Have Goggles, Will Fly

New Home...

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:49:00 +0000

So, because this blog was odd and I didn't post to it much, I decided to try a new address, so I hope you will all be willing to change your book marks and mosey with me over to http://www.northoftheline.com

Photographs and a Few More Notes on Plot

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:03:00 +0000

Some Photographs From My New Canon Camera

It's been cold in Richmond over the past few weeks, so I decided to stay indoors and get my apartment in order, so as not to live with piles of teetering books or old water bottles. The pictures below evidence my hard work and the weather.

The Further Exploration of Plot

Just the other day I picked up a new Moleskinne notebook with the intent of writing my ideas for my steampunk-fantasy series. Something about the cream colored paper, the oilskin cover and that silly elastic band help my ideas pour out in a flood. So far, I've added several races - gryphon riders, centaurs, forest folk and a maybe a few witches styled after Greek goddesses. There may be a sort of hydrogen bomb or weapon of mass destruction, as well as a fleet of zeppelins. The plot is developing nicely, so I wanted to touch on a few ideas on this subject again. In the last post about plot, I wrote that I believe plot should entertain the audience, grow organically from causal relationships, and funel into a final confrontation of some sort.

Plot should be based on relationships, not just on events. The decisions characters make should trigger other characters to make decisions , creating conflict. In the basic love story, boy meets girl and makes a decision to do something about it. Conflict is created and decisions are made based on the boy's desire to start a relationship. This may seem excessively simple, but with multiple characters and the author's desire for certain scenes, this could be fairly complicated.

For example, I've got a string of scenes I would like to write, but right now I'm focused on how to get my characters motivated to arrive at that point. If these scenes are forced, it will be obvious to the readers that the author has done a hack job of bringing her that you'v done a hack job of bringing your story together. If you want a gunbattle or a brawl, there should be sufficient motivation for such a thing. Most people are never involved in something so extreme, so there should be a good and believable reason that it's happening in your story. That's about all for today, but let me know what you think.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Fear This Book: An Odd Discussion of Fear and Art

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Today I finished reading Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils and Rewards of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Let's just start off by saying that this book is not a How-To manual. The writers discuss how to art-make and all that comes with that hyphenation, but the book is a shallow dip into such subjects. While giving the reader a healthy dose of how artists and their issues, the writers do not give artists a way of working out such issues.

I know the reviews on Amazon rave about this book, but I was not moved, consoled or even angered by this book. The writers offer pithy advice that in some sense may be useful. But on the whole the book is flat and I feel, more useful as a justification for artists who are having a hard time. Others may disagree and argue that the book was useful for them, or that I'm not really an artist because I wasn't moved by the writer's advice or regaling tales of how the art/publication world works. Either way, I might recommend this as a starting point for this conversation, but I definitely would not recommend it as any sort of authority on the subject.

I enjoy a discussion on theory and craft, as well as the next writer-painter-illustrator-craftsman, but after reading the same ideas repeated again and again, I began to doubt the validity of the whole work. When I picked up this book I expected slight suggestions with the authors offering encouragement. Instead, I got a book of platitudes and observations easily deduced from an artistic life, while also dealing with paranthetical insertions from the authors or badly designed boxes full of italicized maybe-funny maybe-clever advice. But then again, maybe I'm just not enough of an artist to get this book.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Plotting, Plotting...

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Lately, I've been reading a lot about plot, seeing as how I've begun drafting out my fantasy-steampunk series. The thing is, most of the stuff I read about plot is either too mellow and unhelpful, or too formulaic and predictable. So, today, I'm going to write a little about how I plot and see if any of you have any other suggestions. I'll probably end up doing a little series of these, to cover all my bases.

First, plot has to be organic. Events can’t just happen, like dominoes falling in a row. Plot requires cause and effect, just as it requires motivation and desire from the characters. Take for example, Star Wars:

--- Vader WANTS to capture the princess and destroy any chance of the rebels finding the plans for the Death Star.

--- Because of his actions, the princess sends a message to Obi-Wan through a pair of droids (she WANTS to help the rebels).

--- Because of her actions, Vader sends storm troopers after the droids, which were bought by Luke’s aunt and uncle (Vader WANTS the plans back in Empire hands).

--- Because of this, Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed. So, Obi-Wan and Luke set off for the spaceport (they WANT to get off world with the Death Star plans for the Rebels).

