Hello everyone! I write this to you from the great city of London!! I have been here for about a day and I am already loving it-- for those of you who are world travelers, it's a bit like Paris with the exception that there is more vehicular traffic, including those famous double-decker buses. Oh, and as a note, pedestrians beware: in London, car, bike, bus, it doesn't matter, they *will not stop for you* or *even slow down*. So be sure you have plenty of room before you cross. Because they'll run you over. No joke.
Alright, well, what is this post about? I finished "The Road" a little while ago and it was brilliant. McCarthy did a brilliant job of engaging and entertaining, even through suffering, his audience to the bitter end. I felt so emotionally involved that I literally couldn't put the book down, and on the second day of reading I nearly polished off the rest of the book. A definite must-read, through and through. I give this book a 9.
I have since then started a book, one of three, called "A Spell for Chameleon" by Piers Anthony. I love Piers Anthony's work because he is so delightfully sarcastic without being sarcastic. He makes you think he's being serious, and yet underneath you can smell that something...something is no quite right. And it might even be humorous. His books are witty and colorful and well-planned; two of my personal favorites are "Double Exposure", a sci-fi/fantasy crossover that combines the two worlds in a fantastic and incredibly creative way, and "Bearing an Hourglass", a story about a normal man who becomes Chronos, the controller of Time. Both have their drama and action, and both are hilarious all the way through. "Bearing an Hourglass" is in particular hysterical by means of the problems the hero encounters while trying to learn how to use Chronos' powers...such as making humans unaware of the fact that he may be at one point or another turning time backwards. There is a particularly memorable scene where the new Chronos is running through the alleys after setting time backwards, watching all the bewildered and panicking creatures struggling with their suddenly reversed states, and he passes by a man being 'dragged' back into a lavatory accompanied by helpless screams of horrified "No!" as his biological processes go backwards to his full awareness.
You have to be there. Read there. You know.
In any case, I look forward to seeing more about what Piers Anthony has to offer me in this Xanth novel. I tried reading "Night Mare" once, and it failed to capture my attention. I'm not entirely sure why. I'll have to give it another go at some point. But this one so far is intriguing, about a young man named Bink who is threatened with exile because he is a non-magical human living in a magical world. He must find his talent or be thrust into the other-world, the mundane and non-magical normal-verse.
As soon as I'm not so jet-lagged, I'll be sure to read more. And I'm also going to see if I can find any intriguing manuscripts while I'm here in London. What a place to buy books, is it not?
See you on the other side, my friends!
Caitlyn
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Road...
Hello everyone!!
How are you all enjoying the summer heat? Well, I suppose if you live somewhere that is perpetually cold you aren't. And if you live somewhere really hot (mid-Georgia right about now) you might not either. I for one can't complain-- I hate the cold with a burning (get it?) passion that consumes all my being. Everyone always says you can put more clothing on but there comes a time when you can't take any more off. Well, for me, I'd rather sweat, because one) sweating is good for you (as long as you bathe) and two) I don't warm up once I'm cold. I stay cold and I shiver and it's not fun. Because I shiver *really* hard.
Speaking of cold, here we go! I won the Sidney Lanier Prize for fiction this last semester for a short story I wrote called "The Scholar," and the reward was two books, one of which is "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I have never before read this book, and my professor, who not only picked me to be the receiver of the award, but also chose the books in question, decided on this title because she thought it would give me more grit in my own writing. Always a good thing, and I certainly can't claim to have too much-- I used to have the terrible habit of deleting anything I wrote that creeped me out too much. Terrible. I have since then quit of that habit, but unlike some writers I know I have never written something deliberately creepy or terrible just to see what would happen or how I would go about it. That is probably something I should attempt as well. I'm getting there.
In any case! "The Road" is about a father and son in a sort of post-apocalyptic America (the country has been entirely burned somehow) and their struggles to get to the warmer coast, all the while avoiding murderous bands of vagrants along the way. I haven't gotten very far in-- just a few pages on my break at work today-- but already the writing style is intriguing. A bit distracting in its simplicity, to me, but it's very much a part of the character (the father) and adds, in a weird way, a bit of depth. But what I really love is the vocabulary-- me and vocabulary!! Gorgeous stuff. I mean, in describing a nightmare cave creature McCarthy writes:
The cold and silence of the night he describes as:
"Carried forth and scattered and carried forth again. Everything uncoupled from its shoring. Unsupported in the ashen air. Sustained by a breath, trembling and brief."
Wow. I haven't even gotten to most of the 'grit' in the story and already it's beautiful, if in a bare, desperate way. I mean really, I'm not even twenty pages in. I should get to work on that.
And so I shall! Keep reading, friends, and wiggle your toes-- just because it's hot doesn't mean the pages are too sticky to turn!
Caitlyn
How are you all enjoying the summer heat? Well, I suppose if you live somewhere that is perpetually cold you aren't. And if you live somewhere really hot (mid-Georgia right about now) you might not either. I for one can't complain-- I hate the cold with a burning (get it?) passion that consumes all my being. Everyone always says you can put more clothing on but there comes a time when you can't take any more off. Well, for me, I'd rather sweat, because one) sweating is good for you (as long as you bathe) and two) I don't warm up once I'm cold. I stay cold and I shiver and it's not fun. Because I shiver *really* hard.
