What's Up Wednesday! :D

Hooray, it's that time of the week! What's Up Wednesday is Jaime and Erin's brilliant way of getting us to share our writing/reading and, in my case, musical finds of the past week.

What I'm Reading

While I (rather impatiently) wait for my John Marsden books to arrive, I decided to pick up The 5th Wave. So far, so awesome. First person done right! I really, really, really love a first person narrative that really gets me into the character's head rather than relates a bunch of stuff from their point of view.  I want to dedicate the time to sit and read this book quickly, but the next section will explain why that's probably not going to happen...

 

What I'm Writing

This notebook was a gift from Laura <3

I took a break from editing Space!Story because not only do I need some distance from the plot, I also knew I was going to spend a good chunk of May completely distracted by Star Trek... and then, thanks to a combination of insomnia and my iPod choosing perfect music at the perfect moment, a new story crept out of my brain.  It's currently called RainyCity!Story. What can I tell you? Hmmm... well, it's sci-fi (WHAT A SHOCK, RIGHT?!) and it kinda comes from all those dreams you have when you know you have to be somewhere but you're lost and every turn you take goes the wrong way.  Thanks to Mama, by Genesis and Anxiety from Final Fantasy VII:Advent Children, this story is steadily taking over my brain! I shall have to find a way to balance editing and writing in the next couple of weeks though.  Can't leave Space!Story for too long.

What Else Am I Up To?

Vio-vio-violin! I am so determined to get better.  I think I'm doing fairly well for someone who's only been playing for six months, but I have got a loooooooooooooooooooong way to go.  I'm gonna get there though!

XD

And for those keeping score at home, I've seen Into Darkness six times. Every time I put the soundtrack on, I'm like "I LOVE THAT BIT!!! Oh... oh... oh no! WHERE'S THE REMOTE! MY FEELS CANNAE TAKE MUCH MORE, CAPTAIN!"

What Inspires Me Right Now 

The delightful and wonderful Kris Atkins pointed me in Lindsey Stirling's direction, and now I have violin dubstep on my iPod.  Talk about an inspiration!

Sometimes, You Gotta Do It Yourself

I'm in one of those moods when I know what I want but I can't have it.

Why not?

Because I haven't written it yet.

Do you get that feeling sometimes, like "hmmmm, I really fancy a book featuring the adventures of arse-kicking, intergalactic heroines with a subplot featuring a space sharks and planets that dance the fandango..." except no one's written it so the only option is to roll up your sleeves and write it yourself?

That's a bestseller right there

I think that's one of my favourite parts of writing - plugging a gap. And isn't that the greatest thing about creativity - making things how you want them to be?

Sunday Inspiration - Michael Giacchino Appreciation Post (BRING TISSUES!)

Back in 2011 I did a series of posts featuring my favourite composers.  I included Hans Zimmer, Nobuo Uematsu, Michael Giacchino and Two Steps From Hell.

Today, I'm revisiting Mr Giacchino's music because if there is one thing his work can do, it is reduce you to tears.  Any time you need to create a really emotional scene, this is the composer to write with.

Just make sure you've got a lot of tissues on standby, okay?

You've all seen Up right? How many of you made it through that opening ten minutes or so without bawling your eyes out? I sure didn't.

I have yet to brave this film again. I am so glad I watched it on my own so I could just sob and sob and sob.  A minute into this piece, when it all slows down, my heart just aches with loss. And then... Actually, no. No. Can't even think about this film without getting emotional. At least the bits with the dogs are funny ^^;;;

And then, of course, there's this piece from the Star Trek soundtrack:

True story: when I first bought this soundtrack back in 2009, I listened to it on my drive to work and this piece caused me to cry so much I had to pull over. 

...And now we have Star Trek Into Darkness...

Between this and Warp Core Values, I am a wreck. A sobbing, weeping wreck.  And if you've seen it, YOU'LL KNOW WHY! Oh, and don't forget London Calling, either.  The softly played piano in that piece is absolutely beautiful. 

So, if you need to have a good cry to really get into a tragic mood for your work, those are just three of Michael Giacchino's tearjerkers.  Be sure to check out the Super 8 OST too.

...Okay, it's no good.  I can't leave us all on so much sadness.

Here's something a bit more uplifting:

Who do you like to listen to while writing the super emotional moments of your stories?

What's Up Wednesday?

Another Wednesday is upon us and it's time to take part in Jaime and Erin's What's Up Wednesday :D
 
What I'm Reading

Still working my way back through John Marsden's Tomorrow series.  Much to my present-self's frustration, I borrowed most of them out of the library. Now I'm buying them, I'm going to have a series with three different sets of covers.  Grr. Oh, and they've renamed the third book. It was A Killing Frost but now it's The Third Day: The Frost.  WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!

