Current Project: Personal project (just for fun!)Status: 16,638 words
Can you tell that miscellany is my theme for today's post? :-)
I've been thinking about world building lately. How important is world building in your stories? Do you like to go into detail or do you prefer to paint broad strokes and leave the reader to fill in the blanks? Of course, that question assumes much and leaves unsaid things like genre and reader expectations, etc.
The story that's germinating in the back of my mind is going to need quite a bit of world building. I'm not sure where it's going yet, but I'm starting to get a sense of the visual feel of it. You've probably seen the term Steampunk (and possibly Cyberpunk), well, what's starting to coalesce in my brain is a bit different -- it's more...Decopunk. Decopunk is a term coined by writer Martha Wells last summer to describe the retro visual look of the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I've still got a lot of kinks to work out, but, yeah, world building.
Can music save your mortal soul? Today is the 50th anniversary of The Day the Music Died. The Big Bopper. Richie Valens. Buddy Holly. Gone before their time. There's no denying the impact Buddy Holly had on Rock n' Roll. If you have a chance, listen to the Cricket's version of Not Fade Away (ranked 107 on Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 greatest songs of all time). It's been covered by groups and individuals as diverse as the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, The Supremes, James Taylor and Freddie Mercury, but the original is still as crisp and amazing as ever and the version I prefer.
Music has always been a big part of my internal storytelling. I was in elementary school (gah!) when the Beatles burst on the scene and that was it for me. As much as I have an appreciation for other types of music, Rock n' Roll will always be my first love. Raw pounding rhythms. Poetry disguised as lyrics. Social commentary and protest. And variety, from psychedelic rock to disco (eek!). What about you? Has music been an influence in your life?
Last topic -- vacation! One of the reasons this post is so scattered is that I've been frantically trying to get the last minute preparations done for our trip to New Zealand. I can't believe that in 4 days we'll be on a plane headed for Sydney. As much as we've been planning this for a year, it's only now starting to feel real. The cruise ship we'll be on has wireless internet, so I might actually be able to post a blog entry when my slot comes around. But if not, I'll catch you all on the flip side.
8 comments:
Debbie, oh, man, your trip sounds fabulous. I hope you have a wonderful time!
My only experience with Steampunk is reading what Karen has to say about it. I remember when movie Sky Captain came out but I never saw it. Was it good? Very cool about the world building. I've never written anything but contemporary set in this world so my world building is limited to false cities. I keep things within the cities pretty vague as I don't enjoy writing or reading extremely detailed descriptions and narration -- I get impatient.
I can remember the Beatles coming, too. I wasn't a worshipper, music has not been a huge part of my life (I blame endless piano lessons which I dreaded.) If there is one category I adore it's musical theatre and that's probably because the music advances a plot. All that said, rock and roll rules.
I hope we hear from you while you're on your trip. Have fun!
I should have added that you are being very mysterious about your new project. Way to go!
World building is one of my favorite things about writing! Knight's Curse had some because it's fantasy in an urban setting, but I'm all about the bizarre and unusual. So my steampunk work-in-process is set in a NYC that's been rebuilt after a mid 19th century earthquake leveled the city. So I'm using a lot of Victorian style speech, dress and architecture juxtaposed with 21st century sensibilities. Quite a stew. And loads of fun.
I was in gradeschool, too, when the Beattles came out, but I've never been much into music. I listen to it in the car sometimes, but I like 100% quiet when I write.
Vacation to New Zealand? Wow! I'm so jealous! I've never been out of the country and I hear New Zealand is an amazing place to visit.
Debbie, I'm surprised you even had the time to blog! But I'm glad you did.
I have never liked science fiction stories, television shows, or movies. I've never liked scary, gory, or gruesome things that aren't logical. Which is really strange because I am not an analytical/logical person- but I like supernatural things like ghosts, spirits, demons. So though I kind of world build in my historicals by building false towns or bringing back ghost towns, I don't do a lot of world building.
Music. I like music have from an early age. My brothers and I played in the school band from fourth grade through High school. In High School I played in the Jazz band. Had my first romantic encounter at Jazz camp. Oh what dreamy blue eyes.......
Anyway, both my brothers told me to never sing in pubic. BUT the two of them had a bluegrass band. The oldest plays guitar, bass, ukulele, trombone and my younger brother plays guitar, bass, banjo and trumpet. Bluegrass and country was always battling with my pop/rock music. Nothing could get my oldest brother out of bed faster in the morning than me singing to Captain and Tenille! ROFL Of course he was getting up to chuck a boot at my bedroom wall!
Have a wonderful trip, Debbie!!!! And hug a koala bear for me.
Alice -- thanks! I hope to be able to post something while I'm gone (maybe even some pictures). Have to wait and see how that works out.
It's funny about your feelings about piano lessons -- when I was a kid I would've killed to learn to play, but we didn't have a piano and it just wasn't something we could afford. Maybe if I'd *had* to take lessons I would've hated it!
And I'm really not trying to be mysterious about this little story I'm working on, it's just not something for publication -- it's a "fan" thing. But it's getting me writing regularly and excited to get working on my own characters and stories again. I like how Elisabeth has put it -- it's "practice" writing, something I need to do anyway, whether it's this or another story.
Karen -- your steampunk WIP sounds fascinating. It's the kind of story that I'd pick up based on the description alone! Very cool.
I've wanted to visit New Zealand for years. It's always been near the top of my wishlist, so I'm very excited!
Paty, I think that historical writers definitely do world building, it's just got a different flavor to it than SF or fantasy worlds. You have to create a setting that's believable or you risk throwing your readers out of your story. In a way, I think that might be even harder than creating a world from scratch.
Sounds like you come from quite the musical family! That's very cool. I'm always a bit envious of those who can play a musical instrument and/or sing (and trust me, you don't want to hear me sing, either).
Don't know if we'll see any Koalas, but you never know. :-)
First of all, Debbie, have a wonderful vacation!
And, now, a scattering of comments about your post. LOL!
World building--yes, some day I will build a world. Like Alice, up to this point, I've only built cities, but they have been pretty detailed. For instance, the city of Halo, Oregon, which was introduced in my December book, will be the setting for parts of my nine-book series. So I have drawn maps and more so I don't forget where each building is located. Fortunately, it's a fairly small town.
Music--it was a big part of my life as a teenager in the late sixties and early seventies. But that's pretty much where I got stuck musically. I admire people who have eclectic tastes in music and am very impressed by my younger son who has everything on his playlist from the classic I listened to as a teenager to country to hip-hop and rap and heavy metal and everything in between. And, no, I don't listen to music when I write. When I write intensely, I want quiet.
Looking forward to fantastic photos when you get back!
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