Speaking of cold, here we go! I won the Sidney Lanier Prize for fiction this last semester for a short story I wrote called "The Scholar," and the reward was two books, one of which is "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I have never before read this book, and my professor, who not only picked me to be the receiver of the award, but also chose the books in question, decided on this title because she thought it would give me more grit in my own writing. Always a good thing, and I certainly can't claim to have too much-- I used to have the terrible habit of deleting anything I wrote that creeped me out too much. Terrible. I have since then quit of that habit, but unlike some writers I know I have never written something deliberately creepy or terrible just to see what would happen or how I would go about it. That is probably something I should attempt as well. I'm getting there.
In any case! "The Road" is about a father and son in a sort of post-apocalyptic America (the country has been entirely burned somehow) and their struggles to get to the warmer coast, all the while avoiding murderous bands of vagrants along the way. I haven't gotten very far in-- just a few pages on my break at work today-- but already the writing style is intriguing. A bit distracting in its simplicity, to me, but it's very much a part of the character (the father) and adds, in a weird way, a bit of depth. But what I really love is the vocabulary-- me and vocabulary!! Gorgeous stuff. I mean, in describing a nightmare cave creature McCarthy writes:
"Crouching there pale and naked and translucent, its alabaster bones cast up in shadow on the rocks behind it."
The cold and silence of the night he describes as:
"Carried forth and scattered and carried forth again. Everything uncoupled from its shoring. Unsupported in the ashen air. Sustained by a breath, trembling and brief."
Wow. I haven't even gotten to most of the 'grit' in the story and already it's beautiful, if in a bare, desperate way. I mean really, I'm not even twenty pages in. I should get to work on that.
And so I shall! Keep reading, friends, and wiggle your toes-- just because it's hot doesn't mean the pages are too sticky to turn!
Caitlyn
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Writer Encouragement
Hello everyone!
It's been a little while since my last post. I've been officially bumming it up for the summer-- well not really, I've actually been working part time to save up for next year's tuition and my trip to London at the end of the summer. Most exciting : ) I've also been dabbling in my reading and writing; working my way through The Lord of the Rings and various other things here and there, nothing too serious. I'm between new books at the moment, though I do have some on my floor beside my bed: The Gravedigger's Daughter and The Road...need to get to those at some point.
But as you all know, it can be very easy in the busy *and* lazy months to suffer from writer stagnation-- nothing seems inspiring, you just want to lie around and stare at the wall...you're recovering from the hard work you've put your brain through during the working months, or working life, and you don't feel like you have any energy left. This then leads to a sense of self-loathing at your weakness for not doing as you're supposed to (you *are* a writer aren't you? So why aren't you writing!?!?!?!) and a feeling of general worthlessness and lack of talent.
Yes. I know. I've been there.
The truth of the matter is-- writing is hard. I've mentioned this in a blog post before so you don't need to hear me rant about it. But something else we need to keep in mind is that it is all too easy to be sensitive, especially with our own nasty inner voices. You don't think you have any talent? Alright then, say you don't. What then? Well....you write anyway. Tell me, do you write for your audience or do you write for you? Well, some of you will say, I don't really have an audience at the moment other than family and friends, a spattering of caring people. And they all adore your work, but it's so easy to think they're just being biased or being nice. Alright then, so you're writing for yourself. Then *write* for yourself, and if you like it, then hey! What do you know? there's one person in the world whom you've pleased, and if writing isn't to some extent meant to please, then I don't know what it's for. Even intellectual and painful writing can be pleasurable in its own intellectual and painful way. And if you don't like it, move on, shrug it off. Everyone is going to write badly (ever read any of Harlan Ellison's old stuff? Yeeeaaaahhhhhh........terrible.) None of us are going to be the amazing writers we want to be now, as much as we'd love to be. I'd personally love to be great now-- why go through the pain of growing? But it has to happen, and like everything else in life, everyone goes through it.
But sometimes thinking logically doesn't help our sense of worth or talent. Here's a solution, and I haven't even put this one into practice yet myself, so we'll be doing it together. Another great writer friend of mine has suggested a book: Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life". Apparently it's full of personal anecdotes, analogies, and observations about the writing life meant to encourage writers in all of their duress. One analogy he brought to mind was that writing is like chopping wood-- when you try to aim directly for the log, you miss.
Interesting thought, that.
In any case-- give it a try! Don't give up, no matter how talentless you feel. Believe me, there is always someone worse out there. And there is always someone better. But just remember some of the truly *awful* books that get published. Yours one day can too (and I know, I heard this argument earlier and thought, but I don't *want* mine to be part of the rubbish! Don't worry-- if you love it, it won't! There will always be people who hate your stuff, and people who just go mad over it. I'm pretty sure you can handle both.)