Second, plot needs to entertain. I know a lot of people really don't like this idea of entertainment and think it's base, but people love to be entertained and charmed, and it's what sells lots of books. At least that's my opinion.

Third, all of the plots and subplots MUST funnel into a final confrontation/moment of epiphany/last battle for the story to resound with readers. What if Luke never faced down Vader in Return of the Jedi? What if Rick never confronted the Nazis in Casablanca? What if John Nash never faced his personal demons in A Beautiful Mind? The what if is that the stories would be BORING. Nothing would change, nothing would matter, and there would be no resolution for the audience.

That's about all of my thoughts today. I'll post more on plot as I go. Meanwhile, check out Michael P. Kardos' article "In Defense of Starting Early" and John Truby's The Anatomy of Story. Both are pretty efficient at explaning some craft and theory issues of fiction.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Democracy and Spider

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:40:00 +0000

With the first few weeks of graduate school behind me, I've gotten my apartment back in order from the holiday festivities and visitors and finished a few arcs of Transmetropolitan. The graphic novels follow controversial and crazed journalist Spider Jerusalem as he tries to make democracy work in a futuristic world that isn't a far cry from our present day. While apathy and stupidity are his two greatest enemies, I can't help but disagree with this charismatic and psychotic character on a few issues.

I know we're taught from birth that democracy is for the people and most importantly, by the people. Even after such a wonderful and historic election, I can't help but feel immensely small in the whole grand scheme of things. I don't email my senator, a die-hard conservative from the reddest of states, Texas. I don't try to get her to care about anything I care about, because I know it will be a futile effort, akin to talking at a brick wall and expecting intelligent discourse.

I do not participate in local government, though I do generally follow the issues close to my heart. I try to be involved in community and to do my part for the environment, but I don't feel like assailing the halls of Congress or even city councils with proposals or ideas. I don't know if this is apathy, realism or cynism. Either way, it makes me sort of sad that things don't work the way they do in comic books or in movies. Any thoughts?

Holding the Line.
Bri

High Plains Writer and Graduate School Update

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:00:00 +0000

I haven't written on the blog in a few days because Graduate school got so ridiculously busy in very quick hurry. To update you all, in honor of receiving my loan money, I purchased the smallest, cutest, most wonderful laptop the world has ever seen and a fantastic camera to chronicle my life here in Richmond, away from my man and family.

Also, on the graduate school front, I've been attending a most brilliant Fiction workshop in which we critique each other's work and discuss various theories of fiction. Last night we talked about how, in fiction, we have expectations which are usually crushed when the writer giving us what we've always been given - the cliche expected ending. We're charmed by the writer and the work when they turn the story in an unexpected way and suprise us, even if the suprise is unpleasant. This simple bit of advice and theory has made me carefully reconsider North of the Line and the turns of plot I've chosen for that story. I'll update you on this as these thoughts develop.

Also, we reviewed my piece, given below. Everyone had great critique for me, but I thought I would let you all have a gander at it as well.

Out on the high plains, where the mesas rose up like old fortresses against the sky, red and craggy against the rising moon, the low cry of the lobo rolled up to meet the newborn stars. Lora, her curves and angles beautiful in the dusk, curled up beside Benjamin, her head on his shoulder. He kept his hands behind his head, watching the clouds skid across the constellations.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“I’m thinking I don’t like that question.”

“Why?”

“Because,” he said. She smiled, pushing him just enough so that he would push her back. He rolled her over, pinning her against their blanket, smiling widely.

“What are you thinking?” she asked again, laughing when he slumped down beside her, as if in defeat.

“I’m thinking that I like living with you,” he said. “I’m thinking that you worry too much, but that things will be alright.”

“You don’t know that,” she said. “The doctors don’t even know.”

“They got me on enough antibiotics to down a horse, Lori,” he said. “Everything’ll be fine.” He smiled and it was pale beneath the sickle moon. He motioned to her and she lay back down beside him and there by the lonely mesas, stars fell, dragging fire behind them like signal torches. As the night eased on and Benjamin pointed out the constellations to her, tracing the lines of light, connecting the dots, the radio in his truck played one of those high lonely mountain songs, and the melody drifted out over the grassland.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Viva La Revolution

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:20:00 +0000

The Year of Books and Financial Aid

Today, I attended my first classes of the semester and then after two hours of being nice and getting nothing, I got pushy at financial aid. I got my loan money though, so I don't mind having to push to get my way. While I like to be a nice person, sometimes a little force is what's necessary to make the wheels turn.

