I mentioned yesterday that the Gumption score is on my playlist for Default Sweater. Here's more of the playlist that I'm starting to turn on whenever I sit down to write another chapter about Erin. Which is coming soon. I promise.
Lonely Lullaby, Owl City
Colgando en Tus Manos ("Hanging in your hands"), Carlos Baute and Marta Sanchez
All About Us, He is We and Owl City
Fever, Michael Buble
Spontaneous Me, Lindsey Sterling
What If, Colbie Caillait
I've Got the World On a String, Frank Sinatra
October Road, James Taylor
Lose Control, Maria Mena
The Bird and the Worm, Owl City
Hamburg Hinter Uns ("Hamburg Behind Us") , Revolverheld
So She Dances, Josh Groban
A Thousand Miles, Vanessa Carlton
Rhythm of Love, Plain White T's
Sunburn, Owl City
Ich Bin Ich, Rosenstolz
I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow, from O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
Both Sides Now, Joanie Mitchell
She's Funny That Way, Frank Sinatra
J'aime a Nouveau, ZAZ
I Won't Say (I'm in Love), from Hercules
Layla (acoustic version), Eric Clapton
Monday Morning, Melanie Fiona
When the Stars Go Blue, The Corrs
Missing You, Allison Kraus
I Can Love You Better, The Dixie Chicks
Lazy Days, Enya
Gumption, from The Holiday
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Gals with Gumption
Everyone loves a good heroine. I can tick my favorites off without thinking about it: Elizabeth Bennet, Ella in Ella Enchanted, Becky Jack, Dashti, Eliza DooLittle, Katharina from Taming of the Shrew. There's one thing that ties all these ladies together, and its name is gumption.
If you've ever seen the movie The Holiday, there's a certain scene where Eli Wallach describes his late wife to Kate Winslet. "She has gumption," he says. Later in the film, Kate Winslet bursts out to Rufus Sewell, "I don't know, but I think what I've got is something slightly resembling....GUMPTION!"
That line, that phrase, is just so perfect and tender and lovely. I think people love seeing a heroine (or a hero) with a rumpled, wild, human, daring spirit, because they can see themselves in her. That's me, they think. That could be me. That doesn't mean a female superhero, conquering the world (even though that could be awesome). They love to see a character who's vulnerable and uncertain and real, but who forges her way through her story just because she's got....gumption.
I've got the song 'Gumption' from The Holiday on each playlist I listen to while I write, whether it's for Hearthsinger, TDS or Kaleva. It's a little nudge, a little reminder to me for myself, but also for the character I'm writing.
Because it's really, really fun, to write about a gal with gumption.
If you've ever seen the movie The Holiday, there's a certain scene where Eli Wallach describes his late wife to Kate Winslet. "She has gumption," he says. Later in the film, Kate Winslet bursts out to Rufus Sewell, "I don't know, but I think what I've got is something slightly resembling....GUMPTION!"
That line, that phrase, is just so perfect and tender and lovely. I think people love seeing a heroine (or a hero) with a rumpled, wild, human, daring spirit, because they can see themselves in her. That's me, they think. That could be me. That doesn't mean a female superhero, conquering the world (even though that could be awesome). They love to see a character who's vulnerable and uncertain and real, but who forges her way through her story just because she's got....gumption.
I've got the song 'Gumption' from The Holiday on each playlist I listen to while I write, whether it's for Hearthsinger, TDS or Kaleva. It's a little nudge, a little reminder to me for myself, but also for the character I'm writing.
Because it's really, really fun, to write about a gal with gumption.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
I'm Not Hiding
I don't know that I have many people checking my blog, but there might be a few of my fellow figs popping in every now and then, so just an update: I'm not hiding! School has been so busy lately, and I'm scrambling to keep up as much as I can. I had one very difficult course end last week, and suddenly I have so much free time, I don't know how to handle myself. I can read. Sit down at a table to eat meals. Shower. All that good stuff.
I'm very, very excited about The Default Sweater. It's been chugging along so well that I'm trying to keep up. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'm a very systematic writer and have to block out the entire storyline before I can delve too deep into writing. With TDS I took an unusual leap and wrote the first few chapters with nothing more than a vague idea of my plot. But now I'm almost done with my outline (and the writing's not going too bad either), and I'm silly with excitement.