And as a random closer, if you have a finished manuscript that you've been trying to get published or have just been sitting on, take a look at a place called snowfallpress.com. They're a professional printer (not a publisher) that will take your digital manuscript and print it for you, as few or many copies as you want, and in many different sizes. Their printing is great quality, professional grade and their binding is superb, tight, and clean. It's all paperback at the moment, but they're thinking about adding hardcover soon. You get a full color cover, spine, and back, as well as beautiful clean printing on the inside in black and white. You format your manuscript into PDF on their easy to follow step by step guide, line up all the margins, fill in the info, and order away! Their prices are wonderful, and I was able to print 3 promos of my book in an 8.5x11" sizing for around $30, including shipping. Not bad, eh? I've already made a 5x9" size for once I've given the content a last looking over and they even have something called an eCommerce set up (kind of like a store?) where I think you can sell books to people. Not sure on that one, I have to still try it out, but for first time writers who don't want to try self-publishing but still want to share their work-- pretty good gig, if you ask me. And even if you just want a physical, professional copy for your own warm fuzzies or for information security, it's great quality for your price.
And besides...nothing is cooler than seeing your name on a gorgeously art-ed cover.
Anyway, that's enough from me for now! Keep your chins up, friends, and keep those feet bare! It's summer, you've got no excuse, your toes should be dirty with grass and happy dirt by now!
Caitlyn
It's been a little while since my last post. I've been officially bumming it up for the summer-- well not really, I've actually been working part time to save up for next year's tuition and my trip to London at the end of the summer. Most exciting : ) I've also been dabbling in my reading and writing; working my way through The Lord of the Rings and various other things here and there, nothing too serious. I'm between new books at the moment, though I do have some on my floor beside my bed: The Gravedigger's Daughter and The Road...need to get to those at some point.
But as you all know, it can be very easy in the busy *and* lazy months to suffer from writer stagnation-- nothing seems inspiring, you just want to lie around and stare at the wall...you're recovering from the hard work you've put your brain through during the working months, or working life, and you don't feel like you have any energy left. This then leads to a sense of self-loathing at your weakness for not doing as you're supposed to (you *are* a writer aren't you? So why aren't you writing!?!?!?!) and a feeling of general worthlessness and lack of talent.
Yes. I know. I've been there.
The truth of the matter is-- writing is hard. I've mentioned this in a blog post before so you don't need to hear me rant about it. But something else we need to keep in mind is that it is all too easy to be sensitive, especially with our own nasty inner voices. You don't think you have any talent? Alright then, say you don't. What then? Well....you write anyway. Tell me, do you write for your audience or do you write for you? Well, some of you will say, I don't really have an audience at the moment other than family and friends, a spattering of caring people. And they all adore your work, but it's so easy to think they're just being biased or being nice. Alright then, so you're writing for yourself. Then *write* for yourself, and if you like it, then hey! What do you know? there's one person in the world whom you've pleased, and if writing isn't to some extent meant to please, then I don't know what it's for. Even intellectual and painful writing can be pleasurable in its own intellectual and painful way. And if you don't like it, move on, shrug it off. Everyone is going to write badly (ever read any of Harlan Ellison's old stuff? Yeeeaaaahhhhhh........terrible.) None of us are going to be the amazing writers we want to be now, as much as we'd love to be. I'd personally love to be great now-- why go through the pain of growing? But it has to happen, and like everything else in life, everyone goes through it.
But sometimes thinking logically doesn't help our sense of worth or talent. Here's a solution, and I haven't even put this one into practice yet myself, so we'll be doing it together. Another great writer friend of mine has suggested a book: Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life". Apparently it's full of personal anecdotes, analogies, and observations about the writing life meant to encourage writers in all of their duress. One analogy he brought to mind was that writing is like chopping wood-- when you try to aim directly for the log, you miss.
Interesting thought, that.
In any case-- give it a try! Don't give up, no matter how talentless you feel. Believe me, there is always someone worse out there. And there is always someone better. But just remember some of the truly *awful* books that get published. Yours one day can too (and I know, I heard this argument earlier and thought, but I don't *want* mine to be part of the rubbish! Don't worry-- if you love it, it won't! There will always be people who hate your stuff, and people who just go mad over it. I'm pretty sure you can handle both.)
And as a random closer, if you have a finished manuscript that you've been trying to get published or have just been sitting on, take a look at a place called snowfallpress.com. They're a professional printer (not a publisher) that will take your digital manuscript and print it for you, as few or many copies as you want, and in many different sizes. Their printing is great quality, professional grade and their binding is superb, tight, and clean. It's all paperback at the moment, but they're thinking about adding hardcover soon. You get a full color cover, spine, and back, as well as beautiful clean printing on the inside in black and white. You format your manuscript into PDF on their easy to follow step by step guide, line up all the margins, fill in the info, and order away! Their prices are wonderful, and I was able to print 3 promos of my book in an 8.5x11" sizing for around $30, including shipping. Not bad, eh? I've already made a 5x9" size for once I've given the content a last looking over and they even have something called an eCommerce set up (kind of like a store?) where I think you can sell books to people. Not sure on that one, I have to still try it out, but for first time writers who don't want to try self-publishing but still want to share their work-- pretty good gig, if you ask me. And even if you just want a physical, professional copy for your own warm fuzzies or for information security, it's great quality for your price.
And besides...nothing is cooler than seeing your name on a gorgeously art-ed cover.