On a different note, I have a stack of reading material that actually stands taller than me (I measured). I have decided that this, 2009, will be the Year of Books. After I finish a book, I will write a small review. Mainly, I want to keep track of this for myself, but I figure I can also give you guys some interesting book reviews. So, first up: Viva La Revolution by Mark Steel.

In this weird and quirky book, Steel claims that revolutions are not started by one group of people or one set of circumstances. Instead, these moments swirl up from just the right mix of anger, outrage, justification and ambition. While this image is powerful, I wonder if the American Revolution follows the same guidelines. Seeing as how we didn't end by lopping off people's heads to carry on our pikes, I would think most likely not.

The book so far, while candid and humorous, it also gives incredible insights into the motivations of men in times of revolution. In my steampunk-fantasy, I've planned an elaborate story about unrest in a world with many parallels to our own, so after taking notes I've got some pretty great ideas.

So, next, I plan to read up on the American Revolution, a subject I haven't touched since grade school because the founding fathers were always portrayed as boring fops - not the tremendous men who founded a nation and overthrew monarchy for democracy and equality. Reading about our founding father seems appropriate, seeing as how inauguration is only a few days away.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Magical Beasties and Revolution

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:12:00 +0000

So, in the past week since Bear left, the house has been quiet and sort of cold and I've gotten the rearranging bug. I've rearranged all of the upstairs and plan to move several stacks of books up there so that it feels more welcoming. Where there are books, I am comfortable. School starts in the next few days and I know I'll probably have to put away North of the Line for another few months. It's frustrating, but necessary if I want to focus on my writing at university.

In my last hours of freedom, I've picked up Viva la Revolution by Mark Steele. It's a stand-up history of the French Revolution, laying out the basics in plain language, which helps. I'm also reading biographies Caesar by Christian Meier and Mao by Jung Chang. Why all the historic reading you ask? I would like a look at influential world leaders for when I write my main character who becomes a pretty influential guy.

Also, if any of you know if any interesting or informative bestiaries, let me know, please. I'm working several magical creatures into the steampunk-fantasy story and could use a good resource.

Holding the Line.
Bri

The Plot is Not Thickening

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:41:00 +0000

One of the hardest things about graduate school is scaling down the epic stories I've always told. I need to write concise short stories, based more around character than plot. The thing is, eventually I want to write for children and they definitely don't really care as much about character development and snail-pace plot. They want to know what happens and they want to love their characters. I'm not saying children's literature is shallow. I'm saying that the adventure and the story don't get second billing to subtle character development and nearly non-existent plot.

And this leads to one of the larger issues I'm dealing with right now: plot. I'm debating how much of North of the Line I should plot out. I think I probably need to work most of it out before I get neck-deep into the story and find that I've written myself into a corner. Also, I have no idea how to plot a series. A basic books is one thing, but something as large and complicated as an epic multi-volume steam-punk fantasy is something else altogether.

The question is whether or not to plot book by book, making sure I leave enough unanswered questions to sustain interest (i.e. LOST) or create something elaborate and thought through (i.e. Battlestar). Knowing me, I'll be neurotic and continually plot the story out so that I can try to keep control of it.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Holding the Line in 2009

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Last Year and This Year

2008 was not my year - the stats on my blog show that. I posted less than 30 times, compared to over 100 posts in 2007. A few things about this year were beautiful. Bear and I have been together since December 20, 2007 and we celebrated when he came to visit over New Year. Most of 2008 were stressful though. I moved away from home and Bear and everything I love. Graduate school in Richmond has been a culture shock and many times I wish I had stayed closer to Texas.

Now that Bear is gone back to Little Rock the house is quiet and not nearly as warm. I do a lot of laundry and try not to notice little things like the change he stacked on the coffee table or the cologne he left on the bathroom counter. I can't express how happy I was while he was here. At the risk of sounding sentimental, I'd say that I'm more in love with him now and I know for a certainty how good life will be with him. I'm glad for that, but at the same time, it's hard to be here without him.