Anande Sjoeden, author of Nattie and Finn, very kindly mentioned Erin and me on her blog, and I felt compelled to return the compliment! Nattie and Finn has kept me on nail-chewing tenterhooks since I began reading. It's my daily treat to come home and read a chapter if I get lucky and she's posted (yesterday, I got FOUR!). Figment has a feature where the approximate time it will take to read a certain book is posted on the book's description page. At the point I started reading, Nattie and Finn was at about seven hours. That Friday, I sat at my computer until two o'clock in the morning, not able to go to bed until I finished. She also has several other books posted that I'm really looking forward to reading.
Hopefully, I'll be able to blog more now that the bulk of the year's schoolwork is accomplished. Darn those teachers. Darn their sorry hides.
I'm very, very excited about The Default Sweater. It's been chugging along so well that I'm trying to keep up. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'm a very systematic writer and have to block out the entire storyline before I can delve too deep into writing. With TDS I took an unusual leap and wrote the first few chapters with nothing more than a vague idea of my plot. But now I'm almost done with my outline (and the writing's not going too bad either), and I'm silly with excitement.
Anande Sjoeden, author of Nattie and Finn, very kindly mentioned Erin and me on her blog, and I felt compelled to return the compliment! Nattie and Finn has kept me on nail-chewing tenterhooks since I began reading. It's my daily treat to come home and read a chapter if I get lucky and she's posted (yesterday, I got FOUR!). Figment has a feature where the approximate time it will take to read a certain book is posted on the book's description page. At the point I started reading, Nattie and Finn was at about seven hours. That Friday, I sat at my computer until two o'clock in the morning, not able to go to bed until I finished. She also has several other books posted that I'm really looking forward to reading.
Hopefully, I'll be able to blog more now that the bulk of the year's schoolwork is accomplished. Darn those teachers. Darn their sorry hides.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The Last Days Caught on Camera
I had a fun blog post in mind for today, but instead I think I'm going to write another Figment chapter for Default Sweater, so here's a couple pictures of what's been going on at home lately:
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Out of my Comfort Zone
My strongest instincts in writing have always always been toward fantasy. I'm terribly lazy about doing research for stories, so historical fiction is off-limits unless I get my head in the game, and I've always shied away from modern stories. Writing is a kind of escape from the real world, and especially in this last crazy year of school, when my life is full of math problems and college applications and computer programs, there's nothing I want more than to leave that behind. Not to say that my life is unpleasant--just busy!
I've always been drawn to write fantasy. The whole idea of creating another, new world is irrestible.
But suddenly, there is The Default Sweater.
Writing a modern novel is freeing in a completely different way that writing a fantasy is. Writing fantasy can be exhausting; you have to constantly invent, because you're creating a completely new world. In a modern novel, however, the world is around you, there to draw on. It's a wonderful break sometimes when I need a rest from Hearthsinger, a fantastic cure to writer's block. I might not be working on my main project, but at least it's keeping me at the keyboard/notebook occasionally.
Sometimes, stories emerge in your head fully formed. Just as with the title for this one, Erin marched through my mind one day, found a comfortable corner, and set up shop. I really enjoy writing her.I'll be posting more as soon as I can! Just now I'm really enjoying putting it on Figment, but I'm tentative to post more than the first three or four chapters. And still, Hearthsinger is my priority, especially with my secret project coming up in the spring (more on that later!).
I'll be posting more about the inspiration for Sweater in another post, and you can hear all about the sweaters that I have and kissing and all the chocolate chips on top. Do I end these posts with mentions of food too often? It must be that it's autumn. I haven't baked a thing yet.
I've always been drawn to write fantasy. The whole idea of creating another, new world is irrestible.
But suddenly, there is The Default Sweater.
Writing a modern novel is freeing in a completely different way that writing a fantasy is. Writing fantasy can be exhausting; you have to constantly invent, because you're creating a completely new world. In a modern novel, however, the world is around you, there to draw on. It's a wonderful break sometimes when I need a rest from Hearthsinger, a fantastic cure to writer's block. I might not be working on my main project, but at least it's keeping me at the keyboard/notebook occasionally.
Sometimes, stories emerge in your head fully formed. Just as with the title for this one, Erin marched through my mind one day, found a comfortable corner, and set up shop. I really enjoy writing her.I'll be posting more as soon as I can! Just now I'm really enjoying putting it on Figment, but I'm tentative to post more than the first three or four chapters. And still, Hearthsinger is my priority, especially with my secret project coming up in the spring (more on that later!).
I'll be posting more about the inspiration for Sweater in another post, and you can hear all about the sweaters that I have and kissing and all the chocolate chips on top. Do I end these posts with mentions of food too often? It must be that it's autumn. I haven't baked a thing yet.
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