June 3/0 words
Not much writing yet, this month, for I am in recovery mode. However, a story title mugged me a few days ago, and last night, in an effort to get attention, it grabbed my throat and throttled me.
I was holding out for more info, but who am I to argue?
I went in search to jostle that very information out of my brain.
I don't know about you, but my journey to get a story involves shaking everything I can from my subconscious into my conscious brain. I start with a simple concept--one word or two--and brainstorm as much as I can. That means any idioms get listed, any traditional beliefs, anything that pops into my head which is related. In this case, my image is the moon, so I've listed other idioms like once in a blue moon, beliefs such as the moon as linked to madness, and sideways-related luna moths. (I searched in Spanish, too. A plus with being bilingual.)
Then I run amok in Google image search with those terms and see what calls to me there. Last night, I got these: tree and moon, the moon and the nightspirit, a Mucha poster, and the robbery of the moon.
There's no conscious attempt to link the images at this point... just to find things that call to me.
I pull out my dream dictionary and see what I can find to add there, because dreams speak to the collective unconscious. If I can work in something that strikes others at an internal depth, so much the better.
Anyway, this round is done. I have another image to work on tonight, because the title's two nouns (one used as an adjective) and by the time I'm done, I should have a character and a problem. I know my protag is female (d'oh. We're talking the moon here) and that's about it.
Hopefully, I'll have more before I fall into bed.
If not, I let it lie fallow, while all the stuff I dredged up simmers in my conscious and unconscious brain, and maybe, just maybe, it'll give me something to write about.
I have the urge, but since it's been a while and the novel isn't calling, I'm side-stepping into writing.
(So posse? Yeah. Not this week, either. Otherwise, I'd have that chapter done by now. Don't worry. Steve'll pick up my slack.)
June 20/500 words
Oh, little journal, how much I've missed you. *hugs* (Nine years of using the same spot will do that to you, I'm afraid. LJ just wasn't quite giving me the same comfort. I think it's mostly about being able to design my site from the ground up.)
There's been a lot going on this first full week of vacation--starting with the walking. Both the Spousling and I and the dogs are hitting the trail every morning for... well, upwards of an hour. Today, it was closer to an hour and a half, and that's mostly because of the heat and sun. I just can deal with the hot on a walk. The last two days, I've dragged myself home and dunked my head in a sink of cold water to get a faster cool down. Ice water is required, preferably in a heavy glass, so I can press it against my neck. Today I was even wishing for my grandmother's parasol--the one she used to use every time she went into the sun. Hopefully, I will not be quite that bad in my 80's.
But the dogs are very quiet. I don't think they're going to be bothering me much today.
I made a little progress at school this week, but not enough. I'm going in Monday and Wednesday next week, so I can make a bigger dent in things. I've brought a few things home to do, and between cleaning the pool and whatever else needs to be done around here over the weekend, hope to take them in finished with me.
I also need to work--really work!--on getting this novel organized in my head and on the pages. I'm reining in the scope of things here, so the tale's tighter and more focused. I think the original version was heading for one of those monster 600+ pages with all the road tripping (I just typed toad tripping, which is a lovely typo.) by foot and through a desert. I have two or three scenes to keep from a whole chunk of middle, and that's it. I'm searching for the bit I last wrote, and I'm not certain where it's hiding.
But today is the day of the cards. Yay!
And website stuff. I don't have all the links uploaded, and then, of course, there's the finishing of the index page.
So, lots to do, and the website is up first while I cool down some more.
But yay! I have a website to tweak!
June 21/0 words
No actual word count from yesterday, although my words found (YAY! Have I been looking for you!) count jumped to 5500. That was a long search, aggravated by the fact that those words were hidden on a slow moving laptop, and not in a Word file as I'd thought.
No, I'd managed to write those on yWriter2, so it was copy and paste, try and stick the files in my shared files on the network so I could copy them onto the PC, and major Fail, for some reason. Luckily, I have my jumpdrive and that did the trick.
So now I not only have the words on both machines, I know where they are. On both.
The bottom line is that I am going to have to collect all the words I've ever written on this novel into a single location, instead of in individual documents scattered everywhere. I've tried this before, and it never worked. But at this moment, I have 230+ pages of novel in one file. I don't care if they're disorganized (since I split the novel at one point into three POV documents), they're there.
Next up, the index cards. I have about 200 I brought home from school. :P
I was freaking about having those done by Monday, and I shall continue to attempt that, but really, as long as I can figure out what I need to write to fill in the gap between old and new by Monday, I can organize those index cards to my heart's content.