His visit jump-started my interest in my longtime work-in-progress, North of the Line. I've drafted a few scenes and currently, I'm working on the plot for the next few books. One of the major problems is that I'm torn between the idea of a trilogy and just running with the story for as long as I can, book count be damned. I'm also working on developing a few subplots and romance threads that have never been a major part of the story.

I hope you all had a happy New Year!

Holding the Line.
Bri

Little Red Needed Her Huntsman

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:25:00 +0000

After a rocky but good weekend in Portsmouth, our Halloween costume party and viewing of Clint Eastwood's beautiful beast The Changeling, I'm glad to be home. I picked up a few ridiculously cute pieces of clothing before heading back to Richmond, but I regret nothing.

While the Halloween party was a train wreck at first, it evened off. I think we had an alright time. The girls who came over were almost ten years my junior, so the generation gap was incredibly obvious. I was not an immature teenager and neither was I ever really much of a girl; these girls were my antithesis. It was surreal and so I will leave it at that. As you can see, I went as Little Red Riding Hood. My huntsman called me in the middle of the party and got me out of the awkward teenage-ness for a little while and things were better after that.

This week, I don't have to do much, so instead of watching election coverage, which only stresses me out, I think I will probably watch the last season of Sex and the City and read a few Harry Potter books as I attempt to wrap up the series. I may write some, but after last week's illnesses and meanness and cold, I think I might relax. Alot. How was your Halloween?

Holding the Line.
Bri

Settling into Life in Richmond

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Cool Blue Evenings at the Edge of November

Leaves are falling here in Richmond and the cooler temperatures make for nice walking weather. I’ve taken to riding my bike around the neighborhood, picking up a soda from the 7-11 on the loop back home and I find that I’m beginning to enjoy life here. I have a full library of new books, a warm bed and tomato soup and grilled cheese when I come home from a long day at the Writing Center. It’s quiet where I live and so I get my work done, read in my big comfy chair and sit out on the back stoop to eat dinner and watch the neighbor’s cat stalking finches in the high grass.

While I mourn the loss of Boston from the World series, life has taken an upswing in the past few days, for a few reasons. I got a new computer and I dropped the evil composition class that was bringing down my self esteem and my grades. I picked up the perfect eight-hour-battery-life computer and NaNoWriMo starts in just a few weeks. I'll be running through it with my friend, Kathy from Travel Well, Leave None Behind. I’m preparing myself to pick up North of the Line once more. This story has followed me for most of my adolescent life and has surfaced once again in graduate school.

The Great Story

I think, and please don’t judge me for this, that each author has that one great epic story they want to tell. That story will haunt each of us until we write it and define our writing life when we do. Maybe some of you don’t believe in this, but I do. North of the Line has been that story. I have figured out quite a few things about myself in writing this story and I love it for its sudden complexities and its characters, each of whom embody specifics of my own life. The story has also matured as I have come up through college and I am pleased at the changes it has endured in the past few years. While grad school has become the bane of my existence for the moment, this story has become a way for me to escape and enjoy writing again.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Jason Varitek is My Hero

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:31:00 +0000

Must-Win Game and a Must Finish Paper

So, while I'm waiting for the game between the Red Sox and the Rays, I'm working through the composition paper from hell. The thing has to be fifteen pages long, touching on every singe article we've read so far this semester - an impossible thing to accomplish in that page count. I do get a chance to revise it, so I guess I have a chance.

On a lighter note, tonight I get to see Boston in a must-win Game 7 against Tampa. Jason Varitek has become my hero over the past few weeks. He's knocked in some of the pivotal scoring runs for Boston and he's maybe one of the better catchers in the league. And, just as a personal aside, I adore catchers. Tonight, I hope to see a Sox victory, then Boston v. Philly next week.

NaNoWriMo!

As October and baseball's postseason wind down, I'm gearing up for November and Novel Writing Month! A friend and I are launching into the project, with a goal of 20,000 words instead of the traditional 50,000. We're both busy with school and life, her with kids, me with 150 students. So, we're taking it easy and trying to get a story going in November. I'll be posting segments of it every Friday for your consumption.

I'm not expecting a great literary work on the first go round from NaNoWriMo, but I do expect to have a few ideas to work with over Christmas break, which I will be spending in Richmond, VA.

