So I'm a little less blah today
Re: General fatigue-y state of meh: I think I've figured out what the problem is. I was weirdly giddy for a week or two, and what did I do differently? I spent a lot of time outside, in the sun, swimming. This week? Rain. I think it's large quantities sunlight that I'm missing, which is... kind of a bad thing with autumn on the way. (Don't they have--what are they called, full-spectrum lamps? Some kind of lamp that can simulate sunlight? I seriously may get one for this coming winter.) So I sat outside in the sun with the dogs for ten minutes, and while I wasn't exactly giddy, I did go inside feeling somewhat better--good enough to pull out all my handwritten additions to Black Ribbon from June and July (damn, that was a thick stack of paper, by the way) and reorient myself. I also went through this evening and read what I have on the second project, the one set in Paris, in terms of what seeds I'll need to go ahead and plant. This is the advantage of thinking on big-picture levels: details might bog you down, but at least you can play with a really large scope.
Of course, I've still got the issue of what's actually at stake in the first story, and how to give it an end and a climax and not just have it stop dead with the equivalent of a "To Be Continued." You know? I mean, The Golden Compass actually does just that pretty fearlessly (I'd invoke The Fellowship of the Ring, but Tolkien didn't intend for the "books" to be split up, after all), but I just--I don't want the first Black Ribbon story to function as a hallway to another story. I want it to be a room of its own, worth spending time in for its own sake. There are other rooms you will want to visit and explore, and eventually you'll even want to take a look at the house next door (that is, series 2), but I want the first story to have its own, contained value. So... basically, I have to think of a problem, or a set of problems, to introduce and solve by the end of the first story, even if there are others unsolved. The primary "problem" in The Golden Compass is Roger and the other disappearing children; in FOTR, it's getting Frodo to Mordor, if not through it, and realizing that the Fellowship they spent the entire book gathering and maintaining is actually destined to fail. So--okay, the "room in a house" metaphor: I need to be able to close a door on that room, so that when you leave, you have something to look forward to down the hall, but there is a distinct sense of having finished and/or accomplished something in that previous room. I just have to figure out what that is.
Hilly Kristal, 75, Catalyst for Punk at CBGB, Dies.
Author suspicious of similar character on TV.
'Running with Scissors' suit settled.
Are Your Jeans Sagging? Go Directly to Jail.
"Jeshuah Fuller’s parents expected him to be born with extra fingers. The extra toes, though, were a surprise."
Huge spider web covers Texas trail. Shelob? Is that you?
Justifying Errors: Getting Hoaxed, or, It Ain't a Hoax If They Weren't Trying to Fool You.
Abroad: It Wouldn’t Be Opera Without an Outrage.
From maetang: Shaenon Garrity's Edward Gorey’s “The Trouble with Tribbles.”
Stine To Write More Goosebumps.
New Line’s fate rests on Lyra.
Zoe Saldana offered role of Uhura? I don't know if it's certain, but I like it.
‘Shoot ‘Em Up’ Diary: The Behind-The-Scenes Players; Clive Owen Embraces Joys Of Exposing Babies To Heavy Artillery (previously on Defamer: New Line Would Like to Help You Bullet-Proof Your Baby).
Emma Watson in "Ballet Shoes"; More pics of Emma Watson in "Ballet Shoes."
Owenwatch: 'ET' Amassing Celebrity Signatures For Giant Owen Wilson Get Well Card; Elle Pulls Interview "Out of Respect" for Wilson; Wilson's Suicide Attempt Could Impact 'Darjeeling' Marketing; Owenwatch: The Copycat Effect.
Batman Blows Up Building. I know I linked to something similar yesterday, but I just enjoyed the writeup on this one.
The Trailer for Stephen King's The Mist.
Richard Kelly: Southland Almost Done.
Are These the New 'Lost Boys'?
Basinger, Thornton to be ''Informers''?
New 'Sleuth' has Law, Caine, clever changes.
James Cameron's Avatar will "Blow Your Mind."
Goofy Old 'Joust' Video Game to Become Movie.
Guest EW blogger John August panics one last time before 'The Nines' hits theaters.
Mrs. Doubtfire, via Terrence Howard, saves choking reporter's life.
Of course, I've still got the issue of what's actually at stake in the first story, and how to give it an end and a climax and not just have it stop dead with the equivalent of a "To Be Continued." You know? I mean, The Golden Compass actually does just that pretty fearlessly (I'd invoke The Fellowship of the Ring, but Tolkien didn't intend for the "books" to be split up, after all), but I just--I don't want the first Black Ribbon story to function as a hallway to another story. I want it to be a room of its own, worth spending time in for its own sake. There are other rooms you will want to visit and explore, and eventually you'll even want to take a look at the house next door (that is, series 2), but I want the first story to have its own, contained value. So... basically, I have to think of a problem, or a set of problems, to introduce and solve by the end of the first story, even if there are others unsolved. The primary "problem" in The Golden Compass is Roger and the other disappearing children; in FOTR, it's getting Frodo to Mordor, if not through it, and realizing that the Fellowship they spent the entire book gathering and maintaining is actually destined to fail. So--okay, the "room in a house" metaphor: I need to be able to close a door on that room, so that when you leave, you have something to look forward to down the hall, but there is a distinct sense of having finished and/or accomplished something in that previous room. I just have to figure out what that is.
Hilly Kristal, 75, Catalyst for Punk at CBGB, Dies.
Author suspicious of similar character on TV.
'Running with Scissors' suit settled.
Are Your Jeans Sagging? Go Directly to Jail.
"Jeshuah Fuller’s parents expected him to be born with extra fingers. The extra toes, though, were a surprise."
Huge spider web covers Texas trail. Shelob? Is that you?
Justifying Errors: Getting Hoaxed, or, It Ain't a Hoax If They Weren't Trying to Fool You.
Abroad: It Wouldn’t Be Opera Without an Outrage.
From maetang: Shaenon Garrity's Edward Gorey’s “The Trouble with Tribbles.”
Stine To Write More Goosebumps.
New Line’s fate rests on Lyra.
Zoe Saldana offered role of Uhura? I don't know if it's certain, but I like it.
‘Shoot ‘Em Up’ Diary: The Behind-The-Scenes Players; Clive Owen Embraces Joys Of Exposing Babies To Heavy Artillery (previously on Defamer: New Line Would Like to Help You Bullet-Proof Your Baby).
Emma Watson in "Ballet Shoes"; More pics of Emma Watson in "Ballet Shoes."
Owenwatch: 'ET' Amassing Celebrity Signatures For Giant Owen Wilson Get Well Card; Elle Pulls Interview "Out of Respect" for Wilson; Wilson's Suicide Attempt Could Impact 'Darjeeling' Marketing; Owenwatch: The Copycat Effect.
Batman Blows Up Building. I know I linked to something similar yesterday, but I just enjoyed the writeup on this one.
The Trailer for Stephen King's The Mist.
Richard Kelly: Southland Almost Done.
Are These the New 'Lost Boys'?
Basinger, Thornton to be ''Informers''?
New 'Sleuth' has Law, Caine, clever changes.
James Cameron's Avatar will "Blow Your Mind."
Goofy Old 'Joust' Video Game to Become Movie.
Guest EW blogger John August panics one last time before 'The Nines' hits theaters.
Mrs. Doubtfire, via Terrence Howard, saves choking reporter's life.