Tag: personal

In that middle ground again

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It’s been a rough couple of weeks here at the New Digs. There’s been a bit of drama at the Day Job that I’ve been juggling, not to mention the rise in customer volume considering it’s Q4 and the start of the holiday retail season. I’ve also been doing a hell of a lot of thinking about how I’m going to finish Theadia, and what project(s) I’ll start after that one’s completed. Then there’s the cold/allergies that laid me out for a few days a while back.

Right now I’m feeling very much like I’m somewhere in between where I was and where I need to be, and that can be tense when I can only do so much to keep it moving in the right direction. Sometimes I’m fine with that — the journey’s part of the learning process, as they say — but other times the journey feels like one frustration after another that has to be handled in a certain way in order for the remainder of the trip to be smoother. [Come to find out, this is an ongoing theme in Theadia.] All I can do is just keep going despite the impatience, the anxiety, and the annoyance.

Still, there is a bright side. I’ve gone through this many times before, and if I play this bit of 5D chess the right way like I’ve done before, the end results will definitely be worth it.

And now for the next step…

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I am just a few short(ish) chapters away from completing this current revision of Theadia, which means two things. One, my next step in completing this novel is to go back again and fill in all the ‘WRITE THIS LATER’ scenes I blocked out. This one’s going to be a bit tricky, as a lot of them will feature a character that’s just as important but only works indirectly with the two main characters. They know of each other, but they’re never seen in the same room, let alone on any kind of communication device. He’s not the kind of character I normally write, either, but he’s just as important to the overall story, so I’m going to have to work out just what I want and need him to do.

The second thing? Well…I’m going to have to finally figure out how I’m going to end the dang thing. I’ll admit this is similar to how I had to deal with finishing The Balance of Light…that is, I kinda-sorta have an idea of how it ends, but no set plan on how to get there. In order to make it work, I’m going to have to take the time and plan it out so I can nail the landing. Which means I’m probably going to have to give it a few more re-re-re-rereads like I so often do. Hey, whatever works, yeah?

This novel’s history is rather similar to the history of the Bridgetown Trilogy in certain ways. I’ve returned to the ‘extended ensemble cast’ for starters, and it’s also a story that’s been given a from-the-ground-up worldbuilding process (minus a conlang this time out, though a few characters do affect a certain patois, somewhat inspired by a similar setup on the tv series The Expanse). It’s also a story that’s had a bit of a hiatus for varying reasons due to Real Life Stuff. I think this is partly why I have a soft spot for this project — it’s something I’ve worked on for an extended time and with patient care. It’s not a novel I can phone in.

It’ll be worth the wait, though.

Driving past the pumpkin patches…

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For those familiar with the British mystery show Midsomer Murders, the always enjoyable series loves to occasionally set its whodunit episode at a church fair, a festival, or some kind of social gathering — one of my favorite episodes takes place at what is essentially a comic con. So of course when we drove up to Petaluma north of San Francisco, we drove past a few lots that have turned into pumpkin patches, complete with bouncy castles, haystack mazes, game stalls and all that fun autumnal stuff.

And of course, being who we are, I posited the question: okay, say that pumpkin patch was on Midsomer Murders. Which turned into a fun conversation about a farm owner down on their luck needing to run the patch to make extra money, the ne’er-do-well brother that hates that the owner is selling out, the inevitable death in the first act, and Barnaby (Tom or John, whichever one you choose) brought in to solve the case. [A little later on I switched it up by asking a follow-up: okay, say that pumpkin patch was teh setting for a romcom. Which went off in yet another fun direction.]

This is of course one of the most fun parts of being a writer, I’ll admit — taking something mundane in your surroundings and placing it in a different universe, just to see where it takes you. Sometimes it’ll be a simple trope story like that cozy mystery or romcom, other times it’ll just take off all on its own and drag you with it. Either way, it’s one of my favorite things to do when I can get away with it!

It’s been a strange few weeks…

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Rintaro from The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity

…most of which I won’t go into as it’s something that should stay personal, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s doing its best to derail me from my nightly writing sessions. The most I can say is that I’m doing my best to keep that from happening. I just need to balance it all out and keep moving forward.

Meanwhile, I’ve been doing a lot of manga reading lately, though this time via Hoopla and more often on the K Manga app that’s run by Kodansha. One title in particular that I’ve come to currently obsess over is The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (aka Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku). It’s a YA story about two teens from opposite social circles (in this case, a boy from a school full of losers and a girl from an elite academy whose buildings are next door to each other) that fall in love against all odds. It’s quite lovely and heartfelt without being schmaltzy or too slight. It’s a high school story where there’s conflict that doesn’t necessarily have to be dialed up to eleven unless it needs it, and I’ve really come to appreciate that kind of Zen-like style of storytelling. I’ve also learned that Netflix released a thirteen-episode season just recently, which I’m yet to watch in its entirety.

It’s well worth checking out, I highly recommend it.

I’ve also been reading a few other titles both on the K Manga app and elsewhere online. There’s the competitive hip-hop dancing manga Wandance featuring a lonely teen boy with a stutter who meets a girl who inspires him to join the dance club at their high school. There’s the hilariously quirky Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, centering on an exhausted salaryman who befriends a snarky checkout girl…who happens to also be the amazingly adorable ringer that makes his heart beat. Then there’s the light and enjoyable Laid Back Camp about a group of high school girls who learn the ins and outs (and the hidden joys) of outdoor camping and all it brings. There’s You Can’t Live All On Your Own! about four young women living together in a shared apartment and dealing with the joys and frustrations of post-school adulthood.

