What's On Your Mind About Your Writing?

MaeZe: You are very welcome!

Did more stumbling over my feet than writing today, but I managed to find and then fix 2 issues in section 1 of chapter 24. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

Found a hole you could sail a clipper ship through. Davy was right there with the others aboard the ship, joining in the conversation, and a few lines down...

"Where's Davy?" JD asked
"He doesn't feel well tonight." Emma replied.


When I first wrote that scene I could not for the life of me come up with an early 18th Century Christmas gift for a twenty-year-old-man. So I decided to kick him out of the scene--lame--but forgot to edit his dialogue out. It's fixed now.

Another thing is Mimi's hairbrush. I thought an inlaid pearl handle and base would be nice, but I got wondering what the bristles would be made of and noticed not one mention of a pearl inlaid brush. The elite owned horn and ivory, so I edited that in. Bristles were porcupine quills. Yeah, in the mid 19th century. So I just didn't mention the bristles.

I just remembered reading a forward in a self-published book where the author says something like "There's error in here, misspelling, grammar, and punctuation. But I'm not perfect." Geez Louise.

Distractions. Oh boy, SO MANY DISTRACTIONS.

I "celebrated" the release of my lastest serial by actually purchasing a new video game (haven't done that since... I want to say 4 months?) JUST as the NBA finals were about to begin AND I was about to start editing a chapter.

BIG MISTAKE.

Now not playing the game is driving me nuts. Now I have watch to watch every NBA show and podcast (luckily, there's plenty of podcasting time in my job since I drive all over town anyway). And it hurts when I don't edit because I want to do it so badly but I want to do everything at the same time and GAH!

Thinking about just focusing on editing this chapter FIRST and then worry about the game. So hard to actually pull it off without feeling that my console is just staring at me all the time, tho'.

After doing some research for my science fiction short, I've thrown out everything except the first two pages of the first draft. I've only been able to make three pages a day, given the new circumstances and considerations of "realism." Trying to silence inner critic, telling myself "this is science fiction, you can't get everything right," until the draft is done. More ideas are baking in the oven.

I've edited two chapters so far this morning on the historical. After breakfast I'll pounce on another and so on and so forth.

Well, so much for progress. Got six pages into the new draft when my subconscious said, "Nope, this ain't right" and that brought it all to a screeching halt. I just love spending writing time trying to diagnose why I can't write. All of those one and two-page stints before work....Sigh.

I went to bed after breakfast and didn't get up until about 6:15pm (after being up all night). But at least I did do those two chapters before I hit the hay. Fixing to dive back in.

What's on my mind? Well with 11 kids at home for summer vacation, a full time job, and just getting back into the groove of writing with the major support of my awesome wife. A lot. Have two WIP and another in the uh yep that sounds like it might work phase. One fantasy I've been working on here and there for years and after looking at the word count realized its extremely long so I'm going to have to split it up. Not looking forward to that. The second a sci-fi I just started and have my wife hooked so she's pushing me to get it moving along. So what's on my mind is a lot. But I'll find a way, that's what I'm good at. trying to push at least the 5000 word boundary at least three days out of the week is the idea.

Had a VERY productive day! 4,430 words, and the section was finally completed. Now, to get Trobrencus to the Buydzin District and then check in on his brother's house; I might need a tissue after this -- this poor man will experience hell all throughout this chapter with his emotions.

Editing four chapters to complete Part Three: Dread Night & finished editing Interlude 1: Tripwire.

Going to take a breakfast break, come back, print up what I have, then dive into Part Four: Stranger Within the Gate, which is a looooong one. It was longer still until I broke it into a fifth part.

After taking a long break, I ams deciding to keep continuing the WIPs I am having so far, especially the one with lesbian characters. (I still have the files on my flash drive.)

I feel it's a form of therapy for me, as someone who's still closeted and questioning.

I'm not worried about having the perfect first draft. I just want to finish this draft.

I'm brainstorming right now, and then planning to do my usual pantsing to flesh out the scenes that come into my brain.

(I am a pantser/outliner hybrid. I would have basic skimpy outline and then pants to fill out the scenes.)

I've decided to hang another date between Joe and Mimi before she asks him to marry her. I think they need one and not for filler. It would add to the pace suspense. But I need to come up with an idea where it should take place. I thought about a picnic on a river, because I want it to be in a outdoors. The picnic seems tame. Plus he is a miser who thinks himself broke, if that makes sense. It's like Michael Jackson being broke with $200,000 dollars. I'd love to be that broke. Of course Joe doesn't have a fraction of that. I'm going to research 18th century dates.

