Attention all fiction readers and writers! I would love to debate this with you all in person, but commenting is the next best thing.
From whence comes evil?
If darkness is the absence of light rather than its opposite, is evil then the absence, and not the oppostite, of good?
If this premise is true, what does it mean for the character development of our villains?
Are his/her actions despicable because he/she is choosing to ignore good, or because there is no choice?
Does the "bad guy" have good in him that has merely been surpressed? Or does good come back to him, after being absent, through outside influences? i.e. the "good guy"
Monday, February 18, 2013
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Stalling Part 2
For my birthday, my best friend gave me a wonderful book, A Year of Writing Dangerously - 365 Days of Inspiration & Encouragement by Barbara Abercrombie.
I picked up the book yesterday to read the corresponding lesson. What was it about? Stalling, of course! This is what it reads:
"Research for your writing can be great fun; it can also be a cozy little trap. I once spent a blissful month researching Alaska for a project I can no longer remember and never actually wrote. I became particularly fascinated with the Matanuska Valley, where vegetables grow ten times their usual size because of the abundance and slant of the sunlight. For over a month I happily made notes, thrilled that I didn't have to actually write. I just copied down facts about giant vegetables.
Libraries and the Internet can be like crack houses for the research addicted. What's hard, messy, and frustrating is writing words straight out of your own head."
Reading this felt like, "Doh! You found me hiding here in research-land!"
You might say, "Well, you're writing now. Good job!"
If only it were true. I'm not writing what I need to be writing. This post is still part of stalling. Now it's time to get to the actual work of writing!
I picked up the book yesterday to read the corresponding lesson. What was it about? Stalling, of course! This is what it reads:
"Research for your writing can be great fun; it can also be a cozy little trap. I once spent a blissful month researching Alaska for a project I can no longer remember and never actually wrote. I became particularly fascinated with the Matanuska Valley, where vegetables grow ten times their usual size because of the abundance and slant of the sunlight. For over a month I happily made notes, thrilled that I didn't have to actually write. I just copied down facts about giant vegetables.
Libraries and the Internet can be like crack houses for the research addicted. What's hard, messy, and frustrating is writing words straight out of your own head."
Reading this felt like, "Doh! You found me hiding here in research-land!"
You might say, "Well, you're writing now. Good job!"
If only it were true. I'm not writing what I need to be writing. This post is still part of stalling. Now it's time to get to the actual work of writing!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Productivity Based on Style of Clothing
Like everyone, I have days when I wake up ready to go and others in which I want to stay in my sweats all day.
It's interesting to me that my productivity level is based on how I dress. If I stay in my pajamas doing the dishes seems less and less appealing, and the feeling of wanting to go back to bed never really goes away. Conversely, when the pajamas are cast aside and real clothes put on, I feel ready to get to work.
When writing, I can usually get more work done if the "I'm dressed" mindset is present. But then I get the wiggles. That horrible feeling when your jeans have slid up or down and are just plain uncomfortable and you just have to get up and wiggle them back to the proper place.
So then I stay in my sweats for their comfort level. But no real work gets done because I just can't seems to completely wake up.
Sigh.
Which to you prefer when you're working at home: dressed or sweats?
It's interesting to me that my productivity level is based on how I dress. If I stay in my pajamas doing the dishes seems less and less appealing, and the feeling of wanting to go back to bed never really goes away. Conversely, when the pajamas are cast aside and real clothes put on, I feel ready to get to work.
When writing, I can usually get more work done if the "I'm dressed" mindset is present. But then I get the wiggles. That horrible feeling when your jeans have slid up or down and are just plain uncomfortable and you just have to get up and wiggle them back to the proper place.
So then I stay in my sweats for their comfort level. But no real work gets done because I just can't seems to completely wake up.
Sigh.
Which to you prefer when you're working at home: dressed or sweats?
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Stalling
Most of the time spent working on any given story involves more thinking than actual writing.
So I sit like the proverbial bump on a log and think about events and conversations yet to be written.
As you write you're always thinking about what is going to happen next. Suddenly an idea strikes! The idea is perfect! It fits with the rest of the story and helps to pull the plot along. There's just one catch. It means doing more research.
Many times I am grateful for these ideas that seem to pop up out of nowhere. Everyone once in a while I don't like the idea, not because it isn't good but because I'm lazy. Doing more research means taking my brain from fried to burnt. On the left you can see an example of what my brain looks like before and after research.
Right. Enough stalling. Time to get back to work. Wish me luck!
So I sit like the proverbial bump on a log and think about events and conversations yet to be written.
As you write you're always thinking about what is going to happen next. Suddenly an idea strikes! The idea is perfect! It fits with the rest of the story and helps to pull the plot along. There's just one catch. It means doing more research.
Right. Enough stalling. Time to get back to work. Wish me luck!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Current Writing Projects
Haunted
"When Sienna's boyfriend, Elam, dies in a car accident she decides to move to Chicago to escape the memories. But now she is haunted by dreams of their last day together.
Shane has been a waiter at The Pantry in Green Mountain Falls since he moved there as part if Witness Protection. But Daniel Alvarotti isn't planning on letting Shane testify against him.
Will Sienna and Shane put their fates in God's hands, or will their choices lead them to disaster?"
Beauty In Love
Two girls, as different as a book and a shoe, struggle to see their beauty through God's eyes.
The Painter
An up-and-coming painter's career is cut short when she is made blind by a car accident.
"When Sienna's boyfriend, Elam, dies in a car accident she decides to move to Chicago to escape the memories. But now she is haunted by dreams of their last day together.
Shane has been a waiter at The Pantry in Green Mountain Falls since he moved there as part if Witness Protection. But Daniel Alvarotti isn't planning on letting Shane testify against him.
Will Sienna and Shane put their fates in God's hands, or will their choices lead them to disaster?"
Beauty In Love
Two girls, as different as a book and a shoe, struggle to see their beauty through God's eyes.
The Painter
An up-and-coming painter's career is cut short when she is made blind by a car accident.
Poems From the Past
In high school I wrote a lot of poems. The ones that I still like can be seen here: http://allpoetry.com/Lenore_Monet
*Some of these aren't exactly "happy". I saved these ones because I want people to see how much Jesus has changed me. He is truly powerful!
*Some of these aren't exactly "happy". I saved these ones because I want people to see how much Jesus has changed me. He is truly powerful!
Inaugural Post
Good morning from Colorado! It is a beautiful, snowy October day.
This is the inaugural post for this blog! Thank you for taking part in this auspicious moment with me. :)
There are so many ideas bouncing around in my head and I fear that if I don't write them all down somewhere I might get lost in thought and never make it back!
"Why not just use a notebook?" you might ask. Well, I do that too, but I believe that the written word was meant to be shared. My fervent desire is that you might be blessed by these stories. If, while you read, you have laughed or paused to evaluate something in your life then I have done my job.
I hope that you enjoy your time here and that you come to think of this place as a "second home".
This is the inaugural post for this blog! Thank you for taking part in this auspicious moment with me. :)
There are so many ideas bouncing around in my head and I fear that if I don't write them all down somewhere I might get lost in thought and never make it back!
"Why not just use a notebook?" you might ask. Well, I do that too, but I believe that the written word was meant to be shared. My fervent desire is that you might be blessed by these stories. If, while you read, you have laughed or paused to evaluate something in your life then I have done my job.
I hope that you enjoy your time here and that you come to think of this place as a "second home".
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