Thursday, August 30, 2012

Madness

Before you judge...



I wasn't TRYING to come off as some deranged madman / lunatic when I was writing down my ideas!

Honestly! You've got to believe me!


No no, I'm really serious! I just had to write really small because I ran out of space! -and I have bad handwriting! I'm seriously not a psycho-killer or anything! Just because that looks like something you'd find in a horror movie doesn't mean you should suspect me of anything!

Anyway.

In seriousness, all that writing in the Harvey playbook was to choreograph one scene. The 'fancy' notebook you see in the top-left of the first picture is where I make my 'fancy' notes and concept art, and the other notebook is where I make my quick-notes and other jottings. You can also see my voice-recorder in the first picture. I'm prepared!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Dream Time #1 ~ In the River

Okay, so...

This isn't going to be about my book at all - feel free to skip now.

What this is going to be is a written up version of my dream last night. I thought it was quite nice and while it doesn't relate to my novel I want to write it up real quick and I figured I might as well post it here because you people might enjoy it and if nothing else it could give you some insight into my way of thinking and my way of writing.

I won't revise it or spend too much time on it so you'll be getting a rough first-draft thingee. Keep that in mind. This is raw.

So enjoy?

~Dream Time ~~~

The poor creature splashed and tried all it could to escape, but the river continued to twist it and hold it captive. The creature had been carried along by the raging river so long now it had forgotten time and rational thought - all it knew was the river.

It must have been in a cave, or underground, for the rushing cacophony of the water lapping against the rock walls echoed against the low ceiling and threatened to deafen the creature when its head would be above the water and not submerged or waterlogged.

The creature could tell there were banks on the side of the river where other creatures had escaped to - it could hear them talking. Whether they were speaking in a different language or whether the sound of the river was simply drowning them out the creature could not tell, but their words were lost.\The creature itself was never strong enough to reach the banks. It felt so very alone.

Perhaps it is a surprise that this creature could survive such an ordeal for any length of time; this creature was incredibly small. Most human beings would even hesitate to call it a creature. This poor thing, however, Was so very tiny that it did not need as much as us lumbering giants do, and so it persevered.

Days went by. Hours, eons, seconds...time was meaningless. Being tossed and turned and twisted by the rushing water made the brain lose all sense. Taste shut down as there was nothing there to taste, colors were meaningless in a land of darkness with white-spots if water got in your eyes. Sound and touch became enemies. The smell of wet stone became old quickly.

Then.


Wait.


There was a light.

The creature saw it, it knew he saw it. It didn't see it directly but it knew it saw a light.

There!

More lights! Coming from above! The creature twisted with all its might to try and face the direction the current was going and it could see more lights coming down the tunnel.

Soon the roof gave way and bright, blinding - oh so blinding sunlight flooded into the river and warmed the creature. It was too shocking to believe. It hurt to stare at the sunlight but the creature could not help it. As it was still being tossed and turned its view fell to the water below and it saw that on the floor of the river were large stone blocks: were these the blocks that once made up the roof?

Only a minute passed by before the miracle happened.

The river stopped.

Or more correctly: the cave did.

The creature who had been a captive to the currents for so long suddenly found itself being tossed out into the air as the structure that had been carrying the river simply stopped. The water fell straight down but the creature fell at a slightly different trajectory and for the first time in longer than it could remember found itself free from the water's grasp.

It looked around.

After so long in the dark, it viewed the world through lenses of water-colors. Everything was perfect and beautiful.

As the river fell to the Earth far below the creature knew it should be worried about gravity too, but it simply stretched out its long disused wings, and after a few flaps to get out the dampness, it took off.

The fly remembered now that it had fallen in the strange tunnel miles back and had gotten swept in. It was sure not to make the same mistake again.

It would live life to the fullest. It would cherish this second chance it had been given.

---

Far below, two farmers were watching the river - now a waterfall - and discussing the sight.
"I sure hope the Roman Empire stop lazing about and get that Aqueduct fixed."




Love,
 Skinner

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

This Book Will Make You Feel X Years Younger!

I refuse to grow up. 

...a lot of you probably know that already...

Anyway! What I mean is that I adore the state of childhood as an idea. The state of innocence and wonder that you're in where everything is fresh and free. You have no limits or boundaries and the world is completely yours. Sure there are monsters around every corner - but thankfully you have been taught how to deal with monsters (Vampires? Garlic. Werewolves? Silver. Etc.).

