I am absolutely in love with Fringe. Yep, another TV show that has all of the elements of some of my favorites - instantly reminds me of "Farscape", but also "Altered States" (movie), "Firefly" the TV Show, and a bit of Buffy and Angel, but not so much. The characters are more deeply written...and definitely adult.
I've also found a wealth of other obsessive fans online. By the way, I wasn't a fan two weeks ago, but a friend of mine, Sierra, kept asking me if I were watching it. She said it was good. So I happened upon an episode by accident called "Marionette" - and bam! Hooked. I owned Season 1 but had never watched it, and broke it out and the next thing you know, I'm caught up and anxiously awaiting the next episode (Season 3-10).
In Marionette - I only caught the ending, and had to find it and watch the whole damn thing to know why two actors sitting in a dark, backyard played out such a deeply emotional scene, full of layers upon layers of angst without touching melodrama even once, and I didn't have to know what caused it, I saw it on their faces, heard it in their voices, and knew it from the lines written for them. Good stuff.
Anyway, the next episode airing January 21 is called "Firefly" (and by the way a Whedon is a writer on the show)...Check out this vid...
So yeah, I'm plugging a TV show. But a very good one.
Okay, now I'm back to writing...
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Do You Like Your Main Character?
It's Christmas Eve and for those who celebrate - Merry Christmas! For those who don't Happy Holidays!
And yeah, I'm in the holiday spirit. That means I'm finally settling in to get some work done on the book. The endless project or so it seems. Especially since NaNoWriMo ended. It's been hard to keep up the pattern I established last month - not only with daily writing, but just daily attention paid to the act of writing. Be it revising, organizing, researching, November was a big month for Denny the writer. But after the success of NaNoWriMo - I went into a writer's slump. Not so much from not being able to write new copy - but from the aspect of wanting to sit down and focus on the damn book.
It's almost time for New Year's resolutions. The Catch-22 of annual traditions. Damned if you do - and damned if you don't. Yes, even the don't part implies you've already conceded defeat - so yep, damned if you don't.
But year in, year out, I've become more and more gun-shy about resolutions. Except this year, I want to take the risk and make the commitment. I'm going to start with the commitment to my passion - writing. Going for it every day - even if it's only fifty words a day or 30 minutes of silence in front of the computer - it will be done. (I'm going to start with today for that because I have two weeks off and I might as well fill them with fun). Then, it has to do with health and well-being. That's hard. Bad habits are difficult to let go. But I'm going to have to start some where with that one. Next has to do with some personal business I'll keep to myself for now (even a blog has to have mystery, right?).
Finally, back to my blog title - the main character? Do you like her (or him)? Did that blog title refer to writing fiction or the main character in your life -- you? I mean - that's what resolutions are all about? How much do you like yourself and what are you willing to do to keep 'you' happy - or keep your main character interesting to your readers - or at least a like-able character.
Crossing the line a wee bit, but it's my blog:)!
Ask yourself, what are your protagonist's New Year's Resolutions?
Might be a fun way to jump start your character and find some new conflict for your story.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
NaNoWriMo Victory Dance Can Now Commence!!!!
I've been trying to finish NaNoWriMo for five damn years. Now I can claim the prize (and I grabbed as many as possible!)
Final number? 50,016 (I got over 50k, okay?) Wasn't trying to knock it out of the park!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thanksgiving, NaNoWriMo, Golden Heart - I Need Sleep!
I read today that Joss Whedon is making a fuss about the new Buffy movie he is not involved in. It brought back all of my Whedon love and disdain in one big rush. His shows are the reason - seriously - that I'm writing fiction today. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (mostly) re-ignited my long, love affair with vampires, dating back to the first time I saw a Dracula movie in which he sensuously bit the neck of a lovely woman while she rived (is that a word?) in her bed (yeah, I was six, but still, I thought it was hot).
I didn't love Buffy the character as much as I loved the people surrounding her. I thought her bland and very young and fickle. It bugged me to no end how she mistreated vampires (Spike, in particular). The best episodes always included a vampire/slayer paradox (episodes like Beneath Me, Amends - brilliant, Angel, Something Blue)...
Anyway, my fellow Whedon-ites, what's your take on this new movie? Gonna give it a chance, or dump it before it airs because of its lack of respect for Whedon (by not putting him at the helm)?
