News Archive for January 2016
Monday, January 11, 2016
My Christmas Vacation
Written by Kodi Wolf at 8:21 AM
What do you do when your plans fly out the window? Do you chase after them and try to hold onto them no matter the cost? Or do you calmly wave goodbye and wish them good luck on their journey and hope you see them again soon?
I had several projects I wanted to accomplish over the Christmas holiday. My wife took two weeks off from work and I was excited. All those things we'd been putting off for one reason or another were finally going to get some attention. I figured we could spend the first couple days lounging, then get those "to-do's" checked off with just a few days of dedicated effort, and then spend the rest of the time just playing games and kicking back.
Instead, I ended up getting sick the second day, most likely from a virus, but then it turned into bronchitis. Three weeks and two rounds of antibiotics later, I'm still feeling tired and not up to much.
But it wasn't a total loss. Even though we didn't get to do any of the things we'd planned, we did spend all our time together and just relaxed, which we really needed after the past few months. Things have been crazy for Corene at work, and I've been feeling the stress of running a new business while also trying to kickstart my writing and make it a high priority rather than that thing I indulge in after I've gotten all the "real" work done.
So, I might not have gotten everything I wanted for Christmas vacation, but maybe I got what I needed. It's a thought anyway.
Now I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things. I had a nice writing streak going in December (until being sick finally got the better of me) and I really want to pick up where I left off.
I don't really do New Year's resolutions, but my #1 goal for January is to get that momentum back and build up another streak.
Wish me luck. :)
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Music for Lights of Life
Written by Kodi Wolf at 7:23 AM
It's really weird the little Internet paths I take.
I'd been working on the outline for Lights of Life all morning yesterday and needed a break while I had something to eat. So I put on RuPaul's Drag Race and at the end they played a snippet of one of RuPaul's songs (The Beginning) that I wanted to hear more of, so I looked it up on YouTube and played it a couple times (I like it, but I'm not sure I want to own it).
Then I decided it's been a while since I played anything from my favorites playlist, so I looked at it and played Lean On by Major Lazer & DJ Snake (feat. MØ) and I had the same thought I've had in the past, which is that the singer in the video looks like a cross between Melanie C and Adrienne Wilkinson (Livia/Eve from Xena).
Well, I haven't checked out anything from Melanie C in years, so I looked her up and found her YouTube channel and a song I hadn't heard before (Think About It) automatically played on the main page.
As soon as I heard the lyrics, I realized it made the perfect theme song for Jess and Kaylee's first time, sung from Jess's POV. It fits exactly how I want to portray Jess's emotions at that moment when she decides to stop fighting her heart and throw caution to the wind and just go for it.
All the editing and brainstorming I've been doing for the changes I want to make to Lights have put me in a more analytical mode, which has left me worried about whether I'm losing the romance. I think the changes I'm making are good changes and will improve the story, but being focused on the structure of when events take place has sort of taken me away from feeling the emotions of the scenes themselves.
This song has totally brought me back to how I've always felt about Jess and Kaylee as a couple. So I think I just need to relax and trust that when I'm actually writing the scenes (rather than organizing them), I'll remember who they are as a couple and that will come through in my writing.
And definitely make sure to actually watch the video. She's fuckin' hot. :) And she totally reminds me of a cross between Eliza Dushku from Dollhouse (with all the costume changes) and Bo from Lost Girl (it's the dark eye make-up).
Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
I know I'll be playing this song a lot. :)