Of wants, obstacles, and necklaces

Happy Sunday! This is my only free day of the week, and I'm busy doing some fun stuff like updating my blog template and revising a manuscript. I'm thinking of switching to blogging on my domain name (via Wordpress), but that takes some poking around. I've used Wordpress before, so I know the basics, but all this installation stuff and patching old installations is a bit scary. Here's hoping something comes out of it.

My revisions are going well, not much to go. But as I work, I can't help rebelling just a teeny bit. Why? Well, because my story is largely an atmospheric one, a quiet one, and doesn't really fit into the "main character wants Y and then Z happens to prevent her from getting it, and then she does Q and finally triumphs". It's not a high concept story that can be summed up in one brilliant, sparkly sentence. It's mainly this "wanting" thing that bothers me, this idea that every character has to have some driving desire or factor in their life. Because that's not how life works, and that's also not how many popular books work. Take Twilight - whatever you think of its literary quality, it features a girl to whom things just happen. She doesn't really have any desires (other than Eddie's cold lips;-), and she tends to just drift - and yet people eat up the books. Take Harry Potter - he may have the desire to get away from the Dursleys, but in the end, all of the magical stuff just happens to him and he tends to be a bit of a drifter, too. Readers don't seem to care, so it always bothers me when I see people advocating the "want+obstacle" formula online because I think that it's too restricting. I know I've always loved stories where the MC just ends up in a peculiar situation or world and has to make the best out of it, and I can't be alone in this, can I? (please say no)
Obviously, I'm not saying books don't need active characters; I'm saying that we shouldn't judge books based on one plot formula only.

Plots aside, I've been doing some jewelry again. My camera battery was dying when I took these pics, so they may be a bit blurry in places, sowwy.

Anyway, here's a necklace I made with summer in mind - something light and funky. So, I attached several chain bracelets together to make a necklace, added sparkly Swarovski crystals, a belt buckle, and a couple of square ornamental connectors, and this baby was born:


This one features the lovely Ethiopian silver cross I got some time ago. I've been trying to make something with it for a long time, and finally I decided to combine it with memory wire covered with black velvet tubing. Perfect choice, methinks.

Now, I have a manuscript calling my name. Toodles!