Various

[altariel]

Hmph. Almost a month ago, I noted how grumpy short story writing was making me. Yesterday afternoon (thanks, mraltariel), I finally worked out what the story was that I was trying to tell. I've had four separate run-ups at this damn thing now, none of which have stuck, but this morning I scribbled down an Actual Framework for the damn thing, and now all I have to do is the Actual Writing - which is, of course, the easy part.

Wah, short-story writing is hard! Nothing like writing lovely Tolkien vignettes, which I can conceive of and execute in the space of two days (or used to be able to do). This has taken roughly eight weeks, and loads of different iterations. *plaintively* Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? Does it get easier with practice? Have my magic powers gone for good? Is this the end?

Yesterday I finished rereading Watchmen, which I hadn't read since college *cough*ty years ago (eighteen). Now I'm trying to decide whether I should go and see the film, but I'm put off by the fact that it's apparently two-and-three-quarter hours long. Two-and-three-quarter hours! No film should be that long, except The Fellowship of the Ring. Anyway, I can't make decisions, so Speak You're Branes, f'list, and do say why in comments if moved.

[Poll #1364164]

Comments

[communicator.livejournal.com]

I was wondering last night why you had been so quiet on lj - well, you plus a few others (not stalkering you in particular). I wonder if this story was tough for you to write for some personal reason?

I think all creative people think they have lost their magic all the time - that's why so many turn to drink.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I suppose I have been quiet on LJ recently. I was in the library for much of last week, which meant I wasn't near my PC. And it took me ages to catch up on posts about Redemption, and wanted to do those before anything else.

The short story is sort-of set in a world that I've been sort-of building intermittently for a while now, and I think I've had to do a massive amount of invention before I was even placed to write the story itself. Then I couldn't seem to excavate the story itself. It's switched protagonist three times now, and isn't remotely what I thought it would be when I started it.

I've been reading Samuel R. Delany's book about writing (called, About Writing) this week, and that's been practical and helpful.

Edited to add: I like having a process in place, a sense that I've operationalized what I'm doing. Which I managed with fanfic vignettes (because I've written so many), but haven't yet with short stories (because I've only written a handful). I want to be in a place where I can generate short stories quickly, but the only way of doing that is to write a lot of them, but then they take so much damn time... It's the frustration of incompetence, and I hate feeling incompetent.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I'm not in a position to give advice, but getting the operational process in place sounds as if it may be very helpful, so I hope that works out.

Apropos of nothing much, I finished The Children of Hurin in the not-so-early hours, so that's one of my post-deadline tasks ticked off.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

A week later and I still haven't finished it, but it's mostly there *sigh*

I finished The Children of Hurin in the not-so-early hours, so that's one of my post-deadline tasks ticked off.

"Enjoy" isn't the right word to apply to the book, I think, but I thought it was wonderful. It was one of my favourite Tolkien stories when I was a teenager. I wish the estate would do similar volumes based on Tuor's story, and the Beren and Luthien story.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'd like to read Tuor/Idril and the fall of Gondolin, as that's the one I'm haziest about; I feel I've a reasonable grasp of Beren and Luthien. Turin & co fell somewhere in between; I recognised a lot of it, but he did explain how he'd woven various different versions together (and omitted a whole lot of extra detail from the verse versions).

I always liked it too, for its grim angst, though reading the story in full it did strike me that the plot depends on Morwen and Turin both being extremely pig-headed for about eighteen years.

I do actually have a Glaurung icon!

[gareth-rees.livejournal.com]

Me too, but it's a tough proposition. The fall of Gondolin has three versions: the one in Lost Tales II, possibly the first story in the mythology to be written down, composed c. 1917. There's a long version in Unfinished Tales, written c. 1951, but it only gets as far as Tuor's arrival in Gondolin, about a fifth of the way through the story. And there's a highly condensed version in the Silmarillion. Expanding the story to novel length would involve rewriting the last 40 pages of the 1917 version in the style of the 1951 version, while updating the names and other details of the mythology.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't say no to having a go if the Tolkien estate came knocking at my door.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I suspect the slowness of the writing might be purely because you had to make the world come together in your head, and (assuming this is your first story in this universe), essentially the imaginative stage is no shorter than it would be to write a novel.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I've been intermittently writing a novel set in this universe for about eighteen months now, doing world-building along the way. This story is set some time after the events of that, and actually I think it's going to be helpful in working out what the endpoint will be like.

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, go see it. It is long (*too* long, I think, probably could have been cut by twenty minutes), but it's interesting.

I read the comic several years ago and had managed to pretty much entirely forget what happened (reflection on my retention skills or on the strength of the story--you be the judge). I vaguely remembered who the bad guy was, but that was it (1).


(1) But I do associate anyone interested in ancient Egypt with pure evil anyway--all the fault of Young Indiana Jones and a Tintin comic that SCARRED ME FOR LIFE. Also, pulling people's brains out through their noses (yeah, I know they were already dead, but I need my brain! And my nose!) and sending dead slaves into the afterlife with their king. I don't want to go serve my boss in the afterlife! I don't even like doing what he says now.

Um, tangent.

I've forgotten what I meant to say about Watchmen now.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I had absolutely no memory of the contents apart from the scene where Rorschach does the Rorschach test. The rest - gone. I was just about to start reading it last week, and was discussing how I remembered nothing about it with mraltariel, and he said, "No, I remember nothing about it other than that the murderer is [NAME]." (He thought I had already finished rereading.) Fortunately, he had misremembered entirely.

Public opinion seems to be sending me out to see it...

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

I thought the actor who played Rorchach was great. My dad liked Laurie Jupiter, and nearly made me laugh out loud in the theater when he leaned over to point out that she had played the sister in 27 Dresses. He is precious.

