At the time of writing, I seriously think the only parts of my body that aren't aching are my arms and thighs, which probably explains why I'm trying to sit incredibly still in an attempt to prevent further muscle strain and aches whilst typing this. Anyway ...
So another week goes by and time marches on regardless of how hard you beg it to stay. Believe me, I've - metaphorically - tried grovelling on my hands and knees and all it does is sneers at me and run away pft.
As a reader and a writer, I'm currently fascinated with the literary genre of dystopia recently though I can't exactly tell you why. So what is dystopia?
According to Wiki, which besides Google is my first online source for reference lol, "a dystopia is an often futuristic society that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian. Dystopian literature has underlying cautionary tones, warning society that if we continue to live how we do, this will be the consequence. A dystopia, thus, is regarded as a sort of negative utopia and is often characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government."
Sounds a bit wordy or complicated? Well then, let me introduce you to Siaw Hui's abbreviated definition of dystopia ;) Simply put, dystopian literature asks the question of: "What if society decided to (insert blank)?"
Don't believe me? Well then, let's take a look at the story premises of dystopian novels - some of which I've read and some which I want to read. For this I shall enlist the help of my other good online friend, Goodreads :)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury asks the question of "What if society decided to ... ban books?"
Unfortunately, Goodreads doesn't have an English preview so I can't provide one -.- It's such a famous book though that if you don't mind spoliers, you could Wiki the plot :)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Goodreads summary: It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now...everything has changed
Question: What if society decided to ... totally strip women of their free rights?"
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Goodreads summary: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love...
Question: Well frankly, there are two questions for this one. "What if ... love was a disease? What if society decided to ... forcefully implement its cure on all its citizens?"
Get my drift? :)
Dystopian literary works are all about a major something that changes society as we know it. In Fahrenheit 451, the major something was banning and burning books, the ripples of consequence in society? Equally major as well: book lovers and book harbourers become fugitives on the run from the law, people no longer read and engage in critical discussions that books give rise to, libraries are empty deserted buildings no longer housing books, "firemen" are no longer people who put out fires but rather people who start fires ... to books. Montag (the main character of the book) is a fireman himself.
Then we have a hero/heroine that rises to challenge the major something, the decision that society has made. In Fahrenheit 451, we have Montag who decides to challenge the logic of burning and banning books. In Delirium - which I haven't yet read by the way, since it's a novel that just debuted this year - Lena falls in love and I'm presuming, will now challenge the logic of love being a disease and being forced to receive a cure for it.
As a writer, I believe "What if" is a great question to ask when you're brainstorming about a new plot. It's also a terrific question to ask when you're planning character arcs and stories. It is the best question to ask when you're writing, period.
So for example, let's have a look at one of my current WIPs Dark Lily. Plot question? "What if ... someone decided to murder politicians in the Ventyn government?" For the character arcs and stories, believe me when I say that each character had at least one "What if"? question specifically asked to them. However, I can't reveal those what if questions because they are central to the story and each character's growth. So suffice to say, in general most of my Dark Lily characters are asked "What if ... you had a troubled past? Would your troubled past have repercussions that echoes into your present and future? How strong would those repercussions be?"
Coming back to the topic, despite all my fascination with dystopian literature though, I know it's not my strongest suit when it comes to writing. That may change as I grow older, but I can say, with a hundred percent certainty, for now it is not a genre that fits me. Why?
Well, for starters, the "What if?" questions that sets up any storyline I have are not exactly major changes to society as we know it. Granted, they are major changes to the main character life as he/she knows it and society may feel a bit of it, like with Dark Lily it's only logical that Ventyn society will be panicking like any real-world society would when they discover some anonymous murderer is picking off their government officials, but really it still doesn't affect some random person on the street personally.
Case in point? Think about The Handmaid's Tale. If you're like me in that you're female, and if you were part of the society in The Handmaid's Tale, you'd be thinking: Oh crap! What's going to happen to me now? Who's my male master?" etc. etc. If you were in Dark Lily however, you'd probably think: Who's the crazy psycho killing those government officials and why is he/she killing them? Is it some foreign country trying to undermine our government for their purposes? Oh my gosh oh my gosh!" etc. etc. but you won't be thinking: Oh my gosh! What if the crazy psycho kills me? because you are just a random person on the street, said crazy psycho only targets government officials. LOL Well there is a probability that he may go even more psycho and not be choosy about his targets but that's besides the point :P
I think humans in general though, have a continued fascination with "What if?"s. They're not good questions to dwell on, granted, but there are still questions that we find ourselves asking once every now and again. "What if I didn't send him out to buy groceries? Perhaps he wouldn't have been hit by the car and will still be at home with me." "What if I had made my move on her earlier, perhaps I would have been her boyfriend instead of him." If you really think about it, life is made up of "What if"s, it's just how fast and how well we can get over it, dust ourselves off and say "Well, it didn't happen so I'd deal with it" and move on :)
Till next Sunday, I'd be off then!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
it's all but a memory
For the umpteenth time in months, I found myself wondering, "How did I even get here?"
