![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Where it comes from, where it's going
Oct. 5th, 2004 06:16 pmI've been thinking about process.
So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain.
There's been a lot of posting about characterization, about where it's going, is it better now or worse? Most of it explores the Harry/Draco dynamic. And I felt disengaged from the debate; a complacency that came from the fact, I discovered to my surprise, that I'm not a characterization-driven writer.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?
I'm plot-driven. I'm and-then-they.... I'm let-me-tell-you-a-story. And I know my writing isn't to all tastes. I write anyway.
Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change? Did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
I've always used music as inspiration for writing. I've always connected song lyrics to unconnected things in my life, and I'm especially inspired to use others' words to drive my writing. True story: November, 1963. Probably one of the most significant world events happened when I was just beginning to become aware of the larger world. One of the first TV events in American history: the assassination of JFK. And when the coverage became too much to assimilate, I tucked myself away in my room and listened to all the 45's my sister owned, and in each and every song I found a connection between the lyrics and the events unfolding in our living room.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old fears.
Forty years later, that hasn't changed. But I use it to my advantage. Yes, my betas laugh at my blatant use of song lyrics in my fics. But I don't care. They're there for me. To remind me of where I was and who I was and what I was thinking when I wrote. Things pass, my stories will fade away, but I'll know. I'll have that in my grasp. A tangible reminder of this time and place.
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
The sequel to ATBT is growing more complex - and longer - every day.
So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain.
There's been a lot of posting about characterization, about where it's going, is it better now or worse? Most of it explores the Harry/Draco dynamic. And I felt disengaged from the debate; a complacency that came from the fact, I discovered to my surprise, that I'm not a characterization-driven writer.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?
I'm plot-driven. I'm and-then-they.... I'm let-me-tell-you-a-story. And I know my writing isn't to all tastes. I write anyway.
Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change? Did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
I've always used music as inspiration for writing. I've always connected song lyrics to unconnected things in my life, and I'm especially inspired to use others' words to drive my writing. True story: November, 1963. Probably one of the most significant world events happened when I was just beginning to become aware of the larger world. One of the first TV events in American history: the assassination of JFK. And when the coverage became too much to assimilate, I tucked myself away in my room and listened to all the 45's my sister owned, and in each and every song I found a connection between the lyrics and the events unfolding in our living room.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old fears.
Forty years later, that hasn't changed. But I use it to my advantage. Yes, my betas laugh at my blatant use of song lyrics in my fics. But I don't care. They're there for me. To remind me of where I was and who I was and what I was thinking when I wrote. Things pass, my stories will fade away, but I'll know. I'll have that in my grasp. A tangible reminder of this time and place.
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
The sequel to ATBT is growing more complex - and longer - every day.
