Strategery

A writing out night tonight and I'm eager for it. I plan to finish the edit on "The Spirits of Iceholm" and then do some outlining work on Trinket Box. Actual writing may be involved as well, as time allows.

I'm excited to try out my plan for Trinket Box. I love the story and the characters, but the plot is rather a handful and I'm finding it difficult to approach writing it when I don't have a clear idea of the story's overall layout. I don't want detailed scene by scene outlining, but I do need to know where everyone is and how to move them about this massive chessboard where the chesspieces come from different time periods, some as far back as 1500 years.

Tonight I'm going to work on the Trinket Box itself and where it has been throughout it's history, and then if time allows, the main character, Gus, and his outline, since the story mostly revolves around his plotline. Next in the line-up will be Kathleen, a singer cum nurse during WWI, Michel, a french artist in the 1790s, and then decide what other storylines to follow. I have two compelling tales set in Jerusalem with a good hundred years between them and another one set in Italy that I'm curious about but not entirely tied to. And the Charlemagne storyline. That one spans several hundred years. I'm not sure how much to show of it and how much to use as a reveal of one of the secondary character's research.

See. Handful. But a fun handful, rather like a bouquet of wildflowers I've spent the last year gathering. Now to sort out the weeds.

Writing A Bit

I got some writing in yesterday. Two pages, nothing strenuous, but moving forward is moving forward and I'm not complaining. Today I might try for another page and some editing, if my mind isn't goo after yard work this morning.

I'm realizing that I've been trying to write like I'm running in a 100 meter dash, but what I'm really on is a hiking trek. I want to enjoy to trek as much as complete it, because writing is fun and editing is fun and planning it all out is fun, but when I push myself to dash, it's not fun anymore. And why do it if it isn't fun?

Looking Forward

Good work tonight at Shari's, where we talked much story, did some writing, and ate pie. Pie always makes writing go down smoother, I think. Pie is good.

I didn't do actual writing, but I did reassess where I was at in my writing. Which means new list! And it looks a little like this:

Writing Projects:
Shorts--

• "A Fool's Errand"--final edit
• "The Spirits of Iceholm"--final edit
• "The Last"--big edit
• "The Wrong Side"--rough draft complete
• "The English Boy"--rough draft in process
• The Garden Story--rough draft in process
• The Dam Story--working idea

Novels--

• The 8th Day--complete nano rough
• The Inkwell Cult--one quarter rough
• Phantoms--complete nano rough
• The Mummy Case--one quarter rough
• The Trinket Box--complete nano rough

It's a nice list. I've quite pleased with it. Of course, now I have to do something with it. The shorts are working themselves out, so I'm not too concerned about them. I've opted to finish an edit, then work on finish a rough draft, then finish an edit, so I have lots of choices going forward.
The novels, however, are trickier, because they take far more time. So first I decided to concentrate only on a finished draft, which narrowed the list down to three. And then I decided that, yes, Trinket Box is still the one that most interests me, so I'll continue with it.

But then I stopped and let myself think about just how to continue with it. Rewrite blindly, with only the first nano-length draft to guide me? Or take time to do some prep work before writing again?

Prep work. I definitely need some guidance on this story to pull it off the way I know I want to pull it off.

So, another list!

The Trinket Box:

• Write out detail background on what the trinket box is and what guides it.
• Outline individual storylines in one page length.
• Timeline the trinket box's journey.
• Blend individual outlines with timeline.
• Create one outline for entire ms with scene breakdown.

This breaks the whole thing down into manageable chunks for me to deal with. Ideally, once I've finished all this, I'll know the story well enough, and have found most of the plot gaffs, to write a decent second draft. It's a good ideal. I rather like it. And it gives me time to do the research I need before getting back into the writing, so when the research doesn't work in my favor (like it didn't when I choose one of the time periods as Saladin retaking Jerusalem), I can salvage the storyline without having to do a lot of deleting and rewriting.

Excellent work tonight, for not actually writing, and fun conversation as well. I'm looking forward to another pie/writing night. Until then, I'm going to give it another shot at the library and hope my poor stoned body cooperates this time. So I'll aim for next Tuesday and this time I'll either get in some editing or some outlining, or both!