I’ll be honest, I’ve been falling behind on my other reading (current book: The God and the Gwisin by Sophie Kim, the second Fate’s Thread book after The God and the Gumiho) so once I’m caught up with this manga binge-read, I’ll finally get back to my To Be Read pile.

Though I will say all this manga is inspiring me with some new story ideas…

Theadia: Side stories…?

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I’ve been thinking over the last few days that while Theadia focuses on a set number of main characters, the world building has grown enough that I can definitely see some minor side stories cropping up over time. And given that Theadia is about protest and rebellion of different sorts and flavors, writing short fiction about those affected by the events within the novel sounds like a lot of fun.

One, of course, came to mind: a young teenager hearing the sounds of rebellion for the first time. What if their reaction to hearing that sort of thing was a parallel to, say, me discovering college radio in the mid 80s? Two different levels of mental and emotional awakening, sure, but it’s hard to resist when the outcome is the same: getting your mind blown for the first time by the idea that there’s a much bigger and better universe out there than what you’ve experienced in your own small regimented world. And that someone’s out there, boldly telling you that you’re not bound by the rules that stifle you — be that rebel if you have to be.

There’s more ideas out there, sure. After all, a lot of this novel is inspired partly by what’s going on in the real world here and now, and how it’s being handled (or not handled) (or handled terribly) by certain people. Everyone’s got that kind of story out there, waiting to be told. And I’d like to know what some of them are.

Writing again…sort of

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I think it’s time to start writing again. The itch to do so has been constant lately.

Even though I’m working on Theadia (and doing a soft-start for the remaster of The Persistence of Memories), I’ve been itching to just write something new. I’m not sure what just yet, and I’m not going to force it. That, and I’ve sort of resurrected some of my writing habits again — noting word count in the small black moleskine calendar notebook, for instance. I’m not doing it every day of course, I’m merely entering it every now and again when the thought and the temptation strikes.

I know I talk about this here every now and again, and I admit sometimes I’m like a broken record (a skipping cd? a corrupted FLAC?) but it’s been an ongoing process that needs constant adjustment and tweaking. We writers sometimes get all meta about our process and it’s usually because we’re trying to figure out why our processes are the way they are, why they sometimes no longer work, and what we need to do to change them. That kind of thing never ends, I’m afraid, but it’s something I’m used to at this point.

As always, it’s just a matter of doing it. Once I start, the rest comes easier.

That time of year again

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It’s been a bit over three months since we moved into our New Digs, and things are finally settling and falling back into place. I might still have to remind myself that those month-end payments aren’t for rent anymore but mortgage, but other than that I’m happy that we’re here. We might be slightly further away from the shopping corridors but we’re two blocks from our community garden plot, a block away from a major bus route as well as a very large public park, and the neighborhood is thankfully much more peaceful. (Yes, even during recess for the kidlets at the school across the way.)

This is good timing, as it’s that time of year where I feel the need to change things up. And you know how I am in autumn: excited about the new music releases and contemplative about where I am and where I want to be. I’ve already made a lot of positive changes over the last few months — with room for improvement, of course — so it’s really just a matter of doing it at this point. Or not doing, depending on the situation. Some habits I find I just do not need nor want anymore. Some habits I’d like to revisit once more.

And what about writing? Well, the remaster of A Division of Souls is out and away, and I’m thinking of starting in on the remaster of The Persistence of Memories pretty soon. I’m also focusing on Theadia and it’s still looking good and on schedule for release sometime next year. But I can’t help but think: I’ve got a journal and a notebook gathering dust in my satchel right now, and my 750Words sign-in remains woefully ignored. I mean, I’ve worked on multiple stories at that same time before, so this is nothing new. I can certainly play around with writing extremely rough drafts of new ideas while spending most of my creative energies on the two main projects. And in the process, probably disconnect from a few IRL things that I don’t need to hyperfocus on.

And what better time to do it than during the season that works best for me?

Fly-by: Nothing much, just busy

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I’m working on Theadia and I’m a few chapters in already, so that’s a good sign. I still need to fix things here and there, and I do need to insert a new chapter or two here and there to expand the cast more, but for the most part the current draft is looking good. Most of my creative focus has been there these days, so my blogging may be scattershot for a little while until I feel I’m better able to hold onto a schedule.

Thanks for your patience!

Somewhere in between

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I’m kind of in an interstitial space right now creatively, I think. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve stopped performing a lot of the habits I’d had over the last several years in Spare Oom — the whiteboard schedule, the logging of the word count, writing at 750Words, and so on. The main reason I stopped is that I wanted a fresh start here at the New Digs. For the most part it’s been a positive choice as I haven’t felt the stress of not hitting scheduled goals. It’s helped me focus on current projects with more clarity.

Not that I’m complaining, however. I like being here at this time, because it means that I’m breaking away from old habits and yet to forge new ones. I’m allowing myself to try new things and approach current projects in a slightly different way. Perhaps this is why I’m also allowing myself to indulge in a wave of comic reading on Hoopla these last several weeks…I get to try something new, see what inspires me.

I’ll be honest, I do occasionally feel the temptation to fire up the 750Words or do a bit of journaling, but I’ve been responding to that with well, you don’t HAVE to if you don’t really want to. Which, to me, means that if the only reason I want to do any of that is out of a sense of missing it, then I probably shouldn’t waste my time. If I’m going to return to the daily words or the journaling or anything else, I want to have a good creative reason. For the moment, I don’t want to split up my concentration on anything that’s mere folly right now, not when I want to put as much focus as I can on the Theadia project.

I suppose if this stage is anything like the one I had during the Belfry Years, this will (hopefully) mean that a lot of positive creativity will soon come out of it.