from the POV of CannRomCom MC. Fun!
My prompts were: abide, pitch, "What part of my subconscious do you hail from?" This is the first entry I've put behind a cut, I think. It's longer than what I usually post here
My prompts were: abide, pitch, "What part of my subconscious do you hail from?" This is the first entry I've put behind a cut, I think. It's longer than what I usually post here
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Brainstorming - CannRomCom
CannRomCom is the nickname I just made up for my cannibal romantic comedy. I'm not sure that's entirely accurate; the cannibal in question may not actually be a human being. I haven't decided.
I was despairing of thinking up a good premise for this story and doubting whether it was even worth trying to brainstorm until last night. A vigorous 30-ish block walk got my brain working, as 30 block walks often do, and I decided that the MC should be a flesh-eating monster, along the lines of an X-Files critter I vaguely remember. That was a very helpful revelation for me; I still don't have a lot of the plot or any of the ending down, but I feel like I might actually be able to write this.
So. X-Files flesh-eating monster. I was debating telling the story from a neutral third-person perspective, first person of the MC, or possibly first person her best friend, who gets bits and pieces of the story at a time. I'm thinking I might go with the third option because I have in mind a funny (well, to my reckoning) opener where the narrator is confiding to MC that she's thinking of going to therapy.
It goes something like... "For what it's worth," she told me, "the decade I spent in therapy taught me two things. One, as a flesh-eating monster, I was just as entitled to my life and my happiness as anybody else. Two, everybody else is entitled to their lives as well." MC stopped going to therapy shortly after she had these two revelations because, as you might suspect, her therapist was trying to get at the root of her delusion that she's a flesh-eating monster. Considering that she really is a flesh-eating monster, clearly their relationship was doomed to stagnate.
MC's thing is that her cannibalism (or whatever it is) is only roused during sexual ecstasy. That's fortunate for most of the people in the world, but, since she had her revelation that she can't eat people without their full, informed consent, it's unfortunate for her sex life. Where it goes from there, I haven't quite decided, but I really like the premise. And I think I like the narrative I'm leaning toward, that of her friend. We'll see what comes of this! If I ever get it on paper (after which I'll immediately hate it), I'll even try to muster up the courage to workshop it.
I was despairing of thinking up a good premise for this story and doubting whether it was even worth trying to brainstorm until last night. A vigorous 30-ish block walk got my brain working, as 30 block walks often do, and I decided that the MC should be a flesh-eating monster, along the lines of an X-Files critter I vaguely remember. That was a very helpful revelation for me; I still don't have a lot of the plot or any of the ending down, but I feel like I might actually be able to write this.
So. X-Files flesh-eating monster. I was debating telling the story from a neutral third-person perspective, first person of the MC, or possibly first person her best friend, who gets bits and pieces of the story at a time. I'm thinking I might go with the third option because I have in mind a funny (well, to my reckoning) opener where the narrator is confiding to MC that she's thinking of going to therapy.
It goes something like... "For what it's worth," she told me, "the decade I spent in therapy taught me two things. One, as a flesh-eating monster, I was just as entitled to my life and my happiness as anybody else. Two, everybody else is entitled to their lives as well." MC stopped going to therapy shortly after she had these two revelations because, as you might suspect, her therapist was trying to get at the root of her delusion that she's a flesh-eating monster. Considering that she really is a flesh-eating monster, clearly their relationship was doomed to stagnate.
MC's thing is that her cannibalism (or whatever it is) is only roused during sexual ecstasy. That's fortunate for most of the people in the world, but, since she had her revelation that she can't eat people without their full, informed consent, it's unfortunate for her sex life. Where it goes from there, I haven't quite decided, but I really like the premise. And I think I like the narrative I'm leaning toward, that of her friend. We'll see what comes of this! If I ever get it on paper (after which I'll immediately hate it), I'll even try to muster up the courage to workshop it.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Brainstorm - UFPE short story
Another idea for short stories I had is from the ten free cities along the coast of the UFPE continent (which so far lacks a name). I could even write a short story for each of them, on the personality of the cities and their wacky inhabitants. I had forgotten the name, so I checked the past entries: Ten Notches of the Glittering Scythe. I do like that, though I am skeptical that all those free-spirited, free city libertines ever agreed to call themselves one thing, fearsome as the name is. Or maybe they didn't agree? Maybe there are just as many names as cities?
