Miscellany

[sun_set_bravely]

I watch "Unsolved Mysteries" about twice a week, on Lifetime at 8pm. I'm usually offended by the commercials for other programs on this "Television for Women." A few weekends ago was their "Love Gone Wrong Weekend", featuring shows and movies about women who were beaten by their lovers, or women who killed their abusive lovers. And this week, evidently, is "Dark Family Secrets Week," offering such gems as "Fifteen and Pregnant" and "My Stepson, My Lover (aka Love, Murder and Deceit)."

This is ridiculous. What woman watches this channel and feels in any way empowered? I understand that there's a place and time for cathartic identification with the individual tragedies in our lives. But it is damaging and in bad taste for an entire channel to be set aside for poorly made movies about the many ways that women are victims in our society.

And to call it "Television for Women" on top of this? What does their programming say about the women they're targeting? I think Naomi Wolf's distinction between victim feminism and power feminism is highly appropriate here.

I should write a letter to the network's execs.

~ ~ ~

In other news, I'm proud to say that my novel is clipping along at a decent pace. I'm averaging about 1800 words a day now. My roommate has remarked that I'm crazy, as I'm writing the chapters by hand, then typing them into the computer so I can get an accurate word count. I've done my creative writing at the table with pen in hand for so long that I found myself rambling, disconnected, when I tried typing my novel.

And I know it's not a competition... but I'm proud to be holding the #2 spot in Brooklyn, and #4 in all of New York City, clocking in at 17,939 words. Yee-haw!

I think I'm going to go over 50,000 words. With the structure that I've set up for myself, I write one chapter each day based on a chapter title I created at the beginning of this exercise. I could cut out some chapters, but the arc of my story is based on the arc of the chapter titles. Plus, I like the idea of writing 1800 words every day for an entire month.

So instead of cutting the story short, I'm going to continue to write, and probably hit 60,000 words on November 30th. I think the idea of NaNoWriMo is to fit a story into 50,000 words, but I'm going to use the experience for the purpose of writing consistently for a month. Sometimes you gotta bend the rules for your purpose.

Comments

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! You're doing great. I completely agree--it is your novel, played by your rules!

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You're doing pretty well yourself!

I like what you said in your post about your novel going down a road earlier than you thought it would. When one thinks logically, it seems impossible that inanimate objects like words and fictional characters can do things that you don't tell them to do. But of course, in that writing place, when words are flowing onto the page through you, things comes alive and go according to their own plans. Writing is a delicious form of alchemy!

The Oppressed Women's Channel

[wheeker.livejournal.com]

My husband has a theory that their movies follow this formula and are indeed all the same story:

Adjective Noun: The Proper Noun Story

TPQ

[freak1c.livejournal.com]

i think it's so rad that you're writing a novel. but how pomo nono bobo soho lola multilculti could they have made that title?

what the hell does it mean?

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

National Novel Writing Month
Na No Wri Mo

It's economical more than it is multi culti soho noho. At least I like to think so.