Anyway, that's enough from me for now! Keep your chins up, friends, and keep those feet bare! It's summer, you've got no excuse, your toes should be dirty with grass and happy dirt by now!
Caitlyn
Friday, May 20, 2011
Classics...
Hello! Everyone enjoying their summers? Georgia has had some pretty freaky weather recently. You know how those glorious storms always bring in cold fronts? Yeah, in Georgia that usually means something like 80 degree weather as opposed to 90. But this past week, in mid May, we had a cold front that was 60 degrees.
COLD!!!!!
For a cold-blooded gal like me, it was frigid. Especially with the air-conditioning still set to go on in the house. And of course, you know me, when it was raining I just *had* to go stand in it for a bit and drink it in. So, soaked. Air-conditioning. 60 degree weather.
COLD!!!!!
Anyway. I'm still working on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I've taken a hiatus from Adams' peculiarosity to reread one of my absolute favorites as I've been promising myself I would for years. I'm still pretty fried from the end of the semester in every artistic way, so I'm trying to recall some of my muse and strength by re-delving into the series of books that, when I first discovered them, I literally read to pieces. Not even kidding-- they were my older sister's books, too, and I was mortified when the binding and pages fell apart in my hands because of how much I'd read them.
Yes, friends, it is "The Lord of the Rings" that I am currently pouring through. Now, I've heard lots of arguments and sighs against the books. Some say that Tolkien's writing style is terrible to nonexistent, that his works are unoriginal, that his structure is archaic or illegible...yeah yeah yeah. Well here's what I have to say about *that*!!
Tolkien's writing style is just fine. If you've ever read books from that time period by *any* author, they will all sound much the same. That's just the way people wrote back then, and it's difficult to get through on occasion. Ever read any C. S. Lewis or H. G. Wells? Wells, especially, is a headache to get through sometimes. But it's brilliant and vivid!! Every word is like a drop of blue ink on a pure white page, bleeding and spiraling out as water is dripped on it. You have to really be in an early 20th century mood to read them; you'd have to be in a different mood to read "Great Expectations" or "The Count of Monte Cristo" in exactly the same way. Both, by the way, are intriguing books. I'd suggest "Count" over GE any day, but have you ever seen the unabridged version of "Count"? It's about as thick as the length of your hand!!! But delicious, and you don't have to be a connoisseur of wine-like books to appreciate them.
Many people who I've heard complain about Tolkien's stories have also started with "The Silmarillion". Ok. Bad idea number one. "The Silmarillion" is really a book for already obsessed LOTR fans and geeks, much like "Unfinished Tales" is-- though "Unfinished Tales" is much easier to get through and even has a section from it featured in "The Silmarillion". I'm about as geeky about LOTR as any, and even *I* have not finished "The Silmarillion" in its entirety. The beginning is much about the creation of Middle Earth and the set up of the whole universe in which LOTR exists, and yes, it's a bit hard. Oh no, hard reading! (Did you hear the sarcasm?) But the brilliant thing about reading for fun is, if it's too difficult for your tastes, you can
a) slow down, or
b) not read it!
But don't knock it as bad just because you don't like it. There are plenty of great books out there that I don't like, but it doesn't make them bad. Certain novels however are bad in accordance with me not liking them. I won't mention names in case I offend. Sparkly vampires may or may not be included. *cough*
But as I was saying, LOTR is really a special set of books. I picked them up first around middle school, just as the movies were first coming out. Unfortunately I saw the first movie before I read any of the books, but that got me hooked and I speedily read the rest of the books before the next movie appeared, and again, and again, and again. I got "The Hobbit", "The Silmarillion", "Unfinished Tales," "The Middle Earth Dictionary", a Tolkien bibliography, and many more of his works that don't come to mind. I also have "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun" sitting right next to me here in a large stack of books I'm supposed to read this summer (gleeful I am!!) which is an epic poem, as far as I can make out with the tiny glimpse I've had through it.
For those of you who have never read the books *or* watched the movies, the novels are really without compare. They're...magical. I know that's a cliche way to say it, but that's all there is for it. The movies do a bang-up job of portraying them, with only a few discrepancies that are so-so in their annoying-ness, some of which only true fanatics would notice or point out. But as an avid book-before-movie believer, I really enjoyed these films nonetheless.
LOTR is set in Middle Earth, a land of elves, dwarves, dragons (or at least there used to be), orcs, goblins, wolves, giants, trolls, wizards, Ents (tree-herders; imagine a great big walking tree), and hobbits, who are the primary characters. Hobbits are also called halflings because they are about half the size of a man, rotund due to their love of beer and food, furry-feeted little creatures who love peace and ordinariness. Some of them are less ordinary than others, and some downright adventurous, such as Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins around whom the stories pivot. The One Ring of power which would give the Enemy, Sauron, power to enslave the whole world, has fallen into Bilbo's, and finally Frodo's, hands. They must find a way to destroy it before Sauron finds them and destroys or enslaves all of Middle Earth.
The deep, trenching seams of the story are incredible. You can see and feel mountains and valleys springing up in the great depth of the story-- every detail, every history is accounted for, and it all knits together beautifully. If you don't believe Tolkien ever did anything original, you can't ignore the fact that he sewed an entire world together from beginning to end in his mind-- the sheer amount of detail involved is staggering and beautiful. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the now of a story and forget origins, but Tolkien never did so. And it really shows in his stories.
