(no subject)

[zana16]

lycaste gave me feedback on Redemption today. I'm not sure how I feel about it. While it's good to know that someone else enjoys the tension between Ollie and Elijah as much as I do, I am not reassured about most of my questions. Laura, love, I need constructive criticism, not unmitigated praise--although I thank you for that. And catching typos is always good. But I guess I'm more interested in what I did wrong. My chief worries with Redemption are mostly plausibility stuff--sure, I know it wouldn't happen, but is it so out of the realm of possibility that the entire beginning premise is unbelievable, I mean how they meet, etc.? Is there too much self-insertion in the story? Not that I'm saying that like my main character, I have committed mass murder, but are Dacey's insecurities more hers, or more mine? Is she a Mary Sue (practically perfect in every way, if we overlook the whole killing people thing :) )? Is my use of actors too... I don't know... like I'm trying to bring a daydream to life?

Other things--pacing, tone of the characters, their consistency or inconsistency throughout the part I've finished writing? Many beginning authors struggle to make their characters complex; I struggle to not put too much into them, to give each one a beginning position from which they can develop outwards without suddenly becoming too wise for a situation, for example. My main character is always the hardest, even when she is not a self-insertion (which Dacey is not, though she and I share many characteristics), because I tend to project myself and my own reactions into her too much. As the writer, I am rather omniscient (though not omnipotent--I can't really control these characters: in a part I've not yet finished, Elijah went ahead and hooked up with Dacey, totally without my permission or consent--so I would react to a situation differently, having more information, than Dacey would. Also, she is not me. Her insecurities in some places are deeper even than my own, but she has strengths I do not, and is totally unlike me in some ways, and I often catch myself doing things like putting more gentleness into her than I think she should or does have. I've rather cheated, in fact, not wanting to go through the development of her, her softening to Elijah and learning that she can trust people; I've skipped ahead in the story a year, and the change feels too abrupt. Arrgh. I can't win.

But the message that I have the characterization down, that's good. I've concentrated mainly on characterization for the last year or so, since it was a weakness in my writing before, but I've neglected other weaknesses in the meantime. Like story. Or plot. Or believability.

Still, I'm honestly surprised that this story has reached any sort of form to see the light of day. I totally didn't expect to ever be able to write it in any coherent form; it was just this nebulous cloud just beyond my fingertips that looked so beautiful but would retreat every time I tried to hold on to any part of it, and sometimes would disappear if I even tried to touch.

In other news, Johnny Depp has been nominated for an Oscar for Pirates, which is much-deserved but still surprising, since the Academy doesn't tend to do such things. If RotK doesn't get best picture, I'll... actually, not be as upset as I was that FotR didn't. I had an opinion on Fellowship, but RotK is still not clear in my mind. I wish I could see it as a movie, as opposed to a severely abridged story.

Comments

[pashabird.livejournal.com]

Weren't you telling me a year or so ago that I was going to be the first to read Redemption? Not that I need to be the first, but I want to be one of the chosen!
*Hugs*

[zana16.livejournal.com]

I never thought Redemption would actually be written, so I can't imagine that I promised that. Perhaps another story? The taking-over-the-world story that has been going steady at 7 pages for the past two years? Either way, if you'd like to read Redemption, I'll email it to you. You are required to not tell me that it sucks. Constructive criticism. So, you can say "I liked this character. Everything else sucked, for x, y, and z reasons, but you have perfect grammar and punctuation, congrats." In other words, give me the bad with some sugar. Yesh.

[pashabird.livejournal.com]

Redemption is the too-long screenplay/someday novella set in highschool right? Unless I've somehow totally confused your titles, yes you were saying it would be forever before it was done, but that you'd send me parts. You were also talking to me about it the last time I actually saw you...so I've been anticipating it for a while :)

I'm sure it'll be wonderful, but if I find anything that's good instead of amazing and I see something that can be done I'll tell you.

[pashabird.livejournal.com]

I think my advanced stage of dementia isn't helping my memory. The story I'm thinking about was probably Graduation. You know if you let me read any of your stuff it'd be a lot easier for me to keep it straight ;)

Re:

[zana16.livejournal.com]

Ah, that explains it. Yes, as soon as Graduation is in a novel-like state, you will be the first to read it. :)