TTKotIGIF - Do You Know Where Your LOL is?

Because TLIF is a medical term as well, I've decided to try a new acronym. Today we have: Thank Technichally King of the Ice Giants It's Friday

Which, once it's all spelled out, is kind of clunky. But the letters might make an interesting bumper sticker. We had this conversation once at home about the early days of chat acronyms. Like LOL and the like. This stemmed from someone telling me I sounded like an AOL brat (back in the days when AOL was THE place to be a brat) and I responded in offence, letting him know I'd been online before brats even knew what AOL was (which was back in the days AOL came on 1.44" floppy disks and only came with 10 free hours a month and that was enough because who in their right mind needed to be online for more than 10 hours in any given month?)

And the best substitution we came up with was a variation of ROFLMAO (rolling on the floor laughing my ass off). Which was ROFCRS (rolling on the floor committing ritual sepaku - don't even ask).

I started thinking about comparisons to Shakespeare and all those words he inveted. Did you know in Utah, soda is called pop, but if you say that in the south, all the people look at you funny and some kind of snicker?

Or, if you'd prefer, a study was recently conducted that showed that you can frequently tell in 140 characters or less, what part of they country someone lives in? This research project analyzed tweets from all across the US and found trends not only in the words used, but they way they were mispelled depending on the part of the country the tweeters were in.

Which makes me wonder - with all this access to anyone we want all over the world, how does such a distinct dialect based on region continue to exist? Sure, we interract every day with people face-to-face, but if we're bringing that online after, how do we know the girl in Australia hasn't started saying 'pop' when she wants a soda?

Or, is it possible that despite all our thoughts and theories about digital content being a globalizing force, that really we're not as plugged in as we believe we are?

And does a writer have more influence on that global spread of trend than your average person?

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There is Hope

AKA - Don't turn in your creativity badge and become a 'normal' just yet.

So like the bamillionty other writers out there on the information superhighway (aka, the interwebz for you noobz ;-), I follow a lot of writer blogs. Published authors, agented, unpublished. All of it. It's not really because I'm looking for advice. I mean, I learn stuff from all y'all, I do. But if we're honest, so many of us have heard so much of the same stuff over and over again, that we're just reiterating it.

But...that reiteration is what I love. It's part of the reason I can blow an entire morning reading everyone's blogs. It's like a super awesome game of telephone. I tell you something, and you tell it to the next person. Except each time it passes through one of us, it gets a new unique spin on it.

Because as creative types, we have a unique perspective on the world. Where a 'normal' person sees a traffic light, we see a button that opens a world to another dimension if the person pressing it has the right birthmark. Where 'they' see the grouchy man at the supermarket who's holding up the entire line all but yelling at the cashier, we see a man whose wife left him for the neighbor's son four months ago who can't let go of his anger and really just wants someone to talk to but can't make himself do it and OML! is that a gun he's reaching for? Oh, it's just his wallet so he can try a different credit card. Nevermind.

Anyway...that's why I love this community. So many different unique thoughts and perspectives and ways to view the world and 'the craft' (the writing craft, not that movie from 15 or so years ago where pretty much the overriding point was that being evil means bad things happen to you, but its okay if you're just getting revenge on karma's behalf).

Oh, and because every once in a while, something like this happens. I'm not usually all big on the book deals. I mean, it's awesome when author's get them. It really, really is. It's one of those things that gives the rest of us hope and a way to live vicariously. But Natalie Whipple is one of those authors whose blog I love reading because she's got a great (grueling and frustrating, but amazing) publishing story, she's got a great sense of humor, every once in a while she shares glimpses of that human side that makes people, well, human, and oh yeah, she's an anime fan. (insert fan-girl squeal here). Oh, and she's a local girl. Gotta cheer for those, right?

So I guess the point is, y'all are awesome, don't ever turn normal, and <3 And go congratulate Natalie ^_^

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Literary vs Genre Fiction...Fight! Er...Discuss

(Sorry, for some reason the demons of Mortal Kombat posessed me temporarily...ever play that game in the arcade? I was the ultimate button masher which means I could go about three rounds without a problem and then get my butt kicked repeteadly, and that is so not the point so moving on...)

Deana Barnhart is hosting an awesome monthlong blogfest. If you haven't read the deets yet, visit here for an overall explanation or here for the week 1 festivities.

I love this premise of covering several aspects of writing over a period of time. Learning the craft, building one's platform, writing the story (weird, right? ;-) and querying (take that, Oxford comma).

So, week 1's challenge: "Take the greatest, dumbest, weirdest...just whatever kind of writing question you have, and post it on your blog Wednesday"

What's the difference between literary and genre fiction?

