jackofallgeeks | Love of Literature

Love of Literature

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...)

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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.'

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?

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.

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.

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

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Love of Literature

I hate giving spoilers...

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