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The Life and Times of Me
Sep. 18th, 2010 05:43 pmMiss Miller killed a mouse sometime between late last night and this morning around 7a.m. I found its corpse as I was walking through the living room after kissing Moe goodbye. JAZZ HANDS OF HORROR, ALSO HOPPING. I had to clean it up myself guys. AIN'T NO BROOM HANDLE LONG ENOUGH. THEN I HAD TO CARRY IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE HOUSE AND ACROSS OUR YARD TO THE TRASH CAN.
Poor Miss Miller was like PRAISE ME, and I was like GOOD JOB KITTY!
***
My latest writing mission/ambition concerns background noise. Usually, the only noise in my fiction is dialogue. No cell phones going off, no music, no traffic, no signs of life. And while sometimes that starkness suits the story, I suspect my settings and the generically awful "atmosphere" suffer for it.
I've been writing in public places for the past couple of months, trying to listen to surroundings I don't control (meaning: in my house, if I'm not making the noise myself (cds, dropping pans while cooking, then they are Moe-centric and likely at agreed upon volumes-- is there a worst soundtrack than the one for Borderlands?). Other than it's really hard to listen without eavesdropping, I haven't learned much. Maybe I need to find noiser coffeeshops.
I considered scrounging up Nature Sounds-esque cds (like Hell, I'm paying for something like that), and playing them while writing, but I worry that those specific sounds would show up in my writing whether or not they matched the story.
I guess a catalogue of noises is like a catalogue of details; I have keep my eye (ear?) out for them, journal them when I notice them, and learn to imagine them them the same way I have visual details.
***
In other writing news, I had a good session at the keyboard this morning. Perhaps it was the mouse. Perhaps it was the warm-up vitrol spewing I did beforehand. A character motivation just wasn't working, and the more I forced it, the more forced it became so I backed up and re-thought his situation, and it was like BAM OPERA! He's not jealous, he's embarrassed, and giant chunks of plot slid into place. Plus, I came up with a super good metaphor. It's creakily handled right now, but I'm confident I'll figure out a way to say it how I mean it.
***
Manning Bowl tomorrow! Eli vs. Peyton in the World Series of Love.
****
Another awesome Duran Duran lyric: The aphids swarm up in the drifting haze. Man, when I hear good lyrics, I'm happy and inspired for days.
Poor Miss Miller was like PRAISE ME, and I was like GOOD JOB KITTY!
***
My latest writing mission/ambition concerns background noise. Usually, the only noise in my fiction is dialogue. No cell phones going off, no music, no traffic, no signs of life. And while sometimes that starkness suits the story, I suspect my settings and the generically awful "atmosphere" suffer for it.
I've been writing in public places for the past couple of months, trying to listen to surroundings I don't control (meaning: in my house, if I'm not making the noise myself (cds, dropping pans while cooking, then they are Moe-centric and likely at agreed upon volumes-- is there a worst soundtrack than the one for Borderlands?). Other than it's really hard to listen without eavesdropping, I haven't learned much. Maybe I need to find noiser coffeeshops.
I considered scrounging up Nature Sounds-esque cds (like Hell, I'm paying for something like that), and playing them while writing, but I worry that those specific sounds would show up in my writing whether or not they matched the story.
I guess a catalogue of noises is like a catalogue of details; I have keep my eye (ear?) out for them, journal them when I notice them, and learn to imagine them them the same way I have visual details.
***
In other writing news, I had a good session at the keyboard this morning. Perhaps it was the mouse. Perhaps it was the warm-up vitrol spewing I did beforehand. A character motivation just wasn't working, and the more I forced it, the more forced it became so I backed up and re-thought his situation, and it was like BAM OPERA! He's not jealous, he's embarrassed, and giant chunks of plot slid into place. Plus, I came up with a super good metaphor. It's creakily handled right now, but I'm confident I'll figure out a way to say it how I mean it.
***
Manning Bowl tomorrow! Eli vs. Peyton in the World Series of Love.
****
Another awesome Duran Duran lyric: The aphids swarm up in the drifting haze. Man, when I hear good lyrics, I'm happy and inspired for days.