Anyway, I should wrap up and go to bed! I hope you all stay well, stay barefoot, and try reading (or re-reading) LOTR this summer! They really are books to be savored.
Caitlyn
COLD!!!!!
For a cold-blooded gal like me, it was frigid. Especially with the air-conditioning still set to go on in the house. And of course, you know me, when it was raining I just *had* to go stand in it for a bit and drink it in. So, soaked. Air-conditioning. 60 degree weather.
COLD!!!!!
Anyway. I'm still working on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I've taken a hiatus from Adams' peculiarosity to reread one of my absolute favorites as I've been promising myself I would for years. I'm still pretty fried from the end of the semester in every artistic way, so I'm trying to recall some of my muse and strength by re-delving into the series of books that, when I first discovered them, I literally read to pieces. Not even kidding-- they were my older sister's books, too, and I was mortified when the binding and pages fell apart in my hands because of how much I'd read them.
Yes, friends, it is "The Lord of the Rings" that I am currently pouring through. Now, I've heard lots of arguments and sighs against the books. Some say that Tolkien's writing style is terrible to nonexistent, that his works are unoriginal, that his structure is archaic or illegible...yeah yeah yeah. Well here's what I have to say about *that*!!
Tolkien's writing style is just fine. If you've ever read books from that time period by *any* author, they will all sound much the same. That's just the way people wrote back then, and it's difficult to get through on occasion. Ever read any C. S. Lewis or H. G. Wells? Wells, especially, is a headache to get through sometimes. But it's brilliant and vivid!! Every word is like a drop of blue ink on a pure white page, bleeding and spiraling out as water is dripped on it. You have to really be in an early 20th century mood to read them; you'd have to be in a different mood to read "Great Expectations" or "The Count of Monte Cristo" in exactly the same way. Both, by the way, are intriguing books. I'd suggest "Count" over GE any day, but have you ever seen the unabridged version of "Count"? It's about as thick as the length of your hand!!! But delicious, and you don't have to be a connoisseur of wine-like books to appreciate them.
Many people who I've heard complain about Tolkien's stories have also started with "The Silmarillion". Ok. Bad idea number one. "The Silmarillion" is really a book for already obsessed LOTR fans and geeks, much like "Unfinished Tales" is-- though "Unfinished Tales" is much easier to get through and even has a section from it featured in "The Silmarillion". I'm about as geeky about LOTR as any, and even *I* have not finished "The Silmarillion" in its entirety. The beginning is much about the creation of Middle Earth and the set up of the whole universe in which LOTR exists, and yes, it's a bit hard. Oh no, hard reading! (Did you hear the sarcasm?) But the brilliant thing about reading for fun is, if it's too difficult for your tastes, you can
a) slow down, or
b) not read it!
But don't knock it as bad just because you don't like it. There are plenty of great books out there that I don't like, but it doesn't make them bad. Certain novels however are bad in accordance with me not liking them. I won't mention names in case I offend. Sparkly vampires may or may not be included. *cough*
But as I was saying, LOTR is really a special set of books. I picked them up first around middle school, just as the movies were first coming out. Unfortunately I saw the first movie before I read any of the books, but that got me hooked and I speedily read the rest of the books before the next movie appeared, and again, and again, and again. I got "The Hobbit", "The Silmarillion", "Unfinished Tales," "The Middle Earth Dictionary", a Tolkien bibliography, and many more of his works that don't come to mind. I also have "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun" sitting right next to me here in a large stack of books I'm supposed to read this summer (gleeful I am!!) which is an epic poem, as far as I can make out with the tiny glimpse I've had through it.
For those of you who have never read the books *or* watched the movies, the novels are really without compare. They're...magical. I know that's a cliche way to say it, but that's all there is for it. The movies do a bang-up job of portraying them, with only a few discrepancies that are so-so in their annoying-ness, some of which only true fanatics would notice or point out. But as an avid book-before-movie believer, I really enjoyed these films nonetheless.
LOTR is set in Middle Earth, a land of elves, dwarves, dragons (or at least there used to be), orcs, goblins, wolves, giants, trolls, wizards, Ents (tree-herders; imagine a great big walking tree), and hobbits, who are the primary characters. Hobbits are also called halflings because they are about half the size of a man, rotund due to their love of beer and food, furry-feeted little creatures who love peace and ordinariness. Some of them are less ordinary than others, and some downright adventurous, such as Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins around whom the stories pivot. The One Ring of power which would give the Enemy, Sauron, power to enslave the whole world, has fallen into Bilbo's, and finally Frodo's, hands. They must find a way to destroy it before Sauron finds them and destroys or enslaves all of Middle Earth.
The deep, trenching seams of the story are incredible. You can see and feel mountains and valleys springing up in the great depth of the story-- every detail, every history is accounted for, and it all knits together beautifully. If you don't believe Tolkien ever did anything original, you can't ignore the fact that he sewed an entire world together from beginning to end in his mind-- the sheer amount of detail involved is staggering and beautiful. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the now of a story and forget origins, but Tolkien never did so. And it really shows in his stories.