I think the thing to do is to base each one very loosely on what I know of existing cities, which in some case is little more than seeing calendars with pictures of them. But it would be easier to keep their personalities straight that way. A full half of those could be based on NYC boroughs, if I wanted to go that way. Well, I don't think I will, but it's a good thing for me to keep in mind, in case I run out of places to base the cities on.
So NYC (could be further divided) and Paris are the obvious ones, since I've been there. San Francisco is another good one and LA because I've at least known people who've spent a lot of time there. Las Vegas would be zany fun to write. Something like Rome would be great and then St. Petersburg, (-berg?) which I know of vaguely because my mother spent a summer there. What else... Beijing was the center of Olympic stuff recently, so I may recall a little bit of that stuff. And of course, crazy crowded neon Tokyo. Excellent!
Now to do something with this. Hmm.
I think the thing to do is to base each one very loosely on what I know of existing cities, which in some case is little more than seeing calendars with pictures of them. But it would be easier to keep their personalities straight that way. A full half of those could be based on NYC boroughs, if I wanted to go that way. Well, I don't think I will, but it's a good thing for me to keep in mind, in case I run out of places to base the cities on.
So NYC (could be further divided) and Paris are the obvious ones, since I've been there. San Francisco is another good one and LA because I've at least known people who've spent a lot of time there. Las Vegas would be zany fun to write. Something like Rome would be great and then St. Petersburg, (-berg?) which I know of vaguely because my mother spent a summer there. What else... Beijing was the center of Olympic stuff recently, so I may recall a little bit of that stuff. And of course, crazy crowded neon Tokyo. Excellent!
Now to do something with this. Hmm.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Ideas - Short Stories
The flaying tonight was quite encouraging, on the whole, and my success with them as opposed to longer projects has me wanting to write more of them. Now, the hallmark of this blog so far has been "I plan to do X" and never actually finishing X--but I realize, only where long projects are concerned! So that settles that, whatever exactly that is.
--The UFPE requires short stories, namely Magely and Elvely ones. Ayrisella's history is much less interesting. I could also do some Might Have Been shorts with specific scenes I've had in mind for as long as I've thought about the MHB.
--More Archon-verse stories, as I've dubbed them. Jemma's advisor needs a story; he's being held at (probably metaphorical) gunpoint when he calls Elorna to cancel their meeting, and she has no idea of this. And I think Agent Glebick needs one too, as she continues the investigation. Of course, the Bad Guys need one too! I'd like to do a week's worth of stories which, considering the average length so far, would make it a novella.
--I have one line repeating in my head that could develop into something, "news that didn't really happened," along the lines of reality disintegrating, not your run of the mill fake news (I'm not naming names, but...). I feel there may be a way to tie this into Archon-verse, but I don't want to push it.
--Over IM just now, I had an idea. Sadly, I find writing comedy very difficult, but I could try a page or two. It would be a comedy romance (romantic comedy?) about a relationship wherein one of the parties (beknownst to both) is planning to kill and consume the other after they, um, consummate the relationship. I feel bad puns would abound in the most glorious way possible. If it worked, it would definitely be the strangest thing I've ever written... well, depending on one's calculus.
I'm debating as to whether I should set a concrete goal for myself - one a month? I'll think about it further.
--The UFPE requires short stories, namely Magely and Elvely ones. Ayrisella's history is much less interesting. I could also do some Might Have Been shorts with specific scenes I've had in mind for as long as I've thought about the MHB.
--More Archon-verse stories, as I've dubbed them. Jemma's advisor needs a story; he's being held at (probably metaphorical) gunpoint when he calls Elorna to cancel their meeting, and she has no idea of this. And I think Agent Glebick needs one too, as she continues the investigation. Of course, the Bad Guys need one too! I'd like to do a week's worth of stories which, considering the average length so far, would make it a novella.
--I have one line repeating in my head that could develop into something, "news that didn't really happened," along the lines of reality disintegrating, not your run of the mill fake news (I'm not naming names, but...). I feel there may be a way to tie this into Archon-verse, but I don't want to push it.
