I've been wanting to work on my "novel" for a while, since I experienced such success in Whistler... but my attempt for today was less than satisfactory. I think one of the reasons I did so well there is because I was thinking about it all the time, and working on it every day. (Plus, I was a little bit bored, so I was spending a lot of time with it.) I haven't thought about it in a while, and I wanted to take a stab at writing the beginning, but I'm not sure it's going so well. My idea was to start with three attempts of the main character to woo her intended love interest, all resulting in failure, which will be the catalyst for her turning into an evil villain to tries to steal the moon. I thought I'd write it out like a mission plan for a kind of prologue, detailing each failure, and then go in to chapter one. I think I need to practice more before I get it right, but this is my first attempt. (Remember to click the teeny tiny "Read More" if you want to read more.)
Showing posts with label evil plan guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evil plan guide. Show all posts
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Day Seventeen: evil plan guide
Hey guys, guess what happened? I completely forgot about being creative until half an hour ago. I had a very busy day. I'm too sleepy to crochet, and it's way too late to drag out the sewing machine, so I am to work on my novel. No actual writing today (then what's the point???? I don't know. I forgot.), but I am researching about my tractor beam. It turns out that a LOT of people are interested in tractor beams to capture the moon. I'd be offended that I'm not creative except that the evil plan website gave that part of the plan to me.
This is what I have learned: tractor beams do not exist. MIT has created a teeny tiny one that moves nanoparticles around with light, which will probably eventually turn into an actual tractor beam that an actual villain will actually use to steal the actual moon, but for now it is not at that capability.
If the moon WAS stolen, or moved in any way, the results would be catastrophic: weather, waves, eventual collision with Earth.This is not exactly what I am going for, but I do have an idea about the actual moon-stealing. You may recall, this part of Greta's plan does not work - it KIND OF works, with strange consequences that I know but am not telling.
Something to look into: the magnetic field of the moon. I'm thinking some kind of giant magnet.
No highlights/lowlights, because I forgot about everything. Tomorrow: glove squirrel, I think. If I can find the gloves.
This is what I have learned: tractor beams do not exist. MIT has created a teeny tiny one that moves nanoparticles around with light, which will probably eventually turn into an actual tractor beam that an actual villain will actually use to steal the actual moon, but for now it is not at that capability.
If the moon WAS stolen, or moved in any way, the results would be catastrophic: weather, waves, eventual collision with Earth.This is not exactly what I am going for, but I do have an idea about the actual moon-stealing. You may recall, this part of Greta's plan does not work - it KIND OF works, with strange consequences that I know but am not telling.
Something to look into: the magnetic field of the moon. I'm thinking some kind of giant magnet.
No highlights/lowlights, because I forgot about everything. Tomorrow: glove squirrel, I think. If I can find the gloves.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day Ten: evil plan guide
I've just posted days seven through ten, so be sure to check back so you are caught up. I am awash with creativity right now.
Big decision day today! As I worked out several plot points and characters, I decided to scrap the ghosts. Even though it’s a completely unrealistic story, it’s not unrealistic in THAT respect. No other supernatural beings of any kind to make the ghosts fit. Also, I figured out how it’s going to end! Now I just need to research the physics aspect. And Google the names I have come up with for my characters to see if they already exist. (I learned that the hard way: I one time created a character named Trinity West, and thought to myself, "Man, that name sounds really good. It just flows!" Then I realized that it flowed because it was half the name of the university I went to. Sad face.)
Aside from figuring out the characters, everything has been kind of a random creativity barf, so I don’t know how to include a tidbit here to prove I have been creative today. Also, for those of you who read this feel free to comment on this issue: do you want me to spoil the ending? I don’t know if anyone is actually here for the writing, or just to laugh at me failing at crafts. If it doesn’t matter, I’ll just post whatever I come up with, but if it does, I’ll try to censor it to maintain intrigue. (Although I've already spoiled several major plot points, so I guess it can't be too much of a mystery anymore. But there are still some things you don't know! Mwa ha ha!)
Perhaps for today, I will put a developing scene from early on, post-kidnapping incident. (I’m not supposed to be developing scenes yet, but stuff is just coming into my brain and I don’t want to lose it, so I’m straying a bit from my plot a novel guide. Don’t tell.)
Big decision day today! As I worked out several plot points and characters, I decided to scrap the ghosts. Even though it’s a completely unrealistic story, it’s not unrealistic in THAT respect. No other supernatural beings of any kind to make the ghosts fit. Also, I figured out how it’s going to end! Now I just need to research the physics aspect. And Google the names I have come up with for my characters to see if they already exist. (I learned that the hard way: I one time created a character named Trinity West, and thought to myself, "Man, that name sounds really good. It just flows!" Then I realized that it flowed because it was half the name of the university I went to. Sad face.)
Aside from figuring out the characters, everything has been kind of a random creativity barf, so I don’t know how to include a tidbit here to prove I have been creative today. Also, for those of you who read this feel free to comment on this issue: do you want me to spoil the ending? I don’t know if anyone is actually here for the writing, or just to laugh at me failing at crafts. If it doesn’t matter, I’ll just post whatever I come up with, but if it does, I’ll try to censor it to maintain intrigue. (Although I've already spoiled several major plot points, so I guess it can't be too much of a mystery anymore. But there are still some things you don't know! Mwa ha ha!)
