Love of Literature

[jackofallgeeks]

About 58 pages into this Neil Stephenson book, Cryptonomicon, and I think I really like it -- aside from his disdainful tendancy toward the more vulgar words in the English language, though not nearly as horrendous as Stephen King, and probably only irksome to one such as I.

Anyways, That's 58 pages, and I've had the book for at least a week in not more. Granted, a good deal of that lapse is due to the lack of time I've put toward reading it, but... It's a large 910-page novel.

I want to write. I ALMOST have an idea -- a few characters and a rough outline for relationships, but the ever-elusive, all-important element, Plot, still evades me. And as anyone who has ever created, I doubt my own abilities.

Still, it's a good book, for the 1/18th of it I've read...

(I have half a mind to stay up all night reading this, and if not for the fact that I need to get up and drive and thing and work tomorrow, I just might have...)

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, before I forget... a little somethin' somethin' is in the mail to you. Hopefully it doesn't take 3 years to get there. ^___^;

... I've been working on a story for ages now. I've got a plot, I've got the characters, I've even got some idea of how it all plays out to the end. The sad thing? I'm a horrible writer. Words are always getting in my waaaaayyyy... Yeah. Something like that.

Love!
-Mel

[photoholic62.livejournal.com]

You are not alone. Vulgar words in both movies and books is irksome to me also. We don't use such language in our house. While I am not so niave as to think my children don't hear those words elsewhere, I am niave enough to think they should not hear them in their home. I don't believe in censoring what my children read, but we do tend to hold certain movies to watch after they are asleep. It does not bother me for them to see sex scenes, yet language and violence, especially when they are just token additives to a movie to attempt to compensate for lack of plot...well, so that bugs me.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

Well, I might argue the same against the sex scenes... I think that there has been one sex scene I've ever seen that was tastefully done, but the majority fall under the umbrella or 'token additives,' and a great many of them encourage any number of things which, I feel, shouldn't be encouraged. Though I agree with you across the board with token additives, I'm a bit more forgiving of violence, even though (or perhapse because) I'm generally not a violent kind of guy.

[cohagen.livejournal.com]

Andrew, I'd love to hear your ideas on whatever you're working on.

I've been writing ever since I got out of high school. I have about 75 pages of a novel done. I need to finish it.

As far as the writing process goes for me, I conjure up a story, then create the characters. From there I figure out what their personalities, love interests and jobs are. In all honesty, describing how they look isn't all that important. Names are imortant.

Recently I've been working on a movie script, and I enjoy writing it more than novels and short stories.

I hate giving spoilers...

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I can't remember, are you a Role-player of any sort? Well, not ANY sort, but...  O.o  If you'll not hold the biases against me, my story is actually based around White Wolf's World of Darkness, particularly along the vein of Mage: The Ascension. All I really have to work with is that setting, and the few ideas I have for Characters. Alex (tentatively named, of course) is our 'main character,' if you will, a college student who enters into the Order of Hermes, which opens our story up into the supernatural and metaphysical world. I'm really just interested in toying around with the plausibilities which White Wolf has opened with their game. There's another character and a half which i've thought about. The first is Mary, who is a Celestial Chorister and ends up becoming romantically involved with Alex; this, of course, only adds fuel to the fire when Mary's Judeo-Christian flavor of miracle-working collides with Alex's numerology/kabbalah will-working, and adds a bit of starkness when Mary 'turns to the dark side', if you will. Then there's a character with no name, but we'll call him 'Father Mike', and I think he's the one who begins Mary's turn -- a sort of Palpatine figure, perhapse. But other than those three, a mostly undeveloped Virtual Adept, and a non-developed stand of Technocrats, I don't have much of anything, and only the most loose idea of a plotline...

If I might be so bold, I would be greatly interested in seeing your 75 pages and/or any of your other writings; So many people, it seems, are quite hesitant in showing their works (*looks pointedly at Leslie and Beth*). And I agree, what a character looks like isn't so important, but I would argue that a 'character' is more personality than anything else. Why do you say names are pinnacle?

I'm not sure if I've pointed you there yet, but I have a few Snippets (http://www.livejournal.com/users/roliasnoom/148860.html) here on LJ, which is pretty much the sum total of my writing. Particularly, The Leech (http://www.livejournal.com/users/roliasnoom/207264.html) and A World of Darkness (http://www.livejournal.com/users/roliasnoom/148860.html) give you a taste of where I'm going to be setting my 'novel.'

[cohagen.livejournal.com]

When I create a character, I conjure up a name first. 1:for refference. 2:a character's name can enhance the story (for example, a name can be ironic. In a story I'm working on, about a pyromaniac, the main character's name is Richard Gunn...and he hates firearms). 3:a well named character is a remembered one. That's why I think names are important.

I've never been one to show off my work, but if you're honestly interested, I'd be happy to let you read something.

There's a series of short stories about three low-rent hit men working in New York called "Contract Blues." Once I find a disk with one of the stories on it I'll send it to you. Or I'll just write you something new. How about that?

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I actually don't think too much about names... I get attached to them after a while, but it's not all that difficult to come up with them. Myself, I usually end up switching names alot before I settle on one, though it does usually coalesce along with my character-profile.

And yeah, I really am interested. Anything and everything you could send my way would be appreciated, even just for comparison and inspiration.

Re: I hate giving spoilers...

[cohagen.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean to give the impression that I think names are pinnacle. I agree with you: personality is key. Just alot of people over look names.

Re: I hate giving spoilers...

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

Pinnacle wasn't the word I was looking for, actually, and I didn't mean to imply... well, anything, really.  ^_^

[thismortalquill.livejournal.com]

I just started the book and it's really slow going for me. I like it, I think, but even for speed-demon-novel-a-night me, I'm only sixteen pages in and I've been trying to read for three days.

That's unheard of.

I think it's the writing style. Once I get further into the book I know it'll change for me, but for now it fails to hold my interest longer than a few pages at a time. Which is strange because I really do find the book interesting. Hmm..

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

You're reading Cryptonomicon too? I think the first 16 pages or so were slow(er) for me, too -- it's a bit odd, at first, I think because he's trying to keep track of two timelines in three different locations... or something... It starts to smooth over a little bit more as it goes on, and I think I understand (mostly) what's going on now.

I almost did stay up all night to read it (I have a headache as proof), but I thought better of it.