But before that, we are going outside and frying ourselves by working on the pool. I mean fry literally. My thermometer outside read 120° yesterday. Granted it was in the sun at that particular moment, but that would have been me in the sun too. No wonder I did not do well on the walk yesterday morning. It was already 90+° when we got home at 8:30A.
Meanwhile, the beans and tomatoes and the zucchini are thriving, and things have grown a foot in the last week.
If I can just get the novel to grow as well as those, I'll be happy.
Also, if you wanted to sponsor me for the Clarion Write-a-thon and just haven't had time to do that or had good intentions (like I do) and forgot, here's my link. Every little bit helps Clarion West, and I can't tell you how much it meant to me to be able to attend. Make that possible for others!
Plus, you get the added bonus of being one of my guilt monkeys riding my back for six weeks. During that time, I'll accept all the harassment I can get, will post snippets of the actual writing you've forced me to produce, and will blog every day about my progress.
Join the crowd of sock monkeys staring evilly at my back. (Photo forthcoming once I find my damn camera that the Slug lost misplaced, and I'll add your face should you desire via Photoshop. A copy will be mailed to each guilt monkey supporter at the end of the Write-a-thon.)
June 22/0 words
Now I don't know whether to be pleased or horrified.
A few hours of diligent work mingled with judicious breaks (because I don't use paper and pencil any longer, so the right hand spasms into a deathlike grip on the writing implement) I have cards.
Fifty of them or so. One for each scene I've written.
And gaps. Honking big gaps. Big enough to drop a truckload of characters into and then bury. I can even bury some of yours. Just ask.
Since I've started and stopped on this one over the years, I've added characters here and there that don't appear again. The worst thing that can happen to my protag hasn't. Yet. And it's got to, because otherwise, why write this novel?
I'm going to spend a few hours today dissecting and chopping to see if I can make it coalesce.
So yeah, I guess I'm horrified.
Although I was pleased as I skimmed yesterday--the prose isn't awful, the characters are still intriguing. It's just this not-so-plotty goodness stuff that I am raking together for the Major Fail.
Seriously, the damn thing could go anywhere, for it has, and I've got to drag it back into something resembling order.
What the hell was I thinking when I decided I would work on this for the Write-a-thon? It would be easier for me to write SIX BRAND NEW SHORTS.
Ahem.
But yeah, I want that second novel under my belt. And eventually, novel writing does get easier, right?
Tell me yes, even if you believe otherwise. Please. Don't make me beg. I'll even dispose of a character for you.
June 23/0 words
Lots of scribbling yesterday, as I worked out where I need the story to go for Kalim. Because it's shifted now that he's captured by the warrior caste, instead of me chickening out and having him successfully avoid them. So yeah, similar ending for Kalim, but a different path to get there. Different ending for Mareet. (Since I'm leaving an opening for a second novel with the emphasis on her.) There's a slightly different ending for Bashak, but with the same net result, so woo! That end goalpost did not move.
There will be more scribbling in my future as I figure out Mareet's and Bashak's paths.
And then it will be card shuffling time, and we'll see if these cards work for me. I'm not writing more than a sentence or two on each one, for the most part, and it's the POV character and his/her action that I'm noting. For the ones that are really pared down, I'm going to have to look at raising the conflict, and we'll see if that doesn't make things flow a little more consistently.
But yes! It's getting somewhere. And not only that, I'm far enough away from the thing that I can see what I need to do a little more clearly. (This would be a good side effect of starting and stopping a novel five or six times, then abandoning it for a year or two.)
I also have to figure out what the heck my three antagonists really want (well, it's all about power now, isn't it?) and why it'll be Mareet more than another to take him out. Or down.
There will be much pondering today. Most likely as I head back into the classroom for some more cleaning and organizing.
The heat has subdued a bit, and thank heavens. We were out cleaning and trimming this morning by 7A just to avoid it, but it's not nearly so horrible today as it's been. The dogs came out, and after some whining ("Mom! Mom! I can't reach and I've got to save Zoey from the hill!"), Harley learned how to jump the supporting wall. It did help that I pushed the hose box over, patted the top, and said, "Up!" Otherwise, we'd still be listening to the whines outside.
A lovely romp was had by both, and then Harley leapt from the 5' wall, a good 5' over the woodpile, and onto the grass, surprising both of us. My greatest concern is that he'll happen on a snake, and will stupidly not back off, since we've had two in the front yard in the past two weeks.
In other news, tickets for Celtic Thunder go on sale today! And woo! I'm picking two of those puppies up for November. That'll be my belated birthday celebration with the Spousling, since I'm still planning on World Fantasy for the actual day.
And now, to work. Those sock monkeys' little beady eyes are drilling holes in my back.