Let's See How Far We've Come

I voted by absentee ballot last week and all I can say is that the election can't get here fast enough. I don't really care how you guys vote, but definitely do it; this may be the most important election in decades. We're picking the next leader of the free world and all of the responsibility that comes with that position. So, vote. I include the following video, just because it's pretty nifty.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Right Path and Praying for Boston

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 19:53:00 +0000

As October rolls in, the American and National baseball leagues battle it out for a chance at the World Series. I admit, I'm a baseball fanatic. During college, I could never guarantee that I would ever get to see the Series, but I followed the post-season quietly, not wanting to alarm my roommates or my boyfriend. This week, Bear has discovered my obsession: baseball is my religion. The Brewers have fallen while the White Socks and the Cubbies retreat back to Chicago. Last night, the Red Sox retired Anaheim in game four. That's tons of fun, but I just want to see the Sox in the Series. Say amen.

This past weekend, I went down to Portsmouth to drop off the face of the earth for a few days. I visited my friend and after we rode bikes, we watched episodes of Frazier while we ate ice cream, grumbling about our aches and bruises and weary legs. I found I was able to concentrate, to focus on my school work, to even consider the life I'm leading. I have decided to continue with my MFA, but once I'm done, I think I'll take a break from academia for a while. I want to be a professor like my undergraduate teachers; they inspired and encouraged their students and I didn't feel like the breath got knocked out of me every time I went to class.

Have any of you ever realized that you may have set out on the right path, but maybe that you did it at the wrong time or in the wrong suit? That's what this feels like.

Holding the Line.
Bri

A Reading List for Graduate School

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:27:00 +0000

From what I hear, graduate school is supposed to be, pardon me, a bitch. Finances, classes, jobs, grades, students, etc. I don't know if I manage my time and my money very well, but I've not run in to most of this evilness. So far, I've picked up thirty books, a few DVDs, and enough fresh fruit to survive the apocalypse. Life is good my friends. Life is pretty freaking good.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Sula by Toni Morrison
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
Tuck Everalsting by Natalie Babbitt
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Heaven's Net is Wide by Liam Hearn
The Harsh Cry of the Heron by Liam Hearn
Brilliance of the Moon by Liam Hearn
The Collected H.G. Wells
The Collected H.P. Lovecraft
Winter's Tale by Mark Heprin
Big Bang by Simon Singh
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

Holding the Line.
Bri

p.s. Thanks for the encouragement on the last post! Knowing you guys understand helps.

Blazing Epiphanies in Graduate School

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Blazing By

Graduate school has picked up and I'm blazing through each week, wondering some days if I've even eaten breakfast. As the months shoot by toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, I find I can't wait to see my parents and Bear. Life in Richmond is fantastic amounts of fun, but I'm ready to be with people I love. Jocelyn came up to visit this weekend and we had a smashing fun time driving out to Mechanicsville in search of a clothing store. I was sad to see her leave this morning.

Realizations and Epiphanies

I came a realization on something, but don't judge me too harshly. I woke up this morning and realized that all through high school and my undergraduate career, I did what I thought everyone wanted me to do. I made perfect grades, I had perfect attendance and I fulfilled all the requirements to get into graduate school. The epiphany came when I realized I am unhappy doing this. I like being able to read whatever I want, on my timeline. I like being able to write what I want, without fear of being crushed for mild mistakes and I like being able to get to bed at decent hours without stressing about some assignment.

What I realized was this: I was glad I wasted the weekend with my friend instead of preparing for another round of schoolwork. I'm glad we ate noodles and watched sappy chick flicks instead of laboring over some obscure article or another. I know that may sound very childish and very selfish, but I think at some point, you've got to do what you want and stop stressing over what everyone else wants.

Holding the Line.

Bri

Suckage and Twilight...Shopping Too

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:10:00 +0000

Shopping Spree

The money from the school finally came through, along with two paychecks they’d been holding. That’s the first thing you need to know. Second is that after my money from the school came through, I went on a shopping spree. I bought cute outfits, cute shoes, cute jackets. The WHOLE nine yards. I look classy and adorable. Its amazing what money can buy: it may not buy happiness, but it comes damn close. The only thing that would make this week any better is if Bear could be here with me.

Suck-age

The thing is that long distance relationships suck. The Long Distance Relationship of Bri and Bear is probably not as bad as others. We talk throughout the week. He’s busy. I’m busy. Those are the facts. But it still sucks. Here are three reasons why.