Didn't hit my goal yesterday, but kids enjoyed the day. So its a trade off I'll take. Writing during breaks today so no real goal but still going at it.

Latina Bunny said:

After taking a long break, I ams deciding to keep continuing the WIPs I am having so far, especially the one with lesbian characters. (I still have the files on my flash drive.)

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Hey! Good to see you back, and congrats for getting back on the horse.

I stopped work on my space-related fantasy series two years ago to work on a family history. When completed, (hopefully in a couple of months' time) this history will only be available to direct family members. How can I revive interest in the fantasy series among the general public after such a long gap? Any suggestions?

Got the 18th Century Mimi and Joe rendezvous picnic partially mapped out.

• Copied and Pasted images of 18th Century picnics into my files
• Location: just inside the middle arch of my take on the Liverpool Castle Ruins. (I wanted to use Stonehenge, but alas it's too far away.)
• Downloaded a few sample picnic scenes just for a guide
• Completed menu--Mimi's treat
• Davy will drive them and leave

The only events that are firm:

1. Davy--Mimi's driver--is not happy about leaving he alone with Joe.
2. Joe recites Shakespeare's Sonnet 116
3. A watcher's in the trees

You know when you're writing and you're struggling? You go through stages? I'm at the screaming stage ._. I want to give up right now.

My fairy tale won't pass the Bechdal test.

NateSean said:

My fairy tale won't pass the Bechdal test.

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Is that a problem for you?

The Bechdel test is a useful tool, but like all tools, it isn't the end all, be-all, only tool you'll ever need. After all, Twilight technically passes the Bechdel test, but no one defends that movie as being particularly feminist. You might want to consider other tests regarding fictional female characters: the Mako Mori test or the Sexy Lamp test.

Got in over 2,200 words today, which is better than yesterday, since I got in just 1,700. I know I need to do a lot more work on this, but I'm pushing it through then hoping to work out the issues later (draft 1.... remember, this is just the first draft!).

I finished editing a chapter yesterday and I should be focusing on getting it ready for Kindle Direct Publishing... but I REALLY feel a horror idea coming up and I would really love to at least get basic plotting done before moving on. It's like a mess of horror and terror and red liquid and more horror (for good meassure) with only 15% of a plot. It would be neat if I could at least 45% plot before the end of the week.

I wrote a wonderful Halloween scene last night, and as I finished typing it up, I realized I'd have to cut it. I will wait to do that until the first draft is completed, though. I have a tendency to make massive cuts during the first draft, then whip through the second draft after making at least ten edits per each page. However, writing the scene helped immensely with characterization, but also made me wonder where the family really lived because ugh. N is indeed very close to her family, but closer to her dad than her mom, and that is okay. N's mom wants to assimilate--why? -Where- do they live and why?

And does old money really do this?! Okay, I did some research on old money, and they're Pacific Northwest old money, so a hundred years old at most. And--they're just people. They don't fit stereotypes that appear in media of old money: they're outdoorsy. They go crabbing, they swim in the ocean and eat fried foods on vacations sometimes, and on other vacations, they ride ATVs on enormous sand dunes. One of N's cousins has his heart set on winning a big competition. Stereotypes they do fit: uhm, ATVs are -expensive.- Going to another state for its sand dunes--expensive. The swimming in the ocean thing--they stay in relatively fancy hotels during. And stereotypes of where they live, that N's parents have staff ("Two or three?" A asks. N, aghast: "That is cruel and unusual punishment! Eight people is a -skeleton staff- for my family. How dare y--" "We are still getting to know each other.")

I got kind of carried away with this. Oh well, I am having fun writing it.

Emermouse said:

The Bechdel test is a useful tool, but like all tools, it isn't the end all, be-all, only tool you'll ever need. After all, Twilight technically passes the Bechdel test, but no one defends that movie as being particularly feminist. You might want to consider other tests regarding fictional female characters: the Mako Mori test or the Sexy Lamp test.

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Simpson17866 said:

Is that a problem for you?

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I was sweating it for a little while, until I remembered that Joss Whedon is one of the more celebrated feminist writers out there, yet entire episodes of his flagship work fail the same test.

Don't get me started on the superhero scripts.

Failing it doesn't make me a bad guy but I respect that it may cost me readers.