 |
| I know I just used this picture the other day but I really like it, so sue me... I am posting it again! |
Hi Mom,
I was all set to share someone else's content today, Mom, as I kind of took the weekend off from blogging with the KUDL tournament yesterday and today, Sunday, one of the few days in the year in which all my schools were off and I really had no work to do. So, I am choosing to rest and relax and read. I want to put heat on my ailing hip. I want to rest after a long day of Ultimate yesterday. And I want to get some quality self care time in before things get a bit crazy.
And then I read this blurby interview with Anne Rice in Entertainment Weekly (EW), and I decided to deliver some -- albeit brief -- original content.
Apparently, Anne Rice has a new Lestat novel coming out in November to be called Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis. I just pre-ordered it. I am excited. Rice has not published -- that I know of -- any novels in the vampire series in some time, though I am too lazy to go check this fact right now. But I am also a huge Atlantis fan. I own many of the books published on Atlantis over the years, supposed "non-fiction" books I mean, not novels. In fact, L. Sprague DeCamp's rare Lost Continents is right on my night stand.
EW asked her three questions about her work and this novel in particular. In response to a question about the best advice she ever received on writing, she said that she heard George Lucas say in 1977 about Star Wars that "we made the movie we couldn't find." She said that always stuck with her and she remembered it. She said that it is "a rule I have to remember. Write the book you can't find that you really want to read."
This struck me as well. I have been thinking a lot about the novel I want to write this summer, but I have yet to make any strides with the work. I keep promising myself that I will start writing out my brain storms and also start writing some fiction, some prose, some of the parts, and then I always find other things that I need to do. But my thoughts keep returning to the novel work and mulling my options.The main novel project that I want to work on and finish is a massive under-taking. I have ambitious plans for world building and for a complex, multi-character epic story. Yes, of course, I am inspired by Game of Thrones, but I have been writing this novel long before I discovered and first read the first book of Martin's series named A song of Fire and Ice. Though Game of Thrones was published in 1996, it was probably 1999 or even 2000 or just after that I first discovered it. My first copy of Game of Thrones was in paperback, but my first copy of A Clash of Kings was in hardcover, leading me to think that it some time between 1998 and 2000 that I discovered the books.
My original inspiration for my series, which is named CyberSpell, was Stephenson's Snow Crash, but I have had many influences since then and the work is really an amalgam of many sources and touchstones.
Given that writers like Warren Ellis, Monica Byrne, John Scalzi, and others are strong influences for me, part of my thinking leads my down paths of what I think they might like. Since the market for SF and Fantasy is so wide open, I have given up trying to predict the market, but I do wonder what I could create that would earn me the praise of those authors whom I admire so much.
And yet, I know that's a trap and the wrong line of thought. I should be writing from my own instinct not second guessing what I think someone else will like or what I think will sell or earn me accolades. In this light, Lucas' comment as repeated by Anne Rice resonated for me. My whole goal with this novel has always been to write the book that I cannot find that I would want to read. I want people to share the book by telling others to read this "really cool book." The book I imagine is exciting and has great characters, many of whom are strong female protagonists. But it's also set in a world that is well-conceived and intricate with a premise that intrigues and inspires readers. Ultimately, it would be a book series that might inspire games, especially role playing games, given my history with those those games and the basis of the book's premise in that mythology and paradigm.I feel renewed to blaze a true trail, a straight path, a smart path, into the crazy wilderness of this idea.
I will fuel my ideas with more reading as I always do. Right now, I am reading Stephen King and John Irving, both of whom inspire me in different and substantial ways.
But also, my conversations with you, Mom, are always a way for me to focus and re-direct my efforts. I allow myself to remain open to possibility as this blog entry was originally something else until I read that blurb by Anne Rice.
It's all grist for the mill -- reading, writing, blogging -- and your spirit, Mom, gives me strength.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Reflect and connect.
Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.
I miss you so very much, Mom.
Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- Days ago = 406 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1608.14 - 10:10
NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.
No comments:
Post a Comment