He can't be here to check and see if there are zombies or other monster-esque things downstairs when I hear a noise at night.
He can't be here to say things or make faces or do dances that make me laugh.
He can't be here.

And so it goes. But the thing is that when I do get to talk to him on Skype, or I do see pictures of him on Facebook, it is enough for now.

Twilight...and Feminism

I just lately finished the second book of the Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, when I hear an uproar on the Internets. There is apparently a row about the author being an anti-feminist pro-stalker vampire lover. Honestly. I read the series. I adored it. I chewed through the first two books in days. I'll tell you this. It is pulp. It is entertainment. It is base. But that doesn't mean its not a good book. That doesn't mean that kids shouldn't read it.

I'll be going into Twilight more later this week. I'll just say for now that this sort of book is the reason I eventually picked up the classics. Formula books, books like Twilight are the reasons students stick with reading long enough to develop taste and good sense in literature.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Notes from a Debate on God - Hitchens v. Turek

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:58:00 +0000

Last night, I attended a debate between Christopher Hitchens and Frank Turek on whether or not God Exists. The debate was handled well, but I felt Frank Turek was a little outmatched. I was relieved that no chairs were hurled or pitchforks and torches brandished. I left during the Q&A because Turek started circling his arguments and I got bored with the dogma. I am a monstrous fan of Christopher Hitchens, so to actually see him debate in person was incredible.

The sum total of the debate was that Hitchens believes that religion requires a person to become an absolute slave to a totalitarian dictator who may not even exist. Meanwhile, Turek was pretty much the run-of-the-mill Christian Apologetic and made the typical arguments for God (note, specifically the God of western religion). The debate shifted near the end, focusing on such typical subjects as a woman's right to chose, morality, ethics and so on. I found this slightly disappointing in that I wanted a more substantial debate that did not fall into the routine and predictable dogmas.

I could think of various ways to answer Turek and I felt that Hitchens sort eased around the questions, either because he didn't want to answer or because it wasn't worth expending the energy because someone like Turek wouldn't have cared to listen anyway. It comes the point that it's not worth arguing, since the other side isn't interested in listening to reason, only in proving their moral superiority or justifying their beliefs. Its not that I condemn one side or the other. I just feel a public debate should rise above such childishness.

Here's a great review of the debate that goes into more detail.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Hoping for the Best...

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Mediterranean Markets and Bagel Shops

Over the last few days, I've been working through graduate school assignments and trying not to completely freak out over rent and bills. My money still has not come from the school and I could really use it right about now. I try to relax, walking through downtown Richmond. There's a Mediterranean market not far from here and every morning it makes my mouth water. The bakery puts off a cloud of smoke and steam, thick with spices and herbs. I also discovered a homemade bagel shop right down the block where they make their own cream cheese and will stack turkey and bacon as high as I want. While living without funds from the school, life is fairly good.

A Fiction Class...Without Any Writing

I've taken to writing in a Moleskine after last week's fiction class. I left feeling about two inches tall, doubting why I ever wanted to be a writer in the first place. The professors pedagogy was all lecture. In a two hour and thirty minute fiction class, I didn't get to write a single word. At least as an undergrad, I left almost every class with over two hundred words. So, Moleskine to the rescue. It looks fancy and nifty, and I like writing nifty and fancy ideas in it. Take that, lecturer! My notebook is superior to your pedagogy.

Politics...Hopefully Not as Usual

I saw an article this morning on CNN suggesting the likelihood of Palin being dropped from McCain's ticket later in the election cycle. While I'm not sure of that, I do know that picking her was probably a mistake. I follow politics closely, though I rarely discuss my opinions on the state of the union and our (regrettable) president. But in watching the news this morning, I was struck by a melancholy and the realization that we cannot continue on our present course. Of politics, I remember most clearly the first Gulf War, when I was five, the prosperity of the Clinton years as a teenager and the wanton disregard of the Bush administration for the Constitution, American foreign policy and human rights through my entire college career. Watching the news this morning, I was glad I already cast my vote, via absentee ballot. I've just got to wait till November to how the chips fall.

What Was He Thinking and Some Writing

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:12:00 +0000

Waiting for Funds

I've settled into the life of graduate school. The routine is comfortable, for now. Bear has been able to talk more lately; I don't feel like we're so far apart when I hear his voice. I'm still waiting on my loan money, but once I get it, I'll have a heyday. I'll get a cute little laptop, an adorable blue bicycle from Walmart and a ton of books, beginning with The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I'll paint the apartment and buy the Ultimate Chair. There you have it. My plan to rule the world.

