The One With All The Parenthesis

Music



Okay, so I dropped the music on this one a little bit. I have not been using Pandora as much because I hate it when I can't find the song on playlist.com after falling in love with a song.



As for the last couple chapters; in chapter one the songs are both from FOX's Bones. They have some of the best music sometimes but they have not been using it lately in the show. I don't know the episodes but I believe they are all Season 5. Also you will see some Scrubs music in the future--love their music.



Also if you will indulge my rambling--each of the serials I have written have a very specific musical tone. At least for a majority of the music. Everything in the UL series was easy listening/blue eyed soul almost pop music like, IVB was supposed to be a lot of rock/punk music and Veritas is more electronica/alternative.



Of course there are always exceptions.





You Can't Escape It



I am not sure if anyone caught on to this but, in chapter 1 there is a Twilight reference. Jean has been reading Twilight books during his little bed rest. In this section :

“You look better,” I had said walking past him

“It seems impossible but, time passes, brother,” he said, “Even for me,”

Of course the next day he lay in bed all day and from that the bed became his prison. He hadn’t left and was back to his old ways.

“You said time passes,” I had asked

“I was not saying, merely quoting,” he said,” I tried to get back to my life but, I don’t know my life without her. Time does pass yes, but each second just aches more,”

He is referencing this quote :



Time passes. Even when it seems impossible. Even when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly, in strange lurches and dragging lulls, but pass it does. Even for me.

Bella Swan, New Moon, Chapter 4, p.93



I just took out the overly metaphoric parts. And not to judge but some twilight fans just love this quote.









Anti-Hero with a capital A !



I mentioned in my final post for Veritas that all the characters were all anti-heroes and you will see a lot of that in Hidden. A lot of you caught on to Alan's "snarkiness"--when he makes a joke about the body, his metaphor about the gun flashing a smile and also the fact that Jean's parents made some good points--it's because they were right and Jean was wrong. I believe it is somewhere (maybe tv tropes ?) that explains antiheroes as protagonist who don't give a sh*t.



So, yes these characters will be wrong they will do wrong and say stupid things but it's the nature of the genre. Maybe I am disclaiming myself for future events . . .



Character Love



I was going to write character whore but decided not to.



I have an insanely bad habit of adding lots of characters to my stories and as I write this it becomes no different. Many of them have no relevance but I just have to give them a name and backstory. For instance in UL it ended up being about Cecelia, Greg, Sam, Rosa, Cortland, Rhett, Patrick, Brad and a few others when it should not have been. And don't even get me started on Tessa, her daughter and Jennifer because UL2 was supposed to be a Rhett&Juliana story.



Also in IVB Nick went on a date with a guy who had no relevance I just wanted to write him going on a date. I also felt the need to introduce and name Slate's sisters who had no lines whatsoever. Although I wanted to point out Slate's dad had named his kids off colors (Amber and Sienna,I believe it was)



So, I apologize in advance for that.



I Miss it too !



You all talking about UL has me feeling nostalgic for it. I miss churning out 10,000 word chapters and just writing it in general but, I have no idea how another chapter would go unless it went the DSI route and took place 4-5 years later with someone married with kids--other than that I have literally no plot. And I just can't go with that plot for UL because it would turn into the dirtiest of kmart realism you have ever read (genre joke--the dirty refers to Dirty realism get your heads out of the gutters. I honestly felt like i had to explain that)



I am just waiting for one to fall out the sky like they always do. I love when that happens and it terrifies me that when I (if I ever) finish up Veritas I will never have another idea. (Maybe I can start a few days late on a UL NaNoWriMo ?)



Linda Leigh <3



I was getting my DSI fill today (love it so much !) and I have to say LiLe does something really well. She is able to describe how people pass time in a few paragraphs that don't feel rushed. To be more specific when she is describing ((*spolier alert*)) Emile and Clara's night together it's only 2 or 3 paragraphs but it feels longer and we get so much detail. We know what they had for dinner, how they felt about it, what they did that evening, how the slept . . I don't know I just love that. I feel like I have to make every scene I write a conversation and describe in painstaking detail so, I am working on that.