Anyway, I should wrap up and go to bed! I hope you all stay well, stay barefoot, and try reading (or re-reading) LOTR this summer! They really are books to be savored.
Caitlyn
Friday, April 29, 2011
Portfolio
Hello everyone!
As you *may* have noticed (you did notice....right?.....right?) there is a new tab to the side there under the banner of "Maudlin's Shoes". Where before it was a blank, innocent patch of golden brown background, now there are the links called 'Home' and 'The Tower: 2011 Publications'. *That* my friends is the where the pieces for my portfolio, which can be found here and will be further updated as soon as I can get my hands on the records of my published works, will now reside.
http://flavors.me/caitlynmitchell
Any suggestions any of you may have for how to make my portfolio better, or efficient, or more aesthetically pleasing, do feel free to drop a comment! Please feel free to show it to your friends, writing connections, or rising writers.
That is all for now! Today I engage in the terribly important act of de-stressing...and there will be puppies involved!
Caitlyn
As you *may* have noticed (you did notice....right?.....right?) there is a new tab to the side there under the banner of "Maudlin's Shoes". Where before it was a blank, innocent patch of golden brown background, now there are the links called 'Home' and 'The Tower: 2011 Publications'. *That* my friends is the where the pieces for my portfolio, which can be found here and will be further updated as soon as I can get my hands on the records of my published works, will now reside.
http://flavors.me/caitlynmitchell
Any suggestions any of you may have for how to make my portfolio better, or efficient, or more aesthetically pleasing, do feel free to drop a comment! Please feel free to show it to your friends, writing connections, or rising writers.
That is all for now! Today I engage in the terribly important act of de-stressing...and there will be puppies involved!
Caitlyn
Friday, April 15, 2011
Storms...
They can be dangerous, destructive, and scary, but I love thunder storms...and mid-Georgia is just the perfect place for them.
It's another reason I love spring and summer so much. So many people around here hate the summer because of the terrible pollen (rising around 9 to 11 in severity for weeks on end when spring hits) and the heat/humidity. I say, I'd rather be hot than cold any day. I love watching the green come back, the new flowers poke their blossoms from among budding leaves, feeling the wind and warmth regain their aromatic texture. Shorts and short sleeves!! And there's something about an oven-hot day...knowing that the heat above is causing boiling clouds to form as the air agitates, stirring up a storm whose frenzy can be measured by the fierceness of the temperature...
Can you tell I'm writing about this rather than about writing? Again, my apologies for not keeping up with you like I should. It's exam season, GA Renaissance Festival season (where I work during the 8-week run) and storm season. Right now we're under a Tornado Warning with rain drumming outside; the sky is pitch black with winds rushing through the tops of the newly greened trees, and apparently hail is on the way.
I'm currently in the middle of re-reading the complete "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. I have only managed to pour through the first book and part of the second due to school (funny how getting a higher education can do that) but for those of you who have not encountered these books, they are a nerd/geek/sci-fi buff must-read. If you like Firefly, if you like Portal (the video game), if you like going to science fiction cons and fantasy cons, or any of that other awesome stuff, you will enjoy these books. Does that mean these books have anything remotely to do with Firefly or Portal? No. Not in the least. In fact they have *nothing* to do with Firefly or Portal other than that it's science fiction and takes place on a ship in space (some of the time) and is vastly sardonic in wit.
The humor can get on the nerves if you're not in the mood for ridiculous nonsense. The whole book is uproariously funny in its own random way-- and it *is* random. The ship that the main characters pilot, called Heart of Gold, is run by the Infinite Improbability Drive and thus is run by factors of improbability, like the improbability of a whale appearing out of nowhere a mile above the ground of an improbably unfindable planet-- yes, this happens, and you will find the thoughts of the whale prior to his unfortunate departure from the story rather starkly funny. And improbable. It's like Monty Python really. And you ask "What about a pointed stick?"
"Shaddap!"
But like I said, sometimes the humor can get windy and you just wish Douglas Adams would hurry it up. He probably says that in there somewhere, come to think of it. And don't, don't, DON'T judge the books by the movie. The movie was...interesting, but it did very little to actually capture the true essence of the books. In fact the movie was just plain weird, and while the books are also just plain weird, they're weird in a rather distinctive way.
You follow Arthur Dent, human and friend to Ford Prefect, resident of somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, as he travels about the Universe with no particular destination whatsoever (I'm sure it's in there somewhere but for the life of me *I* can't remember it, and even if I did, I wouldn't be telling you, now would I, you're supposed to go read the book, silly...). There are Bypasses, Vogons, a two-headed President of the Universe named Zaphod Beeblebrox who invented the most dangerous alcoholic drink in the universe, a great big book called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with "Don't Panic" written on it in large, friendly letters in which you can learn how to travel the stretches of the galaxy for less than thirty Alterian dollars a day, talking cows, a potted plant, mice who rule the world, a computer named Deep Thought, the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything...really, what isn't in this book? It did after all beat out the Encyclopedia Galactica as bestseller.
Mmmm the thunder is approaching. I suppose I'd better wrap this up now so I don't risk danger to my computer.
