Okay, so it's been a while since I've posted anything. Entirely my fault, I'm not gonna lie. In any case, I'm back now, and I intend to make this a habit. Anyway, there is something specific I wanted to post about, rather than just making excuses. Here we go.
So I recently watched Frozen. Yes, I know, it's great (and also everywhere). The characters were super relatable, seeing as I have two sisters myself and I would probably do anything for them. However, something that's been niggling at my mind is a tv show that I watched some weeks ago while waiting at a doctor's office; a daytime talk show where a woman was complaining about the uncannily thin and large-eyed appearance of the characters, and how it would be a bad influence of young girls.
...I know. But some people do think like that, and that's what worries me. Let me explain my reasoning.
It's not the first time I've encountered the view that Disney could be a bad influence on girls. In fact, my sister's legal studies teacher was sheltering her own children from it, because she believed it to perpetuate the stereotype that girls need saving; that they should be damsels in distress. And though it seems reasonable on the surface, I have a few problems with this.
The first is the shelter aspect. Controlling your children's television and movies may seem like a great way to influence their personalities, but what if they're not interested in what you want to show them? A child is a human being, just like you. I someone was telling you to watch twilight, wouldn't you be a bit miffed? (I just had to, sorry).
Secondly, I'm doubtful about the effect that these shows may potentially have on their minds. Having loved fairytales all my life, I would be the first to tell you that there's nothing to worry about. The appeal of fairytales is their fantasy; they often contain princes and princesses, along with at least a touch of magic. It is their inaccessibility which draws us; we know we will never be a princess or a hero, but we can dream about living in that world.
'Hold on!' I hear you cry. 'But these are children we're talking about, they can't possibly think that critically.' I know, I know. But that brings me to my last point: Education. If you don't like the message that a tv show is sending, how about you simply tell your kids that? Teach them that not everything they watch is grounded in truth; that some things need to be taken with a pinch of salt. They're much more likely to listen to their parents than to some movie. And you will be teaching them one of the most valuable lessons they are likely to learn: scepticism.
I have a knitting pattern to post, so if I don't do that soon, give me a textual slap on the wrist or something. Happy watching!
Friday, 28 February 2014
Monday, 5 August 2013
The trouble with outlandish names
Now, this is something I've been ruminating on recently (ruminating... never used that word before...). My attention was brought to it by, of all things, eating chocolate. How, you ask? The answer is simple. Lindt and quiche. Got you more confused, have I? I'll explain. These two words are ones that my high school history teacher rather memorably (to me at least) mispronounced. Here's how.
The first (although I mentioned it second) is quiche. My teacher told us an anecdote about how she had been at school, and it had been on the menu. "Oh," she had said, "What's kwi-chee?" A rather harmless anecdote, I think you'll agree. Now, let's move onto the second. In school one day we were discussing chocolate (don't ask me why; I don't remember. Just accept that we were amazing). And my teacher, bless her, said "I like those Lie-in-d chocolates."
These things may seem to you rather trivial, and they are. But let me get to my point. You see, no matter how simple a pronunciation may seem to you, there is always someone who will pronounce it differently.
The English language has thousands of different letter combinations, each of them culminating in different pronunciations. Is it bass (mass) or bass (lace)? Are you producing the produce? How must it be pronounced? This is rather delightfully demonstrated in a deliciously evil poem available here which even a native English speaker has difficulty saying in one go.
And when you've taken that into consideration, there is the matter of nationality of accent. The English language is a minefield for the creation of made-up words.
So, what to do? One thing NOT to do is to put a pronunciation guide in the back of the book, like in Eragon. By the time a reader has gotten to it, they have their own ideas about pronunciation. Trust me, I know. I spent an entire book pronouncing Gil'ead (GILL-ee-id) as Gil-eed and Uru'baen (OO-roo-bane) as OO-roo-bah-en. Not to mention Ajihad, whose name is supposed to be pronounced AH-zhi-hod. And then there's Tronjheim (TRONJ-heem) which I pronounced with a German inflection of TRONJ-hi-m (rhymes with bye).
My biggest tip if you're worried about your names not being pronounced properly is to show it to people and get them to say it. If you're not happy with how they're pronouncing it, either include a pronunciation guide at the beginning of your book, or change it. As for me, I'll just stick to normal names. And who knows? You may not even care about people mispronouncing your names.
That's all folks. I'll post again later.
The first (although I mentioned it second) is quiche. My teacher told us an anecdote about how she had been at school, and it had been on the menu. "Oh," she had said, "What's kwi-chee?" A rather harmless anecdote, I think you'll agree. Now, let's move onto the second. In school one day we were discussing chocolate (don't ask me why; I don't remember. Just accept that we were amazing). And my teacher, bless her, said "I like those Lie-in-d chocolates."