--Over IM just now, I had an idea. Sadly, I find writing comedy very difficult, but I could try a page or two. It would be a comedy romance (romantic comedy?) about a relationship wherein one of the parties (beknownst to both) is planning to kill and consume the other after they, um, consummate the relationship. I feel bad puns would abound in the most glorious way possible. If it worked, it would definitely be the strangest thing I've ever written... well, depending on one's calculus.
I'm debating as to whether I should set a concrete goal for myself - one a month? I'll think about it further.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Brainstorming - UFPE
The UFPE has been neglected, as I had hoped it would not be but feared it would. But as I've started reading a fantasy saga (or so it bills itself) I picked up on the sidewalk one day, I've been shamelessly stealing ideas for my own fantasy epic. These have to do with the religion, which I realize needs a name (if only to identify believers from non-believers). I only have a few minutes to post today, so I'll postpone that for later.
Basically, the astrology of UFPE-verse is centered around three divisions of the sky, which adherents determines both their personalities and their destinies. The divisions are: six jewel tones, three metallic tones, and sunrise/sunset. For the humans of the UFPE, the most important (for many, the only one they know about) is the six jewel tones. I'm thinking of re-arranging the others so that they don't line up cleanly with the six, but we'll see.
Anyway, the mages are divided into houses or something based on those tones. My main idea was that once upon a time the mages had different steadfasts for each house, but when the kingdom and free cities combined to drive back the power of the mages, they exiled them to one of the steadfasts. Nobody thought of this, but this has created an imbalance in the... something... which is behind the corruption of the mages, who I already knew were conspiring to drag Ayrisella kicking and screaming into the destiny of their choosing. Even better, I think that her One True Love is a member of this house (Amethyst, I believe) who is struggling to right the balance but has to leave the mages before he accomplishes this task.
And now I must away to class. Elorna's story has been posted to the writers group, and I am trying very hard not to think about it until flaying commences.
Basically, the astrology of UFPE-verse is centered around three divisions of the sky, which adherents determines both their personalities and their destinies. The divisions are: six jewel tones, three metallic tones, and sunrise/sunset. For the humans of the UFPE, the most important (for many, the only one they know about) is the six jewel tones. I'm thinking of re-arranging the others so that they don't line up cleanly with the six, but we'll see.
Anyway, the mages are divided into houses or something based on those tones. My main idea was that once upon a time the mages had different steadfasts for each house, but when the kingdom and free cities combined to drive back the power of the mages, they exiled them to one of the steadfasts. Nobody thought of this, but this has created an imbalance in the... something... which is behind the corruption of the mages, who I already knew were conspiring to drag Ayrisella kicking and screaming into the destiny of their choosing. Even better, I think that her One True Love is a member of this house (Amethyst, I believe) who is struggling to right the balance but has to leave the mages before he accomplishes this task.
And now I must away to class. Elorna's story has been posted to the writers group, and I am trying very hard not to think about it until flaying commences.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Legal Fiction - first paragraphs
Well, the writing group shall have to wait until Tuesday for my piece, but I did get a good start on it tonight. It's not moving as quickly as I'd like, but I'm enjoying Elorna's character more and more as I write her. Here is a quick sample of the first few paragraphs before I stumble off to bed.
***
Elorna Mynee chose a terrible day to disappear.
Every one of her clients and colleagues was working frantically to take advantage of a pending Supreme Court decision, hoping to poach on competitors' patents while protecting their own. All around the nation, equal parts champagne and stomach-burning whiskey flowed in wood-paneled offices all afternoon into the evening as the news beamed down from the hallowed halls of justice. Under normal circumstances, somebody would have raised the alarm that same night, but everybody who would have called to ask where she was was regretting the afternoon's indulgence, crunching aspirin through an all-nighter. It would be over twenty-four hours after she awoke before one of the other partners thought to dial her number.
Elorna's first thought upon awakening to the ear-splitting trill of her computer was that either the decision had come down early or that she had slept amazingly late. Her hand groped for the button that would send the call through as she squinted at the clock. Four-thirty a.m.? she thought blearily. Did the justices not sleep at all?
The computer screen informed her that the call originated from Archon University, but it was not a number she recognized. It also informed her that the call had been made to her business number. “Elorna Mynee, how may I help you?” She barely smothered a yawn as she spoke.
