I may have mentioned these before, during one of my writing classes, but I guess I'll post about it again. It's an exercise we did a couple times up at the writer's retreat.
They called it "stream of consciousness." You start with a short phrase (we used "In the woods, I..." and "I always see..."). Then you begin writing. You have a time limit. Maybe only two minutes, maybe ten. And during that time, you write constantly. Just start, and continue to put down anything that comes into your head. No breaks! You can get some interesting stuff this way. And it's a good thing to do when you don't know what else to write.
Any other ideas for starter phrases?
~*~
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Emotions
So, something I thought would be fun.
Recently I've started flipping through some of my manga in search of specific expressions made by the characters. Since I'm weird and have certain ones in mind, some of them take a long time to track down.
I've been thinking of sticking them into blog posts occasionally, just as a random, fun emphasis for the point I'm trying to make. I just attempted one in the last blog post - Watanuki freaking out about something or other.
I have one of Kenshin's startled face. Kaoru making this adorable, pathetic sobbing face. Ed blowing up. Al and Fai making cat faces. And I'll probably add more to it eventually. When I think of more good expressions.
Recently I've started flipping through some of my manga in search of specific expressions made by the characters. Since I'm weird and have certain ones in mind, some of them take a long time to track down.
I've been thinking of sticking them into blog posts occasionally, just as a random, fun emphasis for the point I'm trying to make. I just attempted one in the last blog post - Watanuki freaking out about something or other.
I have one of Kenshin's startled face. Kaoru making this adorable, pathetic sobbing face. Ed blowing up. Al and Fai making cat faces. And I'll probably add more to it eventually. When I think of more good expressions.
Oh family, how you eat time
So, Crystal asked me how I'm always so busy.
Since that was a question I really wanted to know the answer too, I've been thinking about it. And the answer is... it's completely Mom's fault.
And now I shall prove it.
Starting last Thursday.
Me: "Okay. I have until next Friday until my cousins come to visit from Portland. I'll be spending most of that week with them. Tomorrow morning, I'm helping Grandma and Grandpa. And then in the afternoon I volunteer. Saturday I'm helping my aunt and uncle all day. Sunday I do my weekly chores, but then my aunt and uncle are coming over. That still leaves four days free. So, I'll use one of them to plan my party!"
Then on Friday.
Mom: "We're going to Grandma and Grandpa's on Thursday."
Saturday
Mom: "Sita thought you could volunteer at the used book store Monday to earn some store credit."
Me: "Sure, okay. I am addicted to used bookstores, after all."
Tuesday morning
Me: "Okay! I have one free day before the party! Time to work on some of my projects!"
Not so. Early that morning:
Mom: "Since this is your only free day for the next two weeks, you can paint the garage door.
Me:
Yeah, so even in the middle of summer, I get pretty swamped. This is pretty much how things go every week, though the activities are always different.
I have been getting some of my own stuff done. If you say you have no time to do stuff, then you never will. So I make sure to work on my own projects. Although I'm falling behind on writing again. Sigh.
But it's hard to plan stuff with friends. TT^TT Because on all the days that I have nothing planned... I don't feel like doing anything because so much else is going on!
Fact of the day: Daddy long legs have very potent poison, but their mouths are so small that they could never bite a human being.
Since that was a question I really wanted to know the answer too, I've been thinking about it. And the answer is... it's completely Mom's fault.
And now I shall prove it.
Starting last Thursday.
Me: "Okay. I have until next Friday until my cousins come to visit from Portland. I'll be spending most of that week with them. Tomorrow morning, I'm helping Grandma and Grandpa. And then in the afternoon I volunteer. Saturday I'm helping my aunt and uncle all day. Sunday I do my weekly chores, but then my aunt and uncle are coming over. That still leaves four days free. So, I'll use one of them to plan my party!"
Then on Friday.
Mom: "We're going to Grandma and Grandpa's on Thursday."
Saturday
Mom: "Sita thought you could volunteer at the used book store Monday to earn some store credit."
Me: "Sure, okay. I am addicted to used bookstores, after all."
Tuesday morning
Me: "Okay! I have one free day before the party! Time to work on some of my projects!"
Not so. Early that morning:
Mom: "Since this is your only free day for the next two weeks, you can paint the garage door.
Me:
Yeah, so even in the middle of summer, I get pretty swamped. This is pretty much how things go every week, though the activities are always different.
