Category: writing Page 9 of 11

And another lesson re-learned today: Don’t write with the TV on.

I have run into this issue before where I want to be part of the family happenings, but need to get some words written, so I figure I can just sit on the couch and do my thing with Life Happening around me. Often I can get so focused on writing that I block out what’s around me.

Apparently not so much when the TV is on. And especially not so much when you now have a bunch of new TV channels* that come in very nicely because your Dear One installed a TV antenna on the roof, so of course you have to go through all the channels seeing what you have that’s new.**

Note to self: When writing, do so in solitude. Or a coffee shop. (Not much difference there, really.)

The story is moving ever so slowly forward, as evidenced by writing 1420 words in 50 minutes (about my slowest pace to date—see note about the TV). But now that we have Changed the World for our heroine (i.e. turned everything she thought she knew on its head), we can start moving toward the Great*** and Final Ending. Whatever that will be.

Writing sessions today:

50″ – 1420 words

Total novel writing time so far: 995 minutes (16 hours 35 minutes)

Total novel word count so far: 27590 words

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*We don’t have cable television, so everything is over-the-air broadcast and has been limited by what reception we could get through wet tree leaves. Which is to say, we only had about seven channels that occasionally came in.

**Which in our house means syndicated reruns of Roger Moore in “The Saint,” Bill Bixby in “The Incredible Hulk,” and Lynda Carter in “Wonder Woman,” with the occasional “Love Boat” and “The A-Team” thrown in for good measure. Gotta love the 80’s (and 70’s and 60’s).

***Well, “Great” in terms of it being the Big/Significant ending. Not that the writing will be great. That I sorely doubt.

We’re approaching the midway point, so it’s time in the story to reveal information that will Change Everything for our heroine. That brother I didn’t have planned (just the three sisters initially in the family)? Yeah, he is now going to play a major role. And in the process of trying to figure him/story out, I learned some further details about his and Maddy’s relationship (ever have a closer relationship to one family member than another? something similar to that). And with near-death experiences, people’s motives can certainly change . . .

Fewer words today (1596), but Life Happened, so I am grateful for the words I did get. Having now crossed the halfway point, it’s all downhill from here. Theoretically.

Writing sessions today:

25″ – 1096 words

20″ – 470 words (in longhand – takes longer than typing)

5″ – 30 words (in longhand, again)

Total novel writing time so far: 945 minutes (15 hours 45 minutes)

Total novel word count so far: 26170 words

The story is continuing along. I’m still having the initial issues of putting butt in chair and writing, but I’m also finding that if I have a plan for the writing session (500 words = characters do this, 500 words = characters do that), then it’s much easier and less scary to write.

There’s probably a life lesson in there. <sigh>

Wrote close to 2000 words in close to an hour. A slightly slower pace than of late, but still respectable. I wasn’t sure about the details of the Super Secret Weapon (and still am not sure), but the fuel source is certainly clearer and the ramifications quite startling. What will our heroes do? Again, I have no idea. Okay, I do, but it’s along the lines of “attack Big Bad, suffer major setback”. I guess some details might be good.

Writing sessions today:

40″ – 1050 words

25″ – 926 words PANTS ON FIRE!

Total novel writing time so far: 895 minutes (14 hours 55 minutes)

Total novel word count so far: 24574 words

One of the lessons I keep re-learning with writing is that you can’t force it. Muse will not be made to do anything. She will dig in her heels, bare her teeth, and flail her arms like the Tasmanian Devil if you try to make her do anything.

Now, if you give her gentle direction and let her play . . . well, then you might be on to something.

Even better is if you combine that gentle Muse guidance while embracing serendipity.

[If you have any interest in the creative process, or story details, keep reading.
Otherwise, skip it and know that I apparently lack any knowledge of Western World History pre-WWII.]

Case in point: I just finished reading War and Peace (it only took five months—thank goodness for the Kindle), and Tolstoy spends a fair chunk of time writing about why the French army, after invading Russia and occupying Moscow, up and decides to leave*. Sure, one could argue various theories, but I have another one: what if the Menace** had invaded Moscow and the French were fleeing it?

