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May. 10th, 2023 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amado1Today I started my day off with a double-interview of two really sweet kids! I let them play alone in the game room for an hour while I interviewed their mom, then I came in to see what they were doing ... the boy had cobbled together an impressively detailed Egyptian tomb using LEGOs from a random assortment, and no pictures/references to help him ... like, extremely pretty, balanced, complex. He's only seven, I was really impressed. And the girl had sketched out a new interior design for the game room with modern furniture! I love these two already.
Yesterday we had a team lunch where one member decided to stay home, and the other two discussed whether he's seemed depressed lately ... cute that they care, but mortifying! I clammed up XD I don't think I spoke at all for the whole lunch, unless directly spoken to. At one point, one of my younger coworkers asked, "What's your life goal, everybody? I mean I assume you don't want to just work at a non-profit forever."
I wouldn't mind it. It's a better job than I ever expected for someone in my family. He turned to me and said, "Obviously you want to be an author!" and that surprised me too XD I don't think full-time writing is in the cards for me, and I don't think I would enjoy your typical "pump out a book every eight months according to your editor's demands" schedule. So that clammed me up too. Personal questions! "What's your life goal, what's your summer goal..." When they prompted me to ask some questions, I said, "Have you ever seen Mamma Mia?" and "When you mix two sodas at a fountain, which two sodas do you mix?"
(Their answers: Strawberry syrup + Sprite, and Mountain Dew + Mountain Dew Red. My answer: Orange Fanta + Sprite).
My coworker bought lunch for all of us, which was sweet, especially because I'm $35 in the red and it's still two weeks till pay day! Tomorrow we have softball, and then on Friday we have a toga party. In reality I'm not too much older than my coworkers but I feel like they're a different species sometimes. They always do Thirsty Thursdays, margaritas on Friday, house parties Friday night, clubbing on Saturday... even softball is a drinking affair XD One of my coworkers said he's bringing a cooler of White Claws, which I've never tried, because iirc they came out after I'd gone through the early-20s heavy-drinking phase.
Also yesterday, I read a good 50% of Orson Scott Card's guide to writing characters. His interpretation of classic movies/books is sometimes surprisingly shallow, and ofc it's from 1988 and it's stuffed with wince-inducing statements like "blacks have fleshier lips" and "everyone knows the Navaho Indians are heavy-bodied" ... and the stereotypes and general weirdness extend to women (in general) and gay men as well. But it's also got a lot of fun, solid writing advice that actually got my mind working, unlike a lot of other writing guides I've poked through. Lots of it is common-sense stuff that -- regardless -- is easy to forget over time. Like "if your character is crying, your audience probably isn't", or "the first idea you come up with is always a cliche".
In particular I liked his method of teasing out characters and plots. Example:
Let's do a story about a princess locked in a tower, guarded by a dragon --> but what if it's modern times? --> she could be a kidnap victim on the city streets --> or maybe she's just been sent to live with her aunt and uncle --> what are they like? maybe her aunt works all day and her uncle is a lazy slob who sits around the house doing nothing --> do they have kids? younger, so she has to babysit them? older, so they tease her and refuse to play? --> where do they live? --> on a beach? ok so maybe there's a mysterious neighbor who walks alone on the beach every day at 10 a.m. --> in the woods? maybe there are migrant workers there, and our protagonist becomes friends with one --> are there any dead characters who should play a role? --> what about the grandma? the uncle's mother, and also the mother of our hero's dad? --> what was she like? --> what if she always praised the girl's dad and criticized the uncle? --> what if originally the girl agrees with the dead grandmother's assessment? --> her uncle IS lazy, mean, unambitious --> but gradually she grows to see her uncle's good traits --> she becomes fruitlessly angry at an old dead woman she can never confront --> she starts to see how her dead grandmother has affected both her uncle and her father, and by extension, her --> since she can't confront Grandma, her anger explodes in a confrontation with her uncle --> she accuses him of turning Grandma's criticisms into a self-fulfilling prophecy --> he's allowed all those hurtful insults to become the truth.
I thought that was a particularly strong example! A lot of his other exercises didn't resonate with me, but this one is a book I'd love to read. It reminds me of those 70s-era kids' books, the ones with flawed, lonely kids and complex adults.
I had a frustrating conversation about my novella with Sho. We were discussing areas to expand upon and a lot of Sho's suggestions struck me as melodramatic: What if Peter is afraid to pursue a relationship with David because he had a gay lover who died of AIDS? What if, growing up in London during the blitz, Peter's entire schoolhouse was bombed while he was home sick, and all the other kids died? What if David's wife commits suicide?