I have been getting some of my own stuff done. If you say you have no time to do stuff, then you never will. So I make sure to work on my own projects. Although I'm falling behind on writing again. Sigh.
But it's hard to plan stuff with friends. TT^TT Because on all the days that I have nothing planned... I don't feel like doing anything because so much else is going on!
Fact of the day: Daddy long legs have very potent poison, but their mouths are so small that they could never bite a human being.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Query Letters
Here's another sheet I thought would be helpful to share.
So, as you may or may not know, when you submit a work of fiction to an agent, you need to start by sending them a query letter. It's really easy to find information about them online, so I'll let you look it up. I doubt I could explain them very well anyway. But basically, you get one page in which to sell your work to the agent and convince them that you're better than the hundreds of other requests they get.
If you do something wrong, they'll drop your letter and move on to the next one.
Not easy to do.
There was a sample of an excellent query letter, but apparently I'm not supposed to share it (Ask me if you want me to show you though).
But I'll post the list of what NOT to do.
Address the letter to the agent. Don't address it "to whom it may concern" or some such thing. And don't send mass messages to many agents at once.
Try to get across that you actually RESEARCHED agents, and they you've tried hard to pick out the right agent for your work.
So, as you may or may not know, when you submit a work of fiction to an agent, you need to start by sending them a query letter. It's really easy to find information about them online, so I'll let you look it up. I doubt I could explain them very well anyway. But basically, you get one page in which to sell your work to the agent and convince them that you're better than the hundreds of other requests they get.
If you do something wrong, they'll drop your letter and move on to the next one.
Not easy to do.
There was a sample of an excellent query letter, but apparently I'm not supposed to share it (Ask me if you want me to show you though).
But I'll post the list of what NOT to do.
Address the letter to the agent. Don't address it "to whom it may concern" or some such thing. And don't send mass messages to many agents at once.
Try to get across that you actually RESEARCHED agents, and they you've tried hard to pick out the right agent for your work.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
First Sentences
Okay, here's one of the fliers we got at the Writer's Retreat.
When the agent came in and talked to us, she handed out a couple papers. I'll write about this one today, and probably the other one tomorrow.
This one is about first sentences in a story (AKA what you should or should not do to get an agent's attention if they ask for a writing sample).
Good first sentences.
Bad first sentences.
When the agent came in and talked to us, she handed out a couple papers. I'll write about this one today, and probably the other one tomorrow.
This one is about first sentences in a story (AKA what you should or should not do to get an agent's attention if they ask for a writing sample).
Good first sentences.
Bad first sentences.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Rules
Okay. I'll do the more informative posts starting tomorrow. I want to do the fun one today.
This was one of our exercises on the second day. There were about 20 pictures spread out over the floor. All of us picked one, and started writing about it.
I found this picture really awesome.
And then I found out that it was on the internet. I'm guessing that this is the original site.
I like these sorts of pictures where things aren't quite what they seem. And this one's really creative.
So, here's the thing I wrote. I'm just going to tweak it a bit and add in line breaks so that it's a poem. Cause it's basically a poem anyway.
Everything is unraveling.
The edges are fraying,
And piece by piece,
Things fall apart.
The very lines
Of the page on which I write
Wrinkle and slide
To the floor,
A tangle of blue thread.
Those lines
That usually guide my pen
And harness my words,
Slipping away,
Leaving nothing but whiteness
And the homeless scratches of ink,
Made by a small bird
Digging for ideas
Among the fallen leaves of her mind.
All rules,
All lines guiding us,
Blow away in the wind
And leave me alone
With nothing
But the leaves,
The scratches of ink,
And the broken pieces of a world crumbling apart.
It's funny, because I only noticed after I wrote it that the title of the picture was "Rules." Very appropriate.
My Dad just finished reading this about an hour ago. And he said "It's so sad!" and started implying that all the dark stuff I read for school was rubbing off on me. Which I retorted: "It's about how people freak out when their guidelines disappear, and they have nothing to follow, when in reality those guidelines are only lines on a page."
And just now, I started playing around, and realized that I could do this! It lines up almost perfectly!
I don't have a Flickr account, so I can't leave a comment asking for permission to use the guy's photo. I also wanted to show him what I did with it...\
Maybe Nick will send the message for me. I know he has Flickr.
This was one of our exercises on the second day. There were about 20 pictures spread out over the floor. All of us picked one, and started writing about it.