Here where complete strangers were divulging personal stories that made my heart break, here where they cried openly while I sat and watched, my mind a complete blank.
Medicine had not trained me for this, in fact, I'd even go so far as to say life thus far hadn't prepared me for this.
Which brings me to my second question, "Why am I even here?"
Here where I felt like a completely useless git with all to say yet with nothing leaving my lips, here where I was a bumbling idiot trying to cleverly phrase my responses and questions.
Oh I'd had practice before I walked into these interviews, but they were with people who I knew and with people who shared madeup stories about their lives in response to my questions. They were people who, because weren't laying pieces of their past bare in front of me, weren't dredging up all the emotions attached to that past; and that was enough to make all my diligent preparations go soaring out the window.
Because how do I keep my face carefully arranged to be calm when my traitorous heart breaks into tiny pieces when I hear a painful story shared straight from someone else's heart? How can I not at least tear up when someone is sobbing unrestrained in front of me, when their pain feels so real that I could almost reach out and touch it?
As I sit there, watching numbly, my mind begins to run through the various options of what to say or do. My brain automatically cancels out phrases like "I understand/know how it feels like" and "It'd be okay" because at least medical school had taught me that they were taboo.
What about "It sounds like it's been hard"? I can almost imagine the reply being snapped back at me,"Yeah of course, it's hard, it doesn't take a freaking genius to figure that out!" and I mentally wince.
A quick thought flits through my mind, "If only I weren't in a professional setting, then I wouldn't be constrained by professional boundaries. I'd be able to react how I would in normal situations where I see someone crying." I would reach out and touch them on the arm, perhaps even allow my own eyes to grow wetter and allow my face to take on some emotion.
So, I find myself settling for a simple silence punctuated with sobbing and choking gulps of air, and when they say "Sorry", I smile in a hopefully comforting way and quietly say "It's okay", and I wordlessly offer them a box of tissues. My face, in the meantime, is displaying calm.
I think it's funny how the health profession emphasizes the need to care and to serve with a human touch, but doesn't allow the basic, core need of sharing human emotions. When someone gets angry because they've just discovered they've got a terminal illness, are we allowed to go "That's a sucky diagnosis, and yeah life sucks! This downright stinks!"? When someone griefs because their loved one has just passed away, are we allowed to just sit and grief with them?
No, it's always, "It's okay for you to show the emotion, not me. I've got to remain the calm, professional one". It's not necessarily a bad thing, because goodness knows, when a crisis happens and if everyone's being all emotional, who's going to be able to snap out of it and into action?
But it's just an observation, and I've got another one.
As I deal with more sessions, I find the task of detaching myself from whatever human emotion that person sitting opposite me is feeling easier and my reciprocation fades. I find myself thinking less and less about what to say and what to do, and instead settle into what almost seems like a routine (which I have described above). The pain being expressed feels less palpable to me, my heart cracks instead of shattering and easing a mask of calm onto my face becomes effortless; in fact I'm not entirely certain if it's even a mask anymore ... and I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid that human emotional connection that I share with them will dwindle and then, finally disappear, leaving behind a cold someone who no longer feels on behalf of others. It scares the living daylights out of me so much so I know there's a tiny part of me clinging pathetically onto whatever shred of emotion I still feel, deep down, when someone cries. Given, that shred is much smaller than what it was when I first had people crying openly but at least there's still a shred.
I used to not like clinicians who seemed cold and unfeeling, who didn't seem to share whatever emotion their patient was expressing. Now what if I become like one of them?
Again, it's not necessarily a bad thing but, it's just an observation.
Then at long last, I find myself at the end of all my sessions, everything's wrapped up in a metaphorically nice pink bow. I still remember the voices that were raised to emphasize a point in their stories, the jabbing of table tops - again to emphasize points, the tears that flowed freely or banked up under their lids, the voices that broke in sadness, the hope that rang loud and clear; but it's now all over and I realize...