These things may seem to you rather trivial, and they are. But let me get to my point. You see, no matter how simple a pronunciation may seem to you, there is always someone who will pronounce it differently.
The English language has thousands of different letter combinations, each of them culminating in different pronunciations. Is it bass (mass) or bass (lace)? Are you producing the produce? How must it be pronounced? This is rather delightfully demonstrated in a deliciously evil poem available here which even a native English speaker has difficulty saying in one go.
And when you've taken that into consideration, there is the matter of nationality of accent. The English language is a minefield for the creation of made-up words.
So, what to do? One thing NOT to do is to put a pronunciation guide in the back of the book, like in Eragon. By the time a reader has gotten to it, they have their own ideas about pronunciation. Trust me, I know. I spent an entire book pronouncing Gil'ead (GILL-ee-id) as Gil-eed and Uru'baen (OO-roo-bane) as OO-roo-bah-en. Not to mention Ajihad, whose name is supposed to be pronounced AH-zhi-hod. And then there's Tronjheim (TRONJ-heem) which I pronounced with a German inflection of TRONJ-hi-m (rhymes with bye).
My biggest tip if you're worried about your names not being pronounced properly is to show it to people and get them to say it. If you're not happy with how they're pronouncing it, either include a pronunciation guide at the beginning of your book, or change it. As for me, I'll just stick to normal names. And who knows? You may not even care about people mispronouncing your names.
That's all folks. I'll post again later.
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Getting writing time out of bus trips (without putting pen to paper)
Now, please don't take any of this the wrong way. I am not a stalker. I am certainly a normal person. But, there is something which I do sometimes to help with description. Description, I find, is the part of my writing which I leave out the most. I think of my characters as just people, regardless of what they look like. Now, while this may be a very inclusive outlook on life, it does not make for as immersive an experience as I would like.
So, what to do if your characters all look the same? Just look around you. When I am on the bus, sometimes I will surreptitiously look at the people around me and think about how I would describe them. What does their hair look like? How would I bring to life that particular set of features on paper? Here, for example, is a man who regularly takes the same bus as I do:
He was a tall man; not particularly heavily built but with enough bulk to be noticeable. He had his eyes closed, and his eyelashes and lips were almost feminine in contrast to the rough stubble which covered his chin. He did not, however, look effeminate. On the contrary, his features combined in a face which looked astonishingly manly.
Hardly the best of descriptions, I know. The difference, however, is that I would never have come up with something like that all on my own. If it were me, I would have simply made up a man. But what is a man without a few curious features. And don't stop there. Try to imagine what kind of job they do. Are they unemployed? Married? A lawyer? A doctor? What is their personality like? The beauty with this is that they can be whatever you want them to be. Such as:
He spent most of his days at the university, leaving early and coming back late. He did not enjoy the commute; in fact he spent most of those times trying to sleep on the bus, with his music in his ears and trying to ignore the movement of the bus.
And that, I believe, is all I have to say on the topic. Try it guys, just try not to let anyone see you staring. They probably won't comment, but you'll be forever marked as the strange person as the bus. Though if you're like me, you were probably already strange to begin with. Bye!
Laura
So, what to do if your characters all look the same? Just look around you. When I am on the bus, sometimes I will surreptitiously look at the people around me and think about how I would describe them. What does their hair look like? How would I bring to life that particular set of features on paper? Here, for example, is a man who regularly takes the same bus as I do:
He was a tall man; not particularly heavily built but with enough bulk to be noticeable. He had his eyes closed, and his eyelashes and lips were almost feminine in contrast to the rough stubble which covered his chin. He did not, however, look effeminate. On the contrary, his features combined in a face which looked astonishingly manly.
Hardly the best of descriptions, I know. The difference, however, is that I would never have come up with something like that all on my own. If it were me, I would have simply made up a man. But what is a man without a few curious features. And don't stop there. Try to imagine what kind of job they do. Are they unemployed? Married? A lawyer? A doctor? What is their personality like? The beauty with this is that they can be whatever you want them to be. Such as:
He spent most of his days at the university, leaving early and coming back late. He did not enjoy the commute; in fact he spent most of those times trying to sleep on the bus, with his music in his ears and trying to ignore the movement of the bus.
And that, I believe, is all I have to say on the topic. Try it guys, just try not to let anyone see you staring. They probably won't comment, but you'll be forever marked as the strange person as the bus. Though if you're like me, you were probably already strange to begin with. Bye!