I found this picture really awesome.
And then I found out that it was on the internet. I'm guessing that this is the original site.
I like these sorts of pictures where things aren't quite what they seem. And this one's really creative.
So, here's the thing I wrote. I'm just going to tweak it a bit and add in line breaks so that it's a poem. Cause it's basically a poem anyway.
Everything is unraveling.
The edges are fraying,
And piece by piece,
Things fall apart.
The very lines
Of the page on which I write
Wrinkle and slide
To the floor,
A tangle of blue thread.
Those lines
That usually guide my pen
And harness my words,
Slipping away,
Leaving nothing but whiteness
And the homeless scratches of ink,
Made by a small bird
Digging for ideas
Among the fallen leaves of her mind.
All rules,
All lines guiding us,
Blow away in the wind
And leave me alone
With nothing
But the leaves,
The scratches of ink,
And the broken pieces of a world crumbling apart.
It's funny, because I only noticed after I wrote it that the title of the picture was "Rules." Very appropriate.
My Dad just finished reading this about an hour ago. And he said "It's so sad!" and started implying that all the dark stuff I read for school was rubbing off on me. Which I retorted: "It's about how people freak out when their guidelines disappear, and they have nothing to follow, when in reality those guidelines are only lines on a page."
And just now, I started playing around, and realized that I could do this! It lines up almost perfectly!
I don't have a Flickr account, so I can't leave a comment asking for permission to use the guy's photo. I also wanted to show him what I did with it...\
Maybe Nick will send the message for me. I know he has Flickr.
More reviews...?
After that massive review post a little while ago, I wasn't planning on reviewing anything for a while.
Except I've just watched a few of the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs. I'd heard they were depressing, but I was curious about them anyway.
I saw the Kenshin backstory one with Tomoe. The animation was much nicer than the main series. And yeah, it was depressing. But this part, at least, was in the books too. Although I'm petty certain that Tomoe didn't cut Kenshin's face with a knife. That was... weird. I don't have that specific book in the series, so there's no easy way for me to look it up, but I remember that the knife fell and hit him, or something?
Also, I noticed that the battle scenes were much better. I don't mean bloodier (which they most definitely were) but they actually showed all of the moves and blows and parries. In the main anime, from what I've seen so far, a lot of it is dramatic still-shots and lines across the screen to indicate the sword slices.
But then, about five minutes ago, I finished watching the first episode of the other OVA, which apparently takes place after the books end.
Duuuude...
Sooo bleak.
The summaries have cut out every fun thing about the series. They're taking all of the sad, depressing parts from the entire series, and cramming them down your throat all at once. Jeez. There's none of the fun Kenshin. He's just gloomy and depressed. The whole time.
Oh well. While I'm at it. I'll be brief in looking at the Pokémon Adventures manga. Recently I tried to catch up with it, since I didn't look at it for ages (since there's 10 random chapters missing that they never put back up, so I had to wait for the books to come out in America so I could get past that gap). The Diamond/Pearl/Platinum one's pretty fun. They spent most of the series working with about 2 Pokémon each. But it annoyed me how right around the Spear Pillar battle, they suddenly caught the rest of their teams at the same time. It wasn't spread out at all. They just chucked them at you all at once, and we weren't really introduced to any of them.
And the Black/White manga... Kinda annoying. First of all, N's really creepy, and he doesn't behave like he did in the games. Plus, in the games, he says that Pokémon battles can hurt Pokémon, and he doesn't really enjoy them much. But in the manga, he says that Pokémon can only be happy when they're fighting. What the hell?
And then the series of events... dude, they cut out huge hunks of events. They just mention them later on. I can understand if they cut out gym battles. I might even buy it if they cut out evolutions. But they've also cut out events that are important to the development of the plot. If you've played the games, then you can understand what happened. But usually they're so detailed. I actually checked on a couple different websites to see if some chapters got skipped, but both sites had the same thing. Grumble. I'm still hoping that I've just missed some of it.
(They're releasing these books in America right now, but they're so small. There' maybe 1 chapter per book, or something? Why didn't they just release them in the normal size manga? Even if I liked this arc, I wouldn't buy these. I'd need to buy five times as many books.)
Hmm. I think watching that OVA has made me annoyed.
