I Think It's a Pagan Thing

In relation to my post from a couple of days ago, in which I discussed my lack of success at writing fiction, I thought I would tell you about the thing that seems to cause me the most trouble when trying to write about people who don't actually exist. It's the names. I don't know why exactly, but I can know everything about a character, plan out every part of his or her personality, but I can never decide what said character should be called. I'm sure other would-be writers don't stress themselves out so much over character names, but to me it jut seems so vital that their names fit them.

You guys know how I've been reading up for quite a while now about Paganism, Wicca, witchcraft, mythology, etc. Well, several times, I have come across this idea of names having their own innate power. Many of the characters in various myths have names that describe their traits. There is the tradition of people choosing their own names. There is even the idea that using someone's name can give you some measure of power over them. Basically what I'm getting at is, within Pagan traditions, names are really important. I've had this issue with character names since well before I knew any of that though. It just always felt important to me.

When I do get motivated and try to write fiction, I usually find myself trying to write about as few characters as possible simply to avoid having to name any more people than I have to. It is often when I feel the necessity to add more characters that I end up giving up on a particular story. Maybe I should just buy one of those baby names books and flip through it randomly, when I have to name a new character.

Easy for you to say, Juliet. You only have one of the most famous names ever in human history. 

Not My Finest Hour

Last nigh it was just me and the instructor at kickboxing again, which was cool. What wasn't so cool was that it turns out I've been doing my left hook wrong this entire time. We spent what seemed like an hour (but was probably more like fifteen minutes) trying to get it right. He kept watching me, then saying "Okay, try it this way." but every time, it just got more awkward. No matter what I did, it always came out wrong. Then, apparently feeling incompetent wasn't good enough, so I dropped my fucking gum out of my mouth. That way I could also look like I was having a stroke. I guess that's what I get for chewing gum at a kickboxing class in the first place. I think I finally got the punch right though, so I guess that's something.

"Are you chewing gum?!"

Maybe There's Hope for Me Yet

I am totally absorbed in Hemlock Grove. I was a bit concerned about reading it, because I loved the show so much and I was afraid that I might not like the author's writing style, which could totally ruin the story for me. He's really quite excellent though. He describes things in a way that is quite poetic at times, but without being too fluffy, but still writes dialogue that sounds like real people.

Aside from just enjoying the story though, this book has me thinking, I should really write some fiction. I've started about a thousand different stories and I never follow through with them. I either lose interest, I don't know where to go with them, or (as has happened on several occasions) my computer gets fucked up and they get lost. The reason I say this book has me thinking about it again is because it worked out really well for Brian McGreevy. According to the bio on the back cover "Brian McGreevy grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Los Angeles. He is the head writer and executive producer of the Netflix adaptation of Hemlock Grove." I researched him online and there isn't much to be found but, as far as I can tell, this is the only book he has ever written. So basically, he writes one good book and now he gets to live in LA and write his own series. And, because he is the one writing the series, they didn't fuck it all up like they usually do when they adapt a book for film or TV. Since that sounds to me like just about the best thing that could ever happen to anyone, maybe I should work on writing a fucking book.

......or work in Hollywood, either will do. 

Sorry Guys

My Hemlock Grove book came yesterday and, because my time is precious (Hah!) I've decided that I would rather read it than go to the effort of writing a decent, well-thought-out post. I'm not sure exactly why I'm so fucking excited to read something that I already know how it ends, but I am. So yeah, maybe tomorrow I'll write a decent post...or maybe I'll keep writing half-assed ones until I finish the book. Only time will tell.

That's Very Helpful, Thanks

I was just saying a few days ago how, lately, the internet here has been much more reliable than it used to be. Well, it turns out that it's only like that until around 5:30 am and then it goes back to being complete shit again. I slept in yesterday, meaning I didn't get up until almost 6:30, and Hughesnet decided to punish me.

The internet wasn't just slow, it was unbearably slow and it kept randomly cutting out entirely. So I would be waiting for fifteen minutes for a page to load and then it would come up and tell me that it couldn't connect. Well, your know that button on the key board that turns the WiFi on and off? I found recently that if I tap that button a couple of times it will sometimes kick the internet back on. Apparently, yesterday I did that a few too many times and it just decided to shut off and refuse to come back on.

I tried checking for connection multiple times, I tried restarting my computer, I tried turning it off and leaving it off for several hours, I tried taking it to my mom's house to see if it would connect to her WiFi, nothing. Finally, I opened the troubleshooter to see if it could find anything. The troubleshooter was like "Oh hey! Here's your problem! You're not connected to the internet." and I was like "No shit?" and it was like "Would you like to fix this problem?" and I was like "Uh yeah, I would. I would like to fix that problem."  

That's Kind of Nice

Yesterday, at work, I actually had two patients who specifically requested me. This may not seem like a big deal, but it kind of is. You see, for the most part, the people I end up working on are just overflow from the other massage therapists. Then they always seem vaguely disappointed that I'm not the one they were hoping to see. I am finally starting to get a few of my own clients now though, who want to see me specifically. It's amazing how much more I like my job when it seems like someone actually gives a shit that I'm there.

Well, That's It

I have finally finished Sandman, well mostly anyway. I read all 10 original volumes, plus the two extra ones Endless Nights and The Dream Hunters. I just found out that there are actually two more that are from Death's perspective instead of Dream's, which I fully intend to read, but I have already ordered the book Hemlock Grove (because I need to know if it will give me any information that wasn't included in the show), so those will just have to wait.

Anyway, now that I'm finished with it, I can officially tell you how much I loved it! I have never actually read any comics before, and it took a little while for me to get used to the format, but once I did it was great. Neil Gaiman has this remarkable ability to combine different types of stories, and different types of characters, that seem like they could never fit together; yet somehow they all blend perfectly into the Sandman universe. He mixes is own characters with references to other comics, myths and deities from all over the world (everyone from Cain and Able, to the Three Fates, to Bast, to Oberon and Titania, and a plethora of others in between), the supernatural, alternate universes, actual historical events, and the lives of everyday people. It all fits in such a way that it seems to, somehow, make our world make more sense.

I loved the way Sandman was able to take these infinitely powerful, immortal beings (The Endless) and make them feel like people you could relate to. They each had their own issues and flaws; Dream has serious problems with relationships, Destruction found his job unfulfilling and decided to be an artist instead, and well...Delirium was pretty much nothing but issues and that somehow made her completely irresistible. Also, I found the general dysfunction within their family to be very endearing. It turns out you can live for all of eternity and still never learn how to get along with your family.

A word of warning though, for anyone who wants to read them, the introductions should definitely come with spoiler alerts, particularly in The Kindly Ones. So yeah, save the intros for last.

Who could not love her?