Till then, friends-- go take a walk in the rain, I highly recommend it...just so long as you don't do so during a thunderstorm, there's lightning you know, and it's very dangerous... ; )
Caitlyn
It's another reason I love spring and summer so much. So many people around here hate the summer because of the terrible pollen (rising around 9 to 11 in severity for weeks on end when spring hits) and the heat/humidity. I say, I'd rather be hot than cold any day. I love watching the green come back, the new flowers poke their blossoms from among budding leaves, feeling the wind and warmth regain their aromatic texture. Shorts and short sleeves!! And there's something about an oven-hot day...knowing that the heat above is causing boiling clouds to form as the air agitates, stirring up a storm whose frenzy can be measured by the fierceness of the temperature...
Can you tell I'm writing about this rather than about writing? Again, my apologies for not keeping up with you like I should. It's exam season, GA Renaissance Festival season (where I work during the 8-week run) and storm season. Right now we're under a Tornado Warning with rain drumming outside; the sky is pitch black with winds rushing through the tops of the newly greened trees, and apparently hail is on the way.
I'm currently in the middle of re-reading the complete "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. I have only managed to pour through the first book and part of the second due to school (funny how getting a higher education can do that) but for those of you who have not encountered these books, they are a nerd/geek/sci-fi buff must-read. If you like Firefly, if you like Portal (the video game), if you like going to science fiction cons and fantasy cons, or any of that other awesome stuff, you will enjoy these books. Does that mean these books have anything remotely to do with Firefly or Portal? No. Not in the least. In fact they have *nothing* to do with Firefly or Portal other than that it's science fiction and takes place on a ship in space (some of the time) and is vastly sardonic in wit.
The humor can get on the nerves if you're not in the mood for ridiculous nonsense. The whole book is uproariously funny in its own random way-- and it *is* random. The ship that the main characters pilot, called Heart of Gold, is run by the Infinite Improbability Drive and thus is run by factors of improbability, like the improbability of a whale appearing out of nowhere a mile above the ground of an improbably unfindable planet-- yes, this happens, and you will find the thoughts of the whale prior to his unfortunate departure from the story rather starkly funny. And improbable. It's like Monty Python really. And you ask "What about a pointed stick?"
"Shaddap!"
But like I said, sometimes the humor can get windy and you just wish Douglas Adams would hurry it up. He probably says that in there somewhere, come to think of it. And don't, don't, DON'T judge the books by the movie. The movie was...interesting, but it did very little to actually capture the true essence of the books. In fact the movie was just plain weird, and while the books are also just plain weird, they're weird in a rather distinctive way.
You follow Arthur Dent, human and friend to Ford Prefect, resident of somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, as he travels about the Universe with no particular destination whatsoever (I'm sure it's in there somewhere but for the life of me *I* can't remember it, and even if I did, I wouldn't be telling you, now would I, you're supposed to go read the book, silly...). There are Bypasses, Vogons, a two-headed President of the Universe named Zaphod Beeblebrox who invented the most dangerous alcoholic drink in the universe, a great big book called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with "Don't Panic" written on it in large, friendly letters in which you can learn how to travel the stretches of the galaxy for less than thirty Alterian dollars a day, talking cows, a potted plant, mice who rule the world, a computer named Deep Thought, the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything...really, what isn't in this book? It did after all beat out the Encyclopedia Galactica as bestseller.
Mmmm the thunder is approaching. I suppose I'd better wrap this up now so I don't risk danger to my computer.
Till then, friends-- go take a walk in the rain, I highly recommend it...just so long as you don't do so during a thunderstorm, there's lightning you know, and it's very dangerous... ; )
Caitlyn
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Time
Hey everyone!
It's been a little while since my last post! Boy where does the time go? I can't really give any good excuses because...well I can't.
And yet don't we all suffer from this? This horrible contradiction of joys and pains that causes us to spend the littlest time on the thing we love most to do? For me it's writing. I love, love, love to write. I used to spend hours non-stop writing, plugged into my music, chugging out image after image, working on characters, always amazed and delighted to see what came next. It earned me a typing speed of 98 words per minute. Well, and also some stories, you know, that too.
Yet these days it seems harder and harder to find the time. And not only the time, but the energy. I think you all know what I mean-- you work excruciatingly hard to give yourself a little free time later in the day (or in the week if your schedule is anything like mine!!) but by the time you get to that couple of hours of liberty...you're completely and utterly wiped. You don't want to think about anything, not even the thing you love to do. Because writing is hard work! It takes brain cells and stuff! And where did those brain cells and stuff go? Straight into the project, assignment, work shift, moving muscles to stay standing business. We're so exhausted that after doing all of the things we have to do each day, at the end we just want to stare mindlessly at the TV/computer/fish tank or collapse straight into bed. We don't want to expend one more ounce of energy in the exercising of our minds.
