Saraste

Revelation

Saraste — Sun, 25 May 2008 20:22:18 +0200

I have just realized why it may be that I tend to shy away from writing in Finnish. I usually write a lot of romace and it ends up sounding corny in Finnish. I get that it's something I need to polish up and get better at but still... Doesn't bode well.

SoCNoC

Saraste — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:37:36 +0200

So there, hoping this will help me. Really hoping. Hmm...

Plot plot plot plot plot !!!!!

Saraste — Sat, 24 May 2008 15:30:50 +0200

It is not coming.

. . .

SoCNoC is a little over a week away and have no plot. I shant worry as I only had plot and characters for Nano I think four days in adcance last time. Hmmm... And now I just got hit with the urge to do that sequel I'd been planning to do for 'Silver and Amber'. I think there is potential in that. Definitely potential. I'd like to write about Wynne, the big sister of my other S&A main-character, Leyn. She's interesting and I love her to pieces. Just such a tragic character.

And I think I could always just edit S&A. But then maybe not. I don't know.

I think I'll need just to sit down, rifle through my ideas in my head and then maybe I can decide which to do. There is a seedling of a plot growing in my mind with lot's of Finnish folklore embedded into it and dealing with a female heroine and the magic of words. It's an aspect of the Finnish folk belief system I was most intrigued with when we discussed it in a reading seminar last fall. It's a very lovely idea but I won't have the time to do proper research for it anymore. So maybe for Nano?

And as for NaNoManGo I'll be either doing the uraban fantasy thing I had lined up last year but which was run over by Smudges, I think I called it 'The Heart of Elyrion'? Or something as cliché... No, wait, HoE was another story entirely, it was Avarice something... 'The Heart of Avarice'? Or was it 'Tear of Avarice'? (That just sounds bonkers...) Anyway, I have that and if all else fails I'll just do the next BD chapter. I think it might be chapter 10. Or then do that one which I already got the idea for over 6 years ago. I'd get to draw graveyards with that one. Hmm... Too many ideas, so little time.

But now I'll go and brush my teeth and dive into my interviews and analyze them like no tomorrow.^^ (Man I love academics sometimes!)

Imminent disaster looming in the horizon

Saraste — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:58:06 +0200

So... My laptop has been behaving very badly for the last 6 months. It's manageable but irritating. Yesterday I finally decided to ask for help... And I was told it might be either my hard-drive breaking or then it's just my ventilation.

And if it's the hard-drive then I have no money to have it replaced.

I'm going to take it looked at on Monday and then we'll see which of the two it is.

If it's in the shop for a long time then it will be a problem. I still have many unfinished things I need to write for the University and then my other writing. ... And SoCNoc which starts in less than three weeks now.

There's always University and their computer labs and my roomies laptop which I can borrow but with my creative writing, my noveling... that mostly happens at nights. *siiiigh*

I'm keeping my fingers crossed now.

Nothing new from the plot department

Saraste — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:13:54 +0200

My head is empty. The characters are simply caricatures and there is no fuller plot. I'm annoyed. I think it's maybe the stress of my exam on Friday and the exhaustion due to rigorous gardening. Or then the idea itself is no good.

I'm hoping inspiration comes back.

But on another writing related note, I have written some fanfiction. It's always my way to flex my fingers, so to speak. I should also need to get going with some comic scripting. I'm hoping to find a new artist to work with since I don't have the time, energy or skill just now to make all the ideas I have running loose in my head.

I think I need to draw the boys from 'Amaranth' (the curse novel idea) to see if they're workable. It sometimes helps.

Also I've been discussing literature genres and their distinctions with mys sister. Mainly fantasy. For me all fantasy can be laid under one big genre but it has sub-genres like urban fantasy, steam punk and medieval fantasy. But these all can be mixed. And then there's sword and sorcery (which can also fit other sub genres as can the others too..) and it makes my head hurt to think about all the disctinctions.

New day, new plot

Saraste — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:23:05 +0200

Or something like that.

