T.K. Turner's Blog, page 5

Smexxxy Friday

Been groovin' to Marvin Gaye recently. Have a great weekend, minions! 

What influences you?

...Aside from (of course) angry lingerie models? No, no, this is a serious blog post. I just happened to use this picture because I like this model's intense stare: "Yes, I'm photoshopped. No, this purple lace bra won't fit you." Telepathy. 

Anyway. Today I was reflecting on authenticity and the things that influence my writing. As the saying goes: "writers what what they know" and I would mostly agree with that. I am just now realizing how much my Catholic private school education has stuck with me. As a kid, I devoured science-fiction, comic books, anime, Edgar Allan Poe, psychology, and social activism. Ultimately these things shaped the person I am today, so I see no reason to hide that in my writing.

I'm almost done with this tentacle story, and I'm discovering my "style" for the first time. When I try to fight against my influences, I don't write authentically. Yes, I have a dark sense of humor, but I try to leave the reader thinking after they finish my stories. If even for a moment, I want you to wonder "what if?" That is my goal, and perhaps, the only modus operandi I can achieve as a writer. :) 

Smexxxy Friday

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Yummy! Slimy monster sex! In all seriousness, this ad is a French public service announcement against AIDS. Safe sex, this weekend. OK, minions? Over and out. 

Discussing your book

Uhhhhhh...want to see an otherwise functional and intelligent adult morph into a babbling toddler? Yeah. I get cold sweats whenever random strangers/acquaintances ask: "Ohhhh you're a writer? So what is your book about?" It is more nerve-wracking than pitching to an agent. I mean...with an agent, I'm kinda already expecting the agent to either ignore me or reject me on the spot. Querying is very impersonal. However one-on-one conversations are nothing like that at all! You're forced to answer that one-on-one question with a one-sentence summary. "My book is about the Salem Witch Trials, Voodoo, slavery, lesbians, and um...werewolves?" 

This, of course, is followed by another question: "So who are your characters? What's the point?" I have two choices. I can continue the snarky route OR I can actually try to explain what my book is about. 9 times out of 10 I say something snarky because there's nothing more ANNOYING than a self-absorbed writer giving a long soliloquy about their fucking book. I refuse to be that writer. I really do. If I ever get famous (ha!) you're not going to find me on NPR droning on and on. I can't stand that! And I'm kinda uncomfortable talking about my book anyway. I care more about it than this random person and I don't want to waste their time discussing racial, feminist, LGBT politics. 

I need to be better at talking about my book to people...face-to-face. Perhaps I should say: "It's Toni Morrison meets Quentin Tarantino!" so they can scratch their heads and slowly back away from me. I've already decided on a "dedication" to put at the front of the book. "Dedicated to all the Pecolas and Preciouses of the world who found the teeth to bite back!" Yeah. I like the sound of that. 

Smexxxy Friday (Amélie)

No words necessary. :) 

Register to vote, dummy!

After I hit "publish" on this blog post, what am I doing? Yeah. Gonna walk to the mailbox and slip my boyfriends's and I's voting application inside. Why? Because I'm an American citizen first. A black woman second. And a bisexual young person third. People have literally DIED for MY right to vote. How can I make a mockery of that sacrifice by being complacent and apathetic? This is MY   country. I have a voice. Yes, it is small and perhaps insignificant to many. But the naysayers can't stop me from voting.  

I'm voting for a future for you and me. People like me.  People like you. We have the power to flex our vocal muscles and be heard. So let's use it, shall we? I don't care if you're republican, democrat, independent, libertarian, whatever-the-fuck-ever, just vote! Register to vote! Have your say! As citizens, it is the ONLY power we have. So let's use it. 

And that concludes my self-righteous post of the week. Over and out, minions.  

Gangnam Style

More K-Pop viral videos coming at ya! Thank you little brother for introducing me to this stupidly hilarious song. Freakin Gangnam Style! 60+million views and growing! 

Smexxxy Friday: Toxic Girl (Kings of Convenience)

Don't we all know at least ONE girl like this? That toxic, unattainable bitch who plays with our emotions and then stomps all over our self-control when you try to pull from her web? Yeah. Makes me think of that movie, 500 Days of Summer. 
It was recently brought to my attention that um......yeah, I might've been that "toxic unattainable bitch" in high school/freshman year of college. *insert self-loathing and latent teenage angst* Why can't men and women be PLATONIC? Why why WHY does one party always have to develop feelings for the other??? Anyway...lyrics. Enjoy your weekend. 
In the sky the birds are pulling rain,In your life a curse has got a name, 
Makes you lie awake all through the night
That's why. 
She's intoxicated by herself, 
Everyday she's seen with someone else, 
And every night she kisses someone new
Never you. 
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/k/ki... ]
You're waiting in the shadows for a chance 
Because you believe at heart, that if you can, 
Show to her what love is all about
She'll change. 
She'll talk to you with no one else around, 
But only if you're able to entertain her, 
The moment conversation stops she's gone
Again.

Epistolary Narration

You're probably scratching your head at the word "epistolary," so let's get Wiki'd first before we begin discussing this. 

Some popular examples of "epistolary novels" are: Bram Stoker's "Dracula," Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein, Alice Walker's "The Color Purple," Anne Frank's "Diary of Anne Frank," and any novel where the narration is told exclusively through journal entries, newspaper articles, and other forms of written media.  

I've never written a story with this narration style before. Good lord, the epistolary literary device is a tricky business! Because I can't go into "real-time" to bring my reader into the story, I am forced to really think outside the box to paint a scene and also characterize my characters (without info-dumping!!!!) It is deceptively challenging to pull off. However, I'm having fun playing with this narration style.

Yes, I was mostly inspired by Z for Zachariah, but also by this novella I read recently by an indie author, Steven Katriel's The Portrait of Alatiel Salazar.  If you're into "old skool" gothic horror, give dear old Steven Katriel a read. The book is reminiscent of Bram Stoker and Charles Dickens. 

What I like about "journal-narration" is how "personal" it is. Since the reader knows the narrator is a "real person" and not some omniscient figure, there's a greater sense of urgency, I think. What are your thoughts on epistolary narration? Have you ever written it before? 

Capgras + Phantom Limb + Synesthesia

Fascinating lecture by the great Vilayanur Ramachandran. Psychology nerds and other weirdos will enjoy! Thought I'd share. :)