It is all but a memory now. I'd never forget this experience that has taught me so much and made a magnificently deep impression on my life, but ten years from now I'd probably be looking back on it all and say, "Hey, I totally don't understand why I struggled with that, was I such an idiot?"
But just for now, let it be that point in time where I learned tons, of myself as a person and from the stories of these strangers; that I am a horribly pathetic person who emphatizes too much and am a bumbling fool who doesn't know how to navigate professional situations rife with human emotions ... and that life is what you make of it.
If life decides to throw curveball after curveball your way, learn to duck out of its way and hold on for that day when a straight ball comes into your court of play. Hold on and hope. Hope is a beautiful thing that is both fragile and strong; fragile because those who aren't holding on to it can easily shatter it but strong because those who hold onto it, find their strength to fight another day renewed. And when that straight ball comes into your court of play? It'd be the most marvellous thing ever and you'd appreciate it all the more.
And with that I shall end my writing exercise!! :D I actually spent almost 3 hours writing that, gosh, retraining my writing muscles are going to be way harder than I expected :S
Feedback - or even just thoughts on the topic - is most welcome and much appreciated! :)
Here where complete strangers were divulging personal stories that made my heart break, here where they cried openly while I sat and watched, my mind a complete blank.
Medicine had not trained me for this, in fact, I'd even go so far as to say life thus far hadn't prepared me for this.
Which brings me to my second question, "Why am I even here?"
Here where I felt like a completely useless git with all to say yet with nothing leaving my lips, here where I was a bumbling idiot trying to cleverly phrase my responses and questions.
Oh I'd had practice before I walked into these interviews, but they were with people who I knew and with people who shared madeup stories about their lives in response to my questions. They were people who, because weren't laying pieces of their past bare in front of me, weren't dredging up all the emotions attached to that past; and that was enough to make all my diligent preparations go soaring out the window.
Because how do I keep my face carefully arranged to be calm when my traitorous heart breaks into tiny pieces when I hear a painful story shared straight from someone else's heart? How can I not at least tear up when someone is sobbing unrestrained in front of me, when their pain feels so real that I could almost reach out and touch it?
As I sit there, watching numbly, my mind begins to run through the various options of what to say or do. My brain automatically cancels out phrases like "I understand/know how it feels like" and "It'd be okay" because at least medical school had taught me that they were taboo.
What about "It sounds like it's been hard"? I can almost imagine the reply being snapped back at me,"Yeah of course, it's hard, it doesn't take a freaking genius to figure that out!" and I mentally wince.
A quick thought flits through my mind, "If only I weren't in a professional setting, then I wouldn't be constrained by professional boundaries. I'd be able to react how I would in normal situations where I see someone crying." I would reach out and touch them on the arm, perhaps even allow my own eyes to grow wetter and allow my face to take on some emotion.
So, I find myself settling for a simple silence punctuated with sobbing and choking gulps of air, and when they say "Sorry", I smile in a hopefully comforting way and quietly say "It's okay", and I wordlessly offer them a box of tissues. My face, in the meantime, is displaying calm.
I think it's funny how the health profession emphasizes the need to care and to serve with a human touch, but doesn't allow the basic, core need of sharing human emotions. When someone gets angry because they've just discovered they've got a terminal illness, are we allowed to go "That's a sucky diagnosis, and yeah life sucks! This downright stinks!"? When someone griefs because their loved one has just passed away, are we allowed to just sit and grief with them?
No, it's always, "It's okay for you to show the emotion, not me. I've got to remain the calm, professional one". It's not necessarily a bad thing, because goodness knows, when a crisis happens and if everyone's being all emotional, who's going to be able to snap out of it and into action?
But it's just an observation, and I've got another one.
As I deal with more sessions, I find the task of detaching myself from whatever human emotion that person sitting opposite me is feeling easier and my reciprocation fades. I find myself thinking less and less about what to say and what to do, and instead settle into what almost seems like a routine (which I have described above). The pain being expressed feels less palpable to me, my heart cracks instead of shattering and easing a mask of calm onto my face becomes effortless; in fact I'm not entirely certain if it's even a mask anymore ... and I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid that human emotional connection that I share with them will dwindle and then, finally disappear, leaving behind a cold someone who no longer feels on behalf of others. It scares the living daylights out of me so much so I know there's a tiny part of me clinging pathetically onto whatever shred of emotion I still feel, deep down, when someone cries. Given, that shred is much smaller than what it was when I first had people crying openly but at least there's still a shred.
I used to not like clinicians who seemed cold and unfeeling, who didn't seem to share whatever emotion their patient was expressing. Now what if I become like one of them?
