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Subplots and Storylines – June 2015

Tracey Dyck 10 Comments

I have accidently discovered time travel. How else could I have ended up on June 30, 2015 so quickly? Because, excuse me, last time I checked, June was just starting. So my theory is that, in my sleep, somebody threw me into a time machine and I ended up here.

Right?

Okay, no, June was just so full and intense and amazing that it zoomed right by. But the time machine sounds way cooler.

Work has jumped from moderately busy to almost-fulltime-how-DO-adults-do-it, and back to moderately busy again. I had a little stretch in which I worked six out of seven days. Great for the paycheck; a stretch for my hobbit (read: I love home) self. But I can already see personal growth, so that’s fantastic!

And I have been writing, but not nearly as much as I wanted/expected to. My writing progress notebook tells me I only wrote eight days this month. The result: a whoppin’ 5800 words collectively. Let’s hope July cooperates better, yes? I worked a little bit on book two early this month, but then, of course, that Rooglewood contest was announced and of course I had to start brainstorming for it! (I just realized that I have enough to say about that process to fill another blog post. Maybe in a week or two?)

Anyway, it’s going to have a very classic fairy tale sort of feel, but I’ve got a few twists stewing in the ol’ inspiration bog. As of now, I only have the first two chapters written. But my goal is to have the first draft finished before the end of July! When I set that goal, that broke down to an average of 500 words a day. So it’s quite doable. I’m just . . . heheh, a little behind at the moment.

Speaking of writerly things, I read some good books too!




The Chance by Karen Kingsbury: a heartrending story of forgiveness and restoring relationships. Allegiant by Veronica Roth: as I have stated before, I have no words for how this series ended. There were aspects of the series I disliked, but all in all, it was a great ride! And excuse me while I scrape my heart off the floor. The Anatomy of a Miracle by Dr. James B. Richards: I’ve been going through this one slowly, and happened to finish this month. Really eye-opening! So many things just finally clicked for me.

Eyes Wide Open by Ted Dekker: Wow. How does this guy manage to write such mindblowing stories? On one level, it’s a creepy, suspenseful tale of how 17-year-old Christy Snow and her friend Austin are mistaken for psych patients and get trapped in the ward–and on another level, it’s a sucker punch right to the heart, with raw messages on identity and perception. Go read it. Right now.


Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry: A quick dystopian read, and pretty neat too. I liked the worldbuilding, and how you could tell a person’s age by how many syllables were in their name. This is a sequel to The Giver, but I haven’t quite figured out the connection yet. Maybe the next two books will tie them together . . . ?

Life things. Those happened too. The first half of the month, I was “catching a healing” (as I like to call it) from a cold. So were the rest of my siblings. And then mid-month, my grandma developed an infection that resulted in multiple trips to the hospital and many hours waiting for doctors. So thankful that it didn’t end up being too serious. She’s well on the way to full recovery now!
A couple weeks ago, I went to the city with two close friends of mine for a girl’s day out. We went mini-golfing, which I haven’t done in years . . . went shopping and tried on pretty dresses . . . had a fancy dessert worth wearing heels for . . . had a BBQ supper at one girl’s place and then watched Pride and Prejudice together. Such a wonderful day! We had an amazing time. I always feel uplifted after hanging out with them.

(Now I see what the big deal is about Mr. Darcy.)

Just last week, one of those two girls and I went out for supper at a great new restaurant in town. She’s moving to Mexico in a matter of days, so having that one last (for now) outing together was perfect.

And I was going to get some more writing done yesterday and the day before, but . . . I succumbed to the pull of a story I’m beta reading, written by Mirriam Neal–an insanely talented girl with a penchant for heartbreaking backstories and vibrant characters. Needless to say, I was glued to her Alice in Wonderland retelling, This Curious Madness, and could. Not. Leave. But I caught up on roughly twenty chapters. Yippee!

Random other thing about this month: we painted our front door. No longer is it white–it now gleams burnt orange. Our home exterior renos that we’ve been slowly working on are looking more and more complete. Maybe I’ll post a picture of that eye-popping door once the second coat is done.

So that was June. A conglomeration of books, coughing, social outings, paint, general busyness, and a dash of writing. How was your month? Any plans for July? Have you set any goals for yourself, writing or otherwise?

I will leave you with a collage of the gorgeous flowers blooming at my place. May your eyes be open to see the beauties God is displaying right in front of you, even through the veils of sorrow or weariness.

And to all my fellow Canadians, in anticipation of tomorrow:

Happy Canada Day!

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On Dystopias

Tracey Dyck 9 Comments

I can’t help it.
I analyze books.

It may have
started out as an intentional thing, but these days, I can’t help but pick
stories apart. I used to think such a habit would ruin the pleasure of reading,
yet I’ve found that, for me, it only adds to the experience. With most books I
sink into, I automatically look for what works, what doesn’t work, why
something does what it does. Why do I love this character? Why does this other
one fall flat? Why does the pacing feel off? What made that plot twist so
incredibly surprising?