June 24/600 words
The writing has begun. I've acquired 600+ words this morning, critical ones since they bridge a gap between old and new. From this point, I should be able to jump forward a good-sized chunk closer to the end. (And delete a bunch of stuff that's not going to happen, but that goes without saying.)
I'm happy for the moment, although I should accomplish even more today. But this bit got me to the point where I could upload the next twenty-four pages or so to the crit group. And on a Tuesday, ohmygosh, so people actually have time to look at it. Now all I have to do is to nag retrobabble. :>
As promised, I'm throwing some of what I've written up here, although it's definitely first draft, hot off my fingertips, and more than likely to change.
Or be deleted. That's been known to happen, too.
Yesim spun about on one foot. "Now, what do you need?" His voice was brisk, but not angry, Kalim decided, and his stare more curious than hard.
Kalim dipped his head. "Master, I have heard things about my soul burden that concern me."
The graying brows lifted and dropped. "Go on."
"It's that... well, I've heard that after the ceremony, I will be sent with the warrior-caste. To... stay." Kalim glanced up at those beetling brows and the dark eyes beneath, and then returned to studying his hands.
"Look at me."
Kalim felt heat rising on his cheeks, but did as asked. The master did not even appear annoyed, but pulled out the bench and faced Kalim with concern on his own face.
"You will not be sent to the warrior-caste. It is not in our best interests to give you up to those who have not earned our trust themselves. I will not hide the fact that this soul is very important to them, and they would love to have it back in a place where they could utilize the soul's knowledge through you."
Master Yesim leaned forward, sincerity spilling from him. "But it will not happen as long as I have breath."
My guilt monkeys are currently dozing behind me. I think they caught the sleepies from the snoring dog at my feet.
Meanwhile, I have also chopped the hell out of some blooming ivy on the fence, have tied up the tomatoes and added places for the beans to continue their twining to heaven, and have not had nearly enough coffee. Go me.
In kitchen news, I have ants. Guess what I'm doing later?
June 26/0 words
Yesterday was a complete waste.
Stuff got done, of course, but none of it was related to writing unless you want to count being mugged by a potential short story idea, which didn't have the common decency to give me characters or a plot, so what the hell good is it? And, if that weren't enough, it's not related in any. way. to the novel. I took notes, however, and I will allow it to fester. (Some people wait for their fiction to germinate. I am not one of them.)
What did happen is that a child returned home for less that twenty-four hours. In that course of time, she borrowed my car, demanded drives of over 150 miles for pick up and drop offs. I was lucky to get the car long enough to get to school for a few hours, so I must return today. I got my hair cut, but threw my hairdresser into a tizzy by telling her we had to be done in an hour (and she was. Not a surprise, she just went to work. Hard.) while the Slug ran some errands. And then it was off to the Flyaway in Van Nuys, even though she'd been pushing for a ride to the airport.
I managed to convince her to give me the car by telling her I'd be the one to buy the damn Godiva chocolate cheesecake for the middle child. She forked over most of the cash, thankfully, and I'll have to pick that up for them on Saturday.
So yeah, pool cleaning commenced at 7A, since I have a pool shoggoth bubbling away in the backyard, apparently. Algae decided to bloom with the heat. (The Spousling just stares at me strangely when I describe the pool as such. Thank god for speculative fiction writers.) I was out of the house by 10A, and I got back at 6P, only to cook dinner and collapse.
Oh, and to have an allergic sneezing fit. My nose is still running this morning, and I am fed up with the itching and sneezing.
With my luck, I'll be allergic to the beans that are blooming gangbusters just outside the kitchen window.
Did I mention I was cranky?
I've warned you all. It'll be a surprise for the Spousling. Shh! Don't tell him.
*evil little grin*
(Awwwwwwww. Charlie just sent me witches novel #1 to crit. I feel better.)
June 27/200 words
I've hit the trickier bits on this novel. I'm removing one entire thread I set up earlier (which is most likely the piece that made me lose control the first time around) and skimming to see what needs cutting and/or rewriting.
So yesterday, I cut 2700 words. I added another 200 and set up the latest scene differently. I'll write that today and cut and write more. By tomorrow, I should have a chapter's worth of words. My chapters run about 3K, so that's a bunch of writing to accomplish today and tomorrow.
Luckily my schedule is fairly clear. I have the dogs. I have vacuuming I need to do. The Spousling will leave tonight for a weekend's training backpacking (preparing for Philmont in July). Another child arrives home for an overnighter tomorrow, and that's it.
The dogs are the biggest issue, actually. I'll have to walk their paws off.
The short story idea continues to bug me, but I'm ignoring it as best I can. It's morphing into what it means to be human, and which of these characters truly is, regardless of outward appearance, in addition to a touch of unfulfilled love. But that's not quite enough for me, and it'll sit until I know more. However, you'll be happy to know the hula hoop bit got dropped.
