Year: 2009

How I’m going about writing the WIP, or, how not to

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Well, at the request of Sputnitsa, I’m going to write about how I’m writing the WIP.

Procrastination. Sort of. Since my library has a very tiny selection of books that even pertain to Britain in general during WWII, I’m doing what research I can. If I find something interesting, I write it down in my handy-dandy notebook (I’m so thankful I took a few notes during my reading of the Time Life book on The Resistance).

But I’m being semi-productive and reading WWII history books, like Band of Brothers. I did find a couple of things that may be useful.

I’ve thrown myself into my research (ha, really just dipped a toe in to see how the water is). I’m hoping that with more background information, the story will get fleshed out. This’ll be a lot easier when I return to school; I’ll have JSTOR and other sites available to me.

My plot, alas, is bare bones. I know what I want to happen. I wrote the basic skeleton down, it’s literally a paragraph. I’m hoping that once my research really turns up some gems, I’ll have a better idea.

Characters are, at the moment, few and far between. There’s Jim, the MC, who is rather…bland. I know a few details about him, but he really hasn’t been given a chance to show his true colors.

And through it all, I’m writing little scenes to get in the swing of things. I’ve determined a few details that might help me research along the way, for example, Jim pilots a Spitfire. Now, I just need to find various squadrons that flew Spitfires, what their missions were, etc. From there, I’ll be able to determine more of the specifics, such as where he gets gunned down.

So there you go. A brief explanation of where I am, WIP wise. I’ll probably be mired in research for a few more months; I’m hoping to have enough basic information to get a first draft banged out during National Novel Writing Month. Except this time, I might take my time.

Of course, I love research very very much, so I may just get carried away. Which is always a problem.

I love booksales!

What's On the Bookshelf?

I think I’ve already said how much I love booksales. I went to another today and picked up Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for fifty cents. You can’t turn that down.

I also got a twenty-eight story omnibus of Roald Dahl’s adult stories…woohoo!

The great thing about booksales (at least in my community) is that they also benefit the library. Old books for cheap, we load up on ’em, and then give them back to be sold once again. I rarely buy new books (stingy poor college student), so fifty cent paperbacks and one dollar hard covers is the way to go.

Why I Belong in Literary Hell

General Geekiness

Heh, I’m so rotting in literary hell for this. Which level, I’m not quite sure.

Movies I Prefer to the Books They’re Based On:

Atonement. Loved the movie. I thought it was beautifully shot, lovely costumes, great soundtrack, good acting. In the book? Well, I was bored stiff. I didn’t care for McEwan’s writing style; it was too flowery and overly descriptive for my liking.

The Princess Bride. The movie is so classic, it just wins. And in the book, the author’s butting in is annoying.

The Princess Diaries. The book doesn’t have Julie Andrews.

Bridget Jones’s Diary. Colin Firth + Hugh Grant + wimp fight> book entertainment value. I enjoyed the book. Wimp fight on screen is just awesome.

And the ultimate reason why I belong in literary hell…

Pride and Prejudice. Either the BBC one or the 2005 one. Try as I may, I just can’t stomach Jane Austen. I like her story lines. I like her characters. I dislike her writing style. I realize that she lived/wrote during the Regency so her style isn’t exactly modern. But there are PLENTY of books I enjoy from before or just after that time period.

Language problem: SOLVED. At least temporarily.

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

As my library has minimal resources on the RAF (or the British part of WWII at all), I decided to do some reading about WWII from the American point of view.

What did I learn from Band of Brothers?

A lot of Dutch people spoke English. HAH. Problem solved!

I also learned that the British army had daily rum rations and horrible food.

And in the US Army, only paratroopers could blouse their trousers (stick ’em in the tops of boots). Ah, the minor details that add so much color.

Book recommendations, or, why I’m not terribly good at giving them to most girls

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters, What's On the Bookshelf?

If you hadn’t gathered by the name of the blog, my name, or the little cartoon, I’m a girl.

And I read constantly.

I’ve been asked on numerous occasions, “Gee, Beth, you like to read. What would you suggest that I/my daughter read?” by girls, usually a couple of years younger than I (or geared for girls younger than I).

“Well,” I ask, “what do[es] you/she like to read?”

Inevitably the answer is “Nothing” or “Twilight/Gossip Girl.”

“Urm,” says I, “I liked to read Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin Series when I was a freshman in high school. Y’know, Napoleonic war stuff.”

“What else did you like?” they ask, hoping for something that does not feature small print, and a ship of the line on the cover.

“Ray Bradbury. Um, historical mysteries. Not really much girly stuff. I did read Meg Cabot in middle school, though. Maybe that?”