Wheat Field Heresy

On a much more serious note, I've been working on the story about the scientific minded girl in the rural southern town. One of the scenes I've drafted deals with what happens when the young boy takes one of her books home, without her permission. When his father finds him reading it, he rails against his son and demands the book be taken from their home and destroyed. The boy complies, mourning even as he burns the book in a trashcan in the driveway. When he tells her what happened, the following conversation takes place. It's not so much what I'm wanting, but it's a rough idea.

"I'll buy you another copy," he said.
"It's not that," she said. "What burns brighter? The book in your trashcan or the idea still in your head?"
"I hate you," he said into the curve of his elbow. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed.
"No," she said. "You hate what you fear and fear what you don't understand."

In Other News

McCain's VP choice is mind boggling; what was he thinking? Better...was he thinking? Also, I'm not sure I like my graduate level fiction class and I wish the rain would go away so I could go swimming. That's about it.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Adam and Eve: Controversy in YA Lit

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:32:00 +0000

I attended my first batch of grad classes this past week and assisted in a class of almost 420 students. At some point, I'll receive my financial aid, decorate my apartment and pay rent ahead for the next six months. I figure once all the grad school issues are resolved and I'm settled, I'll be able to talk to Bear and not be at my wit's end.

Adam and Eve in YA Lit

One of the requirements for my Young Adult literature class is that I have to draft the first few chapters of a YA novel. I've decided to write on a subject that is terribly close to my heart and terribly controversial. I am of the persuasion that science and reason have been fighting an age-old battle against religion and superstition in order to bring understanding, maybe even compassion, to the world. Through people like Galileo and Copernicus, Darwin and Lyell, we learned our place on earth and in the universe was not privileged. Through countless others, we learned that the universe was marvelous in itself and vast beyond our comprehension. In short, we learned that everything did not revolve around us.

I've drafted out the first few pages, modeled on the story of Adam and Eve as well as the myth of Prometheus. Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge and because they learned, because they did not remain blissful in their ignorance, they were thrown from Paradise. Prometheus brought fire and knowledge to humanity and was destroyed for his efforts. My YA novel follows a similar pattern. A young girl moves into a small southern town with her family and the local boy is completely infatuated with her. He is pulled into her world of knowledge and science, wonder and, to his mind, blasphemy. He becomes a halved person. He can no longer believe in his God as he did before, but the fear of Hell and the uncertainty of his soul does not allow him to live fully without his religion.

It's a work in progress and I have a feeling it will ruffle a few feathers. I'm drawing from my own experience for this book, so I'm wondering if I should put some distance between myself and the work. Any thoughts?

Holding the Line.
Bri

Writing: An Oroborous Tradition

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:06:00 +0000

After reading Stephanie Vanderslice's post on boy's literacy, I thought I'd add my thoughts. One of the themes I found the examples she gave was adventure stories. This is probably how most people come up in the literary tradition: pulps, comics, magazines, ten-cent westerns. When we're young our parents grab the cheapest, safest books that are close at hand. My progression was as follows: Laura Ingalls, Louis L'Amour, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Golding, Joseph Conrad, Cormac McCarthy. Slowly, I climbed toward more complex storytelling, character development and themes.

We all have horror stories of early English teachers who took away our story notebooks because it wasn't the assignment or who commented on the lack of substance in our reading preferences. Every form of art or creative endeavor makes this cycle, though, from genre to genre. Everything moves through cycles of epic, pastoral, romantic and so on. I use the word cycle because I don't believe that people evolve in a linear fashion. We're like Oroborous in that we come back to the beginning, time after time. We find what is useful in our literary tradition and create our own voice.

In my own work, I developed my own voice by studying the deeply personal characters from Laura Ingalls, plot from Tolkien, setting from Conrad, moral themes from Golding and beautiful language from McCarthy. The Epic is no more valuable to us culturally than the Romance. Each has a place and each offers us a tradition for our own writing.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Skinny Scarves, Orange Soda and Textbooks

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:36:00 +0000

Beginning the Skinny Scarf and My Books

I took it easy this weekend, cleaning the house, doing laundry, talking to Bear, and drinking bright orange soda while I listened to Pandora and wrote. I picked up my textbooks, eleven books of young adult fiction, for my class. I've already eaten my way through two and plan to devour the next eight in the next few days. I also learned to crochet over the past week and started a skinny cranberry-colored scarf. It has grown in epic leaps and is now almost eight feet long. I am sure it will look completely charming, come winter.

