all aboard for the soooooooouuuuuuul train ~ !

[lookingland]

on the plus side, i think i am feeling better. i say "think" because i'm still coughing, though it seems not as often.

~ * ~

NEW YORK — E.L. Doctorow's "The March," a sweeping novel of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea during the American Civil War, on Friday won the National Book Critics Circle's 2005 fiction prize.

good for doctorow. i still haven't made it past chapter four. i dunno what it is about his books ~ in fact, it's rather disturbing to me. maybe i have some sort of subconscious animosity or competetiveness going? could it be i'm not connecting to the work on some level because it's in some way too much like my own? no...that's silly.

all i know is that this is the third doctorow book i've not been able to read in spite of being extremely interested in the content. something about the way he tells stories is just off-putting to me and i can't figure out what it is. boggling.

that said, i haven't written one word today. i had to take the dogs to the park and then go grocery shopping and then eat hot dogs because for some reason i was just in the mood...and then it was an X-file marathon during which i was countlessly reminded what a silly show it was (which nonetheless did nothing to impede my watching it). and so here we are, light fading, night falling, and i've had visions of suger plums dancing in my head all afternoon, but they've yet to make the transition into tangible product (i.e. storytelling).

~ * ~

let the games begin ~ !

so here's the deal for the evening: i'm gonna give myself assignments just to get into the swing of things. i'm gonna put names of characters in a hat and then topics in another hat (do i even own two hats? no matter). then i'll draw lots and write on a timer: let's say ten minutes for each character. just write write write and see what comes out and see if i can stay in voice. i'll write until midnight ~ that's five hours straight (at which time i will likely become a pumpkin ~ or at least have the mentality of one).

i'm gonna use the Story Tarot for prompts because so far it's the one i've found the least intrusive and the most flexible/fun.

i'll start officially at 6:30 and maybe post my progress at the end of the evening (or maybe even mid-way if things are going well).

in case you're wondering, this exercise in insanity is marginally inspired by this cool art challenge that i randomly came across: Head Injury Theatre: Art Crash 214

: D

feel free to make recommendations/prompts of your own if the mood takes you. just remember that my characters all live in the 19th century (so no jet skiis ~ though i confess i want to write a "modern" take on these characters involving a plot with snowmobiles, but that's for another time).

* insert starter's pistol report ~ ! *

Comments

[akirad.livejournal.com]

I went through a Doctorow phase - I really loved Ragtime. And I quite enjoyed (although it was stodgy and over-written in places) Billy Bathgate.

Come to think of it I liked World's Fair too. Didn't finish Waterworks though, cant remember why - just didn't grab me at all...