What I'm Writing 

 I finished the 3rd edit of my Space!Story at the weekend WOO HOO! I have a few notes to cover in my 4th edit, but I'm taking a break from that to just scribble down a few random ideas, see if they take me anywhere.  I'm very eager to avoid a return to last year's Writer's Block of DOOM.

What Else Am I Up To?

Overtime ^^; I seem to be a one woman citywide childcare service right now. Still, it's all adding up and it'll help pay for the flight to my middle brother's wedding in October.

Finished playing the new Tomb Raider game.  I enjoyed it, which sounds like a weird thing to say when I consider how violent it is (and how it lacks actual tomb raiding), but I can't deny that I liked it.  Although I must be showing my age when one of my main concerns for Lara was "we need to find you a hoodie, now." I miss the days when I my main reaction to Lara Croft was "YOU ARE SOOOO COOL WHEN I GROW UP I WANNA BE LIKE YOU!!!!!!"

Ooooh and I'm fangirling to my heart's content at Star Trek Into Darkness.  ENJOY IT, US AND CANADIAN FRIENDS! Please feel free to use me for all your post-movie feels discussions.  I AM HERE FOR YOU! We can call it Miss Cole's Into Darkness Feels Support Group.  I'm seeing it for the 4th time tonight with my friend Katie. Wheeeee!

What Inspires Me Right Now

I've decided to use this section for music, because it's such a key part of my writing.  I need the Into Darkness OST but omg why isn't it out in the UK yet?!?!?!?!?!

So until I can share my favourites from that, have this great song from Imagine Dragons!

Character Death

I love a good, happy ending, but sometimes a surprise is just as welcome.  We've all experienced those endings that aren't happy or aren't quite what we wanted them to be.  Characters don't wind up in the situation we want them in, or maybe they don't even survive.

I really admire writers who kill of MCs.  I think it takes a lot of courage to do that.  You build up your reader's investment in that character's life, only to take them away at the last moment.  It's definitely one way to create a tearjerker! I'd talk about some of the best YA books to rip your heart out like that but, ah, spoilers!

Should you kill off a character just to make your readers cry? Should you write one just to make your book darker and edgier? It's up to you, but personally I'd be wary of getting rid of characters for any reason other than that's what the plot needs. There's nothing more frustrating that a pointless, gratuitous death scene.  And that's not to say I think characters should only ever die in a blaze of glory.  Like I said before, if your plot needs it, kill off as many characters as you want.  Go with your gut instinct.  Just be prepared to break a few hearts in the process, maybe your own too.

Oh, and if you need a bit of musical inspiration to kill a character with, here's two that might help:

(Never trust Joss Whedon with your favourite character's life!!!! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT CHARACTER YOU KILLED OFF IN THAT FILM YOU MADE! NEVEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!!)

Ever killed off a character? Did you battle with yourself first and try to save them or did you have no such worries?

Sunday Inspiration - Being a Geek

Here's the thing about being a geek - it's awesome and it makes people happy.  Really, really, explosively happy...

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Credit!

People who don't get what it is to be a geek seem to spend their time rolling their eyes at you and declaring you a "loser" or "sad" when actually what you really are is passionate about something and, most importantly, REALLY FREAKING HAPPY! The thing you love can changes lives.  I never would've gone to college in the US if I wasn't a geek.  And I wouldn't be lucky enough to call some of the most wonderful people on Earth friends if not for our shared geekiness. 

There seems to be this misconception that being a geek means you're living a very unfulfilled life because somehow we don't fit other people's notions of "normal". That couldn't be further from the truth. Being a geek means being accepted and being a part of something wonderful.  There's a freedom of expression in being a geek, and I wouldn't give that up for anything.

Thanks to the Internet, it's easier than ever to find fellow fans and interact with them.  And meeting them can be the start of some pretty epic friendships! And that's another awesome thing about being a geek - the creativity and community it inspires. Stories, art, costumes, essays... whatever you want, it's out there. Every fandom has its own vast culture and they have a place for all of us.

So no matter what the haters say, be who you are and wear your geek colours with pride! Express your feels however you need to. Never be ashamed of who you are and what you love, because for all the people who don't understand what being a geek is like, there are WAAAAAAAAAY more who know exactly how you feel.  

Midweek Motivator - (Completely Spoiler Free) STAR TREK EDITION!!!

I have seen Star Trek Into Darkness.

Please allow the following gif to sum up my emotional response:

Anything else would be a spoiler.  Just go. As soon as it's released in your country, go. I'm operating on two and a half hours of sleep because I went to sleep thinking about it and woke up thinking about it and I think I decided Into Darkness is better than Star Trek.

Yeah. I just said that.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

But seeing as 1) the Into Darkness OST isn't available yet (WHY THE HELL NOT DAMMIT?!?!) and 2) it'd be spoilery anyway, have some awesome music from the 2009 film while I sit here quietly* freaking out in a state of fangirlish joy.

(Yes, I'm seeing it again today. Got to keep up my Star Trek twice in one day habit ;))

*Okay, not quietly. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!