Now yesterday, this thing popped into my head. The genre is slash fantasy. I'm currently calling the idea of the novel 'Amaranth' just because I like the consept of a mythical flower, and the song by Nightwish too.^^

It all involves a pair of lovers, a curse and the others life which is threatened by the curse. And of course they need to find the cure. And make out in between. And probably meet a plethora of their relatives on the way if my earlier fantasy stories are any indication.

On the otherhand, there's the 1920's crime and the weird fantasy thingie which I'm trying to get to work. And also 'Joriende' (in lack of a proper name) my unfinished Nano for 2006(written in Finnish) done with characters who've been in my head since I was 11. Although my heroine became gay somewhere in between and I got lost of the twins by making them just siblings. But the main structure of 'Joriende' is still there. It even has it's villain still. Need to get back to writing that.

And then there's always the novelization of my online comic, Before Dawn, with which I toy from time to time. But I do like it in comic form so maybe not.

So that's that and I expect that on Monday I'll have yet another idea!

More on characters

Saraste — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:21:45 +0200

My other character, the crime will evolve around her I think, will be Kendra O'Donnell.

I'm very drawn to London as a city to set the novel in. I might get them go to other places too, all in part of the plot, which is slowly forming. I'm very exited about that.

I'm also noticing how I have many female characters running around in my head and no men. This is my achille's heel. It actually was so even with 'Silver and Amber' too.

Man but I'd so like to write fantasy too. This 1920's thing feels a little more than a months project, it will be slower to write and I'd like something a bit more stress free (read: gay erotica) to write after a month of hard studying. Work will have to be taken into account too. As will the fact that I have a comic I'd like to some day have inked and ready. *sigh*

We'll see.

Characters

Saraste — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:02:30 +0200

I want a character whose surname is Shelley.

edit: Sophia Shelley. Does that sound odd? I had a roomie once called Sofia, would she mind, I wonder...

Silver and Amber publication

Saraste — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:13:15 +0200

I just signed up for the 'Publish a book 2008' challenge over at kiwiwriters.

I'm editing and polishing 'Silver and Amber', my Nano in 2007 and my only written novel, for it.

Silver and Amber is something I had so much fun writing and yet it's something I haven't told many about. I'd so like to rave to my mum about it. Go all "Guess what mum, I written a novel. Could you ever believe I could do that?" But I can't. Because then she'd want to read it. And....

... my dirty little secret concerning S&A is that it's a fantasy romance bordering strongly on erotica. Gay erotica. The reason for this? It's simple: I like writing it and it has a market. I know how I could pimp it and how well it would be received.

I'm still proud of it and am not ashamed of having written it. It's still a shame that I can't share it with all my nearest and dearest. (Well except for my sister, she's liked it.)

But I'd have to admit that I'd feel very very odd if it ever get's published because I can't tell anyone. And I realized that I need a nom de plume for it because publishing it under my real name... not going to happen. So that's that. My secrets's out. Throw the tomatoes and ready the noose.

I'll not go down easily!

SoCNoc blogging

Saraste — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:01:30 +0200

All things SoCNoc will come here.

All my angsting over plot, characters not co-operating, (possible) work getting in the way, my summer exams eating my time, computer falling apart (again) and the rest. Yay, will have such a fun June.

Well at this point I'm verging on setting the novel in the 1920's, probably in London or Paris. Characters or plot haven't come yet but I know it'll be a crime novel. Wanna murder people. ^-^

The other big thing needing deciding, well the only one needing deciding as the rest just comes, is my choice of which language to write in: my native Finnish or my fluent English? I know I'm not as fluent with English as a native and have issues with certain grammatical things but the fact is, my writing in English has been more active the last few years. My Finnish isn't that bad except for some of my grammar. So that needs deciding.

For now I'll wait for the characters to pop into my head and introduce themselves. And who knows, maybe my time setting will change completely too as another thing I'm keen on trying is magical realism. I'd just simply love delving into our folklore and draw my subject matter and plot from there. (Not from the Kalevala, the other stuff!)

That's it for now.^^