Not only do I
find myself studying books, I find myself studying genres, too. What makes me
love fantasy so much? Why is dystopian so popular? I look at the categories
from my own personal viewpoint as a reader, and also try to see it from the
perspective of a wide audience.

I don’t know—maybe
it’s the writer in me.

 

I was thinking
about dystopias the other day. I’d just finished Allegiant (OH MY GOODNESS I
HAVE NO WORDS) and thoughts on the ending led me down a broken concrete trail
to the idea of dystopias in general. I don’t know if it’s coming or going, that
trend, but it has produced some insanely popular stuff. The Hunger Games,
Divergent, The Maze Runner, etc.

So what’s the
appeal?

I’m sure that
answer is as multi-faceted as the genre’s readers. But a whole lot of the fans
are teens. And maybe all those teens identify with Katniss, who’s forced into
something she never wanted. Who can’t trust those in authority, or even the
friends around her. Maybe we readers see Tris, struggling with identity and a
choice that will determine her entire future, and we feel, “Yeah, that’s me
too.” We watch Thomas try desperately to figure out where the blazes he is, and
who put him there, and what he’s supposed to do . . . and those questions
resonate.

Because those
are our questions.

“What am I going
to do with my life?”

“What will I
choose?”

“Who can I
trust?”

“Why am I here?”
We reach for
independence, sometimes too quickly, and strain against the bonds of childhood.
The fictional cast of characters strives to break the bonds of a despotic government.

We see myriad
choices—big ones—looming in our futures, and we wonder, doubt, panic, analyze,
dream. The characters’ big choices mirror our own, but in a warped mirror that
expands and extrapolates those decisions. A city rests on the choice; lives depend
on the action taken.

We look around
at our world, the dimensions of which have suddenly exploded, and we feel
increasingly small. The characters peel back layers of story and discover all
is not as they once thought.

This relevance
can be true of any story, any genre. These tales echo in the chambers of our hearts
because on a certain plane, they are real. They are our very own
stories, played out with different names, different locations, different
circumstances . . . yet with all too familiar themes.


And so when
Katniss fires a well-aimed arrow, we cheer. When Tris faces her deepest fears,
we pump our fists. The victories of these characters help us realize, “I can
too.”

In a
progressively secluded society, where we can so easily hide behind screens, it
is even easier to feel that we are alone in our struggles. That we must be the
only ones going through this. In books we find companions with whom we
empathize. A poor substitute for real friendship, I suppose, but nonetheless
encouraging. Somebody else out there feels the way I feel. They are facing
worse, and yet they still get up in the morning, they still press on. They lose
and fail and shatter into a million pieces, but they put themselves back together
. . . and they make it.

I can too.

Herein lies one
of the mysterious powers of story—to use an untruth to reveal truth. To use
fiction to shed light on reality. Through fabricated hardships, a story
comforts us in our trials, and inspires us with the courage to walk through to
the other side as a stronger person.

Yes, dystopias
feed on the fears of today and paint grim pictures of tomorrow; of a fallen
race, a broken planet, a corrupted government. Yes, dystopian authors sometimes
write with a societal or environmental critique in mind.

But under the
agendas, we might find sparks to feed our own dying flames. In the bleak
landscapes, we can rediscover hope. And that, I think, is the reason we are so enraptured with these fractured tales.
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Subplots and Storylines

Tracey Dyck 15 Comments

Time has a way of marching along at a rather quick pace. I feel as if I’ve blinked and May has whirled by in a blur of color. It’s been an eventful month! If life were a story, this particular chapter would be chock full of new subplots. Shall I unspool them all for you? Yes. I shall.

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I’ve started working at a new job. Last month I had some training shifts, and the beginning of May brought with it a sizable chunk of online learning. In the meantime, I’ve been asking hundreds of questions as I learn the ropes and get settled into a new schedule. This job was a real answer to prayer, so I’m glad to adjust to a new season of life!

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Another notable happening was two dear friends’ graduations from two different Bible/leadership colleges. So exciting to celebrate their accomplishments!

