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'UliHarp' wrote on '07:
Wow; I'm flattered that it sounds interesting to you. Technically speaking, I've been working on it for six years. But really, it's changed so much that what I have now is in no way reminiscent of the first draught (except for character's names, that is). I've rewritten it numerous times over the years, but kept trashing it because I didn't know exactly where I was going; I hadn't fully formed the plot or the characters back then. I guess you could say they were giant brainstorms?
Only these past two years have I been working on this version. (Which I'm finally happy with, and DO know where it's going/what needs to be done.) So far, there's 30 chapters, 461 pages… and I estimate 3/4s through the plot(s).
That is a big project! So did you write several drafts of the entire book??
'UliHarp' wrote on '07:Good luck on that article, then! (Knocks on wood; literally)
What type of writing? Ooooh… depends on the project!
But really, my primary work/concern is my book, which is indeed a novel.
The novel is literary fiction, with a single element of fantasy. It's set in an alternate world similar to our own; the technology is most comparable to the Renaissance era's, and the culture is a hodgepodge of Scandinavian, Asian, and European influences. I implement a lot of psychology and sociology into the book, too, so it's a mental workout each time I write.
The story itself follows five different characters whose lives are somehow connected. Put simply, following two couples and a quasi-widower. One couple is Sarikah and Hayaku: the Empire's crown princess and a village pariah who met/are now eloping. The other is Aya and Yusu: the Emperor and a peasant woman who were lovers before Aya's crowning, separated for many years, and are now back together since Aya is soon to leave his throne (technically, an affair). The quasi-widower is Amaya; the Empire's crown prince. He had a very strong love-relationship with one of his stepfather's concubines (who died), and since has refused to show interest in others (be it acquaintances or his arranged fiancée, Sarikah).
We follow each of the couples/characters through their paths to either put pasts to rest or find redemption/peace.
>Sarikah herself had a troubled childhood; her mother was murdered by her elder brother when she was very young, and she was taken in by her uncle right afterward, who refused to shine light on anything to do with her brother/mother/father. So her struggle begins as one of finding answers. When she does, and her character merges with Hayaku, their struggle becomes eloping and living free. In the end, they do find peace.
>Aya and Yusu are a little… complicated. They don't have a goal as a couple, and they fight each other more than anything else. Aya's individual goal is simply to be with Yusu. Yusu doesn't have a distinct goal involving Aya; she doesn't fully trust him to leave his wife. Her character just “goes with the flow”.
>Yusu actually spends more time trying to help Aya's son, Amaya (mentioned earlier), out of his drug abuse and grief. (Which Aya resents.) Even though her character has no set goal, she frequently helps out and worries for the others.
As far as redemption/peace for Aya and Yusu, they find both, but it's rather bittersweet.
>Amaya has more… malicious goals. When his lover (Abhi) was alive, he was much different: his goal then was to rescue her from his abusive stepfather by banishing him and then to live with her. When Abhi died, Amaya sought revenge on his stepfather (who was the hand of fate), the Empress (who ignored Amaya's pleas for banishment) and Aya (who also ignored pleas). He ended up murdering his stepfather (early in the book) and now does anything to ruin Aya's goals. (Which catches Yusu in their crossfires constantly.) He's quite the tragic character, who dabbles in a lot of vice and sin. In the end, he doesn't find peace or redemption.
Even with all these characters, there's smaller, secondary/tertiary characters who have mini-plots thrown in here and there to support the main fives' plots.
It's… it's interesting. And a headache! I've been with these characters so long, I feel very close and protective of them (I often use a metaphor to describe this- I call them my children.) Don't get me wrong, I love writing this book, but I hate some of the emotions it drags me through. When the end of the story comes and I have to write three of the five main character's deaths, I'm going to be devastated. (How's that for obsessive? Haha.)
I apologize for the length of this purge, too; I tried to format it to be easier on the eyes. My friends and family never ask about my book, for fear that I'll rant for days. (Which I have. 😉 )
Sounds interesting..I like cultural/psychological/sociological stuff. I got my bachelors in Sociology and still find it very interesting. I would like to read your book when it's all finished! How long have you been working on it?
'UliHarp' wrote on '06:Sounds very interesting. I know my sister was once interested in Animal law, but instead she went on to Veterinary medicine. Either way, it's still beneficial to animals! (That and when my cat Hannibal gets sick, I can simply call her.)
In loose sense, yes, I do write full-time. Loose sense being that I write daily and consider it my passion; I've been working on a literary fiction novel for the past six years. It might as well be a job- it sure feels like it! I'm not published, though; that's a landmark I have yet to reach. Fingers crossed!
Really I would like to work with a major animal advocay org like HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) or ALDF (Animal Legal Defense Fund). I am going to be working on an article that I am going to try to get published next semester, so we will see how that goes. Well I think you will get your work published in due time! What type of writing do you do? Novels?
'UliHarp' wrote on '05:FIVE finals? That must have been on heck of a ride!
Also, I've never heard of anyone studying animal law before; sounds interesting. What do you like most about it?