***
What is in store for our intrepid lawyer, aside from inevitable disappearance?? Only time will tell.
***
Elorna Mynee chose a terrible day to disappear.
Every one of her clients and colleagues was working frantically to take advantage of a pending Supreme Court decision, hoping to poach on competitors' patents while protecting their own. All around the nation, equal parts champagne and stomach-burning whiskey flowed in wood-paneled offices all afternoon into the evening as the news beamed down from the hallowed halls of justice. Under normal circumstances, somebody would have raised the alarm that same night, but everybody who would have called to ask where she was was regretting the afternoon's indulgence, crunching aspirin through an all-nighter. It would be over twenty-four hours after she awoke before one of the other partners thought to dial her number.
Elorna's first thought upon awakening to the ear-splitting trill of her computer was that either the decision had come down early or that she had slept amazingly late. Her hand groped for the button that would send the call through as she squinted at the clock. Four-thirty a.m.? she thought blearily. Did the justices not sleep at all?
The computer screen informed her that the call originated from Archon University, but it was not a number she recognized. It also informed her that the call had been made to her business number. “Elorna Mynee, how may I help you?” She barely smothered a yawn as she spoke.
***
What is in store for our intrepid lawyer, aside from inevitable disappearance?? Only time will tell.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Brainstorming - Legal Fiction
Yes, too long has passed since last I posted! I think working on a computer all day gave me an aversion for working on a computer in the evening, even in the context of writing. I've been writing a bit of fanfiction for a friend of mine and doing that in a notebook. It's much easier on my weary eyes.
But I have been thinking over the legal fiction story, and it's developing nicely in several areas except arguably the most important - plot. Normally I like to focus more on characters, but for the short story I'm imagining, the plot needs to hook the reader from the start and speed along from there. I'm planning to write this the way that my writers group suggested I revise Jemma.
The MC is named Elorna Mynee, an IP lawyer who specializes in magic stuff. Of course, I need a more official name for magic stuff - writers group suggested thauma- as a prefix, which I'll probably use. She's been in touch on and off with Jemma, and Jemma's supervisor (whose name I've forgotten) contacts Elorna the day after Jemma disappears to ask what Elorna knew about Jemma's work. Elorna has other things on her mind, namely a huge Supreme Court magic IP case, the outcome of which will be announced on the day the story dawns.
But she's a true professional, so she takes on the work and conducts some serious investigation. While she's working hard and trying not to think about the case, a pair of National Security lawyers come in and warn her off the case in a very genteel-like way. They end up chatting about the case, and Elorna brushes it off. I'm not sure what should happen during the afternoon - the Supreme Court case comes down then - but during the evening she contacts a friend of hers from undergrad, a conspiracy nut, who meets with her at a vast, dusty library.
Elorna records their conversation with her futuristic blackberry, and when her friend wanders off for a moment to use the restroom (or something), she absently leaves it laying around somewhere conveniently nearby but not clearly visible - perhaps inside a stack of scientific journals. When friend doesn't return, she heaves an irritated sigh and goes to look for her. On the other hand, maybe she leaves it in the shelves near the journals she's reading.
And doesn't return before the janitor or library intern comes to re-shelve all the stuff she's taken out. JanIntern finds the blackberry and takes it. What shall be revealed from its contents??
This is classic sort of open-ended ending I love and a lot of readers hate. Alas. Now I have a week to write the story and post it for a flensing!
But I have been thinking over the legal fiction story, and it's developing nicely in several areas except arguably the most important - plot. Normally I like to focus more on characters, but for the short story I'm imagining, the plot needs to hook the reader from the start and speed along from there. I'm planning to write this the way that my writers group suggested I revise Jemma.
The MC is named Elorna Mynee, an IP lawyer who specializes in magic stuff. Of course, I need a more official name for magic stuff - writers group suggested thauma- as a prefix, which I'll probably use. She's been in touch on and off with Jemma, and Jemma's supervisor (whose name I've forgotten) contacts Elorna the day after Jemma disappears to ask what Elorna knew about Jemma's work. Elorna has other things on her mind, namely a huge Supreme Court magic IP case, the outcome of which will be announced on the day the story dawns.