Again, it's not necessarily a bad thing but, it's just an observation.
Then at long last, I find myself at the end of all my sessions, everything's wrapped up in a metaphorically nice pink bow. I still remember the voices that were raised to emphasize a point in their stories, the jabbing of table tops - again to emphasize points, the tears that flowed freely or banked up under their lids, the voices that broke in sadness, the hope that rang loud and clear; but it's now all over and I realize...
It is all but a memory now. I'd never forget this experience that has taught me so much and made a magnificently deep impression on my life, but ten years from now I'd probably be looking back on it all and say, "Hey, I totally don't understand why I struggled with that, was I such an idiot?"
But just for now, let it be that point in time where I learned tons, of myself as a person and from the stories of these strangers; that I am a horribly pathetic person who emphatizes too much and am a bumbling fool who doesn't know how to navigate professional situations rife with human emotions ... and that life is what you make of it.
If life decides to throw curveball after curveball your way, learn to duck out of its way and hold on for that day when a straight ball comes into your court of play. Hold on and hope. Hope is a beautiful thing that is both fragile and strong; fragile because those who aren't holding on to it can easily shatter it but strong because those who hold onto it, find their strength to fight another day renewed. And when that straight ball comes into your court of play? It'd be the most marvellous thing ever and you'd appreciate it all the more.
And with that I shall end my writing exercise!! :D I actually spent almost 3 hours writing that, gosh, retraining my writing muscles are going to be way harder than I expected :S
Feedback - or even just thoughts on the topic - is most welcome and much appreciated! :)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
music and writing
So, the first Sunday of my new promise of: I shall update this blog every Sunday! And honestly, I almost failed. Oh dear -.- This is not a good sign.
Anyway, a quick update on all my WIPs (Works In Progress) - to know what these specifically are, check out the blog post before this. I've managed to actually start writing a tiny bit of Happily Ever After's first chapter, which is funny because I've actually not finished planning O.o Nonetheless, since the first chapter's about character introductions and setting up scenes, I doubt it really matters? Besides, whatever I've written needs to undergo massive editing since I wrote it in sketchy bits and pieces, in between intense research data collection and analysis. :D Why? Because inspiration always strikes me at the wrong time sigh~
So, one thing I love about the arts in general; be it writing, drawing, painting, cooking, music, movies; is that they have this ability to interact with one another and are able to inspire one another! :) I've been trying to figure out why, and maybe it's because art mimics life. I know everyone talks about life mimicking art but I think it works the other way too. One of the stories that have always remained with me is of a woman who wrote to tell the directors of Disney's Lion King that she cried when she watched the scene of Musafa dying because it vividly reminded her of the loss of someone dear to her (I think it was her husband?).
Anyway, back to my initial point. So when a certain work of art mimics life, it inspires other works of art because life itself inspires the arts. Get my drift? If not, read real slow... and if you still don't get it, please comment on this post and I'd get back to you :D
As a writer, I have never had a lot of other art forms inspiring my writing. In fact, between real life and other art, it's been more of real life that has spurred me to write more than other art. If you look especially at the later poems and stories I wrote, and knew my life at the time of writing them, you'd know what I mean. I look back on them now and the similarities between my works and my past are freakishly haunting.
There's only been a few of my pieces which have been directly inspired by other art. Like when the Lord of the Rings movie first came out, I went into this Fantasy and a group-of-underdogs-saving-their-world phase and attempted to write a story like that; which ended up being an epic fail. The world I created had so many loopholes in it that if it were to physically exist, it would collapse in on itself -.- Then when I was first introduced to Egyptology I tried writing Egyptology/Egypt based stories without any further research (oh boy, wasn't the me back then such a genius?) and of course, that ended pretty badly as well. In fact, one of the stories never saw its ending, just like the Fantasy one sigh~
And the other was a poem, which was quite sad I remember, but at least that wasn't such a fail. I was inspired to write it when I read some scene from some story. It was a very short scene that wasn't super significant in the story and happened quickly but it particularly resonated with me back then. So a poem called "Wallflower" was born. :D
And because it wasn't such an epic fail, here's the link to read it lol: http://crystalaura.blogspot.com/search?q=wallflower
But after the Wallflower poem, there hasn't been other art inspiring my writing, especially not music, until now. I will tell you now, when I first listened to these songs, it struck a deep chord within me. Especially because the feel and their choruses describe Ashleigh (one of the mains in Dark Lily) perfectly! Her story, the choices she faces in the novel, her relationships with the other mains, everything! These songs, especially their choruses because that's what caught my attention intially, really allowed me to flesh her and her part in Dark Lily out whilst listening to them.