I didn't like any of those. Sho pointed out a man of Peter's generation would UNDOUBTEDLY have trauma from the blitz, and as a gay man he'd undoubtedly be touched by AIDS too ... yes, true, but does that mean I have to write about it? If it's absolutely necessary, then I'd rather just change Peter's age or move him out of London. What if he grew up in a tiny town way up north? What if he was stuck at home caring for a sick mother during the 80s and didn't date at all? A man of David's age would undoubtedly have experience with Vietnam but there was no suggestion to address his service record or include a subplot about his PTSD or the war crimes he took part in.
The hidden message here is probably "YOUR STORY IS BORING AS FUCK!! ADD SOME DAMN DRAMA!" XD
I offered up some alternatives:
What if Peter had a lover, but then his mom got sick and he had to go home to care for her? He abandoned his lover AND the theater, and then his mom just ... didn't die, didn't get better, and he got stuck caring for her with his life on hold for 10 years.
What if Peter's issues don't stem from loss, but from a fear of being seen? Maybe his love for theater AND his decision to stay closeted both stem from the same event. What if there was a popular boy in school who Peter had a crush on, and that boy joined the drama club and bragged about kissing all the prettiest girls? Peter would have a safe, "macho" excuse to join, but then he'd discover a real talent and passion for theater. It would ignite his competitiveness ... and his insecurities. He'd want to take his crush down and prove he's the most talented kid in the program. Maybe he spreads a rumor that this other kid is gay, and it culminates in a horrible group assault, where Peter watches as this kid is humiliated and bullied ... and has to live with that for the rest of his life.
Or it could go back further. He grew up in the blitz -- but that means his dad was enlistment age. What if Peter's dad was a conscientious objector and everyone in town jeered at him for it, called him weak, cowardly, effeminate. What if eventually Peter's dad caved to the pressure and did enlist, only to die shortly afterward in a shameful way: shot in the back while running from battle; panicking and getting his entire squad killed; committing suicide rather than fight? So now Peter learns that perception is RIGHT -- his neighbors saw his dad as weak and cowardly, and they were (in Peter's mind) totally correct. Hence his insecurities, his need to control the public's perception of him and to appear macho and competent and stoic at all times.
...Sho did not particularly like these options XD They're still pushing for at least some inclusion of AIDS. I have no interest in writing that. My roommate liked these options, but said the whole 'conscientious objector dad' thing is just too much for this story, and he's right -- it's interesting, but I might have to save it for a different (kinkier) story. (Doesn't it just provide perfect fodder for some messed-up kinky shit?)
Anyway, today I'm rewriting the novella from the beginning. I cut the prologue scene and started in with an expanded, smoother version of Peter's introduction to the show. I made some great notes last night that I can't wait to write! I will still use anything that works, instead of rewriting totally from scratch, but a lot of it was compressed, abridged, so I expect I'll rewrite the vast majority. Plus that will be better, to make sure the tone and characterization don't flip-flop.
Yesterday we had a team lunch where one member decided to stay home, and the other two discussed whether he's seemed depressed lately ... cute that they care, but mortifying! I clammed up XD I don't think I spoke at all for the whole lunch, unless directly spoken to. At one point, one of my younger coworkers asked, "What's your life goal, everybody? I mean I assume you don't want to just work at a non-profit forever."
I wouldn't mind it. It's a better job than I ever expected for someone in my family. He turned to me and said, "Obviously you want to be an author!" and that surprised me too XD I don't think full-time writing is in the cards for me, and I don't think I would enjoy your typical "pump out a book every eight months according to your editor's demands" schedule. So that clammed me up too. Personal questions! "What's your life goal, what's your summer goal..." When they prompted me to ask some questions, I said, "Have you ever seen Mamma Mia?" and "When you mix two sodas at a fountain, which two sodas do you mix?"
(Their answers: Strawberry syrup + Sprite, and Mountain Dew + Mountain Dew Red. My answer: Orange Fanta + Sprite).
My coworker bought lunch for all of us, which was sweet, especially because I'm $35 in the red and it's still two weeks till pay day! Tomorrow we have softball, and then on Friday we have a toga party. In reality I'm not too much older than my coworkers but I feel like they're a different species sometimes. They always do Thirsty Thursdays, margaritas on Friday, house parties Friday night, clubbing on Saturday... even softball is a drinking affair XD One of my coworkers said he's bringing a cooler of White Claws, which I've never tried, because iirc they came out after I'd gone through the early-20s heavy-drinking phase.
Also yesterday, I read a good 50% of Orson Scott Card's guide to writing characters. His interpretation of classic movies/books is sometimes surprisingly shallow, and ofc it's from 1988 and it's stuffed with wince-inducing statements like "blacks have fleshier lips" and "everyone knows the Navaho Indians are heavy-bodied" ... and the stereotypes and general weirdness extend to women (in general) and gay men as well. But it's also got a lot of fun, solid writing advice that actually got my mind working, unlike a lot of other writing guides I've poked through. Lots of it is common-sense stuff that -- regardless -- is easy to forget over time. Like "if your character is crying, your audience probably isn't", or "the first idea you come up with is always a cliche".