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The first couple weeks of May were grey and rainy. Perfect weather for curling up with a book, either one to read or one to write. I’m not a slow reader, nor am I the devour-ten-books-a-week sort of girl. But I am pleased with the six novels in which I’ve spent time this month.
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Outlaw—really different from the usual Dekker book, but still with his distinct hue. Not for the faint of heart!
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Divergent—a reread, and a good one at that. It was interesting to remember how the book differed from the movie.
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The next three books are the result of a little something I did with my siblings. The four of us visited the library and picked out a book for each of our sibs to read. So we all ended up with three new books to try. It gets us out of our usual reading zone, and also gives us some common reads to discuss afterwards. 11 Birthdays was chosen by my youngest sister, and was an adorable tale of two friends stuck reliving their eleventh birthday over and over and over again. The Storybook of Legends was picked by my middle sister, and basically smashed a bunch of fairy-tale characters into a story about choice versus fate. The False Prince was selected by my brother, and lulled me into the happy trance of a good fantasy before jolting me awake with a great plot twist. I was a wee bit jealous of the author’s idea, to tell you the truth.
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Right now I’m in the last third of Insurgent! And, um, it’s kind of . . . sad . . . and heavy . . . but really intense, so I’m not complaining. Apparently I like getting my literary heart ripped out.
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Oh! Speaking of which, in May I have also had my heart ripped out by some awesome movies.
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The Battle of the Five Armies: all I have to say is OUCH. Well, that and OHMYGOODNESSITWASAMAZING. Intense battles, fabulous character development, and great set-up for LotR. An epic conclusion to the Hobbit trilogy!
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Guardians of the Galaxy . . . What. In. The. World. Okay, it was quite hilarious, and I loved how it didn’t take itself seriously at all. (And guys—Lee Pace was in there! I didn’t know until I heard him speak, because he looks nothing like the Thranduil I’m used to.) My main complaint would be the language. But you have no idea how much I loved this:
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And perhaps my favorite flick of the month (okay, it’s tied with TBotFA) was Age of Ultron. I’ve heard people say it wasn’t as good as the first Avengers film, but I have no idea what they’re talking about. This was EPIC. And it ripped my heart out too. See, I’m just a bleeding puddle of feels this month. (Ew. That was graphic. My apologies.)
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Anyway, I did say it was the perfect rainy weather for writing books as well as reading them, did I not? So because my book 1 is sitting on the backburner for now, I decided to tackle book 2. I wrote the first draft three years ago at the ripe old age of sixteen and declared it marvellous, full of tight writing and great characters. I recently reread it and . . . well, yes, I did marvel at it, but only in the sense of “Ahahaha, you say I wrote this monstrosity? Did I really?” The writing was . . . er, yes, we could call it tight. We could also call it bland and lackluster and far too fast. The characters displayed great amounts of inconsistency, passivity, and stupidity—so of course sixteen-year-old-me was partially right in labeling them ‘great.’ And let’s please ignore the plot’s gaping, dragon-sized holes. Yes. We won’t comment on that.
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Needless to say, I was (and am) faced with a good deal of work. All of which I’m very excited about, don’t get me wrong! I can’t wait to plow into this project, kick it all into pieces, and put them back together again in a much better way.

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A peek at my brilliance. 😉
So during this month of May, I have been masterminding. What’s that, you wonder? Well, it stands to reason that if I, the author of this obstinate fantasy series, am the mastermind behind the story, then the act of worldbuilding and hatching brilliant plots could be called ‘masterminding.’ We can definitely change a noun to a verb, right? (Aaaand I just checked. Apparently I’m not as original as I thought: masterminding is already a word. Phooey.)
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Anyway, this masterminding is more than plotting. It goes beyond worldbuilding. It’s not even the same thing as brainstorming, although all three of those things play significant parts. For me, it was pulling my scattered notes, thoughts, and ideas together and deciding, once and for all, exactly how the big story elements work. I took a look at the people, worlds, and objects that are important in these books, and documented how/where/when/why they do what they do. It was great fun! My file isn’t entirely complete, but it’s a good launch pad for what I have in mind.
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Oh, and did I mention that I decided on almost three thousand years’ worth of history in another world? Just the big events, but still, it left me feeling quite powerful in an author-ish sort of way.
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While I found the drizzly weather lovely for bookish pursuits, one of the resident robins felt that the wet conditions were perfect for nest-building. This would not normally be a notable thing, except for the small detail of where he decided to construct it: on top of an outdoor light.
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(I apologize for the poor zoom quality.
Birds don’t like you getting too close.)

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I suppose he was tired of living in trees like a sensible bird, and wanted a better view of the goings-on around him. Not the tidiest nest-maker, either, is he? Sadly, we did not allow that pile of seaweed slop to stay. (At least I thought it resembled seaweed.) But lucky for the robin, there are plenty of spruces in which to nest instead. Thankfully the rain stopped and the sun returned in time for garden planting, walk taking, and sun tanning.

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And with the big series elements in place, I took a deep breath and plunged into outlining book 2. Version One (or Version Horrendous; you choose) is itty bitty. 68,000 words, eighteen chapters. The new version is looking to be twenty-eight chapters or more. I am positively bursting with excitement! Since I’ve grown so much as a writer in the last few years, this will be an entirely different book once I’m through with it.

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And that, fellow questers, is what my May looked like! The life of an employee has begun, a new book is underway, some friends are entering new phases of life, and several literary/film adventures wriggled their way into the cracks in my busy schedule. How was your month of May? Anything new happening, or perhaps something old-yet-significant?

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(By the way, if you’re still reading this longwinded thing, my hat’s off to you.)
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And just a quick heads-up—I have a special announcement coming early next week. Stay tuned!
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Oh, and one other thing. I’ve been wanting to do these summary-of-the-month posts because they’re excellent places to throw in all the random bits of life that don’t necessarily merit their own individual articles. But I’m not sure about the title, Subplots and Storylines. What say you? Does it fit? Too cheesy? Other ideas I had were Wanderings or Far-Flung Paths or Motley Tales. Any suggestions? Nothing’s too out of the box around here.
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Well, here’s to an adventuresome June! Wherever the road may take you, I hope you find courage to step around the bend and strength to lift your sword.
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