Laura
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
The Pen Name: A Discussion
Okay, I know it's been a long time... there are reasons for that. Stupid, pathetic reasons, which are really just excuses. I'm sorry. I've been neglecting my online presence. So, first up, an update. I've been participating in this year's July Camp NaNoWriMo, and I'm well on my way to completing it. As well as that, I'm knitting a Dalek Lace Shawl, which shall also be finished soon. I'm quite excited about both. The last thing which is taking my time is Minecraft, which if I'm honest I never should really have started. But it is such a wonderful outlet for creativity, even for someone who can't draw a straight line.
Now that that's dealt with, on to the actual article. I recently searched, with the help of the NaNoWriMo forums, for a pen name. In two days I had a response, and lo and behold, I now have a pen name. Hannah Laurent. Has a nice ring, doesn't it? It's an amalgam of my first and middle names, swapped. If I ever publish, hopefully it will be under that name.
Of course, why the need for a pen name? I decided a long time ago that my full name was not suitable as a pen name. It comprises of a first and a middle name, plus a ridiculously long hyphenated last name. Those do not make up for the most pronounceable of names, so I was keen to make up something new. Nor did I want to simply chop out my middle name and the last part of my surname, because it sounds bland and uninteresting. Laura Berger. Can you imagine that on the spine of a book? I thought so. But then, maybe I'm being harsh to myself. After all, when Ian Fleming began to write his famous series of books, he picked the name James Bond because he thought it was exceptionally boring. We all know how that turned out.
Then of course, there's the recent news about J.K. Rowling writing under a pen name in order to avoid the stigma which followed her on publication of A Casual Vacancy. Rowling, of course, already writes under a pen name, albeit one not too different from her real name. In this case, I applaud her. She is, I believe, a very competent writer, whether you like her latest books or not. And when I find people putting them down simply because there is no magic or wand waving, I find it very sad indeed.
So, what about pen names?
I find that a pen name will be the mask I wear to sell books; a fake veneer for my very introverted self to hide behind. Even though publishing is the least personal medium of expressing oneself, perhaps I can distance myself from bad reviews if it's not actually my name. Probably not. But I can hope so, anyway. I guess, in the end, it completely depends on your circumstances. Perhaps you are a published children's author who wants to be taken seriously with adult fiction, or you want to keep your sinful writing from the people you know. Perhaps, like me, your own name is just too boring. A pen name, in any case, is a very flexible thing which can be adapted to any circumstance. It can be sexy, serious, mysterious; whatever you want it to be. Therein lies its power.
I hope you enjoyed that disjointed series of thoughts; I promise to return with some more structured material within the week. If I don't, feel free to leave a comment to smack me on the head. Wishing you a very lovely day,
Laura.
Now that that's dealt with, on to the actual article. I recently searched, with the help of the NaNoWriMo forums, for a pen name. In two days I had a response, and lo and behold, I now have a pen name. Hannah Laurent. Has a nice ring, doesn't it? It's an amalgam of my first and middle names, swapped. If I ever publish, hopefully it will be under that name.
Of course, why the need for a pen name? I decided a long time ago that my full name was not suitable as a pen name. It comprises of a first and a middle name, plus a ridiculously long hyphenated last name. Those do not make up for the most pronounceable of names, so I was keen to make up something new. Nor did I want to simply chop out my middle name and the last part of my surname, because it sounds bland and uninteresting. Laura Berger. Can you imagine that on the spine of a book? I thought so. But then, maybe I'm being harsh to myself. After all, when Ian Fleming began to write his famous series of books, he picked the name James Bond because he thought it was exceptionally boring. We all know how that turned out.
Then of course, there's the recent news about J.K. Rowling writing under a pen name in order to avoid the stigma which followed her on publication of A Casual Vacancy. Rowling, of course, already writes under a pen name, albeit one not too different from her real name. In this case, I applaud her. She is, I believe, a very competent writer, whether you like her latest books or not. And when I find people putting them down simply because there is no magic or wand waving, I find it very sad indeed.
So, what about pen names?
I find that a pen name will be the mask I wear to sell books; a fake veneer for my very introverted self to hide behind. Even though publishing is the least personal medium of expressing oneself, perhaps I can distance myself from bad reviews if it's not actually my name. Probably not. But I can hope so, anyway. I guess, in the end, it completely depends on your circumstances. Perhaps you are a published children's author who wants to be taken seriously with adult fiction, or you want to keep your sinful writing from the people you know. Perhaps, like me, your own name is just too boring. A pen name, in any case, is a very flexible thing which can be adapted to any circumstance. It can be sexy, serious, mysterious; whatever you want it to be. Therein lies its power.
I hope you enjoyed that disjointed series of thoughts; I promise to return with some more structured material within the week. If I don't, feel free to leave a comment to smack me on the head. Wishing you a very lovely day,
Laura.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
7 Writing Tips to keep the words flowing
Writers' block. We've all experienced it, all lamented the inopportune arrival of it. Some deny its existence, call it a mere temporary setback. But whether you like to think of them as slow patches, or if you simply do not have any ideas, you need a way of dealing with this. Here are my tips. You do not need to use all of these to conquer writers' block; in fact it would be better you only use one or two. Find the method that works best for you and put it into practice.
