I've been fighting with myself about this post for at least an hour now; on one hand, I really want to share the information within, because it's kind of... interesting, provided you enjoy insights into the mind of a social recluse. But, on the other, it's not very amusing. So, I'll throw it up and then find something amusing to post after it, because this is supposed to be a humorous blog. So, without further ado, the post that we're going to pretend doesn't exist:
After writing myself into a corner, I always have this urge to go back and figure out where I went wrong, and scrap everything after so that I can start fresh from there and hopefully fix my blunder. Fighting this urge usually results in me suddenly finding interest in other things for weeks on end - such as video games, reading, or other story ideas. I'm currently going through one of those phases with The Cataclysm, not because of something that I've already written, but because I'm not entirely sure how to proceed with what I have planned. I know everything that's going to happen between where I'm at currently and the end of the first 'part' planned out, it's just a matter of writing it, since, at this point, I don't foresee a whole lot changing.
Anyhow, as a result of this break, I've allowed myself to pick up a story idea that I'd unsuccessfully started writing on at some point last year or the year before, before I started seriously working on The Cataclysm. I'm currently calling it The Advent, after the starship of the same name in the story, and its elements are probably as far removed from The Cataclysm's as I can personally get, seeing as it's an interstellar adventure novel. Depending on how far into it I get before I go back to working on The Cataclysm, I may or may not put up a page about it, possibly with pictures of whatever sketches I have at that point (currently I've got a uniform designed, and a preliminary design of The Advent and the generic Martian shuttle pod). Hopefully by this time I'll get around to editing "The Novel" with a re-title and by adding some character information/sketches and, possibly, an excerpt, which I'll them mirror on the new page for The Advent.
So, in light of my new novel, and the novel experience of having my writing stimulated by a TV show, I've been trying to find music to listen to that is suitable for the new story. At first, I thought that listening to hip-hop, which is one of the genres I regularly listen to, might satisfy this need. I was wrong. So I went the techno route, ignoring the fact that techno and I haven't ever gotten along very well. I forced myself to forget that the last time I heard a Daft Punk song, I cussed a lot and proceeded to delete the song from my Zune with malice. I started with Dragostea Din Tei, which is a song that I consider to be both techno and full of win, and, after maxing out my skipping ability, I said, "Techno? Tech no!" and deleted the station, because I seriously cannot listen to that stuff. After that, I quit. If techno and hip-hop didn't work, there was just nothing I could think of that would serve my purpose. Luckily, I took a shower this morning, and one of the songs that came on the radio during said shower was by Nine Inch Nails. I had a previous fascination with the band a few years ago, and, after thinking about it a little, I realized that music similar to theirs was exactly what I needed.
This episode has led me to wonder - is it possible that the reason I got stuck on The Cataclysm due to some change in the music I've been listening to? Quite possibly. When the new My Chemical Romance album came out, I think I got stuck at right around that time, and I haven't really gotten into the habit of listening to any one specific playlist since then - in fact I've just, kind of, been listening to everything in my collection. If that's true, then it's no wonder I can't write on that story right now. I haven't been listening to my angry, violent metal music nearly enough to stimulate my mind for it! How am I supposed to write a perfectly calm exchange between characters, or a tragic death scene, without an angry man singing at me? It's impossible!
As far as that goes, I thought it might be interesting to know that The Cataclysm has a distinct metal feel, to me, now that I've come to this conclusion, just as The Advent has an industrial feel. Because, you know, the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the fact that the novel has a distinct romantic theme and less action than it ought to is a guitar riff and Corey Taylor screaming into the mic.
It's 4 am, I'm not concerned with grammar or punction at the moment. It's blasphemous, I know, but it's true.
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