Then with some poking into Wikipedia, I find out that the British army was running about the world during that same time period, including the Caribbean, India, South Africa, China, and Egypt. Oh, and the Ottoman Empire was also trying to rule the world, and was facing in the 1820’s a Greek War of Independence while the Empire was occupying the Balkans*** .

And the previous day I had just set Crete as the location of the Menace’s secret weapons base without knowing any of this.

Hmmm . . . So I look up information on Crete (all I knew was that it was a Greek island that was situated perfectly between Egypt and Greece). Did you know the Venetians had occupied Crete between the 13th-17th centuries? Oh, and they  built massive shipyards and large warehouses there?

And the name of my novel is “The Vacant Ships”. I hadn’t quite figured out what ‘ships’ or how they were ‘vacant’ and what any of that meant.

Hmmm . . .

So, yeah. Serendipity. It’s a wonderful thing.

Writing sessions today:

20″ – 518 words

20″ – 536 words

35″ – 1099 words

Total novel writing time so far: 830 minutes (13 hours 50 minutes)

Total novel word count so far: 22598 words

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*Mind you, my knowledge of World History is generally only in relation to Japanese history. If Japan wasn’t involved, I probably don’t know much about it. So pardon my ignorance on events like the Napoleonic Wars, but feel free to ask me about matrilineal politics in 10th century Japan.

**The Menace are the Big Bad of my Nano novel. Think mystical Chinese army run by an ambitious Emperor bent on world domination.

***AKA Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, small parts of Italy. This was news to me, but see my first comment above. I am much more familiar with Asia.

I wasn’t sure how today would go since yesterday went so well. Would the creative well have dried up? After all, I nearly doubled my word count in one day, so I could understand if Muse collapsed and said she just wanted to eat bonbons and watch Property Brothers.

But no!

Wrote 2091 words today in about an hour, and the story is continuing to chug happily along. Top tip: arguing couples (especially when they are two stubborn determined individuals) are great for advancing conflict on multiple levels (interpersonal & story-wise). And they are a heck of a lot of fun to write.

Surprises today: the Captain let his guard down and told Maddy (to a certain extent) what is going on and what the stakes are. Oh, and in the process of preparing for the stealthy recon mission, Maddy got a crossbow! Muse is rather tickled about this. Hopefully I’ll remember that Maddy has the crossbow, and not see it just disappear mid-story*.

Writing sessions today:

30″ – 1044 words

25″ – 1047 words

Total novel writing time so far: 755 minutes (12 hours 35 minutes)

Total novel word count so far: 20445 words

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*This happens rather frequently with first drafts. Along with changing main characters’ names and eye colors, dropping minor storylines, losing characters (not killing them, mind you—just losing them from the page), and forgetting what genre the story was supposed to be. All of which I have inadvertantly done in various novels. Which is why rewriting novels is a Good Thing.

Ah ha! So perhaps having more structure is a Good Thing. Wrote 7316 words in 4 hours and was NOT completely wiped at the end of it. Got 3000 words in and took a time out to reassess all the metaphorical balls I have in play. Turns out there are ten (a mysterious stone, a presumably dead brother, missing agents, a secret weapon, etc.), so lots to play with story- and conflict-wise. Muse is quite delighted.

Discovered that Maddy needed a confidant/BFF/sidekick because the poor lass has absolutely no one to share her worries and hopes with, and voila! A new, and rather obnoxiously cocky, character appeared. I think he and Maddy will get along famously, once they can sort out their egos.

Writing sessions today:

20″ – 568 words

20″ – 552 words

25″ – 541 words

50″ – 1400 words

20″ – 562 words

20″ – 609 words

20″ – 704 words

45″ – 1714 words

20″ – 666 words

Total novel writing time so far: 700 minutes (11 hours 40 minutes)

Total novel word count so far: 18354 words

 

Day 6.5

So apparently the structure I created was still too lean. Spent what was planned to be a Catch Up Day (i.e. writing 7000 words) instead on developing a more fleshed out structure for the novel. Now I have a 7-point one-primary story outline, with two sub-plots that weave in. That only took, oh, about 6 hours, while viewing Pride and Prejudice (yes, the one with Colin Firth and his wet shirt) for inspiration.