So without further ado, let me introduce you to the amazing Sara Bareilles and the aforementioned three songs! They're seriously fantastic; even if you don't have an Ashleigh living in your brain, I guarantee you, you'd at least feel something when you hear them :D
Hold my Heart - Sara Bareilles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg_yHmvAbUg
Chorus:
Does anybody know, how to hold my heart?
How to hold my heart?
'Cause I don't wanna let go, let go, let go too soon
I want to tell you so
Before the sun goes dark
How to hold my heart
'Cause I don't wanna let go, let go, let of you
Breathe Again - Sara Bareilles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOwvpRZKR4I
Chorus:
All I have, all I need
He's the air I would kill to breathe
Holds my life in his hands, and still I'm searching for something
Out of breath, I'm left hoping someday
I'd breathe again
Gravity - Sara Bareilles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3mKQT08_rk
Chorus:
Set me free, leave me be
I don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity
Here I am and I stand
So tall, just the way I'm supposed to be
But you're onto me, and all over me
I know anyone who's not me will be like: Heh? How does all three songs relate to one girl? We-ll, I guess you shall find out when I write Dark Lily. Until then, feel free to guess in the comment box. Who knows? Maybe your guesses will be right or they might help me think about Ashleigh in another light, and if that change makes it into the story you will duly rewarded - with an acknowledgement :D Oh all right, and a hug if you want it :P
So yes, lesson of the day! Life inspires art, art inspires more art! Conclusion? Live and create art! Because both life and art is beautiful :)
Now for something I just randomly thought up lol:
Question of the day: Do you create art? If so, have your art been inspired by life or other art? Or are there just fresh out of your imagination?
Quote of the day: Everyone can criticize but not everyone can write, so write! Feel free to extrapolate this to any other form of art, e.g. everyone can criticize but not everyone can draw, so draw!
Till next Sunday, toodles :D
Anyway, a quick update on all my WIPs (Works In Progress) - to know what these specifically are, check out the blog post before this. I've managed to actually start writing a tiny bit of Happily Ever After's first chapter, which is funny because I've actually not finished planning O.o Nonetheless, since the first chapter's about character introductions and setting up scenes, I doubt it really matters? Besides, whatever I've written needs to undergo massive editing since I wrote it in sketchy bits and pieces, in between intense research data collection and analysis. :D Why? Because inspiration always strikes me at the wrong time sigh~
So, one thing I love about the arts in general; be it writing, drawing, painting, cooking, music, movies; is that they have this ability to interact with one another and are able to inspire one another! :) I've been trying to figure out why, and maybe it's because art mimics life. I know everyone talks about life mimicking art but I think it works the other way too. One of the stories that have always remained with me is of a woman who wrote to tell the directors of Disney's Lion King that she cried when she watched the scene of Musafa dying because it vividly reminded her of the loss of someone dear to her (I think it was her husband?).
Anyway, back to my initial point. So when a certain work of art mimics life, it inspires other works of art because life itself inspires the arts. Get my drift? If not, read real slow... and if you still don't get it, please comment on this post and I'd get back to you :D
As a writer, I have never had a lot of other art forms inspiring my writing. In fact, between real life and other art, it's been more of real life that has spurred me to write more than other art. If you look especially at the later poems and stories I wrote, and knew my life at the time of writing them, you'd know what I mean. I look back on them now and the similarities between my works and my past are freakishly haunting.
There's only been a few of my pieces which have been directly inspired by other art. Like when the Lord of the Rings movie first came out, I went into this Fantasy and a group-of-underdogs-saving-their-world phase and attempted to write a story like that; which ended up being an epic fail. The world I created had so many loopholes in it that if it were to physically exist, it would collapse in on itself -.- Then when I was first introduced to Egyptology I tried writing Egyptology/Egypt based stories without any further research (oh boy, wasn't the me back then such a genius?) and of course, that ended pretty badly as well. In fact, one of the stories never saw its ending, just like the Fantasy one sigh~
And the other was a poem, which was quite sad I remember, but at least that wasn't such a fail. I was inspired to write it when I read some scene from some story. It was a very short scene that wasn't super significant in the story and happened quickly but it particularly resonated with me back then. So a poem called "Wallflower" was born. :D
And because it wasn't such an epic fail, here's the link to read it lol: http://crystalaura.blogspot.com/search?q=wallflower
But after the Wallflower poem, there hasn't been other art inspiring my writing, especially not music, until now. I will tell you now, when I first listened to these songs, it struck a deep chord within me. Especially because the feel and their choruses describe Ashleigh (one of the mains in Dark Lily) perfectly! Her story, the choices she faces in the novel, her relationships with the other mains, everything! These songs, especially their choruses because that's what caught my attention intially, really allowed me to flesh her and her part in Dark Lily out whilst listening to them.