Yes 5 was definitely too much, especially since they were ALL worth 100% of my grade! Animal law is a newer and growing field. The class in particular that I have is more of a broad overview of animal issues from a legal perspective. It ranges from issues with service dogs, valuation of dogs, anti-cruelty statutes, and federal laws like the Animal Welfare Act, etc.. to issues of the protection of animals in the context of things like factory farming and animals in experimentation. I actually hope to do something with Animal Legal issues when I graduate so I have been pretty involved.
I saw that you are a writer. Do you write full-time?
'Martin' wrote on '05:What do you sing? Do you have a favourite style? 😉
I remember those days. What are you studying? Here's to next Tuesday rolling around quickly!
Fortunately this semester I only have 2 finals, which is much better than my 5 finals last semester! I just took my Business Law Exam this morning, and know way more about securities, corporate structures, and derivative lawsuits than I will ever thought was possible! Now I am studying for Animal Law, which is my favorite. Then a few weeks of “break” (from school at least), and on to DC. I did find a place to live just across the border in Northern VA. How is everything in OR?
STUDYING. It's finals time for me and studying will be my main task for the weekend. I would like to get out for a jog or 2 if the weather is nice, but mostly studying for finals until Tuesday when the semester is over!
I know, if you haven't slept well for weeks (or years in your case!), then get one or two nights, or even a week of decent sleep you are still tired. You need to get long term good sleep to feel rested and awake. It's sad that sleeping disorders are so misunderstood. Actually the bipolar thing you are talking about sounds familiar sometimes. I'm just not sure if its the depression that comes first, or the sleeping you know? I do get depressed when I am not sleeping, and sometimes I do act hyper when I'm really tired. I think it is just overcompensating for my tiredness in social situations. When I get home and close the door I tun into a bump on a log. I can't really figure it out except for that I have always had a hard time clearing my thoughts. I am wanting to work on some yoga and meditation to see if that helps. Sometimes my mind just races uncontrollably at night. Wow, 20 years! So you hve been dealing with this for a really long time. Its so tough and happy that we can all write to each other on here. Thank you for your support.
'MarinaFournier' wrote on '27:“And your point would be?”
At one point, in the late 90's, my husband asked me in frustration, “Don't you ever wake up rested after a night's sleep?”. My response was, “No, not really. I might be a little less tired, but that's as good as it gets, presuming I actually GET a night's sleep”.
Labor Day weekend 2001 was the first really restful sleep I'd had in over 20 years, and it was due to a mood stabilizer that makes many folks downright dopey: Topomax, aka by some of its users, Dopomax. My son takes it for migraine prevention, and it helps him sleep a bit, but not as much as had Seroquel, which resulted in massive weight gain and blood glucose increase. Topomax only worked for me for two years before it quit, though.
The interesting paradox I see in your situation is that bipolar I's have manias where they can do whatever BUT they don't sleep much nor feel the need for sleep. Then they come crashing down to depression and unusual amounts of sleep, not having the energy to get out of bed, etc. Yours is the same pattern, without the mania or depression parts (which is good. let me tell you!). I wish it meant I'd have a great suggestion to help you even things out.
Marina
Hi Dozy. I'm sorry, I still haven't figured out a good way on here to make sure I am getting all the responses. I would really love to try sleep tracks. I am a full time student and am short on money at this point in the year so I am not sure when I will be able to get it. When I get some money I definitely will! Thanks for the advice. I am also trying to not take drugs. This week I have been taking Benadryl. I didn't want to take that either because it seems like it always starts with that. Then I feel like I ned to get some more Ambiem, then that stops working and they percribe me antidepressants. By then I'm so desperate I take whatever thy give me. Then I stop everything and have horrible rebound insomnia. I DO NOT want to go through that even one more time. oh, you tried hypnotherapy? I was curious about that. I have also been curious about acupuncture. Too bad I am just a broke college student now! Its so wierd how it just comes and goes..I wish I knew exactly what it was. I hope your sleeping is getting better:-) Thanks for all the advice
'Dozydame' wrote on '26:Hi again Aimee. I did respond the last time you asked me about Sleep Tracks, but I'm not sure you read it. Anyway, here it is again. BTW Yan (from Sleep Tracks) has recently come out with some improved versions of some of the tracks, but I haven't tried them yet. They are now also on Facebook if you want to ask any questions before purchasing.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hpskip#!/SleepTracks
Well one of the reasons I haven't done a review of Sleep Tracks is because I stopped using it as soon as my sleep improved – which is not really the reccommended way to use it. The reason I stopped using it is because I didn't want to be trying to stay awake until the end of the track so that I could take my earphones out and turn my mp3 player off and risk waking myself up again in the process. I figured that since I'd started falling asleep more easily I'd just see how it went. I am thinking of buying a product called SleepPhones which is like a headband with built in headphones which you just plug your iPod into but leave on all night and blocks noise also. They are out of stock at the moment though.