Perhaps for today, I will put a developing scene from early on, post-kidnapping incident. (I’m not supposed to be developing scenes yet, but stuff is just coming into my brain and I don’t want to lose it, so I’m straying a bit from my plot a novel guide. Don’t tell.)
Day Nine: evil plan guide
So much success thus far! It makes my heart happy. I shall hold on to this feeling, and when I get home and try to sew something and then fail miserably, I will not despair because I am doing so well right now.
Minor characters:
- the man Greta is in love with
- 2 old ladies
- Duncan
- ghosts (3?) (ARE THERE GOING TO BE GHOSTS?)
- Ben’s parents
- Greta’s boss
1) Johnny McNoNameYet
- personality not evident
- generally pleasant; never complains about slow service or lousy weather or long lines
- frequents the sock-and-shoe store, always buys the exact same pair of shoes
- undercover agent
- never talks about his personality, only about the weather
- motivation: anonymity
- goal: infiltrate sock-and-shoe store
- conflict: lack of cooperation of store owners
- “he always introduces himself by his last name, like he’s James Bond.”
Minor characters:
- the man Greta is in love with
- 2 old ladies
- Duncan
- ghosts (3?) (ARE THERE GOING TO BE GHOSTS?)
- Ben’s parents
- Greta’s boss
1) Johnny McNoNameYet
- personality not evident
- generally pleasant; never complains about slow service or lousy weather or long lines
- frequents the sock-and-shoe store, always buys the exact same pair of shoes
- undercover agent
- never talks about his personality, only about the weather
- motivation: anonymity
- goal: infiltrate sock-and-shoe store
- conflict: lack of cooperation of store owners
- “he always introduces himself by his last name, like he’s James Bond.”
Day Eight: evil plan guide
Today was chairlift day. When I’m not in Whistler, I forget that the chairlift is my favourite thing in the entire world, but as soon as we get here there is nothing else on my mind. Father wanted the Peak to Peak, but I don’t like gondolas because the whole reason I love the chairlift is because of the wind, and the motion, and how quiet it is. Only the motion exists in a gondola. So, as a compromise, we did chairlift-extravaganza! Up a chairlift, up another chairlift, up the Peak to Peak, HIKE (barf), up another chairlift, explore, hike again (double barf), down a chairlift, down the Peak to Peak, bus ride, up another chairlift, down that same chairlift, then down two more chairlifts. I wore sunscreen, but I think I got windburn. BEST DAY EVER.
Anyway. The whole time I was enjoying the wind on my face, I was thinking about Ben, the town mascot. I knew already that he hated the down, and that he refuses to talk about why he is the town mascot, but I didn’t know WHY he would be the town mascot. I wrestled with this for the entire day yesterday, and half the day today. I felt like if I knew why, then I could determine his personality. However, text-message consultation with my story-writing friend and discussion with my mother made it clear that I had to decide who he was, and then from there I could figure out why he would be the mascot for a town he hates.
Anyway. The whole time I was enjoying the wind on my face, I was thinking about Ben, the town mascot. I knew already that he hated the down, and that he refuses to talk about why he is the town mascot, but I didn’t know WHY he would be the town mascot. I wrestled with this for the entire day yesterday, and half the day today. I felt like if I knew why, then I could determine his personality. However, text-message consultation with my story-writing friend and discussion with my mother made it clear that I had to decide who he was, and then from there I could figure out why he would be the mascot for a town he hates.
Day Seven: evil plan guide
I’m up in Whistler presently, diligently maintaining my creativity whilst away. Since I am frustrated with all things crafty, I have dedicated this weekend to writing my novel. (Ha ha.) Although, mother and I perused the shops in town, as one is wont to do, and I got some ideas for things to try when I get home! More magnets, since magnets and I have a pretty tight relationship – I am going to try and copy some small ceramic tile ones I saw in a store; also the soap that’s in the house we’re staying in – it’s got exfoliating sponge or something built in to the soap! And really, how hard could it be to make soap.
Anyway. The next step on the “plot and write a novel” website I am following:
3. Write a one page summary for each character, including motivation, immediate goal, conflict, resolution, and a summary of the character’s story line. The time-saving factor for novelists here is that at this point, a writer knows whether or not the story has problems. If so, they can be finessed or changed completely to fix the story, without spending weeks and months writing a novel that won’t hold together.
I started with my main character, Greta.
Anyway. The next step on the “plot and write a novel” website I am following:
3. Write a one page summary for each character, including motivation, immediate goal, conflict, resolution, and a summary of the character’s story line. The time-saving factor for novelists here is that at this point, a writer knows whether or not the story has problems. If so, they can be finessed or changed completely to fix the story, without spending weeks and months writing a novel that won’t hold together.
