On Hideously Rude People and Adorable Diagrams!!

I'm glad everyone loved the photos! I use a Fujifilm FinePix S700 (10x zoom and 7.1 megapx), for those of you who wanted to know. For those pictures of Robespierre, I used natural light and a macro setting on the camera. That's right: I was horribly brave. To get that sort of shot, I got about two centimeters away from him, careful that the wind did not blow him into my face. Now that I think about it, I sort of shiver.

Also, I'll post about all my classes tomorrow once I'm done! :D

Bri Meets Two People With No Manners and a Mean Streak

Today was the most outrageously rude day I think I may remember. When I went to my science fiction writing class this morning, all ready for a great day of creativity, two people were standing outside of the Writing Center. I realized fairly quickly that they were discussing the Center and how "blanking useless" they thought it was. Of course, my first thought was sophomoric. Nuh-uh, your mom is useless. But instead, this was the conversation:

Dude: "Yah, and you know the Writing Center is so f-ing useless."
Girl: "Yah, I agree. The people who work there are so-"
Me: "Excuse me? Yes, um...pardon...but I work there, by the way."
Girl: [sneering] "Yah? Well, it's f-ing useless."
Dude: "Absolutely."
Me: [O.o]

I know. I was amazed that someone could be so monstrously rude and horribly ugly. The tutors at the Writing Center are paid at or less than minimum wage and students bring in papers that need catastrophic amounts of corrections or direction. I make sure that the students I work with leave, happy. And most of them request me for future sessions - CONSTANTLY. Needless to say, I was offended. All through class, those two ignored the rest of us and made friendly with the professor.

The line to the Caff (the pit of hell where we eat :D) was out in the street, so I went to the C-Store . But they had no soda or sandwiches (I guess it wasn't lunch time at the C-Store). So I came to my room and had turkey, grapes and cheese - but no bread. We're out. All of fifteen of us on my hall are out. But, enough about the day! Look below for an adorable diagram!

A Cute Diagram for Explaining My Story

As far as Sweating with Sven goes, I'm coming up on the last scenes of Act II, so I have made it through the Wastelands of the Middle. While I know how the end comes, I'm a little nervous.

The thing is, I view a story like a series of flooded hallways. Weird, I know. This is how it works. The first part of the story is not so tense and your characters are in about ankle deep. But then there is an event that pulls the characters in. They can't turn away, so they make a choice - and I usually think of that as them opening the first door.

Instead of finding relief from soggy boots or their problems, our heroes find themselves up to their hips in deeper, darker waters and darker problems. So they scramble for a decision; because there is no going back, they open the next door...And so on, until you get to the end. By this point, the tension is so high you could snap and your characters are almost drowning.

Beware, Sven!! I approach the last door!
How's the week going for you guys?

So say we all.
Bri

On Clubbing, Spiders and Photoshop's Appetite

Clubbing with Sven

Anna Black's 1000 Word a Day Club is starting up September 1. This week, I'm getting together some scrapped short story ideas to revive for this challenge. Who knows I may have a few stories within the next few weeks to submit to a mag or two. I can't wait for this to start! One of the things I loved most about the Challenge with Sven is the community of writer's I've found who are just as dedicated to writing as I am. I'm looking forward to a similar experience with the 1000 Word-a-Day Club.

Speaking of Sven - since moving in, I've been scrambling to catch up on the word count. What is most frustrating is hitting a brick wall creatively, in a situation like this. Just when I need the ideas, desperately, they all go on vacation. So, I'm working on another WIP for a day or two to let my batteries recharge. Also, I'm working on the structure of the entire series - and forcing myself not to go back and revise.

How is Sven working with you guys?

HE DOESN'T EAT CURDS AND WEY...AND HE DOESN'T MUCH LIKE MS. MUFFETT

I've started walking in the evenings, and on the way to the Fountain, I saw a few very lovely things. Tomorrow I will be sure to take my camera. For now, I am proud to present Mr. Spider. For purposes of this post, we will deign to call him Robespierre.

Robespierre lives near my dorm and every morning and ever evening, he waits. He waits for lunch! And today was the day he ate! In honor of the occasion, I requested a photoshoot to which he, at long last, acquiesced. So, for your viewing pleasure, I present the honorable Robespierre, Garden Spider Extraordinaire, with Mr. Lunch:

OTHER SUNDRIES AND TIDBITS OF INTEREST

My class schedule is lining up nicely. I get to work more than I thought, which is great. I also have two science fiction classes, one for reading, one for writing/marketing. The other class I believe I might thoroughly enjoy is called The Evolution of Rhetorical Theory. I know I sound like a nerd for that, but I love theoretics that can be applied to a practical art or discipline. The teacher is a fellow Texan and worked in an impressive university writing center. Interesting? Just a little. :D

LAST/FRIVOLOUS TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

I drew a picture of a very cool and sexy man for today, but Photoshop ate it. I'm working on reconstructing the image (lineart survived!) and I'll try to post it later in the week. Let me know how it's going!

