Don’t worry, I’m not abandoning this one. I’ve been thinking too much about art these days, so I’ve decided that rather than hijacking She Thinks Too Much with posts about it, I’d create a new blog devoted to the discussion of art, both viewing and creating.
You can read it here: Sheer Art Attack.
It’s very much a work-in-progress, I only created it this morning.
I haven’t a good reason for why I haven’t updated. Yes, I’ve been writing, but my story “Earthly Paradise” (the one that takes place somewhere in Italy and I so happily wrote about) is faltering. I dislike the main character. John is too…bland. Too sheepish. He just accepts things with a wide, dumb grin. At first, I thought that this would be interesting, a character who doesn’t question the strange things happening around him. It would be a refreshing change from some of my other characters who are too inquisitive for their own sakes.
“Earthly Paradise” is stalling. It feels too big to be a short story (well, it probably will be a short story, should I finish it). I usually write stories that fall below 2,500 words (gee, that’s short). But every time I set pen to paper, I find myself writing repetitive scenes. I don’t know how it’s going to end. In the past, I would laugh and say, “getting there is half the fun!” But in this case, it’s only frustrating.
I haven’t written enough varied material in this story to pick out a theme. There are different threads of a plot, featuring rivalries, experiments and the potential for double-crossing. I have an end that I would like to reach, but John isn’t gutsy enough to get to that ending.
I guess through it all, I must do one of the following:
I’m sure I’ll figure something out.
Spent the afternoon outside today, reveling in the glory that is la primavera. Italy has finally decided that it is spring, and the weather is warm, the sun shining, and the sky sans clouds.
Days like today make me glad, happy, content to be alive. That, and it fires up the creative juices. I’d like nothing more than to sit and draw or write. So, I drew some this afternoon, after returning home from a long (painful) walk. New shoes kill the feet.
Having to draw for art is getting my mind thinking about my WIP. My MC, John, is an artist (no doubt because of ALL the art I’ve seen and drawn). He looks at things and wonders how he’ll capture their essence. He’s different from my other characters (and such a sheep…). I think I’ve determined that I like him, but wish that he would be a bit stronger. I guess that may be what this story is about, in the end–John discovering his strength and learning to question things.
I think I like this story. I just hope that it finishes itself up this month. I’m getting too many introduction scenes–I think I’ve had John introduce himself three separate times. Not having an end in sight is a touch disheartening, but I suppose I just need to enjoy the ride.
I started work on a new short story. It’s…different from what I usually write. For one, I don’t know how its going to end (usually when I write, I have an idea of where its going to end up). I started with an image that popped into my mind, and from there let the twists and turns develop. But now, about twelve pages in, I finally have a view of what the main character’s goal might be. But it could change.
As always, I’m concerned about my influences being a mite too obvious. This piece is feeling a bit Prisoner-esque, hopefully minus the epic mental trip of the finale (and I don’t mean imply that this little story is even close to the same level as The Prisoner). Oh well.
I enjoy writing this story. The main character strikes me as a bit of an idiot, but his antagonists(?) are wonderfully enigmatic. I like peeling away the layers of the characters and discovering the world. I doubt it will be a very polished piece, but I feel like there’s potential in it.
And it takes place in Italy. Finally. I’ve been here two months–you would think that by now I would have set all of my short stories here!
Back in December, I posted a list of my writing goals for 2010. First on the list was “Write one(+) short story a month”. Well, it’s a quarter of the way through the year, and I’ve managed that.
Its a minor victory, given that it accounts for only four short stories (okay, one isn’t completed yet, but it will be done today). The stories are all in first draft form, but given some polishing, and two have the potential to be quite good, one good, and one is a joke so I’m not too concerned with how that turns out. With my luck, the joke one will be the best of them all.
As for the goal of writing another novel, two of my short stories are pieces that form part of my mired-in-research RAF short story/novel, tentatively titled “Burning Blue.” So I’m off to a start of sorts, but working at a snail’s pace just the same. I’ve been mapping out a few ideas for a light fantasy piece, which could possibly become a novella. For that one, I have characters I enjoy writing, a couple of settings…as always, lacking a plot.
There are still nine months left in the year; hopefully I’ll have at least nine more short stories, and (with hope) a first draft of a novella.
As for reading more…that will happen this summer! But I’m nearly finished with The Prince by Machiavelli, which I decided to read for fun.
I was drawing in the Academmia the other day, when I overheard a girl say to her friend, “Oh Sarah! You want to study art, you should do it here!”
Of course, they were standing right behind me.
It’s so interesting, to imagine how I (or another art student) could inspire another to do something. Years from now, when that girl is old enough to go to college, will she remember seeing art students bent over their sketchpads, cursing Michelangelo for creating something so perfect?
Which brings me to my writing thoughts.
What inspires our characters to act? Is it a chance encounter, as mine with young Sarah may prove to be? Or are their actions planned for them by others?
Our characters don’t exist in vacuums (something I need to work on). They have motivations and things pique their interest, too. Their own little eccentricities, which may or may not ever see the light of day.
On the inspiration front, take my characters Griffin and Pryce. Both are doctors, both trained at the same university. But what brought them to this school?
For Griffin, it was carrying on the family trade. Both his father and grandfather were physicians, and both trained at the University of Edinburgh. As Griffin is both a native of the city, and continuing the tradition, it was a no-brainer.
Pryce, on the other hand, always enjoyed science and falls into the “I want to help people!” branch. He longs to escape his hometown, and ends up in Edinburgh.
So, there we go. Two different means to reaching the same end.
Ned Wolfe 