Not that there's anything bad about hula hoops! I had kinders this year who were excellent at the skill.
Unlike myself.
So, I took on another challenge besides the Write-a-thon. Yes, I'm teaching myself to hula hoop--although I'm still not any good at it. Believe me. But I hope to improve with daily practice and a large hula hoop that lights up. (It was the only large one Target had. Personally, I could have done without the landing lights. And really, in the dark? It's kind of spooky if you accidentally nudge the thing with your foot. Lights explode and spark.)
I told this year's class we would have a contest in the fall to see who was the better hula hooper. Half of my class immediately badgered parents for a hula hoop.
(Yeah, yeah. It'll be one of them, but maybe by then I'll be able to keep it around my waist for more than five seconds.)
June 28/1100 words
Progress on several fronts, and I've only been up for two hours. This is good--just not done.
Yesterday's writing was difficult. I took a scene that originally held an interaction with a younger brother, changing it to an interaction (returning a runaway goat) with an unknown elderly gentleman. Deleting was easy. Poof! They're gone. Replacing those words?
Eh. Hard. And it'll need a really good rewrite on the next pass. The old man needs fleshing out. I need setting. I need to raise the stakes in that scene and not leave them completely until the end.
On the other hand, I got Kalim to lie, made him anxious, and so he didn't get the spices he needed to control that piggyback soul of his.
But that's not quite enough, since I did give him food to eat and food for the journey. (Goats are worth a lot in this culture. Who knew?)
Still 1100, all told, which is more than I usually get in two days' worth of writing.
Today, I'm planning another 1100 or 1200, and that will get me to the end of my first chapter--even though what I've written are bits and pieces of a few.
Luckily, there are more exciting bits coming up between the warrior patrol and the caravanserai.
It would also make my life easier if I knew exactly what Bashak's blackmailing nemesis wants from him. Yeah, yeah, a vote, but what the heck? A vote on what, exactly? And why should one man's vote be so critical? (Hrm. I actually may be able to answer that. I must think some more.)
AdventureBoy returns home sometime today. I have to buy that cheesecake for the kids, locate two blank CDs and cases, and possibly get Zoey's paw looked at. She's not limping, but she's been licking it and it's pink. I can't quite get her to let me see the paw myself, although I'm about to smear it with ointment and offer up a sock to the dog repair gods.
There's some cleaning to do, since I got little of that finished yesterday. And quite possibly a trip out to Costco for gas and whatever else I can remember.
And, should there be spare minutes lying around, I have stuff to laminate for school, which is a worthy project but annoying as heck when you must run things through the laminating machine all at once.
Anyway, stuff to do, roads to travel, and the dogs--who woke me up promptly at 5:38A--are sleeping.
Maybe I'll come back as a dog.
June 29/1100 words
It's been a few days since I vacuumed and my dark green rugs are again coated with fur.
I guess this means the only pet I can have is a sloth. White and light brown fluff is too high-contrast, and besides it's an apt description of me when I finally hit vacation.
I'm declaring the first week of the challenge a success. I have 3K more words on this novel than I did, and it's still feeling doable. Not that I won't have my hands full when it comes to a rewrite.
Someone on my friends' list was talking about what writers fixate on as they write--whether they're focused on the details of the setting around them or the physicality of the characters.
My rough drafts are closeups of the characters. I've got the dialogue. I've got them moving around and interacting with each other.
What I lack are the setting details when the camera pulls back. I have minimal stuff in the beginning. Whatever the characters are actually touching or talking about gets worked in. The rest?
Eh. Not so much. Which is why my KIAPosse keeps telling me to throw in more details. And setting. And details. And, and... setting.
Which is hard.
As a reader, I'm pretty fast. And I got that way by skimming over description--the stuff that doesn't necessarily move the story, but is there to add depth. Ask me where they are, I can tell you, but I can't necessarily tell you what differentiates this palace/space station/whatever from another.
Characters, though? Woo! I'm so your girl!
So it's not a surprise when I carry that over to my writing. And when I pull back the camera on my characters, it's not surprising that I have pretty bare rooms or grounds or buildings. Fantasy is actually more difficult for me to fill than science fictional settings, but that's probably related to the fact that most fantasy I write has some historical basis to it. Which requires research.
Plus, if you go back far enough, there's no little book telling you just how people must have lived. So it's to makeitup time. And good luck to me for making it reasonable.
So yeah. What I've got is bare bones, right now. The spinal chord and nervous system, a few legs to walk around on.
Gotta flesh these puppies out when this is over.