So say we all.
Bri

A Guide to the Seven-Walled Room!

Behold! The Seven (7) Walls - not Wonders - of Bri's Room! Yesterday, I finally finished unpacking and I've nested, as you can see.

I'm far behind on my word count and catching up with Sven will be a chore, no doubt. Good news: I got a little more than 3K words today. I'll post more coherently later, and get the Friday Snippet ready.

How are you guy's doing? It was great getting to catch up with your blogs. Hope you enjoy the pictures!


So say we all.
Bri

One Step Ahead of the Plot

FIVE DAYS AND COUNTING TILL WE MOVE OUT

In real life, we're counting down to the move. I've had everything packed for about a week or more, but this Saturday we load up the car. Sunday, before morning, we travel back to University! I'm so excited. What's on the docket when we get back, you ask?

1. Writing - CURSE YOU SVEN
2. Drawing with Photoshop - w00t!
3. Firefly - Need I say more?
4. Starcraft (lots) - Ditto because we lurv the scifi
5. Decorating! - Don't worry, I'll take pictures. Be assured it will be quite a lot of fun.

The Sweaty World of Sven

I'm still up on the word count but I'm dealing with some structural probelms. I've divided my story into four separate POVs - my hero, his sister, his brother, and his best friend. I'm considering a fifth - an older family friend. His POV would not be as frequent, but could offer a different perspective and some important backstory. The problem with this fifth is that he is a character capable of seeing fragments of the future.

I would consider the whole "prophecy/oracle" tropes one of the great negative aspects of fantasy. Almost all of the stories I've read which deal in prophecies are very poorly written. They do a few things that annoy me.

The Few Things

1. They give away certain plot surprises I'm sure I would otherwise enjoy.
2. In giving the prophecy, it seems like the author is giving up any attempt at subtlety or foreshadowing. Instead, he gives you a road map and says, "Now, hang on for the ride! See how cool it's going to be?!"
3. The prophecy is so vague or so mystical, it could mean anything and doesn't really help the story along at all.

Because of this, I am very tentative to try my hand at it, even to the point of maybe not adding this fifth character's POV for fear that he may be required to talk about what he sees. The strange thing about this character is that his past is infinitely more interesting than what he could see, and I think I might be able to play with the irony there. We'll see.

So say we all.
Bri

What I Found in a Flood Plain

Yesterday, while driving down through the flood plain west and north of town, I ran through my current WIP several times, looking for plot holes and character slips. But as I passed the old home places of family members and friends who have moved off or passed on, I found a surprising story I'd never considered.

There was the house where a family friend lived during the flooding in the sixties when the levees broke. Her dad would troll her up to the bus stop for school in a john-boat because the water was up over the ten-yard-bridge. There was the house where my dad shot skeet off the back porch with friends and the land where my grandfather kept his cows, broke horses for side money and decided not to be a sharecropper like his father. I'm not sure what to do with these stories. I don't want to write anything with actual family - that gets complicated way too fast. But I think the material needs to be written down.

As I was considering this, lo and behold, I slowed the car and stared. A great flock of Canadian geese, probably resting in the flat lands on their way north, waddled across the road. They were quiet, hissing every now and then at looming dragonflies or a frog hopping across the road. All total, their brigade numbered in the thirties. They stepped out of the my car's path and into the grass, heading toward their pond at sunset, not giving me a second look. :)

I got a little ahead of Sven this weekend and so today, I'm taking time to clean up my draft - just a little - plan for what's coming next. I have broken the half-way point in the novel, and wander now in the dreaded middle. But, because of the woven story lines between my hero, my heroine (his sister). their other brother and their friend, I don't think the middle will be sagging.

Otherwise, I have developed a motley supporting cast around my heroine. While these characters surprise me - considering that they didn't exist until they suddenly walked in - they are turning into a really interesting group. We'll see. This week, I'm also assessing how the novel as a whole stands in getting me closer to my thesis (due this Spring).

How are you guy's doing with Sven?

So say we all.
Bri

When Math Fails You, Sven, and the Universe

Today, I was incredibly far behind (read 4,000 words) on the Challenge and Sven was angry. So, I wrote like a fiend. So, when I did my word count, I expected to find myself gaining ground. But...I forgot to count a section.