I ask this because it's something I've been pondering lately. It's one of those concepts that ask fifty people, you'll get seventy-five answers, just like 'What exactly is "voice"?'

I've heard so many answers over time. Some people prefer one, other people swing in a different direction...a lot of literary agents want a combination of both...say whu?

As far as I've been able to discern, it works kind of like this.

Literary fiction is more about the internal conflict. The character's struggle and growth (with any luck) as an individual. It's also frequently more experimental or verbose writing. Something that extends beyond the simple standards we're taught make up sentence structure and POV as children.

Where genre fiction is, well, for one, based on a specific genre. Romance, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, etc. And tends to focus more on the plot. The things happening around to the character.

But for me, I have a hard time enjoying one without the other. Don't misunderstand, if a character's internal journey is compelling and well-written, I don't need a driving external plot. But it has to be really compelling. And if there's enough action and drama externally, the first time through I'll probably overlook the two-dimensional character...(for instance, I loved 'The Matrix' the first time I saw it...kapow! bang! boom!)

I look at all that and I think I really need both in my life. So I figure I must be missing some compelling distinction between the two. Help me out. What makes the two so different and distinct so as to draw stark lines in the sand and compell people to debate for days on end about the merits of each?

How do you define literary or genre fiction? Which do you prefer? Why?

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I Talk To Myself

AKA - How I spent my summer vacation

Which wasn't really a summer vacation, it was an extra day off for the holiday. But that's like a summer vacation and I got to level my character higher than I have in over a month. My gaming character, not my story character. That would be so cool, wouldn't it? If you could just point and click and use a pretty graphic interface to project your character through their story visually and just have something in the background write all the nifty thoughts you're thinking while it happens that are related to the story? Not like "nachos would be good" but like "and then he says something witty" except it actually puts something witty in your story.

Which, is kind of my point, amidst the very run-on sentences that I pretend are valid stream of consciousness. I was thinking about my stories over the weekend. Because I'm desperate to start writing again and haven't been able to get into it. But I had this idea, right? I was talking about it for a few days last week, so I was pondering why I haven't been able to start it. Process went kind of like this.

Me: *thinkthinkthinkthinkthink* maybe it's because I'm trying to write a YA story, and you really want something more adult. Maybe I need to change the POV character. Or their conflicts. Or...

Pst...hey you.

Me: Huh, what?

Maybe it needs a change of setting

Me: Uh...like Seattle? It's pretty there. New York? I've never been there. I'd have a hard time writing it.

I was thinking more like not here

Me: Yeah. Seattle.

*sigh*. Let me put this another way. Maybe it needs ninja assasin chicks in spandex trying to save the world from demonic forces

Me: What? No. This is literary fiction. The story of the trials and tribulations of every-day people who realize they're capable of extraordinary things.

Like zombie assasination?

Me: Like introspection and personal growth.

*yawn* Boring. Since when do you like stuff like that?

Me: Since always.

Look, I don't have time for this. I'll lay it out simple for you. Try and keep up. You don't watch chick flicks because they tend to bore you. You couldn't stand Sex in the City so this isn't going to be chick-lit. Unless you're feeling particularly ponderous, you fall asleep during movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...

Me: Excuse me! I like movies like that. Little Miss Sunshine. Inception...

*ahem* Still talking. And you've proven my point. Inception was eye candy. Maybe it made you think, but that wasn't what kept you enthralled.

Me: The Social Network

Fast Paced, intense because of the incredible pacing, for the most part only focused on some very dramatic scenes, and oh yeah, it makes you feel smart that you can keep up with the nerdspeak. Doesn't count. Are you done interrupting?

Me: No

Yes. Fantastic. As I was saying, if anyone asks you what your favorite stories are, as a genre, you always say "high action." Doesn't matter if there's minimal plot, you like to see well-choreographed fight scenes, and you squeal every time there's a new 'Avengers' movie coming out. So just think for a minute. Why would you work so hard to take that out of your own work?

Me: It's not intellectual.

Neither. Are. You. You're intelligent, sure. But last time you had an in-depth conversation with someone...it was about why Tony Stark rocked. Don't do this to yourself. Put the action scenes back in. Let your characters be all thought-provoking either during or after the butt-kicking. Bring the guns back. And the fight scenes. And...are you getting this yet?

Me: *pouts* no.

Fantastic. Glad to hear it. You know you want to. Go write it, and have fun.

I'm not the only one who talks to myself, am I? And how wise or un-wise would it be to try and open this earphone case with the paper cutter in the next room?

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