The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Brriiing…it’s for you.

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

What does your cell phone’s ringtone say about you?

Suppose, for a moment, that your main character has a cell phone.

CC Fauxto_Digit

CC Fauxto_Digit

Even if it isn’t plausible for such a thing.

But what’s his/her ring tone? Why?

Her ring tone could be the latest pop song because she needs constant change, even if its in the little things in life.

His could be the standard, preloaded one because he couldn’t be bothered.

Hers could be an actual telephone ring, to be ironic.

I think Liv, the protagonist of The Continent would probably have a non descript midi file, like the one on 24.

Captain, productivity is down!

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I wish the opposite were true.

It’s summer. The sun is shining, the birds are squawking (at ungodly early hours and in the gutter outside my window) and I find that I’m having a hell of a time trying to put words to paper. My problem could be that I adore   writing, or that I think on too grand a scale. Even minor characters get full  blown character sheets, detailing what makes them tick.

I’m afraid to really jump head long into this one, tentatively called The Continent. The ideas have potential, and the main characters have been making appearances in my writing journals for three or four years now.  I want to write it, but I can’t seem to get myself to put much down on paper. There are too many back details and relationships to figure out.

Backstory here, backstory there, backstory everywhere!

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I like backstory far too much. So much that I end up working on it for months, little minute details of characters’ lives that will never see the light of day.

It leaves me drained. Writing about what happens in the actual context of a story shouldn’t be that hard, but with all the backstory I come up with…to quote my roommate, “Why don’t you just tell the backstory?” It would be a lot easier.

I should. I really should. But I’m a glutton for punishment in the creative sphere of things.

Should I just wing it? To Hell with the backstory? Or should I continue with my insane planning, as ultimately every action has a reason, even if said reason is twelve years in the past?

Dealing with Prima Donna Characters

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I’m not sure how it happened. There they were, minding their own business, being perfectly fine main characters…until they met the secondary ones.

My secondary characters have the habit of being demanding. They don’t like being secondary. They feel they are more important than the main characters. And I believe them.

Geoffrey, the subject of my never-ending-ever-revisiting fantasy story, began his life as a typical mentor type for this wide-eyed-naif Thomas. Geoffrey quickly assured me (well, it took a year or two) that he was far more interesting than Thomas who was just a typical idiot on a quest. Geoff’s a rather bored historian who runs a Boston hotel.

See also Liv. He was supposed to be the second in command to a space ship captain (who was the primary character). Liv told me that as a grumpy, I-hate-children type person, he’d be better suited as the main character. He must be the center of attention at all times. Well, they’re on terra firma and Liv is still the center of attention. Cheeky little scene stealer.

Thank God Geoff and Liv reside in different universes. I’d never get a story told with their egos butting around.

On horror and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has been poking at my mind since I watched it a week ago. As much as I try to distance myself from it, that movie keeps on returning.
I’ve been thinking about what makes a horrific villain.
Nurse Ratched is one of the top.
Her quiet nature is disquieting, especially the way that she has all of the characters enthralled. They’re so afraid of her and what she will do to them. She drives one character to suicide, makes everyone miserable…such a good villain.
I’ll need to watch this one again.