It looks like you must see it, if the internet commands you.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Rorschach is what matters to me, so if he's good, I'll go. Besides, as you say, it does look as if t'interwebs have spoken...

[sherlock1.livejournal.com]

It doesn't feel like 2 hours 40 mins. Che Part I did, and it wasn't. Does that make sense?

Jackie Earl Haley was brilliant, as was Patrick Wilson. Great film. Though sadly the credits sequence is probably the best bit, so it does peak a bit early...!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That makes total sense. And you're right, the time flew by. You're also right that the opening credits were the best bit, but they were just so damn good! I'll see it again next week, I think.

[manna]

I haven't read the book or seen the film, but the general opinion on the City of Heroes board was that it was very good, and a surprisingly faithful adaptation where most changes were necessary for the translation to screen. With regards to length, a few people were hoping that at some point there's be a director's cut DVD with various scenes added which were filmed but which had to be cut for length.

[greylin.livejournal.com]

I've awarded myself a Mental Health Day today and going to the cinema would definitely be on the list of things to do, so yes, I think you should go. And good luck with the story!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I took advice, bunked off and went and saw it. Most enjoyable, if bright colours and cartoon violence are your kind of thing (they can be mine). I've actually made progress on the story this morning - miracle!

[executrix.livejournal.com]

I think Archimedes' Law of writing is that the harder it is to write whatever it is you're writing now, the easier you remember writing the stuff you used to write was.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I fear that may be the case...

[ex-naomi-ja.livejournal.com]

Yes! Absolutely go and see it. I went last night and am still buzzing. Admittedly, I am the lowest common denominator when it comes to films - throw in some explosions and car chases, and I'm sold. But it was brilliantly shot and as faithful to the comic book as was possible. And Jackie Earle Haley is amazing.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I went and thoroughly enjoyed it, although it didn't blow my mind. I'll probably go and see it again next week, when I'll watch the background and see what else is going on. I totally agree about Rorschach.

[toft-froggy.livejournal.com]

I'm going to see it tonight, and would love to know what you think of it!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I thought it was great! :-D

[toft-froggy.livejournal.com]

Are you going to re-read?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'll flick through again. I want to go and see it again, though, because I think there was lots going on in the background that I didn't have time to watch, because I was too busy thinking how brilliant Rorschach was.

[toft-froggy.livejournal.com]

He WAS brilliant, definitely. Overall I thought the casting was superb, actually.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yes, the-guy-playing-Nite-Owl and the-one-playing-the-Comedian and Billy Crudup all did really good jobs of making them real people. Nite Owl in particular.

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

I reread the graphic novel just last week before I went to see the film :-)

It really doesn't feel as long as it is, and my only real complaint was that in one or two places the film was *too* faithful to the comic - dialogue lifted straight from the written page doesn't always work as well in the mouths of actors XD Yes, a lot of detail was cut, and some beautiful background commentary was missing, which was inevitable, but the director didn't do a bad job.

Me, I just want to see the four hour director's cut!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I did go and see it, and the time absolutely zipped past. Didn't feel like 3 hours at all. I really enjoyed it, although it didn't blow my mind.

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

No, and that's the trouble - it's certainly a good effort, but it won't blow anybody's mind like the graphic novel does. The comic is the sum of its parts, and the lack of all the tiny background detail that makes the comic a real world with real characters was always going to detract from the movie.

Definitely fun, though.

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

I think you should go and see it, and then say insightful things about it so I can end up knowing about it, without actually having to read or watch it myself. *is lazy*

Ex-colleague M (the only positive thing about Picklepoo) is going to see it again today having seen it at the weekend because she thinks it's worth at least two viewings.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-D I'll endeavour to think of something smart to say about it! I think it's worth two viewings too, to see what's going on in the background. I'll nip out again next week.

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

And from what I recall about authors talking about writing short stories, I think I've seen many that say it's harder than writing novels. I can't remember if that's from the perspective of authors who wrote novels first.

And anyway, just because this story took this long and this much work, doesn't mean the next one will. Maybe some of the groundwork here will spark off something else later. Possibly the groundwork needed to be done, but it may not be that much every single time. And go you for having persisted and worked and got there in the end.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

A week later and I'm still at it. I think it's there now, and a totally different shape from anything I'd originally anticipated. Oh well, it does seem as if there's a story there now, and I've got a basic and sensible structure, which reflects on theme, and some nice images are starting to coalesce. Proof of the "inspiration/perspiration" ratio.

[gair.livejournal.com]

Hooray for progress with short-story writing, is the motto I am taking from your post. I am RESOLUTE AND CHEERFUL.

gerald and I watched Citizen Kane the other week, and it is completely fucking awesome and one hour fifty-two minutes long. We have decided that all film-makers should henceforth be required to fill in a lengthy application form and submit it to hostile scrutiny before they are allowed to make a film even one minute longer than that (and of course really 100 minutes is the right length for a film).

[mraltariel.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely right.

(A is even now out watching the film. I am sitting at home working and pointedly not going and seeing a film that long about a big old comic that I was never very impressed with in the first place. Harumph.)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

YOU VOTED NO AND I WAS ALREADY THERE!

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Thanks to TV, I've watched both "Laura" and "All About Eve" for the first time within the last few weeks. I'm pleased to say that I thought both lived up to their high reputations. One one took off the time taken by commercial breaks, I think "Laura" would have been about 100 minutes, "All About Eve" about half an hour longer (but it didn't seem that long).

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yes, and if the film must be longer than 100 minutes, then go and do it properly as an HBO miniseries.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Don't know Watchmen (says EA sheepishishly) but the trailer used large amounts of Glass from Koyaanisqatsi, which has to be a good thing.