NaNoWriMo - I may just win this sucker this year - I've got more than 42,000 words and counting!
Golden Heart - it's going to be tight...I may send it in knowing it's not ready - a good idea or what do you think?
Thanksgiving! - A great weekend, but I ate too damn much. Also, shopped on Black Friday. It wasn't pretty - fun, but not pretty...:)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
What Did I Learn Today? I'm An Introvert...
I haven't blogged in a while and I feel bad about it. I really do. But what I learned today is that I work obsessively and sometimes you've got to raise you head from the computer in order to give your life balance. I've been preaching about balance lately. And like I've said, when you keep harping on something you can bet you are the main culprit of the issue you're going on and on about.
NaNoWriMo is part of the reason for my introspection. The other is I was reading about introverts and extroverts - trying to infuse more conflict in my WIP - I discovered (or decided) I must be an introvert. Here's the scoop...(taken from another source)
Personality Traits - introverted, Introversion is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life”. Introvert likes reading, writing, music, drawing, tinkering, playing video games, watching movies and plays, and using computers. Is not necessarily a loner, very selective about their friends.
An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though he or she may enjoy interactions with close friends. Trust is usually an issue of significance: a virtue of utmost importance to an introvert choosing a worthy companion. They prefer to concentrate on a single activity at a time and like to observe situations before they participate, especially observed in developing children and adolescents.
What are you?
Word count on NaNoWrimo...a bit low at 14669 - but that's from last night. I should hit 20,000 by tomorrow AM - if not more!
Friday, October 29, 2010
For Writing and Writers: There's No Place Like Home?
Have you ever seen a spot, a room, an island, a whatever, that has shouted - this is the perfect place to write? A haven where you feel positive you'll be able to write, write and write? No? Well, I guess we're in the same boat.
I've spent most of October writing on the road. Business travel has been eating up my life. But I've managed to keep up with writing, but not so much new words as editing and polishing (which is a familiar rut I tend to get into when I'm on the road a lot). But a friend asked me recently - have you found that place where you know you've just got to be? He wasn't necessarily talking about writing, but that's where I took it. And I thought I'd found a place (a bed and breakfast in Maui:), but everyplace I go is just another place to pull out a book, pull out my laptop and 'go' wherever my characters want me to go. So, the answer to the question is there's no place like the 'home' inside your mind when it comes to writing - at least for me.
But tell me, is there a spot you go that is your favorite place to write? Or a house you've been that has a dream room, porch or view that inspires you beyond belief? Tell me about it.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
What's at Stake? I Think I Need to Know, You Know?
Before diving into today's topic, I need to spend a moment on November.
Yes, I"m on board for 2010 NaNoWriMo. Are you? I want to expand my buddy list - need all the support I can get:). So please find me (Denny S. Bryce); or just reply here and I'll find you! If you've never done NaNoWriMo before - this is the year to get it done! (Note: I always say this and haven't finished once in the past four years. But, never say die!)
In other news: I'm on a mission and here it is: I have to figure out what's at stake in my story? I also must nail down the premise and the story question. Sounds simple? Well, apparently not in my book (double-meaning is deliberate:).
What put this top of mind (because I've been down this road before, read all the right books, took all the right workshops and writing classes, so why now?) Because getting better ain't easy. But the impetus for this focus is The 2010 Heart to Heart Contest at SFW-RWA.I came in second place in the final in the Paranormal category! Hoorah! However, I didn't get a request for the manuscript - full or partial. In the score card arena, I received mostly 4s and a couple of 3s, but it's the 3s that made be sit up and pay attention. And although I should, and although I thought I had, I didn't have a clear picture of the answers to the following questions regarding my manuscript: What's at stake in the world? What's the story premise? What's at stake for my heroine? I keep thinking I know this, but not always...
So, I found this article - click here - by Bill Johnson. I know I've read this before in dozens of books and heard it any number of times, but this article (an oldie, too) is working for me now. I'm also excited about a class I signed up for with Gotham - multi-time published, romance writer, author, and teacher, Leigh Michaels is the instructor for the online romance writing course at Gotham Writer's Workshop. So this will be fun!
Finally, check out some Steampunk links below. When I was at Phauxcon two weeks ago, I got some great info from the folks there you might enjoy!
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