bjornwilde

Recent readings...
Binti: Liked it, especially the cultural aspects of the main character. I do feel like the author barely touched things within the world though. Tried reading the sequel and it didn't work for me, not sure why.

Leia, Princess of Alderaan: Loved it! It was awesome not only seeing Leia as a protagonist in a book again, but also Breha, which historically has been ignored by canon. I also loved that Holdo is a big part of the story. I feel silly not realizing she woman who became the admiral from The Last Jedi until about halfway through the book. Excellent writing and characters.

The Lefthand of Darkness: I started reading this in honor of Ursual K Le Guin's passing and while I enjoyed it well enough, it was not holding my attention so I set it aside. Good writing, but I keep feeling like I was reading a sociology paper trying to be a story instead of a story with neat ideas about sociology. I may try picking it up again at a later time, as I just may not have been in the mood for a sci-fi book.

As for now, I'm rereading Three Parts Dead, cause I love that world so much.

On other matters...
I wish domestic things weren't so firmly on my shoulders. I normally don't mind and enjoy a sense of satisfaction if taking care of the kitchen, but when I'm not feeling well, like last night, it'd be nice to not find a mess left for me in the morning.

On writing...
I keep poking at my Sorcerous Barons story in my head. I think I need to start working on writing down the world and characters, and stop worrying if I just have a neat setting and no story. If nothing else fleshing out the world will be good practice in world building, and there's always a chance a story will fall out. Plus, as I've learned form writing the Izana canon fics the past couple of weeks, writing lifts my mood and I need to do it, even if I don't feel emotionally ready to.

And lastly...with the leak of Thor: Ragnarok, I've been noticing a LOT of new Scrapper/Valkyrie gifs hitting Tumblr and I keep having to remind myself to be patient and not make icons. My favorite screencaps sources will get to the movie and I will have better resolution and colors then. Just be patient....any day now....

Inspired by these gifs of Hayao Miyazaki.

( Writing or somethign like it... )

Super heroes and villains as dangerous urban legends. Everyone knows they're their or they exist at least, but no one can predict when they clash. Sort of Cloverfield with a less obvious source of danger. Like people can just be having a normal day when bam. Of course, that leads it to reading as commentary of urban warfare.

 So the past couple of days, I've been writing in 15 minute blocks and have stumbled upon an interesting story centered around an ancient witch and a tough chica in a city that seems like SF in my head. So far, I am treating the 15 minute blocks as snipets of scenes as I work through the plot, with the plan of going back and fleshing out the scenes and maybe stitching together a narrative.

This morning I was all fired up for the next installment. I get to work, bang out a quick project or two, and I just felt my creative drive shrivel. I think I've just pin pointed what has been killing my creative drive, which is good because, if I am right, I now have a target to oppose rather than the general "I don't feel like doing anything".

 Nolan and Irisa had been on the road and the run for two weeks before he felt they were far enough away they could spend more than a day in any given city. Irisa was delighted though shy to find other children her age and it took Nolan sometime to convince her it was okay to play with them if she wanted. He even had to insist on giving her some script so she could buy something for herself from the market. When she returned a few hours later and shyly, yet definitely, showed him the knife she had bought herself, he had to bite his tongue not to laugh as he told her it was a great knife.

That night he taught her how to care for it and keep it sharp.

[Busy day but I want to try and write something, no matter how small everyday.]

I think I'm finally, truly on the mend. The coughing is still there but it feels more like my body is getting rid of stuff rather then trying to keep ahead of the sickness. I also have more energy and am feeling less beat up.

Plans for the day include catching up at work, writing some on my Yuletide assignment and starting a fic requested by my wife set in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel world. If I manage these things, I will likely be posting something either in Milliways or mixed_muses. I know I have over due threads to tag back on but I feel the need to play with new toys. = ]

Started reading two new books this weekend, Incarceron by Catherine Fisher and Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. Incarceration is a sort of YA Gormenghast or Dark City with hints of Jane Austin and is very fast paced. I started it yesterday and am already halfway through the 458 pages and have requested the next book from the library in anticipation.

Airborn is fun as well but not as rapidly paced. At least not yet. It's sort of like Young Indiana Jones if his adventures had taken place on an airship flying over the pacific ocean and involved cryptozoology instead of archeology.