Wednesday, November 22, 2006

If your name is simply "Hero," you need not apply

As a writer, this (thanks, Laura!) is fascinating in terms of character study. I once wanted to write a novel--or maybe a series of them; I was always over-ambitious--that tied in 108 characters--with the emphasis on some more than others--in sort of a modernized loose retelling of the 水滸傳 (Shui Hu Zhuan)/水滸伝 (Suikoden) story, a kind of contemporary urban epic about the intertwined lives of 108 different people. The novel would, in fact, probably be composed almost entirely of these so-called "life snaps." I thought about what it would take to capture the thoughts of 108 semi-related people over the course of one very long (and probably very boring) novel. The above-linked Thought Project is very like-minded in intent and practice.

Plus, that site's design is pleasing and smooth, much like the voice of an R&B singer, or a baby puppy's underbelly.

Perhaps one day when I've got more time--and perhaps some kind of large, mahogany writing tableau--I will write that novel. I'm going to need 108 characters. If you'd like to volunteer to be a character, please submit an application at the front desk of my mind. Thank you.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Alison I'm lost

All day rereading The Perks of Being a Wallflower listening to Slowdive/Neil Halstead/Mojave 3

like some kind of dream.

I still swear I heard one day half asleep breathing somewhere on Just for a Day and am still obsessed with finding out where and finding a way to put that into a recording.

Tonight I'll pass 30,000 words. I don't know if I have a novel yet but I certainly have a lot of words about Jim and Freya.

And one hell of a long fictional letter to Laura.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

She once was a true love of mine

Just now upon waking I heard on the radio Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" and in my half-sleep delusion was sure that it was a cover version by Sufjan Stevens. Listen to it and tell me you can't hear the influence.

2700ish words so far and that's only day one. If I can keep up this pace I'll be alright. Today's interrupted by work so I've got to write half now, half later, which may not be so bad, a thousand words each sitting is hardly anything at all. Today I should hit at least 4700 words. Whether any plot or interesting text exists at all is debatable, but we all know those things take a backseat during NaNoWriMo to pure word production.

And so off I go again.