Setting, Character, and Plot

So I thought about this today: the laws in the world of a realistic story can reflect the laws of the real world. Setting, character, and plot are all present in real life too, and they all influence each other. There's a reason why people don't hold birthday parties in mortuaries, why people get stressed out when they're living in a warzone, and why a warzone doesn't looks ruined after a war. Events, environments, and people are all interconnected. If one is changing, then there's a good chance another one is changing too. This relationship expleins the necessity for art in the video game "The Sims". If you give your person too dull of an environment he will literally break down and cry. I'd never really though of how much that aspect of the game holds true in regars to the real world.
There is also the realtionships between events, between people, and between environments. The ocean is constantly interacting with the pine studded shore. The man in solitary confinement is growing lonely. The war is ruining the birthday party. There are three dimensions to everything and those dimensions interact in all ways possible, and always.
I would even venture to say that there can be no person/place/action without place/person/action and action/place/person. This trinity is perhaps even as fundamental as rock, paper scissors, as Heaven, Hell, and Earth or as Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander. Perhaps there is even an analogy to be made, that every change spawns two more changes. All things fork out. Perhaps this forking is the essence of freewill and the soul of consequence: there is always a good and a bad reaction. But there are actually far more than two reactions, well, there are three since character affects character. But there is certainly more than one character setting and action. But there are three characteristics in which we group the objective world (in literature).

What do you think?

Fundraising Idea . . . See

So we're gonna have a book drive, see. And it's gonna be a smooth one, a real smooth book drive. We're gonna load up our automobiles with used books, see, this is how we're gonna do it. Got that Bugsy? We're gonna get other people to load up their cars with books too. Then we're gonna send everybody over to Concord High School, and we're all gonna dump 'em off, see, we're gonna dump off the books at the school for the Writing Club. Nyah, see, we'll make a fortune off of those used books, and we'll use the money to publish the magazine, see. Nyah, that's the plan, you hear that Bugsy? I'll say it again, now, this is how it's gonna be, see, all you fellas are gonna bring in your books, you hear, bring 'em in in your car, and take 'em to the Writing Club booksale. We'll sell other people's books there at cheap prices, see, at real cheap prices! We'll get the men to buy novels, and the broads to buy childrens books, nyah. And when we're finished, we'll grab the loot, from the sale, see, and take off down the road. The money'll be ours, see, all ours, nyah, nyah. We'll use it to print the 1454. Nyah see, you hear that Bugsy, all ours, nyah, nyah, nyah!

1454

I think we have our title for the Literary Magazine. That title is 1454, as in the year Johannes Gutenberg first mass printed the Bible on his printing press. Here is some history on the man. He was born in Mainz Germany around 1398 of noble blood. He was originally named Johann Gensfleisch zur Laden (his mother's maiden name was Gutenberg). He learned ze trade of ze goldsmith. Around 1428 poor Johannes and his family were exiled from Mainz for cavorting with local craftsworking rebels . . . who also led a revolution . . . which they were in. They moved to Strassburg. He is known best for the Gutenberg Bible! (of which, Zeb, St. Paul's has an original copy) Apparently Gutey couldn't see too well in his last months. That's because he was going blind (too much fine print?). He printed the bible first on his little hand press in 1440. This is technically the date, or so says the internet. We can choose either 1440 or 1454 and possibly even 1450 but I don't like the sound of that. 1454's got a ring to it. I'm glad we thought of it off hand, like not because we tried.

Keep on Keepin on

I hope this club lasts all year. Does anybody else? I think if we are to have it remain (in other words, to keep thing as such) then we must either feed it an excess of Swiss sweets or a feast of fresh fruit. We have to avoid shitting in our club's mouth, which is at present well-brushed. So make sure your airplanes are carrying European passengers, nice ones (not French?) and not fat, quick-to-point-out Americans. Let us give if we are to get. Let us lift if we are to be lifted. Let us finish. . . well maybe that's the wrong word. I'm just saying, I admire this club and its members. Listen! Are you listening? Well............................WRITE! No, really. You administrators are so good at it, yes, even you "Chaste Chancellor". You are just what I was praying would come out of the metalwork and clang into this club. As your silly, silly magistrate I raise a toast, "Long live us!" (or if not, at least "Live us!"

P.S. Zeb, you got me all hanged up on ze grimoir. I ask, once you are over being so smarter than we all. Can you tell us grammar. Like maybe hand out, presentation or! I meaned "?" Really; I means can you asist us in grimoir w/ you're talentz?

Happy Mistakes

Every so often I'll make a mistake in my writing. I'll spell a word wrong or write the wrong word or something. This is more like often than every so often. But sometimes a mistake sounds wonderful. It sounds fresh and out of character.

As a writer I tend to fall into a general way of speaking, a pattern of verb tense, a category of sentence structure. When I screw up it's like I'm falling off of that pattern and onto a new one.

Treasure little mutations like this. Collect your happy mistakes. They appear only when they want to, like good dreams.

As a human you have one life. As a human writer you have a special interest which stokes your artistic talent. You take certain parts of your life and keep them. You live and sleep with one eye open. You are aware of the gems in the river silt, incorporating them (the oustide) and your thoughts (the inside) then putting it all on paper.

This is a substantial part to the art of writing, the process of attention. What's wonderful is that you have more time now than ever again to pay attention. You are lucky every moment because of this.

Be grateful that things are on their way, that when they arrive, you can use your writing to greet them and provide a home for them to stay in. Learn to appreciate happy mistakes and certain moments different from the rest, they are all you have to work with in becoming a better writer.

-Cote

Writing Club 2009-2010

So here's the blog. A good place to put your words, I think. Any ideas for a motto? Anyways, the first meeting we held was incredible. It lasted four and a half hours, not including the after party. We should have an even bigger group this week.

I want us to use this blog. If your like me (a writer) you'll probably know how to say things, and want to say them. By say I mean write. Especially little stories or poems, definitely things you learn that we could benefit from. Or sayings or quotes about writing (or thoughts)! And they don't have to be edited for content or structure, just basic grammar, and spelling if you don't feel you have that already.

Please write.

-Cote