In particular I liked his method of teasing out characters and plots. Example:
Let's do a story about a princess locked in a tower, guarded by a dragon --> but what if it's modern times? --> she could be a kidnap victim on the city streets --> or maybe she's just been sent to live with her aunt and uncle --> what are they like? maybe her aunt works all day and her uncle is a lazy slob who sits around the house doing nothing --> do they have kids? younger, so she has to babysit them? older, so they tease her and refuse to play? --> where do they live? --> on a beach? ok so maybe there's a mysterious neighbor who walks alone on the beach every day at 10 a.m. --> in the woods? maybe there are migrant workers there, and our protagonist becomes friends with one --> are there any dead characters who should play a role? --> what about the grandma? the uncle's mother, and also the mother of our hero's dad? --> what was she like? --> what if she always praised the girl's dad and criticized the uncle? --> what if originally the girl agrees with the dead grandmother's assessment? --> her uncle IS lazy, mean, unambitious --> but gradually she grows to see her uncle's good traits --> she becomes fruitlessly angry at an old dead woman she can never confront --> she starts to see how her dead grandmother has affected both her uncle and her father, and by extension, her --> since she can't confront Grandma, her anger explodes in a confrontation with her uncle --> she accuses him of turning Grandma's criticisms into a self-fulfilling prophecy --> he's allowed all those hurtful insults to become the truth.
I thought that was a particularly strong example! A lot of his other exercises didn't resonate with me, but this one is a book I'd love to read. It reminds me of those 70s-era kids' books, the ones with flawed, lonely kids and complex adults.
I had a frustrating conversation about my novella with Sho. We were discussing areas to expand upon and a lot of Sho's suggestions struck me as melodramatic: What if Peter is afraid to pursue a relationship with David because he had a gay lover who died of AIDS? What if, growing up in London during the blitz, Peter's entire schoolhouse was bombed while he was home sick, and all the other kids died? What if David's wife commits suicide?
I didn't like any of those. Sho pointed out a man of Peter's generation would UNDOUBTEDLY have trauma from the blitz, and as a gay man he'd undoubtedly be touched by AIDS too ... yes, true, but does that mean I have to write about it? If it's absolutely necessary, then I'd rather just change Peter's age or move him out of London. What if he grew up in a tiny town way up north? What if he was stuck at home caring for a sick mother during the 80s and didn't date at all? A man of David's age would undoubtedly have experience with Vietnam but there was no suggestion to address his service record or include a subplot about his PTSD or the war crimes he took part in.
The hidden message here is probably "YOUR STORY IS BORING AS FUCK!! ADD SOME DAMN DRAMA!" XD
I offered up some alternatives:
What if Peter had a lover, but then his mom got sick and he had to go home to care for her? He abandoned his lover AND the theater, and then his mom just ... didn't die, didn't get better, and he got stuck caring for her with his life on hold for 10 years.
What if Peter's issues don't stem from loss, but from a fear of being seen? Maybe his love for theater AND his decision to stay closeted both stem from the same event. What if there was a popular boy in school who Peter had a crush on, and that boy joined the drama club and bragged about kissing all the prettiest girls? Peter would have a safe, "macho" excuse to join, but then he'd discover a real talent and passion for theater. It would ignite his competitiveness ... and his insecurities. He'd want to take his crush down and prove he's the most talented kid in the program. Maybe he spreads a rumor that this other kid is gay, and it culminates in a horrible group assault, where Peter watches as this kid is humiliated and bullied ... and has to live with that for the rest of his life.
Or it could go back further. He grew up in the blitz -- but that means his dad was enlistment age. What if Peter's dad was a conscientious objector and everyone in town jeered at him for it, called him weak, cowardly, effeminate. What if eventually Peter's dad caved to the pressure and did enlist, only to die shortly afterward in a shameful way: shot in the back while running from battle; panicking and getting his entire squad killed; committing suicide rather than fight? So now Peter learns that perception is RIGHT -- his neighbors saw his dad as weak and cowardly, and they were (in Peter's mind) totally correct. Hence his insecurities, his need to control the public's perception of him and to appear macho and competent and stoic at all times.
...Sho did not particularly like these options XD They're still pushing for at least some inclusion of AIDS. I have no interest in writing that. My roommate liked these options, but said the whole 'conscientious objector dad' thing is just too much for this story, and he's right -- it's interesting, but I might have to save it for a different (kinkier) story. (Doesn't it just provide perfect fodder for some messed-up kinky shit?)
Anyway, today I'm rewriting the novella from the beginning. I cut the prologue scene and started in with an expanded, smoother version of Peter's introduction to the show. I made some great notes last night that I can't wait to write! I will still use anything that works, instead of rewriting totally from scratch, but a lot of it was compressed, abridged, so I expect I'll rewrite the vast majority. Plus that will be better, to make sure the tone and characterization don't flip-flop.