- Soldier on. Write more words, even if they're painful and you hate them. You can come back and edit them later.
- Try skimming slightly over the section you're writing. Give bare details where an entire paragraph would be preferable. Don't give the how or the why if it's not important and you can't think of it. These things can be added later.
- Add a plot point. If things are never going to work out or if your story has reached a stalemate, make something happen! It doesn't need to be explicitly related to the overall plot line, and it certainly doesn't need to resolve the story; but it can serve to push your characters in the right direction.
- Write ahead. Use with caution. You can skip the section you're on, but beware that it might create structural issues in your story if the part you're on is important.
- Make a summary. If you know what's going to happen but can't bring yourself to write it yet, write a summary of that part (as detailed as you can make it) and move on. This is a viable alternative to option 4 if skipping it might cause issues.
- Write something else. Spend a little time doing a short story. The time away might cause you to forget things about your story, but let's face it, you've forgotten half of it already, right? Writing another project might help you put the issue into perspective.
- Find a human guinea pig. Find someone whose ideas are very similar to yours, like a sister or a best friend. Tell them the issues you're having and have a discussion with them about how to resolve it. They might see things you've missed, and they're also great to bounce ideas off.
Hope you enjoyed those pearls of writing wisdom. May writers' block never hinder your path, and happy writing to you.
Monday, 29 April 2013
River's Gloves - Knitting Pattern
I made these as an accompaniment to the River's Diary pattern I posted not long ago. Subtle Doctor Who references are embroidered on the back of the hand. The cuff is modeled on River's Diary, with sixteen panels encircling the wrist. This is meant to be the first in a slate of Doctor Who inspired glove patterns, so stay tuned for more.
Instructions
CO 30 sts and arrange evenly onto 3 needles. Join in the
round, being careful not to twist. Now, follow either the chart or the written
instructions.
Chart
Cuff
Round 1-2: k all
Round 3: [k2, p13] twice
Round 4: [k2, p1, k11, p1] twice
Round 5: [k2, p1, k1, p9, k1, p1] twice
Round 6: [k2, p1, k1, p1, k3, p1, k3, p1, k1, p1] twice
Round 7-9: As round 6 (3 rounds)
Repeat rounds 5-9 three more times, until you have
sixteen panels.
Round 25: [k2, p1, k1, p9, k1, p1] twice
Round 26: [k2, p1, k11, p1] twice
Round 27: [k2, p13] twice
Glove
Round 1-2: K all
Round 3: k15, place marker, m1, k2, m1, place marker, k
to end (32)
Round 4-6: k all (3 rounds)
Round 7: k15, slip marker, m1, k to marker, m1, slip
marker, k to end (34)
Repeat rounds 4-7 twice more, until you have 38 stitches
on your needles.
Round 16-23: k all (8 rounds)
Round 24: k to first marker, remove marker, k1, place
next 8 sts on holder, k1, remove marker, k to end.
Round 25-35: k all (10 rounds)
Round 36: p all
BO loosely
Thumb
Pick up the stitches on your holder and join in the yarn.
Round 1: k8, pick up and k 2 sts.
Round 2-7: k all (6 rounds)
Round 8: p all
BO loosely
Finishing
Weave in the ends, making sure to close up any holes
around the thumb. Take a length of white yarn and a tapestry needle and
embroider words on the back of the glove. On one glove, put the words ‘Hello
sweetie XO’. On the other, put ‘Spoilers’. Weave in these ends to the white
yarn on the inside of the glove. Voila, you’re done!
As always, I do have a PDF version of the pattern. Happy knitting!
Sunday, 28 April 2013
The Master Writing Tip
There was something I forgot to tell you guys two posts ago. It's something I forgot that I needed to follow, but has been driven home by last night spent procrastinating. It's something I don't really have trouble with, but others of you might not like. It's the perfect way to find some time in the evenings to put fingers to keyboards or pens to paper. It's simple. Three words.
Stop watching TV.
Now, I don't mean stop watching TV period. You can still turn it on once a week to watch your favourite show. But turning the box on every single night leaves you zero hours to do work on your novel. This is something I learned by accident when I participated in NaNoWriMo and very quickly gave up on this pastime. It's possible, trust me, and you don't really lose anything.
Anyway, TV is for unimaginative people. What's wrong with sitting down and reading a book. Do you need to watch reruns of QI? Is it imperative that you see this cooking show, though you may never look at or think about the recipes ever again? I think not. So put some time aside, and leave the box in its corner. Your inner writer will thank you for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)