Laid Up

No writing out for me tonight, alas. I'm still laid up with Mr. Kidney Stone, an affair I wanted no part of. To pass the time between drug-fogs, I'm making my way through an Agatha Christie. She's brilliant. I just adore her stories. The characters are sharp, the settings are keen, and the plots ravel together nicely. And her use of language is wonderful. Tight, concise, and picturesque.

I'd like to be writing (if only to attempt even a quarter of Christie's skill), but the drugs don't allow for much in the way of coherency, and when I'm not drugged, such as now, I'm too uncomfortable to stay focused for longer than 30 seconds. Fine for blog posts. Not so much for plots.

Hopefully this will all be behind me Friday and I'll be able to make my write out then and get some good work in. And start thinking about writing out next week, when I'll only have time for one with the holiday coming up.

It's already a busy summer.

Music

Rather than nap (or write, actually), I spent an hour going through songs and changing my playlist. I imagine this will happen fairly often, which is probably a good thing.

I went with songs that inspire me to Think Story or Writing. Some of them inspire me to write either by driving me forward with their tunes and words, or beating me up with their pacing and verbal accusations. The other songs, when I hear them, I'm captured by the story they tell, and the music that drives them, and the poetry of their language. These are some of my favorites, though not all (I couldn't find some of my very favorites, like Garth Brooks' "Only the Night Will Know" and "In Lonesome Dove" or Alan Parsons Project "Doctor Tar and Professor Feather" and "The Cask of Amontillado" and Oingo Boingo's "No Spill Blood" and I could keep going on . . .).

I'm sure I'll find more to add to the list as I go through my music and listen to the radio, but here is a small sampling to get my creative juices boiling. And maybe yours too.

First Date

Tomorrow I'll be working outside the house on my first scheduled bi-weekly write-out. Write-out. That looks funny. I guess write-in might be more appropriate since I will be inside, but I'm going out to do it, so write-in isn't quite right. So, write-out.

I've heard from an old writing friend who I haven't seen for well over a year. She's interested in joining me, so I sent her the details. It'll be fun if she shows up tomorrow and we can catch each other up on our writing and what's been going on in our lives. And write, of course. Mustn't talk the whole evening away. Thar's writin' to be done!

Today I have my head wrapped around poetry. I'd like to be writing a poem a week, but I'm quite a few behind, so I'm stepping it up for the next couple of weeks and going for a poem every other day (though a poem a day would be awesome). I have Gremlin set up and ready for paper. It is good to be using the ole typewriter again. Poems lend themselves well to being typed. Easy to transcribe, nice to have all the room on the paper to move around, easier to read than my cramped handwriting.

I'm also toying with starting a new short story, just for giggles. I deserve a few giggles right now, especially given a couple of rough days (though the emergency room in the middle of the night is always an interesting place). Or I might just take a nap. Could go either way, frankly.

Brave New World

Well, I've done it. I've given myself permission to slow down.

Which isn't to say I'm taking nice, long breaths. Now the real work begins. I'm taking my own deadlines into my hands, and setting realistic ones will be the first challenge. Keeping them will be the second.

To help out, I've set aside two evenings a week to write away from home. I'm hoping some of my writing friends will join me, but the important thing is for me to stick to the schedule regardless and get some work done while I'm there.

First off, I'm going to be working with my current short story. It held up pretty well under critique, much better than I'd expected (and I came away with a better title, thanks!), but I have a lot of work to do on it before it is ready to leave the nest. And I'm realizing I won't be able to do what has become my typical 'dive into the text and fix what I read' technique. The issue at hand with this story is as much with the backstory plotting as it is the actual story plotting.

So that means some groundwork before I even get to working with the text. I'm drawing up a list of questions that I need to answer to make the plot and characters more cohesive. I'll use that to guide the prep work and then see where to go next.

It's a new technique for me to try, and I'm glad for the opportunity to give it a go. This really has been my learning year when it comes to fiction writing, and now that I realize it, I'm happily embracing it.

Which means the odd little Garden Story and the funky Daniel Boone tale are back on the line-up!