When I tallied up my word count, I thought I wrote ALL DAY only to have it add up to less than 400 words. I almost cried. Math had failed me. But then I realized my mistake. I actually went a little over my requirement. Take that Sven, you sweaty little jerk. :D

A Few Thoughts on XIII and the Challenge

• I am almost 3/4 of the way done with my heroine's story arc. She has become this powerful and persuasive young woman and I absolutely love writing her. The men who love her are also fairly sweet (read: teh lovelies) as well.
• Writing these scenes makes me want to draw. Curse you, Sven! You make me focus. Le sigh.
• A great thing called positioning has wandered into my writing life. I picked up this idea from a book called Chapter After Chapter. Pretty much the idea is that just how little kids get their stuff together the night before going to school, writers should do the same. So every night, I go over what I need to do the next day...and what's cool is that I usually end up dreaming about it, or at least thinking about it a lot more than I would normally.
  

Other Pleasnat Happenings and Wonders

• That little menu bar below my header took me two days to code. Mind you, I had to learn how to code first. But it looks pretty sweet. Don't worry, there will soon be things to see up there. Right now, I'm too pooped to add the links.
  
• I might set up a blog for XIII since that story consumes so much of my time. But I can't think of a good name for it. This is on the back burner for now.
• I have ideas for short stories...lots of them. What a wonderful world.
  
• I wrote 4,000 words today (in case you missed it above). My fingers are flipping out.
  
• I called Jocelyn and read her a tremendously long scene. She gave great comments, though she was tired. She wants to draw costumes for my characters, which I hang up beside my computer for inspiration. She is full of awesome.
• Charlie is also drawing up some characters from my short story What is Now: Easter Sunday. Whoorah for artists. He is also the coolest.
  

That's all for now. I'll check back in later on Thursday and then Friday Snippet Time! Jocelyn is doing an illustration for me this week and I'll be posting some of her other artwork for the postapocalptic chick lit. Prepare yourself for a day of cool.

If there are any typos in the above post, please forgive. Night.

So say we all.
Bri

A Few Apologies, Followed by Encouragment and Fighting Words!

I know, I know. I said I would blog about series, and I put up a post like I promised. But then I didn't like what I wrote so I put it back as a draft. I need to get it all well and organized and understandable before I post it. I should have known with the Sven challenge and packing and other stress factors, that I would not be as coherent with it as I would like. So if you'll forgive me and bear with me, I'll be able to deliver a much better post on those topics in the next week or so. Again, apologies all around.

In the meantime, I'll tell you about how I'm doing with Sven. I know a lot of your are going through some frustrating moments with the challenge but I hope you keep going! This past week was awful (I got about four days behind). But since Saturday, I've made wonderful progress: the word count and time limitations won't let me edit excessively (my kryptonite).

While I've read that the challenge is stressful for some or overwhelming for others, if you have a few productive days, you know it makes up for those when Sven was a jerk and the writing was more painful than stubbing your baby toe on a table or that public humiliation you suffered in grade school.

So if you're frustrated, if you're behind, don't give up! Keep going! Sven can't have the satisfaction of beating us.

So say we all.
Bri

Plans within Plans...and Packing for the Great Migration

I've been off the blogosphere for a few days because I've been packing. That's right. The autumnal migration of Bri has begun once again. Today, I reduced my life to five cardboard boxes, a laundry basket and a few rugs. I still have to sort through my art stuff, but everything else is packed.

While Sven is a (still) a complete jerk, I have kept ahead of the word count and made some wonderful discoveries in the story.

1. My protagonist, a cool guy, has become doubly cool because of some responsibilities and goals I gave him. I was delighted when I realized how awesomely awesome he could be by changing just a few things.
2. I've also introduced this dashing and sort of gruff highlander who becomes the heroine's right hand. He might be (slightly) in love with her, but I'm enjoying him so much I don't see much problem with it.
3. I'm having a little bit of trouble with POV and exactly who should have those scenes and who can do without. Generally I work around about four POV characters (in limited third person), but if I have another one or two every now and then, I'm not sure it will hurt.
   
4. I've also been considering my heroine's half of the story. As the hero's sister, she has to be pretty rocking awesome to compete. Quite unexpectedly, her story has become as cool, if not cooler, than her brother's. We'll have to work on this.
5. The End of the Series is working itself out...

Which leads me to say that tomorrow, I'll begin posts on how handling my own series' various storylines and subplots (Tuesday), POV and character development (Wednesday), and theme and brainstorming methods (Thursday).

Otherwise, life is good. I'll post a video of the before and after shots of my packing rampage and probably a sketch or two from designs I've been working on for the past few weeks. Anyway, sorry I haven't been around much! I'll be around to say hi and comment later tonight, promise.

