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Three things, as you can tell from the title. (N.B. This is a regular old-fashioned blog post because apparently I don’t blog on my art as much as I used to. I guess that’s what happens when you run webcomics!)
Plot: Got stuck in a plot-hole today. A confidence-sapping, energy-sucking plot-hole. WHY UNDER HEAVEN ARE THE KALMAEI TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER. It didn’t make sense. My people are too nice and reasonable. And I felt like I couldn’t go on while that uncertainty plagued my story. I mean, if no one had any motivation, it kind of ruins the events, doesn’t it!
So I asked the NaNo forums, and a nice lady from Australia helped me! If you want potential spoilers, they’re here.
So, two things I really need to fix in my writing in general. 1) The protagonist must want things, and do things, and actually be an influence on the story, no matter how deep and complex and broody she may be. 2) The antagonists may be secretly nice people, but they must also want things that are at odds with the protagonists. Without these two elements, there is no tension, and therefore no story; at least not the kind of story I want to tell.
Also I replenished my supply of munchies. Now I just need to replenish my supply of sleep. I think I’ll bring my lappie to school tomorrow to work on plot and comic and stuff. MUST BEAT TOLLY. How’d she get over 20,000 already? (How’d two of her writing buddies FINISH already?)
Music: Went to a new music concert this evening, and had a short chat with Flairé about what music is. He’s very definite:
“Musical instruments are the instruments on which one makes the music that is the expression and instrument of emotions.”
So, I suppose rap actually counts as music then.
“I… suppose, yeah. Since they are apparently expressing emotions. On the other hand, if it’s a bunch of techniques, unless the composer intended it to raise emotions or the listener experiences emotions, it can be a super cool sound-experience, but not music. I sometimes wonder why they bother using traditional instruments if they’re going to use them as blocks of wood and tubes of metal and so on and whatever.”
Oookay… so, what is a ‘sound experience’?
“It’s where you sit very quiet and experience the sounds, and they are interesting and all, but you don’t have any real emotional reaction to them. It’s like watching a boring movie with flashy special effects.”
Was that an Attack of the Clones bash?
“Yes. Yes it was. Mwaha. Except most sound experiences are generally better thought out than that piece of schlock. And are at least interesting, to a certain extent.”
So, where does beauty fit into this? I remember you said once that beauty should be one of the highest goals of art.
“Beauty is still one of the highest goals of art. Expressing yourself and letting others live similar experiences through that expression – you want them to ultimately become more aware, more knowledgable, better people in general, yes? Does that make any sense? Am I talking like one of your new-fangled insane composers? Like mad scientists, but younger, with stranger hygiene sometimes, and music. Anyway. Emotions – joy, sorrow, excitement, longing – they are all beautiful. I don’t think hate is beautiful, but it is an emotion. But the best way to celebrate the world-”
Okay, wait, wait. Now you’re going off on a different tangent.
“t’s what I do. Haha!”
Drawing: I want to draw a picture of Flairé in the sunlight, and a picture of Tam in the moonlight, and a picture of Flairé being a guardian, and to colour that picture of Aur, and to do a colour portrait of Zela like the one of Lyrestan, because it’s been ages since I coloured Zela, and I want to… Ugh. I want to paint pictures of everyone. Doing things. Like, being awesome.
Unrelated to any of the above:
Ooh, suspenseful. I hope the nice blonde guy doesn’t get killed like the cold pink-haired lady seems to have been!