So without further ado, let me introduce you to the amazing Sara Bareilles and the aforementioned three songs! They're seriously fantastic; even if you don't have an Ashleigh living in your brain, I guarantee you, you'd at least feel something when you hear them :D
Hold my Heart - Sara Bareilles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg_yHmvAbUg
Chorus:
Does anybody know, how to hold my heart?
How to hold my heart?
'Cause I don't wanna let go, let go, let go too soon
I want to tell you so
Before the sun goes dark
How to hold my heart
'Cause I don't wanna let go, let go, let of you
Breathe Again - Sara Bareilles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOwvpRZKR4I
Chorus:
All I have, all I need
He's the air I would kill to breathe
Holds my life in his hands, and still I'm searching for something
Out of breath, I'm left hoping someday
I'd breathe again
Gravity - Sara Bareilles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3mKQT08_rk
Chorus:
Set me free, leave me be
I don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity
Here I am and I stand
So tall, just the way I'm supposed to be
But you're onto me, and all over me
I know anyone who's not me will be like: Heh? How does all three songs relate to one girl? We-ll, I guess you shall find out when I write Dark Lily. Until then, feel free to guess in the comment box. Who knows? Maybe your guesses will be right or they might help me think about Ashleigh in another light, and if that change makes it into the story you will duly rewarded - with an acknowledgement :D Oh all right, and a hug if you want it :P
So yes, lesson of the day! Life inspires art, art inspires more art! Conclusion? Live and create art! Because both life and art is beautiful :)
Now for something I just randomly thought up lol:
Question of the day: Do you create art? If so, have your art been inspired by life or other art? Or are there just fresh out of your imagination?
Quote of the day: Everyone can criticize but not everyone can write, so write! Feel free to extrapolate this to any other form of art, e.g. everyone can criticize but not everyone can draw, so draw!
Till next Sunday, toodles :D
Thursday, February 3, 2011
it's been a while
Okay a while may not be the best description since it has been 8 months since I last updated - oh horror of horrors, whatever happened to my resolution to write stories the beginning of last year? (buries face in palm)
But it's been an extremely interesting and incredibly busy eight months; interesting because I've become so enamoured with real life human stories of extraordinary strength and resilience as part of my ongoing research year and incredibly busy because of my uh ongoing research year. Hah!
So yes, I've been watching the human spirit; if the past eight months of my life were a story I would say the moral of the story is this: imperfect as it may be, the human spirit can endure the harshest and cruelest of blows that it amazes me. So hopefully, after being regaled with all these fantastic stories, I'd be able to write stories that make people feel for the characters?
Anyway, I do believe an update on my writing life - or lack of it - is in order...
Works in progress (WIP)
I hereby define WIPs as writings that are actually being actively pursued. Though this obviously means writing the actual story itself, it also means drafting out storylines, creating the story worlds, ironing out loopholes, plotting character arcs, editing drafts... you get my drift. :)
WIP #1 Dark Lily (tentative name)
Expected type: Novel length
So this is the story that I've been raving on about in the last few posts lol. But to briefly resummarize...
The country of Ventyn experiences a political nightmare after the murders of two prominent ministers. As the crisis escalates to the point of crippling the nation, can a team of four young investigators beat their own mounting inner demons to solve the case in time?
If you want an introduction to who said four investigators are, there's a description in one of the older posts.
Current status: Partially planned, further planning and writing put on hold till beginning of June.
Character arcs and backstories completed. World building (including the justice system, political system etc.) of Ventyn and mystery details uncompleted.
I know it's cruel to leave people hanging on a summary! Actually, I'm assuming it's cruel. For all I know some of you might just be like: And why do I care? LOL But I'm just extrapolating my own reaction of when people leave me hanging on summaries :D
And I say beginning of June because I seriously don't have the brain power to finish the planning especially since I'd be crafting the entire country of Ventyn from scratch! Hopefully after my research thesis is completed, the bulk of my brain power will be freed! -.-
But fret not! Let me introduce you to my other WIPs who have sort of cut the queue on Dark Lily in getting written. :D
WIP #2: Tipping Point
Expected type: Short story
Can we ever put a finger on exactly when we fall in love? Does love happen because of that one unforgettable moment in time that shone above the rest? Or does love happen as a slow buildup; where something finally tipped the balance in favour of love...
