Monday, December 13, 2010
Find George Aldrich
It's Christmas, folks. Every year, people go missing from their families. Let's help find this boy, and at least create awareness. This could be any one of our friends, brothers, etc.
There is also a heart-warming Facebook site documenting the search, along with prayers, encouragement, etc., for the family that is fascinating to follow. Just type "Find George Aldrich" in your search bar and add.
The family is currently trying to gain national attention--if George was abducted, it is very possible that he is in another state.
Never lose hope!
--Angie
There is also a heart-warming Facebook site documenting the search, along with prayers, encouragement, etc., for the family that is fascinating to follow. Just type "Find George Aldrich" in your search bar and add.
The family is currently trying to gain national attention--if George was abducted, it is very possible that he is in another state.
Never lose hope!
--Angie
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
A Novel Idea
John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens when you are making other plans." So it seems appropriate to me that I finally start that novel I've been thinking about for the past 15 years today--on the anniversary of his death.
I have no idea how this is going to go.
New York is a small town. The longer I live here, the smaller it gets. I am reminded of this on my walk to work today, reading everyone's status updates regarding John Lennon. My friend's grandfather happens to be the first person who broadcasted that he had been shot, and this particular friend happens to know a girl I work with at another restaurant. I have a feeling this small town theme will be in the novel somehow, somewhere, but themes are never my problem.
My problem, you see, is plot. I wrote and read dozens of short stories in college, and around my senior year, my professors started to talk about plot. Seriously. Quite of few of us English nerds had beautiful short stories. I was always good at dialogue, another boy in a few of my classes was good at long paragraphs of meaningless description. It turns out, you see, that we weren't really writing stories at all, not even short stories. We were, instead, writing 15-20 page character sketches in Times New Roman 12pt font.
"Where is the action, in the story? What is your character doing? What journey is she taking?"
You see, action--your character actually doing something--is an element of plot. It's a simple concept until you realize your answer is this: "Well, she's thinking about how her cousin died. And then the story goes into possible scenarios of what her cousin could have been thinking about when she died." It was a very artistic concept, you see.
"But your character isn't actually doing anything. Besides thinking about what her cousin could have been thinking."
"Uhhh..." I had a character thinking about thinking.
It was my senior year when I learned this. Fuck, I thought. I'm screwed. You see, once I fully understood plot, everything I picked up was criticized and no longer enjoyable. Plot was supposed to be easy, something anyone could master by their high school AP English class. Now it was a nagging splinter in the palm of my hand. I should have majored in journalism. But it was too late. I had one semester left, and I needed to get out of there. I decided to worry about plot later.
Later might be now, as I sit down to write. If you have ever wondered what it's like to write a novel, stay tuned. I'll need encouragement and probably a little dose of sanity and editing along the way. This blog is the perfect outlet, since most of you who read it are close friends. Thanks in advance. I'll include your avatars in the dedication page.
I have no idea how this is going to go.
New York is a small town. The longer I live here, the smaller it gets. I am reminded of this on my walk to work today, reading everyone's status updates regarding John Lennon. My friend's grandfather happens to be the first person who broadcasted that he had been shot, and this particular friend happens to know a girl I work with at another restaurant. I have a feeling this small town theme will be in the novel somehow, somewhere, but themes are never my problem.
My problem, you see, is plot. I wrote and read dozens of short stories in college, and around my senior year, my professors started to talk about plot. Seriously. Quite of few of us English nerds had beautiful short stories. I was always good at dialogue, another boy in a few of my classes was good at long paragraphs of meaningless description. It turns out, you see, that we weren't really writing stories at all, not even short stories. We were, instead, writing 15-20 page character sketches in Times New Roman 12pt font.
"Where is the action, in the story? What is your character doing? What journey is she taking?"
You see, action--your character actually doing something--is an element of plot. It's a simple concept until you realize your answer is this: "Well, she's thinking about how her cousin died. And then the story goes into possible scenarios of what her cousin could have been thinking about when she died." It was a very artistic concept, you see.
"But your character isn't actually doing anything. Besides thinking about what her cousin could have been thinking."
"Uhhh..." I had a character thinking about thinking.
It was my senior year when I learned this. Fuck, I thought. I'm screwed. You see, once I fully understood plot, everything I picked up was criticized and no longer enjoyable. Plot was supposed to be easy, something anyone could master by their high school AP English class. Now it was a nagging splinter in the palm of my hand. I should have majored in journalism. But it was too late. I had one semester left, and I needed to get out of there. I decided to worry about plot later.
Later might be now, as I sit down to write. If you have ever wondered what it's like to write a novel, stay tuned. I'll need encouragement and probably a little dose of sanity and editing along the way. This blog is the perfect outlet, since most of you who read it are close friends. Thanks in advance. I'll include your avatars in the dedication page.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)