A child cannot be stopped.

An adult can be sent into depression with the mail.

A major reason I continue to play video-games is to re-capture and keep hold of that sense of childhood joy that I had playing them as a kid. Video-games (at least my favorite ones) emulate in many ways my favorite parts of being a kid: the sense of exploration and freedom - the idea of being in an open world and having nothing to stop you from going wherever you want and being whatever you want.

Now, that exact feeling of "you can go wherever you want" can't be conveyed into a novel too well, but in my stories I've tried over and over again to capture the feeling of being a child. It's been one of my main goals.

In most the serious stories I've written, the main character has been a child, or at the least has had a child-like personality. There will even be younger characters who will 'act' older than the main character as a contrast. I'm not saying they'd act up or act like a baby - but they'd act free and have an open mind and view the world with limitless potential.

I want the reader to view the world through those eyes - I want the reader to experience my world at least through fresh eyes and see its beauty and wonder and think, even for a second:

"I could go wherever I wanted, here." 

Love,
 Skinner

Monday, August 27, 2012

Inspiration Days #1: The Nightingale and the Rose


I said in my first post that I may occasionally link to things which have inspired me.

Well let's start that today, shall we? I'm going to go ahead and link to the source material I'll be talking about right up front. It's very short. It's a fairy tale in fact. I suppose I should warn that quite a few of my friends have found it incredibly sad despite it's beauty.

Click Here to go to the full text of Oscar Wilde's "The Nightingale and the Rose"

If you don't want to read it or don't have time, don't worry - the rest of the post will not require you having read it, but since the idea is you may want to get a better idea of what's inspiring my writing process or how my book's style will be, it could help.

Imagery

First off, I cannot get over how much I adore the imagery in this piece. I was overwhelmed when I first read it and still love it to this day. The way everything is given such personality and beauty blew me away. Even the one-line creatures are given delightful details such as the butterfly chasing after a beam of sunlight.

From the tiniest of details such as what the minuscule forest animals are doing to the massive-scale miracles that the Nightingale's song manages near the end of the story, Wilde really set the bar for me in terms of what can be accomplished with vivid imagery.

Tragedy

If you didn't read the text by now, this section will ruin it forever. Yes, the ending is devastating. Humorously enough if you were to tell a stranger "a rose is discarded" they probably wouldn't think that sounds like a tragedy but this story makes it soul-crushing.

Still, I found incredible beauty in that sadness. That a story could make me feel those emotions I find absolutely wonderful and I applaud it. I actually enjoy tragedy like this - that comes from a place of genuine emotion that a skilled writer has crafted. I'm curious though what others think.

Besides of course, that we should burn the Student's house down.

Love,
 Skinner

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Orcs Need Not Apply

Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, Centaurs, Dragons, Skeletons, and Unicorns...

Usually when someone brings up the fantasy genre, or even says the word "Fantasy" one or more of the above words comes up in the reader's mind, perhaps with some other stock creatures. They're a staple of the genre and writers just can't resist to use them even to this day. People don't even try to re-invent them most the time - they just plop good old Elves in stories and everybody's happy.

Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against that! I love an Elf as much as the next believer; I brought one into my Fairy Tale class in college called "Miss Sugerleaf Brandyvine" in an old shoe-box, and I'd be the first to sign a petition for the ethical treatment of Goblins if their villages were ever discovered and undoubtedly exploited, but one thing I have loved since a child was creating a being from scratch.

That said: it is my goal that my world will be populated by entirely new creations. I do not wish to contain any 'stock' species from other works. All the races and species of creatures and animals in my world I am either creating from scratch or basing on designs from the real-world or mythologies and then heavily editing so that they become my own.

This may sound like a challenge to some, but really this is probably the funnest part of the writing process for me. Creating a species, whether it be a civilized race or a fearsome monster is one of my greatest joys. Creating its physiology, psychology, society, culture, beliefs, fears, behaviors and everything else will keep me contented and occupied for hours.

A Spoiler Free Example of my Creation Process:

About two months ago I was riding in the back of a car looking out at trees passing by and I got an idea for a new forest-dwelling species. I took out my notebook and began jotting down everything from their looks to their cultural practices.

After I had established the basics I began to wonder what creatures they would hunt for food - what creatures would hunt them as prey - what monsters the parents of the race would tell their children about at night to make them behave.