Anyway, I did use the Fall Asleep track, the Whole Night track and the Insomnia Buster track. I found I preferred the Fall Asleep track because it was shorter – about 20 minutes. I also did use the Whole Night track on loop, but am not sure it made much difference. All I can tell you is that I was just not able to get to sleep at all without drugs for quite a while (but I'm really leery of using drugs much because I've been hooked on them before and don't want to go there again – so only every 3rd night) anyway within about 6 days of starting Sleep Tracks I found that I began to at least fall asleep again. I wish I could tell you that I'm now sleeping like a baby, but sadly not. However, I am getting some sleep most nights and am feeling more rested AND I've stopped taking drugs again. Most importantly, I'm now going to bed expecting to get some sleep instead of dreading another night of NO sleep. It seemed like it just broke the cycle I was on and allowed a better cycle to begin. After 40 years of insomnia I'm well acquainted with the fact that I go through cycles with it, but I still can't work out what the triggers are. Before I tried Sleep Tracks I tried hypnotherapy again but it made no difference at all. That last bad patch was the worst I've ever had and I was feeling absolutely desperate.
When I read about Sleep Tracks, like you I thought I really had nothing to lose and in fact they offer a money back guarantee if after 60 days you're not happy with it. I don't know how easy it is to actually get a refund, but the guy does come across as pretty genuine and you do get follow up info once you start the program.
Hope this helps Aimee and if you do try it I'll be really interested to see how it worked for you. Maybe you'll be a little more disciplined than me and use it correctly. Best of luck!
'kerrivw' wrote on '26:I was just about to post a new topic and wondering what to call it when I read yours. I was going to say almost the same thing! Recently, I have about 1 1/2 weeks of good sleeps and I was so excited, thinking that the new meditation audio, starting yoga again and my new membership at Insomnialand had totally worked. I always feel so awesome when I sleep, even my boyfriend notices and is happy too. Then this past week I only slept well 2 out of 5 work nights (approx 4 hours per night). It's so depressing! It just kills my energy and optimism about things in my life. I just want it to stop! It just kills me when I'm so exhausted and have sore muscles then I can't fall asleep AGAIN! I wasn't always like this (only occasional before and this past year has become more consistent). It was so comforting to read your post (and everyones replies) because sometimes I feel like I'm going to lose my mind! I think it is emotional but I'm not really stressed out anymore. I'm going to try rearranging my bedroom. I'm also hoping that summer will help things since it has been a long cold winter where I am. I have been debating whether I should just take sick leave from work but I know it looks bad if future employers somehow find out. Also, since I'm trying to get pregnant, I'm not sure if it's a good idea. (Has anyone else taken time off work to try and deal with sleep problems?) Sorry, I'm totally rambling! I hope we will both be in a good sleep cycle again soon!
It's nice that we can all relate so much to what people are going through here, even though I would prefer that no one had to be on this website! (no offense, Martin:-)) Same with me, I am like a different person when I am sleeping than when I am not. It still has not gotten better this week. I don't know what happened, all of a sudden I just couldn't sleep. Although I have had a decent weekend because I read this wonderful book! You might like it because it focuses a lot on meditation and yoga. I was surprised because I didn't know this person was into this type of topic. Its Rusell Simmon's book Super Rich. Its not just about being rich financially. I really go a lot out of it and am trying to be positive that i will sleep better tonight. I think that rearranging the bedroom is a good idea…i'm going to try that!!! Maybe right now! Where are you from? I have missed many school and work days because of sleeping problems. Its really difficult to explain to people so I just say i have a “health issue”. Don't worry about rambling..we all need to ramble about our sleep sometimes.
'annie wrote on '25:Hey everybody out there…my insomnia is back and this is round three for me. I decided to join because no body in my real world can truly understand. So I just wanted to say hello to you all and know that I have a new support group that I can turn to while I get thru this crap.
Hi there. We undertand what you are going through and are here for you.
I was realy frustrated when I wrote that last night. Funny, I would never have written anything like that to anyone had it not been for this site!
'ptalwar' wrote on '25:Aimee, I can completely relate to your situation. I am currently going through a good period but I know that I am merely one sleepless night away from startign my next bad cycle. Hang in there and do not ever give up hope. I truly believe that staying positive will not only help you out while going through a bad cycle, it may keep the good cycle going longer. May you get those zzzzzzzzzzzzz's 🙄
Thank you for your support. I do need to be more positive about the sleeping, especially since it is largely mental with me. I think tonight will be better:-)
Yes, mostly neighborhood information because I am looking for a place to live. I have an internship in HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) litigation dept. and I am very excited!
'Martin' wrote on '25:Hi Aimee
Have you noticed a pattern forming between the times you're able to sleep and your periods of insomnia? Are there any lifestyle or emotional changes that you think may trigger your insomnia?
That's exactly why we started this community.
I haven't really noticed a pattern, but there have been a lot of life changes (good and not so good) in the past couple years. I tend to have problems sleeping when I am upset, excited, have a lot on my mind, etc… Now, once I start having sleepless nights I get anxiety about it and it snowballs. So I guess it's both lifestyle and emotional changes that trigger it. Do you still have sleeping problems?
