Show, don’t tell – Day 18
February 25th, 2010
No video today. A lot of what I did can’t be shown on video anyhow. Not that it’s risque or secretive, it’s just that there really isn’t anything to show. I’m not wasting a free boot-up on Scrivener to take a video.
I spent four hours working on the first revision of that 10,000 word short story I’d cooked up last week. It’s about two-thirds done and already it’s shaping into something different. I like it. I look at first drafts as a big lump of modeling clay. It’s some sort of vague shape: a cylinder or maybe a squat little box. But as you go along and work it, shape it, cut pieces off and sculpt it, the true nature of what that lump of clay really is supposed to be is starting to emerge.
These past few weeks I’ve noticed something about my fiction writing. It’s gotten more direct. More concise. Sharper than when I was fresh meat in college. I’d like to thank Tim O’Brien for his influence, but I’m a little hesitant to offer thanks. With all this new-discovered brevity, I’ve also noticed my lack of metaphor, simile and the not-so-much used allegory. Do I need these literary devices to be a good writer?
I kept asking myself that question today. I even tried stuffing in a simile in a spot that looked good. All it ended up doing was sounding trite.
I took an extended lunch to make a character at my friend Shaun’s house as well. He’s starting up a campaign of Pathfinder, which is basically D&D 3.5. That’s perfect for all of us because that means new campaigns that aren’t D&D 4.0. We’re so not digging the new version.
I made a half-orc ranger. I never played a half-orc before and I’m flippin excited. Plus, I still hold my record of never playing any version of an elf. In my group… you are laughed and screwed over if you play an elf. I don’t know where the loathing comes from, but it’s there. Quite frankly I think it’s awesome because almost everyone wants to be an elf.
Not us, man. Not us.
The ‘elf loathing’ stems from the fact that elves are lame.
I knew it had to stem from somewhere, and that justification makes perfect sense.
Day 18 and look at all you have accomplished! I am so very proud of you for taking these steps towards realizing your goals.
Way to go Nichole! I am looking forward to reading your short story when you are ready to have it read. = )
It will be ready soon. I’m a little nervous having people read it, but it’s something I have to get better at. If no one reads my work… that won’t be fun at all!
I am quite shocked at your tolerance of Elven prejudice and bigotry. When I knew you growing up, many of your friends were Elves—your first babysitter was Elven even—and you didn’t seem to hold this against them.
Now that you are older, it somehow becomes OK for you to hate and despise Elves? What kind of people are you running with? I bet it’s a bunch of those Orcs. Possibly some Gnomes. Those types were always filled with such hate. I don’t let my children listen to Orc music or watch any Gnome-based television shows. Their entertainment is full of deplorable shit that ruins our society.
I seem to recall a badass elf named Magus.