tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post4876891844856149441..comments2024-02-25T05:03:48.092-07:00Comments on Eudaemonia: Getting to Know YouLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-63329483145341543692007-07-09T15:06:00.000-06:002007-07-09T15:06:00.000-06:00Larramie,Thank you for the birthday wishes. Yes, t...Larramie,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for the birthday wishes. Yes, these characters have been a wonderful surprise and I'm having a great time with them. Hope you had a nice vacation and I'm glad you're back. I missed you!Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-10364636118477349072007-07-09T11:12:00.000-06:002007-07-09T11:12:00.000-06:00Well, Happy Birthday to you, Lisa!You sound excite...Well, Happy Birthday to you, Lisa!<BR/><BR/>You sound excited in this post. Although not certain where you'll end up, you're more than ready to let your characters take you there. And, as they lead, fresh ideas will keep flowing...ah, the fun of it.<BR/><BR/>Just an observation, but it seems as though this brother and sister -- who sound fascinating, btw -- are among your best birthday surprises. <BR/><BR/>Celebrate well and enjoy a Happy New Year!Larramiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14788910637361812265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-68492907080361517362007-07-09T07:25:00.000-06:002007-07-09T07:25:00.000-06:00Just wanted to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY baby...Just wanted to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY baby!<BR/><BR/>- I love you, -ScottAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-22248516708045712332007-07-07T12:06:00.000-06:002007-07-07T12:06:00.000-06:00Yes, it really is like that. Or maybe more like in...Yes, it really is like that. Or maybe more like infatuation. I want to know what their favorite flavor of ice cream is, what books they read, who they admire and what they're afraid of. I get to know them better than I've ever known anyone.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-73610211033678531462007-07-07T06:23:00.000-06:002007-07-07T06:23:00.000-06:00It's just like new love, isn't it?It's just like new love, isn't it?Lynne Griffin and Amy MacKinnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11107479565926998943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-39159199448355477612007-07-07T00:27:00.000-06:002007-07-07T00:27:00.000-06:00Mcewen, I'm so glad that you stopped by. I've spen...Mcewen, I'm so glad that you stopped by. I've spent the last few hours with these new people -- funny to think that they didn't exist before and now they do. Thanks so much for the kind words.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-49375117982386869242007-07-06T18:59:00.000-06:002007-07-06T18:59:00.000-06:00Newbie - how wonderful to feel something coming to...Newbie - how wonderful to feel something coming to life.<BR/>Best wishesMaddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05828186178060722812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-33666133963736452402007-07-06T11:40:00.000-06:002007-07-06T11:40:00.000-06:00Patti, your comment is very helpful and encouragin...Patti, your comment is very helpful and encouraging too! The research about hospice and your rationale is exactly the type of thing I'm working now about the chemist and to a similar degree, the musician and we're in total sync about the conflict. Much of the reason it's so important to me to understand why and how these two would have been obsessed with reaching the pinnacle of each respective career/art is to understand how critical some of the events to follow will be to them as people. I see the story arc and the plot and as the characters develop initially I can see how much weight (or not) particular events will or won't have on them. Moving backward toward the parents, who are also from a world I am not, also helps me to get into the heads of these brilliant people to understand how the events and parenting styles they know have or will impact them as mates and parents. <BR/><BR/>Shauna, I've always viewed fantasy writers and historical fiction writers with a certain awe because of the research I know must be inherent in writing stories that feel real. You've confirmed what I already suspected. I appreciate and am also being cautious about over researching. I'm very early into this process and because the research is somewhat new to me, I'm anxious to get as much as I need done so I can begin the story. I don't think it will be much longer.<BR/>I really appreciate your offer and would like to take you up on it. I once tried to email you with a question related to the use of IV human immunoglobulin (something I saw on your medical blog raised a question) and it didn't go through. If you stop back here, can you leave your email address, or email me at lisa.eudaemonia_at_gmail.com so I can ask you a few things? Thanks so much!Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-33273793057947498482007-07-06T09:38:00.000-06:002007-07-06T09:38:00.000-06:00My books have started with an idea for a setting f...My books have started with an idea for a setting first. Perhaps that's not surprising since my books are fantasies, where worldbuilding can make or break a book. <BR/><BR/>Before I start writing, I do do a lot of thinking about my characters and work out a general character arc and plot arc. I also tend to do a lot of background research on subjects related to my characters' occupations, comparable Earth ecosystems, Earth history of comparable societies, and so on. <BR/><BR/>With the one book I've finished, although I thought I knew the characters before I started, I really, really knew them by the end. So on my second (and subsequent) drafts, I pared away everything that wasn't in character and made each person even more himself or herself. I think I ended up with richer characters by letting them develop through the book than if I had set them in stone at the beginning. <BR/><BR/>Gradually evolving characters worked out for me because I have to do multiple drafts, so I can leave things hanging and fix them later. If you're one of those people who can do one draft and be done, my way won't work for you.<BR/><BR/>I've heard some published writers caution about overresearching before starting the book. They say once you know the basics you need to get started, do your research on as as-needed basis. Research can be so fun that it's hard to stop.<BR/><BR/>As a science and medical writer, I know a lot about the world of science, but from an outsider's perspective, which you won't get from your chemists. Feel free to pick my brain anytime. I also play several instruments and occasionally perform for money, so I may be able to answer some of your musician questions as well.Shauna Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871768714926149114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-59521300165590360612007-07-06T08:53:00.000-06:002007-07-06T08:53:00.000-06:00^ sheesh, maybe next time i will reread my comment...^ sheesh, maybe next time i will reread my comment before posting. sorry for the hard read.Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05716215892504806470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-567668315717895367.post-15354365225949656382007-07-06T08:51:00.000-06:002007-07-06T08:51:00.000-06:00i am always so impressed with your entries, and th...i am always so impressed with your entries, and this one is no different. my prediction: you have a wonderful literary future ahead of you. (please note the time and date of prediction as i will be crowing about how "i called it" once it comes to pass).<BR/><BR/>So far for me my story has come to me first, and the research is an ongoing process. in one of my stories i needed to understand hospice (although i didn't know when i started the story that i would end up at that place), so i called on a hospice nurse and a nursing friend. i let them read what i had and they corrected me in all the areas i had been misinformed. they gave me the technical info i needed so that when someone else is reading it they couldn't point to that scene and call me a hack. sure, they could call me a hack otherwise, but not for that scene!<BR/><BR/>the most important question for me to start a storyis: is there sufficient conflict to carry the characters? if the answer is no, or only half way, then i don't attempt it unless i feel the need for an exercise. for me the conflict has to be a do or die (although not literally do or die) coflict ofr the main character. that character has to make such a decided change that she can't help herself. and it's that conflict that carries the story. research follows if needed.<BR/><BR/>i feel as if i am not help, but there it is.Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05716215892504806470noreply@blogger.com