Longer Chapter Later



I promise the next post will be a 6,000+ words, two chapter post. I just have to make this one on it's own for pacing issues. Also, after next post I have a picture post planned.



Hmm . . . I think that is it.



Chapter 3



Playlist

Catalyst by Linkin Park (I know only one song but, it fits the tone of the story relatively well)



Chapter 3

Lile !

In the off chance, Linda Leigh sees this I have so much to say about Chapter 3 but, the comm nets are turned off . . . which seems weird after the post you made. Anyway after being creeped out by chapter 2 I was expecting something horrifying in chapter 3 but, I found it really nice and I am just waiting for the next double chapter post.

I actually can't think of a name for this entry

*Note to Lile
In your last comment section, Erik was referring to the characters of Eric and Maddie in S&A and Free Spirits. He says the character Eric is a reference to him.

Cobalt Stuff

I have to make a note about Cobalt here. I am so happy Lile is back, she inspires me in so many ways---her writing is just phenomenal and so are her music choices.

Also I am so glad we have Mansfield with us as well. I love having new blood into the company(don't even think about it). Maybe he can do a guest blog on one of our blogs so we can get to know more about him.

Somewhere Along the Line . . .

Somewhere along the line this story became a very unintentional allegory. When I noticed it I just went along with it and developed it more. It is not very evident in this chapter but, it will be in later chapters. It was a very subconscious move.

Process

I have a very good grasp of the plot points for Hidden and the sequel that comes after. I have a feeling the last one will be about 3 chapters and this one will be between 8 and 12 chapters. It just the actual writing it that has become troublsesome.

I have tried to start writing ahead of my postings. In the past I write a chapter post it and then write another one and post it so, I can't mess with the cannon or add much foreshadowing if I decide to change something.

The only time I haven't done that was in IVB when I got so into writing it I ended up writing until the end pretty early--and I actually felt that led to some of the rushed feeling of it.

That said, I have been afraid to post something and then want to change it or add something later but, I have decided to do it anyway. So hopefully this will expedite the posting , I feel bad because this had been ready and should have been posted a week after chapter 1.

If that made no sense don't worry about it.

Similarities

I think Lile and I have the same muse who is lazing on the job-- I am convinced of it. I was so excited to write something in third person and then switch it to first person at the end and then Lile did it before me ! Oh well, (:

I have been seeing the first scene in Chapter 1 for so long so I was very excited about it.

There are also a few other similarities I have seen but, it is interesting how they exist in completely separate contexts.

When I had writer's block for a while I decided to update a running list of names I have for characters and I am always amused by how many names on that list have appeared in LL. The two main ones being Clara and Addison but, I also had Rosalinda which is similar to Rosalie.

Context

I have been experimenting a lot with re-contextualizing elements of past my past writing. It's something I have wanted to do but, it won't look blatantly obvious-- like there wont be a character named Sawyer who owns a diner (although that sounds like a good idea . . .).

I think this piece opens itself up to the recontextualizing of elements because this serial has been so genre bending. I have no idea if Veritas is a coming of age, dystopian, postcyberpunk or allegory or any number of genres it could be.

Some of these reoccurring elements so far are :

In some ways Jean and Alan are respectively versions of Slate and Darcy in IVB.

Rayne and Cain are similar characters except of course Rayne is not really a villain or antagonist.

Belle, the stripper in UL is a version of Belle in Hidden who is a Madame--I suppose is the right word.

So, look out for those things I've sprinkled in through out the piece.

Chapter 2

Yes it's short, it should have been bundled with chapter 1 but I could not let go. Also one of songs in the playlist got a lot more popular because it was featured on a CW show. Also, a song is not on playlist so I have youtube embeded it.

-1- Black Balloons by Goo Goo Dolls

-2- Mama Who Bore Me

Chapter 2