THE DAY
No words today, but that’s fine. I expected as much because I had reading to do, a cake to bake, and some bonus material to get ready for the upcoming YA Scavenger Hunt set to run March 29-April 3. I’m actually rather pleased with how the cake, Indian Chai Spice with toasted pecans and chai spice glaze, came out 😉
The bonus material for the scavenger hunt–coming soon!–came out great, too.
A week or so ago, I talked to a bunch of kids about researching for books: when it was necessary, how much to do, how much might be too much, that kind of thing. I also said that research was and should be fun because writers should always be learning or trying something new. That means being flexible–being able to deal with assumptions that don’t pan out–and remaining open to that fortuitous find that can unlock a book.
That happened to me–again–just a couple days ago. I was talking to a daughter-person, and we were discussing my having stopped the SF book I’d been working on because I hadn’t properly thought it through (I think I probably already wrote about this conversation) and then I mentioned another idea I was researching. So I described the book and she was . . . only lukewarm. That is, she liked the idea and the conceit but mentioned that one trope/conceit was one that was done to death. She said it was like the doomed lesbian love affair thing in film and on TV, and went on to talk about a series I haven’t watched (but was on my radar), The 100. She mentioned that there was this lesbian couple on the show which had galvanized a sizable number of LGBT viewers to really get behind the series, etc., etc.–only to have the couple fall prey to some doomed lesbian lovers trope (i.e.: if you kiss or sleep together, then someone will die). That is exactly what happened, too, and apparently, the LGBT fans are all pissed off because the story’s fallen prey to type and trope.
Without getting into the fact that this really isn’t that unique–I can think of lots of forbidden love tropes that end the same way–I could see her point: that I should think of something just a little bit different. In my case, I was thinking of using Cheyenne mythology. (For the record, I have always been respectful of other religions and cultures; a story that I have coming out in a terrific anthology edited by Jonathan Maberry this coming August makes use of Ojibwe mythology in a way that I hope is true and respectful
In any event, having the daughter-person call me out made me rethink–not in the sense of discarding the idea (the Cheyenne and Sioux do have their place in this book)–but to broaden by including elements you don’t normally see or think of. In my case, that would be Chinese prostitution in the 19th-century. Turns out there are just SCADS of stuff out there that I’ve never seen written about in a YA context and certainly not in the way I’m thinking . . . and all of it so interesting.
So there was my fortuitous find–doing research into this era of American history around a very central issue–and then having a discussion with a daughter-person who challenged the trope and altered the dynamic to open up something even more interesting and less hackneyed.
Just gotta be flexible is all.
In other news: I still have a cold which has progressed to the hacking and hours spent awake trying not to wake the husband while sucking inhaler variety. I have decided that this is probably how I will go out in 30+ years: I’ll get a cold; the asthma will kick up; the coughing will start; the lungs won’t clear; I’ll get pneumonia; and my immune system will throw in the towel.
For now, it’s like…dude, where’s the Kleenex?
WRITING OUT LOUD
DEAD MOUNTAIN (placeholder title)
Day 1: 1500 (outline)
Day 2: 0 (outline)
Day 3: 0 (outline)
Day 4: 0 (outline)
Day 5: 0 (outline; soon, I swear, soon.)
Day 6: 0 (yeah, yeah, yeah; articles)
Day 7: 0 (articles; it’s okay)
UNTITLED SF BOOK
(Previously had 1500 in outline)
Day 1: 2400 (outline)
Day 2: 2400 (outline)
Day 3: 2000 (outline)
Day 4: 2000 (outline)
Day 5: 0 (Nu, I was busy)
Blog Post: 1000
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What I’m Watching:
House of Cards. I will admit it here: I never finished Season 3. I think I either got bored or whatever . . . but the thing hasn’t been as juicy as the first season for a while now, that’s for sure. Plus, if this follows the trajectory of its British counterpart (which came first), Underwood’s headed for his predictable fall, and that’s a shame. You know, sometimes you just want Iago or Richard III to win. Just once.
But a friend said I ought to give the current season a try. To do that meant catching up. So I picked up where I left off.
Oh, and I caught up with my Mental Dental Floss. (But, nu, where the heck is a new episode of The Blacklist?)
In a little bit, heading out with the husband to grab a bite and watch the Wisconsin game and hope I don’t jinx it.
***
What I’m Reading:
A very interesting chapter on Chinese prostitution in 19th -century San Francisco, which led to a terrific virtual exhibition of the San Francisco Museum and some period, eye-witness stuff of Chinatown at the time. Also got a slew of books to plow through. So I’m thinking that DEAD MOUNTAIN outline might take some time to get going. Whatever. The work goes when it goes. In the meantime, though, there is the other outline/story which is going relatively well, considering.
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What I’m Listening to:
Syracuse trouncing Middle Tennessee, which puts me in mind of one of my old editors, a die-hard Syracuse fan. Miss you, fella.