You know, the funny thing about this story is that it came out of nowhere. Literally. It arrived in my head as a premise of: Can anyone ever tell precisely when they fall in love? And with the opening story line: "You've got cooties!" :P
Current status: Partially planned (and within a week I'm proud of myself!), planning continuing. Writing to start shortly after.
The story will be told in a series of short chapters which, fingers crossed, turns out to be heart warming aww sweet, not sickly cheesy sweet. There's a difference. And hopefully when I'm writing I'd know how to delineate said difference -.-
Also, it'd be lighter and brighter compared to Dark Lily. The inner demons and character arcs they go through in Dark Lily is honestly something I would never ever wish on a living being. Never ever ever.
I'm treating Tipping Point as a writing exercise in romance since that has always been my weakest link in writing. Other than physical spatial descriptions. Both might have something to do with the fact that my spatial imagination is glaringly retarded and I hardly read romance.
WIP#3: Happily Ever After (tentative name)
Expected type: Medium length - novel length
Babysitting is turning out to be worse than Gail, Haley and Harper had imagined it. The plan was to earn some extra cash, not to survive in a world of fairytales gone wrong. Now, to get back to their world, they've got to discover how to reinstate happily ever after endings...
So yes! I'm planning for this one to be a light, humorous read. It will not be a fairytale parody, which I reckon has been a bit overdone these days. It will be my first attempt at writing humour so I do not exactly know whether or not this story will fall flat on its face because the wit turns out being lame. Oh dear (face palm)
This idea has been floating around for a bit - probably almost as long as Dark Lily - but it never really materialized until recently. Again with the opening line: "When I find that little idiot ..." ;)
And really, that's about it! Well, there are two other ideas which I call Backburners (BB for short) - because that's exactly what I do with them. I put them at the back of my mind and let them burn until they're a bit more mature in terms of plot and characters before I upgrade them to WIPs and work on them actively :)
One of the BBs is a little more developmentally advanced than the other - it's tentatively named Cursed. The reason why I say that is because I've actually pinned down a premise for Cursed unlike the other BB. That said I haven't figured out the major plot arc yet but when I do you'd be the first to know! :)
And the other BB will be something set in high school ... and I do not know anything beyond that lol.
So yes! Watch this space for updates on any of these stories; Tipping Point will probably make its debut first followed by Happily Ever After and then Dark Lily. And we'd see what'd happen with the two BBs.
I used to be able to work on multiple stories together (and I'm contemplating doing that for Happily Ever After and Dark Lily to speed things along) but I'm not sure whether I'm able to switch between dark and light that easily. In the past my stories were all happy-happy-joy-joy so switching between them didn't really impact the writing style.
Anywho, they'd all be posted on Fictionpress - I will blog with the link once any story becomes available and then again everytime a new chapter gets uploaded. Remember to review when it happens! :D
I have also decided to update this blog every week (on Sundays except for today) with something writing-related. So the posts will either be about writing in general, my writing journey or my random writing pieces. So when I say random pieces I mean not full, at least once-edited stories (those go on Fictionpress) - I mean writing exercises e.g. me describing a scene, an experience I have etc. Feel free to unleash honest feedback and your opinions on any of my blog posts!
So until next Sunday, keep well and for those who love writing, keep at it! For those who love any other art form, keep at it too! :D
But it's been an extremely interesting and incredibly busy eight months; interesting because I've become so enamoured with real life human stories of extraordinary strength and resilience as part of my ongoing research year and incredibly busy because of my uh ongoing research year. Hah!
So yes, I've been watching the human spirit; if the past eight months of my life were a story I would say the moral of the story is this: imperfect as it may be, the human spirit can endure the harshest and cruelest of blows that it amazes me. So hopefully, after being regaled with all these fantastic stories, I'd be able to write stories that make people feel for the characters?
Anyway, I do believe an update on my writing life - or lack of it - is in order...
Works in progress (WIP)
I hereby define WIPs as writings that are actually being actively pursued. Though this obviously means writing the actual story itself, it also means drafting out storylines, creating the story worlds, ironing out loopholes, plotting character arcs, editing drafts... you get my drift. :)
WIP #1 Dark Lily (tentative name)
Expected type: Novel length
So this is the story that I've been raving on about in the last few posts lol. But to briefly resummarize...