So say we all.
Bri

What it Means to Choose Wisely OR The MFA Debate

Sweating for Sven has not gone so well these past few days, and I'm not really sure why. I've had the time to write and I've had the ideas, but every time I sat down, I just stared at the screen.

EXCUSES, EXCUSESOne of the reasons for this is that I have been feverishly collecting information on graduate schools. Very soon I will apply to begin my MFA in creative writing in Fall of 2009. The fact that this will lead to the rest of my life and my career and my ability to live as an adult is nerve-wracking. I found about ten schools which fit the bill, but then I discovered something horrific.

I discovered that many MFA programs look down on genre writing: science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, horror, noir, metafiction, etc. (read: everything I adore about writing). Most encourage writing in the literary vein. My blood settled down like sludge and I thought maybe my heart was sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor.

But that was when I started thinking.

WHAT I REALIZEDI realized my MFA was about more than my creative process or what I would/wouldn't be allowed to write for the next three years. Much more. My MFA was about me finding a job to sustain myself so that I could pursue my creative ideas - for the rest of my life.

I realized I shouldn't see the MFA as something that could possibly crush me or my desire to write. Rather I should see it as something that could be a step toward the life I want. I saw it as something that could help me were I need help and reinforce my strengths.

WHAT SOME WILL SAY

Some would say that I should find a school that allows me to write in my specific genre. Some would call what my decision a betrayal of my writing. Or a compromise.

I call it practicality. I call it reality. I also call it branching out.

So it doesn't really matter what "some" say. What matters most is that I'm no longer hounded by a sense of feral panic. I chose for me. And I think I chose wisely.

CONTINUING WITH SVEN
Only today has the urge to continue with Sven returned. I'll be caught up by tonight, but I hate getting behind.

So say we all.
Bri

And I Saw That It Was Good...and I Was Glad

70 Days of Sweat - Progress!

Through this 70 Day Challenge, I've fleshed out my characters and developed a much stronger overall plot for the series. I've also gained a serious understanding of my fantasy world and found my voice fairly early in the draft. And seeing that, I peeked at the ending. And I was glad.

After getting ahead of my word count goal today, I examined what I wrote and saw that it was good. And I was glad.

Scene 1, in which violence and intense emotion lead to much greater conflict later in the novel!
Scene 2, in which where my heroine shows her true strength for the first time!
Scene 3, from which there is no going back, the point of no return

Ending a Series...

I've been considering Joely's post on series endings today. So, of course, I've thought more and more about the ending of my five-book series, XIII. I try to keep my calm when it comes to the ending. I've a long way to go before I get there.

But for the first time today, I dared to think of the ultimate end of the series - and I allowed myself moment to be completely psyched out about it. And I was glad.

The Beatles+Musical+ Vietnam+Free Love = The Lovely Clip Below! See Before You Go!

So say we all.
Bri

P.S. I have to get glasses because of eye strain. I was not glad. But it's ok.

90K for Sven: Of Writing, Canine Rage, and the Net

Because Sven Says!

Sweating with Sven has been one of the greater experiences for my writing. In revising XIII, I have found a stronger voice and much more enjoyable characters. Needless to say, I am pleasantly surprised. The word count is just enough every day that I don't feel rushed and can be incredibly proud of my prose this round of revision.

And I Will Show You Something Different...

A Handful of Dust is also coming along nicely. It's not part of the Sweat challenge, but I am serializing it every week through Friday Snippets (which, btw, are all collected and numbered in the left sidebar under Dispatches). So far, everyone seems to enjoy the story and I enjoy (read: have amazing amounts of fun) researching. This Friday, I'll leave Dell in a particularly difficult situation and next week Iris will be introduced. I hope you guys like her as much as Dell.

On the Miracles of Law Enforcement

In real life, I've had to call the cops on my neighbor's dog. Now before you say, "Oh, Bri, that's so horrible. Don't you like dogs?" listen to this. It barked constantly. Every. Single. Night. It barked from 1:30 AM to 8:00 AM. Talking to the owner did no good, so I resorted to desperate measures. And for the past two nights since the cops visited him, I've had solid sleep. Whoorah.

The Net is Vast and Infinite Lonely

I've gotten to know quite a few of the writer-bloggers in this little area of the net and had a blast. So, this weekend I tried to find a few other fantasy and science fiction writer-bloggers. Strangely, I could find very few who kept consistent blogs or who responded to conversation in their comments. Can anyone point me toward a blogger community of these sorts? Or are we it? The last stronghold of fantasy, science fiction and romantic writers in all the vastness of the Net? :D

So say we all.
Bri