This morning on the way to work, a story began to take shape in my mind. It fulfulls the various requirements I had for a story this year. That is to say, it doesn't involve a high-school protagonist, isn't set in modern-day United States and doesn't (necessarily) involve the supernatural, although it could.
I wrote down a handful of notes about the nascent idea, and think I can now begin the world-building process. Good thing, too, since I now have four days before NaNoWriMo begins!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Lightning - reading
Finished "Lightning" by Dean Koontz. I am amused that I finished this one not long after "Watchers" since the stories are VERY similar in a lot of ways. I'm glad I finished "Watchers" first because "Lightning" is the better story between the two.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
NaNoWriMo 2010 - No Story Yet!
NaNoWriMo 2010 begins in about 12 days. So far, I don't have a story to work on. This was not my experience for the past two years. Last year, I had a story idea that I really liked in June and over four months to let it develop in my head before beginning writing in November. This year, I have no real strong direction.
I know what I don't want to do. I don't want to repeat themes from the past two years. For example, both were set in the modern day. That makes me want to do some sort of fantasy setting. Both had teen protagonists - one about 18 and the other about 16. Both had mystical or supernatural elements central to the story. Heck, I've even toyed with the idea of having the main characters from those two stories meet up with each other for some third story. That's how "compatible" the stories were.
The story that I'm coming up with to work on for 2010 feels very forced so far, and doesn't have a lot of direction. Furthermore, it's going to require quite a bit of world-building before I can really get into the writing part. This does not bode well for keeping my word counts up.
On the bright side, I do get some time off in November that should help me stay on track with my word counts. At least, I hope it helps!
I know what I don't want to do. I don't want to repeat themes from the past two years. For example, both were set in the modern day. That makes me want to do some sort of fantasy setting. Both had teen protagonists - one about 18 and the other about 16. Both had mystical or supernatural elements central to the story. Heck, I've even toyed with the idea of having the main characters from those two stories meet up with each other for some third story. That's how "compatible" the stories were.
The story that I'm coming up with to work on for 2010 feels very forced so far, and doesn't have a lot of direction. Furthermore, it's going to require quite a bit of world-building before I can really get into the writing part. This does not bode well for keeping my word counts up.
On the bright side, I do get some time off in November that should help me stay on track with my word counts. At least, I hope it helps!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
1st to Die - reading
** spoiler alert **
I talk about the ending. Since it's a whodunnit, you might want to not read this if you haven't read the book.
** spoiler alert **
Finished "1st To Die" by James Patterson. For once I decided to read the FIRST book in a series instead of coming in at the middle somewhere.
My exposure to James Patterson stems from getting my (then) wife the book Pop Goes the Weasel and watching her devour it, saying it was brutal and good, but that Patterson had trouble writing female characters. That stuck with me and colored how I saw the story in this book, but didn't severely detract from it. I thought this one was good.
I have to wonder if when writing it, James Patterson asked himself two questions at the end of each chapter: 1) what would be the predictable next thing to happen, and 2) how can I turn that on its side somewhere down the road? The term "kept you guessing until the end" applies here. Things that I thought were predictable ended up with a twist.
** spoilers begin here **
** spoilers begin here **
** spoilers begin here **
The only thing I didn't like is the very ending. Why would a guy who went to such great lengths to plan everything out just show up randomly at the cop's door and simply assault her with a knife? He's smarter than that.
Patterson wasn't afraid to veer away from the happy ending, something I can appreciate.
I talk about the ending. Since it's a whodunnit, you might want to not read this if you haven't read the book.
** spoiler alert **
Finished "1st To Die" by James Patterson. For once I decided to read the FIRST book in a series instead of coming in at the middle somewhere.
My exposure to James Patterson stems from getting my (then) wife the book Pop Goes the Weasel and watching her devour it, saying it was brutal and good, but that Patterson had trouble writing female characters. That stuck with me and colored how I saw the story in this book, but didn't severely detract from it. I thought this one was good.
I have to wonder if when writing it, James Patterson asked himself two questions at the end of each chapter: 1) what would be the predictable next thing to happen, and 2) how can I turn that on its side somewhere down the road? The term "kept you guessing until the end" applies here. Things that I thought were predictable ended up with a twist.
** spoilers begin here **
** spoilers begin here **
** spoilers begin here **
The only thing I didn't like is the very ending. Why would a guy who went to such great lengths to plan everything out just show up randomly at the cop's door and simply assault her with a knife? He's smarter than that.
Patterson wasn't afraid to veer away from the happy ending, something I can appreciate.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
War Dances - reading
Finished "War Dances" by Sherman Alexie. A collection of short stories with a Native American slant that opens strong and has many quotable lines.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Watchers - reading
Finished "Watchers" by Dean Koontz. This was a cute, entertaining story, though other Koontz novels rank higher for me. That's not hard considering both that this one comes from 1987, and that The Taking is one of the weirdest books I've ever read. The thing I didn't like about this one was that the dramatic tension seemed to trail off during a lull in the story. Instead of keeping the pressure on, it was more of a "back of the mind" sort of nagging thing. Then when we got back to the pressure, it was all at once and over too quickly.
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