Now that I have a much stronger foundation to work from, writing should go faster.

Day 7

Wrote 452 words in 15 minutes. Meh. I was planning/hoping to get more words in today, but alas, the day did not quite allow for it. And honestly, I don’t really remember what I wrote. It will most likely get scrapped in revision. <sigh>

In the meantime, check out John Scalzi’s The Dispatcher, narrated by Zachary Quinto. It’s not Regency or Steampunk, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Writing sessions today:

15″ – 452 words

Total novel writing time so far: 475 minutes (7 hours 55 minutes)

Total novel word count so far: 11034 words

Felt like the story was starting to drag, mostly because I didn’t know where it was going. Reread Rachel Bach’s excellent post on how to write faster (hint: know what you’re trying to write!). Took some time to figure out a little structure (like what was the point of the scene I was writing besides fulfilling word count). Worked out a few key characteristics for Maddy (what is so special about her?) and the Captain (why is he so non-communicative? what are his goals?). So with that and a couple beats to hit in the scene, I wrote 2084 words in 85 minutes. Still feeling like I need more structure, but it has to be somewhat loose since 1) my Muse often takes issue (i.e. stops talking to me) if the story is completely mapped out ahead of time, and 2) it leaves room for serendipity (i.e. Muse starts chattering away at me).

Writing sessions today:

25″ – 719 words

20″ – 544 words

25″ – 478 words

10″ – 243 words

5″ – 100 words

Total novel writing time so far: 460 minutes (7 hours 40 minutes)*

Total novel word count so far: 10582 words (broke the 10,000 mark! Hurrah!)

*Apparently when I’m writing a novel, numbers won’t add correctly. I’ll correct Day 5’s numbers accordingly. Gak.

Day 4.5

Hit an impasse where I felt like I needed to flesh out the story world, and hopefully get a sense of where the story could/should go. Spent two hours researching Regency era history and fashion, Napoleonic wars, British empire boundaries, steampunk, Industrial Revolution, analogue computers, lighter-than-air airships, Chinese Qing dynasty history, and Five Element Theory. It’s all good, but I needed some time to let the information distill, so I took the night off. Besides, there was serious distraction provided by the US election results.

Day 5

Wrote 2079 words, now that I have a better idea of how the story world works (or could work). Did some research on Regency era weddings, found some mistakes I made (they were morning ceremonies, solemn, with only family and close friends attending—guess I’ve seen too many Hollywood movies), then continued on with the story. Picked up Maddy at the altar, got her to the wedding breakfast (which is historically accurate!), then a mysterious person gave her an unseen object as she went to leave with her new husband. I have no idea what the object is, but that is something to deal with on another day. Now on to Chapter Four.

Writing sessions today:

20″ – 509 words

30″ – 863 words

35″ – 707 words

Total writing time: 375* 680 minutes (6 hours 15 minutes)

Total word count: 8488 words

*Corrected since the Muse insisted on the wrong number to begin with. I really wish she’d focus more on the story.

Day 3.5

Inputted the writing I did on Day 3 (about half of it was in longhand), and did some searching for potential actors to fulfill key roles in the novel. It’s harder than you would think to find actors that fit the age, physical description, and demeanor that you imagine for your characters. Tom Selleck would be a fantastic Captain Nathaniel Wright (tall, dark, handsome, can be stern and cheeky), if he were younger. And alas 1980’s Magnum PI isn’t quite the right personality needed (drat!).

Day 4

Back into the saddle after taking the weekend off. Wrote 2229 words today, finishing chapter 2 and starting chapter 3. I had in mind a rough idea for the Captain’s (i.e. fiance’s) best friend (Phineas, aka Phin), but was surprised at how he just showed up in the scene and started taking over (his joviality is a fun contrast to the fiance’s reserve). Got our characters from the ball to the church, with Maddy walking down the aisle despite serious misgivings. I left her at the altar (that doesn’t sound quite right), and will pick up with her there tomorrow.

Writing sessions today:

15″ – 333 words

20″ – 521 words

10″ – 244 words

20″ – 510 words

30″ – 631 words

Total writing time: 295 minutes (4 hours 55 minutes)

Total word count: 6409 words