But she's a true professional, so she takes on the work and conducts some serious investigation. While she's working hard and trying not to think about the case, a pair of National Security lawyers come in and warn her off the case in a very genteel-like way. They end up chatting about the case, and Elorna brushes it off. I'm not sure what should happen during the afternoon - the Supreme Court case comes down then - but during the evening she contacts a friend of hers from undergrad, a conspiracy nut, who meets with her at a vast, dusty library.
Elorna records their conversation with her futuristic blackberry, and when her friend wanders off for a moment to use the restroom (or something), she absently leaves it laying around somewhere conveniently nearby but not clearly visible - perhaps inside a stack of scientific journals. When friend doesn't return, she heaves an irritated sigh and goes to look for her. On the other hand, maybe she leaves it in the shelves near the journals she's reading.
And doesn't return before the janitor or library intern comes to re-shelve all the stuff she's taken out. JanIntern finds the blackberry and takes it. What shall be revealed from its contents??
This is classic sort of open-ended ending I love and a lot of readers hate. Alas. Now I have a week to write the story and post it for a flensing!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Contest - New Story
I think I've settled on a vague idea - but no more than that - for the story I want to write for the legal fiction competition I posted about a day or two ago. I want to set it in the Jemma universe and have it be from the POV of the Grienyte family lawyer (or one of them), whose mundane practice is turned upside down by her murder/disappearance/whatever. I already started writing bits of it in my head, and besides the plot, which remains a mystery to me, my main challenge is to make the protagonist a distinct character from Jemma. Actually, she could sound exactly like Jemma from the perspective of the judges, but I don't want to have One Stock Character I bring out whenever I write something original.
I'm thinking that Unnamed Lawyer is an intellectual property lawyer who specializes in magic business (which has a fancier name, after suggestions of critique group). This sounds awfully close to my own interests, but I promise that it actually works within the Jemma story. I'm thinking that Jemma pulled something along the very cliche lines of, "Send this story to the papers if I'm killed," but left something with her family's magic-specializing lawyer instead.
I already have a short tangent in mind about how the incorporation of magic into the legal codes and things finally spurred Congress or whomever to pass a law officially striking down the law against perpetuities. Okay, that might have to go, but the idea tickled me as I was thinking of it. The RAP is basically evil and complicated and stupid.
Anyway, the poor lawyer is bewildered by the wackiness that ensues, and I think that's where Unnamed Lawyer is going to differ from Jemma. Jemma was always pretty hyped up about what was going on, the point that my critique group mentioned several times that she's on the verge of a heart attack, and Unnamed Lawyer is going to be the opposite - bewildered but really laid back about it. Hey, you don't put in your obligatory three years in BigLaw in magical law only to jump out of your skin every time you get a death threat.
So that's all I have for now. Plot still needs to be figured out, but I have a character I like and a universe I vaguely know, which is pretty good progress.
EDITED to add: Check this out! Etymology of the word "prestigious": 1546, "practicing illusion or magic, deceptive," from L. præstigious "full of tricks," from præstigiæ "juggler's tricks..." Oh, that's going in there.
I'm thinking that Unnamed Lawyer is an intellectual property lawyer who specializes in magic business (which has a fancier name, after suggestions of critique group). This sounds awfully close to my own interests, but I promise that it actually works within the Jemma story. I'm thinking that Jemma pulled something along the very cliche lines of, "Send this story to the papers if I'm killed," but left something with her family's magic-specializing lawyer instead.
I already have a short tangent in mind about how the incorporation of magic into the legal codes and things finally spurred Congress or whomever to pass a law officially striking down the law against perpetuities. Okay, that might have to go, but the idea tickled me as I was thinking of it. The RAP is basically evil and complicated and stupid.
Anyway, the poor lawyer is bewildered by the wackiness that ensues, and I think that's where Unnamed Lawyer is going to differ from Jemma. Jemma was always pretty hyped up about what was going on, the point that my critique group mentioned several times that she's on the verge of a heart attack, and Unnamed Lawyer is going to be the opposite - bewildered but really laid back about it. Hey, you don't put in your obligatory three years in BigLaw in magical law only to jump out of your skin every time you get a death threat.