I started with my main character, Greta.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Day Two: evil plan guide
In university, a friend and I wasted a lot of time writing stories for each other. These stories were usually ridiculous, hilarious adventure stories with superheroes and kidnapping. While I know this is not the kind of story to get published, I find it the most fun to write, and it requires a high volume of creativity. So this is what I am going to be working on.
A while ago I came across a website that offered to concoct an evil plan guide for me, which I thought was awesome, and I am going to use that as a framework for my story. (At this point I would like to note that while my evil plan includes a plot to steal the moon, which is exactly what happens in the movie Despicable Me, this website plotted my evil plan before I saw the movie. And it will probably be better done in the movie. But I'm not copying.) I'm combining this with a step-by-step plan to plot and write a novel, and will hopefully come up with something fun in the process.
I completed the first two steps today, with okay results. It definitely was more difficult than I thought, especially since the evil plan guide spelled it out for me - the difficulty came in changing the plan to make it suit my style, and also to make a bit more sense. Here is my bit of creativity for today, completely opposite to my bit of creativity from yesterday.
1. Write a one sentence summary of the story. This requires novelists to distill a possibly rambling story into a single statement. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
On a misguided quest for love, our heroine embarks on a journey in three stages: kidnapping, theft, and a really big weather machine.
2. Expand that summary sentence into a paragraph describing the basic plotline, each major conflict, and the final resolution.
Once upon a time, there lived a young lady with a simple wish: requited love. Sick and tired of numerous embarrassing, failed attempts, she concocts extreme solution that begins with kidnapping and ends with exerting control over what has been heretofore deemed uncontrollable (the weather). Naturally, nothing goes according to plan. Her intended love interest is unexpectedly encased in a block of ice; she discovers ghosts in her evil headquarters; the moon is more difficult to capture than one would think; and something strange is happening in her hometown.
Since that is more of what would be on the back of the novel, instead of the actual plot that describes the final resolution as I am instructed to do, I alternately wrote this:
She wants love, but nobody is interested, because she is not that noticeable. In order to become more noticeable, she concocts a plan to attract world-attention by stealing the moon and controlling the weather. She can’t steal the moon; she can control the weather. This garners her world-attention, which she finds very uncomfortable, and the attention of her love-interest, which she finds disappointing and fake.
There. See? I know how it will begin and I know how it will end. This paragraph was hard for me, and I can see trouble ahead as I have to plan out why she can't steal the moon, and how she can control the weather. I do already know what is wrong with her hometown, and I am excited about it! I think this will be fun.
Day Two Highlights: creating an evil guide plan, hilarious adventure stories, working the plot into something that makes sense, Despicable Me.
Day Two Lowlights: similarities to major motion pictures, planning intricacies of moon-stealing and weather-controlling.
Tomorrow: paper boxes!
A while ago I came across a website that offered to concoct an evil plan guide for me, which I thought was awesome, and I am going to use that as a framework for my story. (At this point I would like to note that while my evil plan includes a plot to steal the moon, which is exactly what happens in the movie Despicable Me, this website plotted my evil plan before I saw the movie. And it will probably be better done in the movie. But I'm not copying.) I'm combining this with a step-by-step plan to plot and write a novel, and will hopefully come up with something fun in the process.
I completed the first two steps today, with okay results. It definitely was more difficult than I thought, especially since the evil plan guide spelled it out for me - the difficulty came in changing the plan to make it suit my style, and also to make a bit more sense. Here is my bit of creativity for today, completely opposite to my bit of creativity from yesterday.
1. Write a one sentence summary of the story. This requires novelists to distill a possibly rambling story into a single statement. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
On a misguided quest for love, our heroine embarks on a journey in three stages: kidnapping, theft, and a really big weather machine.
2. Expand that summary sentence into a paragraph describing the basic plotline, each major conflict, and the final resolution.
Once upon a time, there lived a young lady with a simple wish: requited love. Sick and tired of numerous embarrassing, failed attempts, she concocts extreme solution that begins with kidnapping and ends with exerting control over what has been heretofore deemed uncontrollable (the weather). Naturally, nothing goes according to plan. Her intended love interest is unexpectedly encased in a block of ice; she discovers ghosts in her evil headquarters; the moon is more difficult to capture than one would think; and something strange is happening in her hometown.
Since that is more of what would be on the back of the novel, instead of the actual plot that describes the final resolution as I am instructed to do, I alternately wrote this:
She wants love, but nobody is interested, because she is not that noticeable. In order to become more noticeable, she concocts a plan to attract world-attention by stealing the moon and controlling the weather. She can’t steal the moon; she can control the weather. This garners her world-attention, which she finds very uncomfortable, and the attention of her love-interest, which she finds disappointing and fake.
There. See? I know how it will begin and I know how it will end. This paragraph was hard for me, and I can see trouble ahead as I have to plan out why she can't steal the moon, and how she can control the weather. I do already know what is wrong with her hometown, and I am excited about it! I think this will be fun.
Day Two Highlights: creating an evil guide plan, hilarious adventure stories, working the plot into something that makes sense, Despicable Me.
Day Two Lowlights: similarities to major motion pictures, planning intricacies of moon-stealing and weather-controlling.
Tomorrow: paper boxes!
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