Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Update

I'm not really sure where I'm going with today's post. I'm posting because I haven't since November 16th. I'm posting because I do feel like I have a few things to say to my oh-so-awesome followers. So here goes, in no particular order:
  • Read Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and loved it. It's a prequel to her Mortal Instruments Series (which if you haven't read and you like YA Fantasy--you should most definitely do). I hadn't actually read a book in a long time. Lately, I've only had time for audio books.This time when I read though, I paid particular interest to punctuation marks and grammar stuff. It was very educational. Reading this book though, did have an interesting negative effect on my creative psyche. I think Cassandra Clare is amazing at describing settings and she has this intuitive way of weaving words together so that it really puts the reader in the thick of things. After finishing this book I thought to myself, I don't think I can ever write like that....sigh....hence commenced a week or so of self-pity, self-doubt, and a bit of writer's block.
  • I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Enjoyed every minute of it. Kind of want to go watch it again. Thought the screenwriter did an excellent job. Sure, he cut a lot of stuff out, but he kept what was pertinent to the ultimate story, without making it look like he hacked through the book.
  • I haven't written in about 10 days or so. I'm at a really important part of my manuscript. I don't know if I'm just afraid to go forward because I fear poor execution, or if I'm just waiting for some epiphany to make this point in my manuscript just freaking awesome, or if it's just a combination of both. 
  • Just read an excellent post at Kiersten White's Blog. It makes me feel better about where I am at with my writing.

2 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you mean about your first point. I sometimes read writers who know how to express something so perfectly. I think to myself "that is genius because I never would have thought to say it that way". Then I get depressed because on my best day I'll never be that good. I guess mere mortals have to find some comfort in the fact that if everyone was Shakespeare or Dickens then there would be nothing special at all about Romeo and Juliet or Oliver Twist. I guess we all have to ask ourselves, is it enough that other people enjoy reading our work? Do we have to be as regarded as JK Rowling to feel that we have succeeded?

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  2. Thanks for dropping by Optional Delusion (love that name BTW). I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one. And you're right, we can't all be literary masterpieces.

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