Archive for September, 2010

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Wed 15 Sep 2010

Boxed in

Posted by PJ under childhood, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:

“Childhood is long and narrow like a coffin, and you can’t get out of it on your own.”

—Tove Ditlevsen, Early Spring, tr. Tiina Nunnally

(Note to reviewers who quote people in reviews of another person’s book: it is important to spell names correctly, especially if you are quoting without attribution.  Thank you.)

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

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Tue 14 Sep 2010

And so it begins again

Posted by PJ under sympathetic magic, word count
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I am not a daily meter kind of gal, but maybe I’ll post this weekly. Unless I don’t feel like it. Since the word meter neither helps nor hinders me, it’s sometimes a random kind of thing.

I’ve added a megaton of stuff to chapter one and am now worried that I’ve buried my hook, but I’m pushing forward from this point. I’ll have to worry about that/edit that at some future point.

I actually think I have two hooks, though one is rather mild: a family mystery up front, and a major hook at the end of the chapter. It’s hard to say at this point (perspective!) if that will be an effective way of drawing in the reader. Only time will, etc., etc., etc.

Sympathetic Magic


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Tue 14 Sep 2010

Has never was been

Posted by PJ under career, friends, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:

“One of my friends asked me how it felt to be a has been.  I said, ‘At least that’s better than being a never was.’”

—Tom Snyder, NPR interview

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

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Mon 13 Sep 2010

A most excellent Shakespearean(ish) tiff

Posted by PJ under shakespeare, video
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The Tiff – Silent from Mark Bedard on Vimeo.

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Mon 13 Sep 2010

Journey

Posted by PJ under destination, journeys, quote of the day, travel
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Random quote of the day:

“Travel is the act of leaving familiarity behind.  Destination is merely a byproduct of the journey.”

—Eric Hansen, Stranger in the Forest: On Foot Across Borneo

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

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Fri 10 Sep 2010

Chatty folks

Posted by PJ under sympathetic magic, WIP, writing
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Once I gave my main character, Molly, in the new WIP permission to tell me about herself, she’s been going crazy with the information.  Chatter, chatter, chatter.  Her, her Uncle Dray, her Grandma Theodora.  Which is good—it adds all those nice layers I need.  Which could be bad down the road—too much information, probably, that will have to be cut.  But I don’t seem to be able to do this process any other way.  I seem to be stuck with writing large and cutting down.

I’ve essentially rewritten the same three pages for the last three days, which is not as grim as it sounds.  I start off on page one to read through it and before long, Molly’s off on some tangent, adding and padding material.  What was originally page three now begins on the bottom of page five.  I’ve added about 1100 words to the opening.  More than that, I’ve added pages and pages of notes and charts, figuring things out, seeing where the connections take me, broadening the picture of this family.  It’s all good, all what I need to know.

Even if I wind up cutting a lot of it.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the title poll.  Sympathetic Magic edged out Time in a Bottle, and after giving it due consideration, I decided to let my prejudice against Time in a Bottle make my decision.  I’m going to be calling this novel Sympathetic Magic for the time being.

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Fri 10 Sep 2010

Leaping to conclusions

Posted by PJ under experience, quote of the day, science
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Random quote of the day:

“First you guess.  Don’t laugh, this is the most important step.  Then you compute the consequences.  Compare the consequences to experience.  If it disagrees with experience, the guess is wrong.  In that simple statement is the key to science.  It doesn’t matter how beautiful your guess is or how smart you are or what your name is.  If it disagrees with experience, it’s wrong.  That is all there is to it.”

—Richard Feynman, broadcast class lecture, NOVA, “The Best Mind Since Einstein,” 1993

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

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Thu 9 Sep 2010

The fragile army of nocturnal thoughts

Posted by PJ under writers, writing
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For health reasons, Albert Camus spent several months in the winter and spring of 1942-43 at Panelier, near Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, where the altitude approaches 3000 feet.  From Notebooks, 1942-1951, translated by Justin O’Brien:

Panelier.  Before sunrise, above the high hills, the fir trees are not distinguishable from the rolling ground on which they stand.  Then the sun from a great distance behind them gilds the crest of the trees.  Hence against the but slightly faded background of the sky they look like an army of feathered savages rising over the hill.  Gradually, as the sun rises and the sky brightens, the fir trees grow larger and the barbarian army seems to move forward and become more compact in a tumult of feathers before the invasion.  Then, when the sun is high enough, it suddenly lights up the fir trees, which pour down the slope of the mountains.  And it seems like a wild race toward the valley, the outbreak of a brief and tragic battle in which the barbarians of daylight will drive out the fragile army of nocturnal thoughts.

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Thu 9 Sep 2010

Waiting

Posted by PJ under books, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:

“A book…unlike a television program, moving picture or any other ‘modern means of communication’…can wait for years, yet be available at any moment when it happens to be needed.”

—Joseph Wood Krutch, More Lives Than One

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

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Wed 8 Sep 2010

Which title do you like better?

Posted by PJ under time in a bottle, titles, WIP, writing
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With no context, just which appeals to you the most.

Time in a Bottle

Sympathetic Magic

Of course, neither may work for you, and if that’s the case, feel free to comment as such.

I’ll be honest. I don’t like Time in a Bottle as the title of my current WIP so I’ve been casting about for another title. It is, however, more accurate than the other title. It may be more intriguing? I dunno. That’s why I’m asking.

In other related news, I’ve been working on the opening chapter of the novel currently called Time in a Bottle. When I posted chapter one on OWW, I got two common complaints: people wanted to know more about Molly’s background and her quest sooner, as well as the specific nature of her magical gift. So I’ve been dutifully filling in her background.

If I may be frank, Frank, I had only the essentials of her character down when I wrote the exploratory first chapter. It showed. So now I’m filling in the gaps, excessively, obsessively, even including a genealogical chart. Which isn’t just about blowing hot air out my *** or wanting to make pretty! charts! Molly’s family history is vitally important to the plot of this here book, so.

But being me, I am worried that I have tipped too far into the opposite direction and am now including too much damned detail. (An old and repetitive failing.) Only time will tell, whether in a bottle or not.

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