An Update!
So two of my current Shiny!! distractions are in form of DVD- namely the Connections series with James Burke, and the BBC's Planet Earth.
Connections is just fun. I remember seeing an episode back in high school- and several of my classmates commenting on how boring it was. This confused me as I thought James Burke was really, really funny.
Planet Earth has some jaw droppingly beautiful footage. Some of the places they capture don't look like they could be on Earth! I haven't seen all of the episodes yet, but so far there have been at least one 'Oh, my God!' utterance. Watching the Planet Earth Diaries about each episode is fun as it shows the filming, and the challenges therein. Like trying to FIND the piranha in order to film the feeding frenzy, or having a male polar bear deciding that your camp looked like a good place to hang out.
They're both useful in providing 'Oooh hey!' moments that lead to ideas for various stories. The ideas don't always lead anywhere... but the mental exercise is good, yeah?
On that end, I have actually been working on re-working my NaNovel about Chris and Claire, rather consistently even! The paragraphs that ilona_andrews has been dissecting have been very useful. I'm been keeping her advice in mind and looking at my own writing, and hopefully the changes I'm making are improvements. I've been making the hubby read the various revisions, and he has indicated that the changes are good. The opener is certainly less chaotic, involving far fewer point of view changes.
Now the goal, to continue working it, keep the magic of the story going, and finish it! Or at least, finish part one and get part two up and running.
Connections is just fun. I remember seeing an episode back in high school- and several of my classmates commenting on how boring it was. This confused me as I thought James Burke was really, really funny.
Planet Earth has some jaw droppingly beautiful footage. Some of the places they capture don't look like they could be on Earth! I haven't seen all of the episodes yet, but so far there have been at least one 'Oh, my God!' utterance. Watching the Planet Earth Diaries about each episode is fun as it shows the filming, and the challenges therein. Like trying to FIND the piranha in order to film the feeding frenzy, or having a male polar bear deciding that your camp looked like a good place to hang out.
They're both useful in providing 'Oooh hey!' moments that lead to ideas for various stories. The ideas don't always lead anywhere... but the mental exercise is good, yeah?
On that end, I have actually been working on re-working my NaNovel about Chris and Claire, rather consistently even! The paragraphs that ilona_andrews has been dissecting have been very useful. I'm been keeping her advice in mind and looking at my own writing, and hopefully the changes I'm making are improvements. I've been making the hubby read the various revisions, and he has indicated that the changes are good. The opener is certainly less chaotic, involving far fewer point of view changes.
Now the goal, to continue working it, keep the magic of the story going, and finish it! Or at least, finish part one and get part two up and running.