A sad, true, and puzzling dilemma. I certainly don't have an answer for it yet. My answer is to wait until you have a long enough break that you can spend a good two to two and a half weeks completely vegging and then yank your detoxed brain out of the jacuzzi for some productivity that is creative and worth something to our muses (which, face it, bagging groceries for $8.00 an hour or solving probability equations don't quite cut it). I had this last week off-- except for one homework assignment that I didn't begin until a day before the break was over, I had nothing to do. Well, some chores and lists and to dos. Some emails, visits, future planning, studying...wait, what happened to that having nothing to do? Er....well anyway! Spent enough time vegging and reading and cooking that I felt, at the end of it all, marginally revitalized. It wasn't long enough though. One week out of the prior 9? Hmmm...something here seems uneven! But unfortunately that's the reality of life, and I'm told it only gets worse from here.
BUT when school has finally ended, even though my mind will be occupied with *new* highly stressful things, like a full-time job, paying bills, etc. and so forth and all that that implies...I will no longer be required to memorize probability equations, soliloquize on philosophical topics I really couldn't be less interested in, or memorize mounds of information to spit back on this essay or that exam. No more summer vacation? No more weeks and weeks of classes building up to one final explosion. I think it evens out a bit.
But we'll see, won't we? Me, I plan to be fully and thoroughly pleased when I graduate and get my first full-time job. And my spare time will not be engaged in searching for a job, working on my internship cover letters, hoping my GPA and volunteering is enough to get me a job, or studying for my classes forever and on end. I will be writing, for me. Me me me!!!
But until then, the majority of my writing will be at the whims of my tapioca brain. Should the spur come between now and the summer, then hoorah for the muse! If not, though, for now I've bowed down the to pressure of the student's life and will wait patiently to do some real literary damage over the long months I am given to recover.
One last thought....I find it odd and sinister that we have to have three months out of the year to 'recover' from school...............................recover, as in from damage...*eerie music* Spoooooooky.....and not at all surprising to any student past the high school level.
Next post I will be exploring the joys and hysteria (I meant hysterics! Really! Truly! Why are you laughing?) of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. We will discuss the 42 ways to mix a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.
Yes. That makes sense.
Caitlyn
It's been a little while since my last post! Boy where does the time go? I can't really give any good excuses because...well I can't.
And yet don't we all suffer from this? This horrible contradiction of joys and pains that causes us to spend the littlest time on the thing we love most to do? For me it's writing. I love, love, love to write. I used to spend hours non-stop writing, plugged into my music, chugging out image after image, working on characters, always amazed and delighted to see what came next. It earned me a typing speed of 98 words per minute. Well, and also some stories, you know, that too.
Yet these days it seems harder and harder to find the time. And not only the time, but the energy. I think you all know what I mean-- you work excruciatingly hard to give yourself a little free time later in the day (or in the week if your schedule is anything like mine!!) but by the time you get to that couple of hours of liberty...you're completely and utterly wiped. You don't want to think about anything, not even the thing you love to do. Because writing is hard work! It takes brain cells and stuff! And where did those brain cells and stuff go? Straight into the project, assignment, work shift, moving muscles to stay standing business. We're so exhausted that after doing all of the things we have to do each day, at the end we just want to stare mindlessly at the TV/computer/fish tank or collapse straight into bed. We don't want to expend one more ounce of energy in the exercising of our minds.
A sad, true, and puzzling dilemma. I certainly don't have an answer for it yet. My answer is to wait until you have a long enough break that you can spend a good two to two and a half weeks completely vegging and then yank your detoxed brain out of the jacuzzi for some productivity that is creative and worth something to our muses (which, face it, bagging groceries for $8.00 an hour or solving probability equations don't quite cut it). I had this last week off-- except for one homework assignment that I didn't begin until a day before the break was over, I had nothing to do. Well, some chores and lists and to dos. Some emails, visits, future planning, studying...wait, what happened to that having nothing to do? Er....well anyway! Spent enough time vegging and reading and cooking that I felt, at the end of it all, marginally revitalized. It wasn't long enough though. One week out of the prior 9? Hmmm...something here seems uneven! But unfortunately that's the reality of life, and I'm told it only gets worse from here.
BUT when school has finally ended, even though my mind will be occupied with *new* highly stressful things, like a full-time job, paying bills, etc. and so forth and all that that implies...I will no longer be required to memorize probability equations, soliloquize on philosophical topics I really couldn't be less interested in, or memorize mounds of information to spit back on this essay or that exam. No more summer vacation? No more weeks and weeks of classes building up to one final explosion. I think it evens out a bit.
But we'll see, won't we? Me, I plan to be fully and thoroughly pleased when I graduate and get my first full-time job. And my spare time will not be engaged in searching for a job, working on my internship cover letters, hoping my GPA and volunteering is enough to get me a job, or studying for my classes forever and on end. I will be writing, for me. Me me me!!!
But until then, the majority of my writing will be at the whims of my tapioca brain. Should the spur come between now and the summer, then hoorah for the muse! If not, though, for now I've bowed down the to pressure of the student's life and will wait patiently to do some real literary damage over the long months I am given to recover.
One last thought....I find it odd and sinister that we have to have three months out of the year to 'recover' from school...............................recover, as in from damage...*eerie music* Spoooooooky.....and not at all surprising to any student past the high school level.
Next post I will be exploring the joys and hysteria (I meant hysterics! Really! Truly! Why are you laughing?) of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. We will discuss the 42 ways to mix a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.
Yes. That makes sense.
Caitlyn
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