A Writer's Notebook, Day One-Hundred-Five
So, this is how neurotic I can be: as I was writing the title in on this post, I spent a long time going back and forth over whether to call this day 105 or 106, since, though I didn't write an official entry for the notebook yesterday, this is still the 106th day... It made sense at the time, but it does not really, now.
Putting that aside, I did begin work on a new project. I am uncertain about where it is going, though it is informed by the ideas discussed previously. It began with a few lines that came to mind and started to play around in my mind, and when I sat to write, it took shape in ways I hadn't quite anticipated, but I recognize their shape. In some ways, I can feel what I am doing, and in other ways, it is a very odd kind of thing. I do think that their are certain aspects of the story that I am becoming aware of. and which will shape the narrative.
At present, I feel that certain aspects are kind of being drawn from ideas I picked up recently, but that are also masking deeper and stranger things. There is also the fact that I recognize this to be a story that if this is to be the kind of story I believe it is(based upon ideas I had already set in place and discussed previously), it will have some deeper and darker turns that are yet to come. I don't know entirely what to expect. Nothing is all that clear, but I think it is going to be an interesting journey and I am up for it. I expect that it will take more shape soon, and I do have some ideas about what is to come already, based on certain things I sense about the character telling the story.
As well as working on that project, I am also beginning to do work refining the script for Origins of An Internet Cat, the play which will have a staged reading at The Theater Lab at FAU. When I first wrote the play, I had mainly been focused upon getting a voice and drawing out the story from that character. There wasn't much thought about the deeper impact or the questions of who this character is, but I think that the ideas inside the story were more complicated and had an inherent subtext that I didn't recognize, despite it still being a fairly light piece.
As well, I had the opportunity to speak with Matt Stabile and Lou Tyrell, who both assured me about the works merit, and confirmed to me that they would never have selected it merely because of my relationship to the theater. Intellectually, this was already something I believed and knew, but it is only natural to have a bit of doubt. As well, Matt pointed me towards a short play that I have now read, as well as checking out a few performances on youtube(Matt had actually mentioned the play before and I had already watched it, but now I have done a more thorough reading, supplementing that with a few performances that I found online). As well, Matt gave me some suggestions of ideas to consider, and I think I might have a stronger notion of where to go.
In the play, the character has a distinctly juvenile way of talking, but Matt raised the question of what it might mean if that voice was given to an older character. As well, he mentioned that I needed to deepen certain aspects of the play, particularly in terms of revelations about other characters. In terms of both these aspects, I think that I may have made a choice that will deepen and enrich the play on many levels, and is likely to make it far more interesting and richer in other ways I can't conceive of right now, since they are likely to be performative.
The general idea is to make the character older, with that voice, and to also give him a gift of mimicry that allows him to drop, uncannily, from his usual voice into that of other characters who are in the story, though not onstage. This would be done in a way that is within the character's own world and reality, but will allow the other people in the story to have an embodied presence on the stage. "Embodied" may be a bit too far, as I am actually thinking it is best if the character physiology remains fairly even, despite the voice changes, as a way of showing it to be that same character. I think that communicating the fact that the character can do these voices is the hardest thing to communicate here, but it may naturally be conveyed if the rest is handled properly. I don't want to have any exposition describing this aspect of things, as that would be utterly unnatural. Not only does it seem to me utterly out of context for this character to make such a statement or be that self-aware at any point, but as well, it would also make little sense in the telling of this particular story, since they are not directly discussed, and I wish to keep it that way.
In addition, I am aware that their will need to be certain other changes and expansions. One idea had already occurred to me before, in order to better describe the parents and their relationship, and involves a bit about a breakfast that I know how and where to include. That will be easy to add, but I am waiting until I am sure I want to head in this direction, after speaking with Matt again. The second aspect that needs to be enhanced is going to have to change based upon the new direction. Specifically, the relationship he has with his "friend" who has a dog. I am think that it may be that, making this character older, he should have a job of some sort, a simple job that he can be proud of doing, and the person who teases him should be another employee, probably not someone who his disabled, which changes the dynamic of things, as well as changing his mother's responses through her recognition of the context. I am not certain on the specifics in this, but have a lot of thoughts about it.
I wanted to add a few notes of thanks on here. First, I want to say that I really have been finding a lot of support online in the past few days. Specifically, the community of writers on twitter that I have stumbled into seems vibrant, diverse and very open and supportive. I've not really gotten to know many of the people individually yet, but I am really glad to be making such connections. It is really quite powerful to be able to shout off to other writers about things and know that you are not alone, no matter how many hours you spend that way at your keyboard. I really don't know if any of those folks are reading this, but I hope some do, and know they are appreciated.
In addition, I really have to thank my friend Dr. Blaise Allen, a woman that I have known for years in real life but only became more acquainted with in the past month during Nanowrimo. She was the person who kept me going, encouraging me almost daily, both by direct messages and even here on the blog in comment form. I first met her through her work as the Director of Community Outreach for the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, but I had limited interactions with her. During Nanowrimo, however, she friended me on the site and we began a lively and extremely positive correspondence. Not only do I really have to say how much I appreciated her warmth and openness, but also must point out that she was able to even draw those qualities out of me, and make me recognize that I have valid ideas to share with the world. Beyond that, she is giving me direct opportunity to do just that, this summer, at a community workshop in Delray Beach.
