Saturday, March 29, 2014

Research

I am validly aware that I have not posted to this blog in quite some time. I don't even know the time frame in which my last post falls into. Of course, I could look since it is provided right next to the title. But there is no time for such things. I have research to do and research to tell. The only reason I am paying any attention to this blog is because I need somewhere beyond my personal journals. Somewhere beyond the "My Memoir" application on my laptop. Someone needs to see my writing besides my own biased eyes.
Someone I love and respect dearly told me to write. "Just write, just let things spew out of you". He even quoted Mark Twain, the bastard. " 'Dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth' but I"m also telling you to write like you've never been stuck, write without knowing where it will take you. Just write, simply write" And I took his advice in the lovely journal he gave me. But it turned into a diary. A spot to write down my deepest feelings, not translating them into literature. I would rather not have such personal thoughts published, let alone on an online blog. But then it hit me. The research I had to do wasn't that of looking for literary magazine to publish my poetry, it's for me to find my voice. Somewhere to start, a place in my head that can take my journal thoughts and turn them into a true piece of classical literature.
I want to be an architectural writer. NO, not one that literally writes about architecture. But n architecture meaning creating dimensions to a character. Starting with a foundation and building upon. I looked at the way authors begin their novels. J. D. Salinger opens The Catcher in the Rye with commentary from his main character Holden Caulfield. But it is also a fact that Holden is a translated piece of Salinger's mind. Yes, granted Salinger was a little twisted in the head, but a genius nonetheless. Chuck Palahniuk wrote Invisible Monsters with everything outside of the box. His characters are filled with such mystery, I still cannot understand how he came up with them.
The goal is beyond cliche. No one wants to see the same story line over and over with just a different writing style. I need a character that is unlike anything in literary history. Fitzgerald created Daisy and Gatsby out of the events from the 1920's. With this time period, let's face it, all there is to write about is the detrimental affects of technology. And I'm pretty sure Bradbury already covered that with Fahrenheit 451.
It's all about originality. But what's original anymore? It feels like everything has been done. A friend of mine read The Fault in Our Stars and claimed the ending to be "predictable", she also called the ending to Looking for Alaska. Maybe she's inclined with the gift to guess endings, incredibly stuck up, or she symbolizes a much needed slap in the face for modern writers. That everything we write, every ending we think is clever, and every complex character we create, will be predictable to someone. It will be heard of before because there is bound to be a book or story with some what similar features.
So how deep is the concept of being original? Because every once in a while, we stumble upon a book that blows us away with a concept that no one has seen before. The Hunger Games is twisted, but there is also familiarity: strong female lead, love story, evil antagonist. So that's the key. A perfect mixture of originality and familiarity.
The formula is here, but it's a matter of how well I don't follow it.  




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