Change the topic to something good!~
I just finished reading the fourth Twelve Kingdoms book no the way home from the Writer's Retreat. It's definitely good! Especially after reading so many of those Limyaael's Rants on fantasy writing (still haven't read them all). I just read the rant about people from our world traveling to a fantasy world, and the author pretty much addressed all the stuff Limyaael complains about. The world is very interesting and well-developed. Especially politically, which is something that I have trouble developing.
I gotta say, the 4th book (3rd season of the anime, with Suzu and Shoukei) has got to be my favorite. The way that the friendship between the three girls slowly develops, and the whole political struggle thing. There are some awesome moments in this book. Like when Yoko tells Suzu and Shoukei who she is. And when Yoko and Keiki ride out to confront the armies, and the general guy goes "Hooooly krayp, I really screwed up."
Okay. I'll scan a couple of the things from the workshop, and probably post them right now. I shall bury this whiney review post for you. You can have the fact of the day then.
Except I've just watched a few of the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs. I'd heard they were depressing, but I was curious about them anyway.
I saw the Kenshin backstory one with Tomoe. The animation was much nicer than the main series. And yeah, it was depressing. But this part, at least, was in the books too. Although I'm petty certain that Tomoe didn't cut Kenshin's face with a knife. That was... weird. I don't have that specific book in the series, so there's no easy way for me to look it up, but I remember that the knife fell and hit him, or something?
Also, I noticed that the battle scenes were much better. I don't mean bloodier (which they most definitely were) but they actually showed all of the moves and blows and parries. In the main anime, from what I've seen so far, a lot of it is dramatic still-shots and lines across the screen to indicate the sword slices.
But then, about five minutes ago, I finished watching the first episode of the other OVA, which apparently takes place after the books end.
Duuuude...
Sooo bleak.
The summaries have cut out every fun thing about the series. They're taking all of the sad, depressing parts from the entire series, and cramming them down your throat all at once. Jeez. There's none of the fun Kenshin. He's just gloomy and depressed. The whole time.
Oh well. While I'm at it. I'll be brief in looking at the Pokémon Adventures manga. Recently I tried to catch up with it, since I didn't look at it for ages (since there's 10 random chapters missing that they never put back up, so I had to wait for the books to come out in America so I could get past that gap). The Diamond/Pearl/Platinum one's pretty fun. They spent most of the series working with about 2 Pokémon each. But it annoyed me how right around the Spear Pillar battle, they suddenly caught the rest of their teams at the same time. It wasn't spread out at all. They just chucked them at you all at once, and we weren't really introduced to any of them.
And the Black/White manga... Kinda annoying. First of all, N's really creepy, and he doesn't behave like he did in the games. Plus, in the games, he says that Pokémon battles can hurt Pokémon, and he doesn't really enjoy them much. But in the manga, he says that Pokémon can only be happy when they're fighting. What the hell?
And then the series of events... dude, they cut out huge hunks of events. They just mention them later on. I can understand if they cut out gym battles. I might even buy it if they cut out evolutions. But they've also cut out events that are important to the development of the plot. If you've played the games, then you can understand what happened. But usually they're so detailed. I actually checked on a couple different websites to see if some chapters got skipped, but both sites had the same thing. Grumble. I'm still hoping that I've just missed some of it.
(They're releasing these books in America right now, but they're so small. There' maybe 1 chapter per book, or something? Why didn't they just release them in the normal size manga? Even if I liked this arc, I wouldn't buy these. I'd need to buy five times as many books.)
Hmm. I think watching that OVA has made me annoyed.
Change the topic to something good!~
I just finished reading the fourth Twelve Kingdoms book no the way home from the Writer's Retreat. It's definitely good! Especially after reading so many of those Limyaael's Rants on fantasy writing (still haven't read them all). I just read the rant about people from our world traveling to a fantasy world, and the author pretty much addressed all the stuff Limyaael complains about. The world is very interesting and well-developed. Especially politically, which is something that I have trouble developing.
I gotta say, the 4th book (3rd season of the anime, with Suzu and Shoukei) has got to be my favorite. The way that the friendship between the three girls slowly develops, and the whole political struggle thing. There are some awesome moments in this book. Like when Yoko tells Suzu and Shoukei who she is. And when Yoko and Keiki ride out to confront the armies, and the general guy goes "Hooooly krayp, I really screwed up."
Okay. I'll scan a couple of the things from the workshop, and probably post them right now. I shall bury this whiney review post for you. You can have the fact of the day then.
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