The country of Ventyn experiences a political nightmare after the murders of two prominent ministers. As the crisis escalates to the point of crippling the nation, can a team of four young investigators beat their own mounting inner demons to solve the case in time?
If you want an introduction to who said four investigators are, there's a description in one of the older posts.
Current status: Partially planned, further planning and writing put on hold till beginning of June.
Character arcs and backstories completed. World building (including the justice system, political system etc.) of Ventyn and mystery details uncompleted.
I know it's cruel to leave people hanging on a summary! Actually, I'm assuming it's cruel. For all I know some of you might just be like: And why do I care? LOL But I'm just extrapolating my own reaction of when people leave me hanging on summaries :D
And I say beginning of June because I seriously don't have the brain power to finish the planning especially since I'd be crafting the entire country of Ventyn from scratch! Hopefully after my research thesis is completed, the bulk of my brain power will be freed! -.-
But fret not! Let me introduce you to my other WIPs who have sort of cut the queue on Dark Lily in getting written. :D
WIP #2: Tipping Point
Expected type: Short story
Can we ever put a finger on exactly when we fall in love? Does love happen because of that one unforgettable moment in time that shone above the rest? Or does love happen as a slow buildup; where something finally tipped the balance in favour of love...
You know, the funny thing about this story is that it came out of nowhere. Literally. It arrived in my head as a premise of: Can anyone ever tell precisely when they fall in love? And with the opening story line: "You've got cooties!" :P
Current status: Partially planned (and within a week I'm proud of myself!), planning continuing. Writing to start shortly after.
The story will be told in a series of short chapters which, fingers crossed, turns out to be heart warming aww sweet, not sickly cheesy sweet. There's a difference. And hopefully when I'm writing I'd know how to delineate said difference -.-
Also, it'd be lighter and brighter compared to Dark Lily. The inner demons and character arcs they go through in Dark Lily is honestly something I would never ever wish on a living being. Never ever ever.
I'm treating Tipping Point as a writing exercise in romance since that has always been my weakest link in writing. Other than physical spatial descriptions. Both might have something to do with the fact that my spatial imagination is glaringly retarded and I hardly read romance.
WIP#3: Happily Ever After (tentative name)
Expected type: Medium length - novel length
Babysitting is turning out to be worse than Gail, Haley and Harper had imagined it. The plan was to earn some extra cash, not to survive in a world of fairytales gone wrong. Now, to get back to their world, they've got to discover how to reinstate happily ever after endings...
So yes! I'm planning for this one to be a light, humorous read. It will not be a fairytale parody, which I reckon has been a bit overdone these days. It will be my first attempt at writing humour so I do not exactly know whether or not this story will fall flat on its face because the wit turns out being lame. Oh dear (face palm)
This idea has been floating around for a bit - probably almost as long as Dark Lily - but it never really materialized until recently. Again with the opening line: "When I find that little idiot ..." ;)
And really, that's about it! Well, there are two other ideas which I call Backburners (BB for short) - because that's exactly what I do with them. I put them at the back of my mind and let them burn until they're a bit more mature in terms of plot and characters before I upgrade them to WIPs and work on them actively :)
One of the BBs is a little more developmentally advanced than the other - it's tentatively named Cursed. The reason why I say that is because I've actually pinned down a premise for Cursed unlike the other BB. That said I haven't figured out the major plot arc yet but when I do you'd be the first to know! :)
And the other BB will be something set in high school ... and I do not know anything beyond that lol.
So yes! Watch this space for updates on any of these stories; Tipping Point will probably make its debut first followed by Happily Ever After and then Dark Lily. And we'd see what'd happen with the two BBs.
I used to be able to work on multiple stories together (and I'm contemplating doing that for Happily Ever After and Dark Lily to speed things along) but I'm not sure whether I'm able to switch between dark and light that easily. In the past my stories were all happy-happy-joy-joy so switching between them didn't really impact the writing style.
Anywho, they'd all be posted on Fictionpress - I will blog with the link once any story becomes available and then again everytime a new chapter gets uploaded. Remember to review when it happens! :D
I have also decided to update this blog every week (on Sundays except for today) with something writing-related. So the posts will either be about writing in general, my writing journey or my random writing pieces. So when I say random pieces I mean not full, at least once-edited stories (those go on Fictionpress) - I mean writing exercises e.g. me describing a scene, an experience I have etc. Feel free to unleash honest feedback and your opinions on any of my blog posts!
So until next Sunday, keep well and for those who love writing, keep at it! For those who love any other art form, keep at it too! :D
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