The Plot Thickens & Nobody Knows

Last night we went to the bookstore (joy!) in Fargo, and spent about five hours there. I made big headway on a story, and we left with only two purchases (we are soooo good): for me, The Plot Thickens, by Noah Lukeman, and for Jason, a movie, Nobody Knows. Both, I am pleased to say, have already justified their purchase.


The book, The Plot Thickens, is just what I was looking for. Needless to say, I was surprised and pleased when I found it in our tiny B&N in Fargo. It is a book about plot, but instead of being full of diagrams and timelines, it is about developing plot through characterization. Which is the way it should be, and is also something I've been struggling with lately, with my latest story in particular. How to juggle what one of my teachers once called "the thing and the other thing," and what Lukeman calls the surface journey and the profound journey. Anyway, it's a nice addition to my small collection of what you might consider writing how-to manuals. They are where I turn first when I am stuck, which happens with disturbing frequency.

The movie, Nobody Knows, we watched last night. It is directed and written by a Japanese director, Hirokazu Koreeda. He also directed Marabosi, one of my favorite movies. If you haven't seen either of these movies, I can't recommend them highly enough. Nobody Knows is about four children of the same mother, but different fathers, who are abandoned by said mother for undetermined periods of time. It is mostly the story of the eldest boy, Akira, and his struggle to take care of himself and his siblings. It is amazing. Oh, and go get Marabosi and watch it too.

Three bits of good news:

I'm done with my applications! YAY! Now the waiting begins. Thankfully I have more than enough to distract myself with.

I got the estimate for my car this morning (remember that unfortunate deer incident?), and it's only going to be about $800. Okay, its still a tough swallow, but since I was expecting well over a thousand, this is a nice surprise.

On Saturday we leave to go to Dallas. Have I mentioned this before? For Christmas, J's mother gave us a trip to Dallas to see a homeopathic MD. J's sister goes to him, as does his mother, aunt, and grandmother (the healthiest, gardening-est, marching-in-protests-est 84 year old I've ever met). We are going to place our various chronic aches and pains in front of him and see what he can do. I'm hopeful he can do something about the headaches that grip my jaw and shoulder in a vise. That would be a great start to the new year. So, but we're excited. Dallas will be warm(er) than here, and she gave us our health for Christmas. Could you ask for more?

Now, I'm forcing myself off the internet and into working on a story. Now that all my applications are done, I have some time to write, which is nice, but I'm finding it difficult to switch gears. Today, with the aid of my new book, I'm going to do it. So, it's time to reheat yesterday's curry, and get on with this story.