Grad School Update

Tomorrow, I go to meet the professor I'll be working for this semester and to attend various workshops and orientations for graduate students and TAs. I'm excited, but also a little nervous. I cut my hair today, shaping it back into a cute bob, a little long in the front, but just how I like it. At least I can be confident that I look good when I walk in there.

What's Coming

After studying the Big Bang and various other cosmological phenomena yesterday and today, I find myself in awe. I'm not sure how people can look at this information and all these centuries of research and not be astounded at our abilities and our determination to find and understand our place in the universe. I'll be posting more about this later...trust me, I won't bore you. It's fairly fascinating.

Holding the Line.
Bri

I Have Chaos in My Heart

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:30:00 +0000

Graduate School and Tradition

After attending the first of several orientations for graduate school, I made my way through downtown Richmond, easing off the stress of the past few days. I'll be relieved when school starts, but I'll miss life without deadlines. With a deadline though, I know I'll write more and I'll write better. I always do under pressure.

One thing that is bothering me is that I didn't come up on a tradition like most of my fellow writers. I didn't read Joyce and Hemingway, Faulkner and Steinbeck. I came up on Robert Heinlein, Phillip Pullman, Michael Chabon, Frank Herbert and J.R.R. Tolkien. I can guess how these writers are viewed, and it makes me worry. Alot. I just hope I don't look like a schmuck in my fiction workshops for not having read any of the classics.

Heroes and Lesser Men
"You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

As I mentioned in previous posts, I've been reading Nietzsche, Kierkegaard and Sartre. The most appealing, from a writerly perspective were Nietzsche and Sartre. Kierkegaard, at times, went off into weirdness, claiming God would rejoice in all our deaths. He was a Christian existentialist...which would seem to create a paradox.

Nietzsche's Overman is everything that everyone would ever want to be. He's powerful, he's confident and he's not bound by anyone's morality but his own. He lives his own life. The Last Man is the opposite: a mediocre conformist. He can't get beyond his own smallness and his fanaticism to small ideas. Sartre claimed that man is alone in the universe and is made by and responsible for his actions.

I think the heroes in my story (among them, my villain), are rooted in these concepts. I include my villain among my heroes, because most people pave the road to hell with good intentions, never intending evil. I admire that these misguided characters act because action, to me, is a heroic quality.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Particle Physics and Philosophy

brispicer@gmail.com (Bri) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:07:00 +0000

Recently, I've delved fairly deeply into subjects a little out of my realm of understanding: particle physics, biological evolution and Eastern and Western philosophy. This may seems strange, but I use most of what I learned to further develop my characters and my writing.

Nietzsche, Buddhism and the Ubermensch

One of the main concepts I've been looking into is the idea of Nietzsche's Ubermensch and Buddhism. These may seem completely unrelated, but there is a connection: Nietzsche compares Christianity to Buddhism. He labels Buddhism as the more honest of the two, because Buddhism longs to end suffering while Christianity wants to end sin. Christianity condemns natural tendencies like sex and desire for strength, while Buddhism exhorts humanity to compassion and does not deny the urges million-year-old genetics. I haven't really formulated my opinion yet, but I find Nietzsche's distinctions interesting.

Nietzsche also had the ideal of the Ubermensch, and while I don't necessarily agree with all of it, I like the idea that we can aspire to something instead of waiting for an afterlife. I also entertain the idea of the Ultimate Man being similar to someone who has attained nirvana, ultimate compassion and ultimate knowledge...and maybe ultimate power?

Reasons for this Study...

Over the summer, I've realized exactly what my story could be and exactly how daunting this task will now be. I feel as if I've arrived at some important point, that somehow I've moved up a notch or two. I understand the grace and power and art of a well told story. And I realize I can tell more than a just a children's story. I can relate deeper concepts like the struggle of rationalism and humanism against superstition and entrenched authority. That's why I'm studying subjects I didn't have time to study in college.

Holding the Line.
Bri