So that's all I have for now. Plot still needs to be figured out, but I have a character I like and a universe I vaguely know, which is pretty good progress.
EDITED to add: Check this out! Etymology of the word "prestigious": 1546, "practicing illusion or magic, deceptive," from L. præstigious "full of tricks," from præstigiæ "juggler's tricks..." Oh, that's going in there.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Contest - legal fiction
From an email in my school inbox (edited):
To Whom It May Concern:
Following are particulars of this year’s NYLJ Fiction Contest:
• National contest is open to attorneys, law professors & law students.
• Prizes: $1,000 (first place), $500 (second place), and $250 (third place). In addition, first place manuscript to be published (one time only) as special feature of the New York Law Journal edition of Friday, Dec. 4th, 2009.
• Manuscripts of 500 to 5,000 words must be works of fiction, set in the legal milieu, or with attorneys, law professors or law students as principal characters. A manuscript may be either a short story or a chapter(s) from a novel in progress.
• Deadline is Friday, Nov. 6th, 2009. Mail five hard copies of manuscript—along with author name, address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address—to (...)
• Ten finalists to be short-listed for judging. Finalists’ works to be published at NYLJ/NYLawyer.com on one-time, unpaid basis.
• Top three winners from short list to be selected by an independent panel of judges (to include author/attorney Linda Fairstein).
• Winners to be honored with surprise announcements during reception for all entrants, to be held at New York City Bar Association headquarters (42 West 44th Street, NYC 10036) on the evening of Thursday, December 3rd, 2009.
• Entrants subject to contest letter of agreement covering eligibility and author warranty of originality of fiction, and warranty that manuscript does not defame or libel real life individuals or institutions.
I can do this! Deadlines are my best friends, when it comes to writing. I'll think about this more when I'm not working.
To Whom It May Concern:
Following are particulars of this year’s NYLJ Fiction Contest:
• National contest is open to attorneys, law professors & law students.
• Prizes: $1,000 (first place), $500 (second place), and $250 (third place). In addition, first place manuscript to be published (one time only) as special feature of the New York Law Journal edition of Friday, Dec. 4th, 2009.
• Manuscripts of 500 to 5,000 words must be works of fiction, set in the legal milieu, or with attorneys, law professors or law students as principal characters. A manuscript may be either a short story or a chapter(s) from a novel in progress.
• Deadline is Friday, Nov. 6th, 2009. Mail five hard copies of manuscript—along with author name, address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address—to (...)
• Ten finalists to be short-listed for judging. Finalists’ works to be published at NYLJ/NYLawyer.com on one-time, unpaid basis.
• Top three winners from short list to be selected by an independent panel of judges (to include author/attorney Linda Fairstein).
• Winners to be honored with surprise announcements during reception for all entrants, to be held at New York City Bar Association headquarters (42 West 44th Street, NYC 10036) on the evening of Thursday, December 3rd, 2009.
• Entrants subject to contest letter of agreement covering eligibility and author warranty of originality of fiction, and warranty that manuscript does not defame or libel real life individuals or institutions.
I can do this! Deadlines are my best friends, when it comes to writing. I'll think about this more when I'm not working.
Monday, June 22, 2009
UFPE - comic progress
Today I worked and worked and erased and scribbled and typed and made shocking, wild progress to... page 2! Yes the Book of Might Have Beens is slouching along. I'm trying to be conscious of varying the layout without being obnoxious about it, in addition to keeping the story progressing at a nice clip and preventing the narrative + story-within-narrative + flashbacks from becoming too confusing.
I only had a panel and a half to draw, but then I had to write up the script for the whole thing, and my head is starting to protest all that typing.
Because I don't remember where I left off last time and because my head continues to protest, I'll just share the final caption of this very complicated page: "He must have been a child, even by human reckoning, yet his tale was as old as my race." I'm not entirely happy with that line, but it does sound like something young!MMC would say. I'll sleep on it.
I only had a panel and a half to draw, but then I had to write up the script for the whole thing, and my head is starting to protest all that typing.
Because I don't remember where I left off last time and because my head continues to protest, I'll just share the final caption of this very complicated page: "He must have been a child, even by human reckoning, yet his tale was as old as my race." I'm not entirely happy with that line, but it does sound like something young!MMC would say. I'll sleep on it.
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