New Layout

I'm trying to get excited about blogging again, since I find that writing about writing helps me write a little. In this vain, I have added some color to my blogger account. There's no reason for the stark Black&White anymore.

New Characters, New Ideas

Meet Mark:

He's in his mid twenties, and is a somewhat bright individual. He knows what he wants, but he's less sure how to get it. His dreams are bigger than his reality. He left Teleperformance to work at Systech Repairs, handling some of the more routine maintenance such as virus checks and hard drive defragging. However, he's a brilliant computer mind.

Meet Sam:
Sam is not simple minded, but simple living. He doesn't desire much, doesn't want for much, and goes through life without letting it get to him. He left teleperformance when a concerned family member set him up with a job at a bank. He has no ambition at all.
However, without trying, he is one of the most grounded, down to earth people that Jason knows.

These are Jason's only two friends from Teleperformance. And they've both left.

Novel Revisions

I wrote Chamber in November as part of the NaNoWriMo contest. I got to 50,000 words and completed the story successfully, which was awesome. But now I've come to the difficult part... I'm actually trying to make it good.

My original thought was to highlight the problems and rewrite sections as it was needed. Instead, I've almost completely junked the original novel, and am rewriting it completely.

It's, hopefully, still going to be the same story. It features Jason, a down-on-his-luck artist who works as a teleoperator in Chicago. Reality starts falling apart for him, and he's not sure if it's him or reality which is going crazy. In the rough draft, the question is too obviously answered, due to unnecessary changes in perspective, which added complexity but didn't enhance the story.

This time around, I'm focused much more on who Jason is, what his motivations are, and how things are appearing from his perspective. It is enhancing the feel of the novel in a way that's noticeable even to me... Which is good.

When I wrote Chamber back in November, I was going for the distance. This time, I'm actually attempting to create a good story. I'm writing much more slowly, but the story is much better. It's also, unfortunately, threatening to go off in a direction completely different than the rough draft. If it does that, I'll be flying blind, which may cause me to stall.

I don't want to stall.
I REALLY don't want to stall.

I'll keep posting, simply because it'll mean I'll be thinking about it.
--Joe

What the fuck's with Salt Lake Roasting Company?

Seriously, I love the location, the space, the wi-fi, and especially the free parking.

But their coffee is terrible, consistently, every time I go. They make you buy 5$ worth of stuff if you want to pay with card, and there's no way to leave a tip on the card. The lady who took my money abandoned me the moment our transaction was complete, without so much as a "have a nice day." The cookie, kept in an open air case, is stale. The croissant looks strange but tastes ok. And they only have splenda for the non-sugar crowd.

This feels like the old world of coffee shops. Elitist, sub-par, and uninviting. I wouldn't be here at all except that it's close to the university of utah, has free parking, and is big enough that I don't have worry about any one bothering me while I write.

Oh well.