...then I realized I could make all three of those real. I could make all three of those appear in my novel. I could give them all the attention I gave the race I just made. I didn't have to, but I could. -and so I began to create those other creatures then.

You may not ever see those other monsters - you may not ever even see the forest-dwelling race, but this is the level of detail I'm giving to the creatures I'm creating for my world.

I want this world - my world - to be as real as possible.

I'm looking forward to taking you there.

Love,
 Skinner

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Some Words on Content

So, apart from the name...

I guess I really haven't said that much about the actual novel. I know I don't want to reveal too much but some stuff really should be laid out, and the sooner the better perhaps.

A quick note that might interest you: Before I even started writing the first word, I had the entire story planned out in my head. The beginning, all the steps along the path, and the very end. It was all there waiting for me.

What's the Structure?

I've been saying it's a Fantasy novel...but that's a big, big genre. It might help to give a few clues to narrow things down. Again, I really don't want to give too many things away, but some things I do have set in stone...

  • The story is set on another world, hand-crafted continent-by-continent to my tastes. There is a tangential relationship to Earth but it is of the briefest consequence. 
  • The story will take the characters all across the world, visiting the most important sites on their journey so that the reader will get to experience my world completely. 
  • The story will feature a huge, rotating ensemble cast of characters that grow and develop while two to six "principals" remain together for the duration of the journey. 
  • The story's style is intended to be overwhelmingly imaginative. It's actually my desire to bombard the reader with new ideas and vivid images on every page. 


Why "Young Adults?" 

I've been saying my novel is directed at young adults...well... Personally I want everyone, regardless of age to be able to read and enjoy my novel to the fullest extent, so perhaps another way of saying it is that I am writing a novel for all ages that will not contain a lot of what is usually considered "offensive material."

  • There will be little to no "adult language." While I personally feel that language is language and that is that and there is no "bad" language, I know a vast majority do not feel the same, and so - as I do in my public life - I will make sure my characters find other words. 
  • While romance and all that goes with it is nothing to be ashamed of, I know that it's the most dangerous thing to even discuss when censorship or kids are involved. You can trust I won't take chances. I won't sacrifice my characters' growth or stories, but I won't add in anything more than necessary. I'm not Disney - I can't get away with what they can.
  • Drug use will be hidden. There will be references to 'altered states' but you can find references like those even in Disney films. Alcohol will be mentioned. Despite what my high-school classmates probably think I still have never taken illegal drugs so obviously my novel isn't going to be secretly telling kids to get high. 
  • Violence, I am afraid, will be present in my novel, but I can assure readers that it will not be glorified or made heroic. I do not intend for there to be scenes of gore, but scenes of physical pain have already been written in.

That last bullet point is of course where people will find fault, and is why this story for many won't be acceptable for children. I feel I must stress that I, personally, do not find the material in the story (as it is in my head right now) offensive or potentially offensive to children, but I understand perfectly well that others likely will. 

So about this Blog...

I still haven't fully decided what I want to do with this blog, but at least for the first week or so I'll be updating daily. If I start running out of material then I'll slow down and start updating weekly. 

Anyway, thanks again for reading. Any questions or comments you can drop below, or on Facebook, or wherever. 

Love,
 Skinner

Thursday, August 23, 2012

An Introduction For Both of Us

Greetings! 

After an outpouring of support from friends and family I've been convinced to start this blog that will...well...I'm not quite sure what this blog will do. Supposedly it is going to detail my journey as I work on my life's project - the completion of my novel LifeBound (working title).

However, unlike construction jobs where photos can be continually uploaded, or visual-art projects where progress can be seen with the eyes, or any other sort of long-term project, I cannot really think of a way to share with you my progress. Giving out 'snippets' of dialogue that might never occur (or worse, might get put back in!) seems wrong, and I doubt you want pictures of me holding my head in frustration over my laptop or computer.

I suppose what I can do is talk about my process. How I think; how I create. What inspired, and what inspires me. What thoughts lead me down this path and how and why I take so long to come up with what I do. Share with you things that I feel passionate about so you can come to expect what my work may hold.

 I can write about especially good days or bad days and breakthroughs or hurdles in writing.

...and then maybe every once in awhile if I come across a joke I just can't fit into the narrative I can stick it here.

Love,
 Skinner