So, with that note of rampant positivity, how can we continue? Let us merely say, "good night," and call it, then....
Putting that aside, I did begin work on a new project. I am uncertain about where it is going, though it is informed by the ideas discussed previously. It began with a few lines that came to mind and started to play around in my mind, and when I sat to write, it took shape in ways I hadn't quite anticipated, but I recognize their shape. In some ways, I can feel what I am doing, and in other ways, it is a very odd kind of thing. I do think that their are certain aspects of the story that I am becoming aware of. and which will shape the narrative.
At present, I feel that certain aspects are kind of being drawn from ideas I picked up recently, but that are also masking deeper and stranger things. There is also the fact that I recognize this to be a story that if this is to be the kind of story I believe it is(based upon ideas I had already set in place and discussed previously), it will have some deeper and darker turns that are yet to come. I don't know entirely what to expect. Nothing is all that clear, but I think it is going to be an interesting journey and I am up for it. I expect that it will take more shape soon, and I do have some ideas about what is to come already, based on certain things I sense about the character telling the story.
As well as working on that project, I am also beginning to do work refining the script for Origins of An Internet Cat, the play which will have a staged reading at The Theater Lab at FAU. When I first wrote the play, I had mainly been focused upon getting a voice and drawing out the story from that character. There wasn't much thought about the deeper impact or the questions of who this character is, but I think that the ideas inside the story were more complicated and had an inherent subtext that I didn't recognize, despite it still being a fairly light piece.
As well, I had the opportunity to speak with Matt Stabile and Lou Tyrell, who both assured me about the works merit, and confirmed to me that they would never have selected it merely because of my relationship to the theater. Intellectually, this was already something I believed and knew, but it is only natural to have a bit of doubt. As well, Matt pointed me towards a short play that I have now read, as well as checking out a few performances on youtube(Matt had actually mentioned the play before and I had already watched it, but now I have done a more thorough reading, supplementing that with a few performances that I found online). As well, Matt gave me some suggestions of ideas to consider, and I think I might have a stronger notion of where to go.
In the play, the character has a distinctly juvenile way of talking, but Matt raised the question of what it might mean if that voice was given to an older character. As well, he mentioned that I needed to deepen certain aspects of the play, particularly in terms of revelations about other characters. In terms of both these aspects, I think that I may have made a choice that will deepen and enrich the play on many levels, and is likely to make it far more interesting and richer in other ways I can't conceive of right now, since they are likely to be performative.
The general idea is to make the character older, with that voice, and to also give him a gift of mimicry that allows him to drop, uncannily, from his usual voice into that of other characters who are in the story, though not onstage. This would be done in a way that is within the character's own world and reality, but will allow the other people in the story to have an embodied presence on the stage. "Embodied" may be a bit too far, as I am actually thinking it is best if the character physiology remains fairly even, despite the voice changes, as a way of showing it to be that same character. I think that communicating the fact that the character can do these voices is the hardest thing to communicate here, but it may naturally be conveyed if the rest is handled properly. I don't want to have any exposition describing this aspect of things, as that would be utterly unnatural. Not only does it seem to me utterly out of context for this character to make such a statement or be that self-aware at any point, but as well, it would also make little sense in the telling of this particular story, since they are not directly discussed, and I wish to keep it that way.
In addition, I am aware that their will need to be certain other changes and expansions. One idea had already occurred to me before, in order to better describe the parents and their relationship, and involves a bit about a breakfast that I know how and where to include. That will be easy to add, but I am waiting until I am sure I want to head in this direction, after speaking with Matt again. The second aspect that needs to be enhanced is going to have to change based upon the new direction. Specifically, the relationship he has with his "friend" who has a dog. I am think that it may be that, making this character older, he should have a job of some sort, a simple job that he can be proud of doing, and the person who teases him should be another employee, probably not someone who his disabled, which changes the dynamic of things, as well as changing his mother's responses through her recognition of the context. I am not certain on the specifics in this, but have a lot of thoughts about it.
I wanted to add a few notes of thanks on here. First, I want to say that I really have been finding a lot of support online in the past few days. Specifically, the community of writers on twitter that I have stumbled into seems vibrant, diverse and very open and supportive. I've not really gotten to know many of the people individually yet, but I am really glad to be making such connections. It is really quite powerful to be able to shout off to other writers about things and know that you are not alone, no matter how many hours you spend that way at your keyboard. I really don't know if any of those folks are reading this, but I hope some do, and know they are appreciated.
In addition, I really have to thank my friend Dr. Blaise Allen, a woman that I have known for years in real life but only became more acquainted with in the past month during Nanowrimo. She was the person who kept me going, encouraging me almost daily, both by direct messages and even here on the blog in comment form. I first met her through her work as the Director of Community Outreach for the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, but I had limited interactions with her. During Nanowrimo, however, she friended me on the site and we began a lively and extremely positive correspondence. Not only do I really have to say how much I appreciated her warmth and openness, but also must point out that she was able to even draw those qualities out of me, and make me recognize that I have valid ideas to share with the world. Beyond that, she is giving me direct opportunity to do just that, this summer, at a community workshop in Delray Beach.
So, with that note of rampant positivity, how can we continue? Let us merely say, "good night," and call it, then....
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