Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Still at the cabin, reading, not-yet writing, and a link

The first piece of the title is self-explainitory, and I'm looking forward to swimming today since, just getting off of the long, Canada Day weekend, the lake has been choked with boats stirring up the water so much, its been impossible to go for any long swims without drinking half the lake :)

I read 2 books yesterday. Both excellent. Oh wait... No, I read three, and the first was entirely forgettable. Definitely not in the 'I would have this again' category.

...and I'm still trying to puzzle my way through a sticky plot point... How DOES Jay convince Kell to be his model?

Strangely enough, I think my own pantsing style can be sort of explained by this this post.

The double-helix thing... Yeah, that's how I write. It's why I don't move forward in plot until I know what the next step in the character's emotional arc will be.

...and with Kell, I still don't quite know what she wants...

I think that double-helix thing may also be why I have little to no interest in some books. When the plot seems divorced from the character arc, it really does feel like there are two different stories on the page, and with no emotional connection to explain personal motivation, the characters often seem as lively as checkers pieces, faceless, nearly interchangeable blobs of molded plastic, hopping and sliding across a board to the author's will.

Anyways, go read the linked post as its far better than anything I could type out on my phone...

8 comments:

  1. the link states using different terminology that one has a story a subplot and what the writer is really trying to say - the message. She also may be saying that character matters more than plot. Which is the case when I read a book. A book can have too much plot but never too much character.

    As for Kell - not what she wants but what she needs

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    1. I can't really copy and paste text when posting from my phone, the quote/part I meant specifically was near the end of the post, starting with:

      'Action plot and Emotion plot are like the double helix of DNA...'

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  2. I knew what you meant :D sorry about the boats. Hope you had your swim today

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    1. I jumped in the lake once... But that was about 10 minutes ago, and I was in the water less than a minute. I had company over the long weekend, and so I was out getting groceries, fuel for the law mower, propane for the barbecue, and other fun stuff today :) then, I was weeding the sand and was so dirty that I just jumped in the water to get most of the dirt off :P

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  3. we weed clay not sand. I have a post going up tomorrow not even 1000 words, I've edited it too many times.

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    1. Weeding clay sounds hard... No pun intended. During dinner I picked away at Jay & Kell a little, and think I've figured out the dynamics of the scene better.

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  4. For me, the answer to 'why write this?' is always: 'to see what the characters do'. In the case of the Ghoulish series, I finished the first draft and wanted to know what came next, what the characters did after and how it changes them. I figure if I want to, readers hopefully will as well.

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    1. I know I sure do... I've been drooling ever since you let me read your first page a while ago, the voice was just so... Delicious?

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Type me out a line of Shakespeare or a line of nonsense. Dumb-blonde-jokes & Irish jokes will make me laugh myself silly :)