Since I want to take my time with the writing and editing, however, my submitting might be under cut. I'm hoping it won't be, so I'm still using it as a deadline setter, but if I'm not happy with the story as the deadline approaches, I'll have to readjust and miss it. I don't want to rush the learning experience just yet. I'd rather have only a couple of submissions this year and start next year with a heap of finished stories that I'm very happy with instead. And then submit my little heart out!

Chewing Nails

Tonight my latest short story gets raked over the co . . . er, critiqued. Yes, critiqued. Politely and without pain whatsoever.

I'm a bit nervous, simply because I put a lot of effort into the story to get it into its current draft. But it still feels like a draft and not a finished story, so I need the reader response to find out what I'm falling down on in plot and character development.

I think part of my nervousness comes from this being a very different piece for me. Though, with only a handful of completed stories, they do tend to feel completely different. But the voice is different and it's in first person, whereas my last two short stories were in third. There's an attempt at humor and a backstory nearly as big as the actual plot that I didn't detail out, only let it bleed through where necessary. So I'm not sure if I skipped over too much or not.

Lots of questions that at this point, only a reader (or letting the story sit around untouched for about six months to a year) can answer. So tonight is a Big Deal for this, my longest short story to date.

As a friend pointed out in the comments of her blog, I probably submitted this too soon, and she right. I'm pushing it with this one. My other two had been written and rewritten and edited over the course of a few years rather than a few months. So this makes it my newest story, too. But I think even if I waited and tried to find the flaws on my own, I'd still feel nervous, because it is a new piece. While the last story was newish, because I'd nearly rewritten it during the last edit, the bones of the plot and characters were still basically the same and they'd held up through a couple of years of sitting around. This one is my newborn, wailing to be cuddled. Not that I'm about to cuddle the thing. Discipline! A firm hand! That's what's needed with these new stories today!

But still nervous. I really would like it to hold up under pressure. I guess we'll see, as I sit here now, counting the hours to the meeting. Six more to go . . . five and three-quarters . . .

Thinking About Edits

I have editing on the brain, since I just finished a big one. I have two smaller ones gnawing at me, and my novel rewrite that I'm considering outlining per Chad's list-like method (and anyone who knows me knows how I love lists!).

But I've also been thinking about when not to edit.

Every story I've completed so far this year, I've sent out. The first came back a quiet 'no' and was sent out again. This time with an informative 'no' that included why it didn't quite work. Which got me to thinking about how to correct that issue with the story, one I suspected was there but hadn't figured out how to fix. Now I firmly believe that this issue needs fixing before I send it out again for the story to have a better chance of finding a home.

The second story received an awesome 'we like this' though it wasn't quite a 'yes.' I walked on cloud nine a few days, then started to consider why it didn't make it the final leap to 'yes.' I believe I now know why, so before it goes back out, I want to do one more fix to it.

My third story was written specifically for a contest that fell into limbo. I'm considering posting it here just so it gets some sunlight (and I find it rather cute).

My point: I could easily see how all of my stories could return with 'no' and go under the editing knife again. Only I know what would eventually happen. The Cat Lady. I'm sure she meant just as well as I do. But there comes a point when enough is too much.

So I am setting an editing cap. Once I send a story out, it gets only one edit afterwards, so I have to make it count. I have to have that story exactly where I want it and be satisfied with it, so from then on it goes out, and if it comes back, it goes right back out again.

I like this idea. It will satisfy my need to polish just one more time, and it will allow me the freedom to just keep sending stories out.

It is very nice to have more than one story to do that with, now. With this third (non-contest) story finished, I actually have a string of stories!

Now to find the time to finish those two other edits.

Done

My short story, "Telling It True," is complete at last! And sporting a shiny new name: "The Last Super-Hero." And has been sent off to INK for critique.

Fingers crossed that it won't get too badly shredded.

Though tonight I'm just breathing relief to have it finished. Now I can pick up again on Trinket Box and the Garden Story. And I have a new short story idea rattling about my head that, oddly enough, has Daniel Boone as a character. If I can figure out how to make it work.

But that's for tomorrow. Tonight, I'm done. Done done done!

Onward

I met up with a friend last Friday night and we got in several hours of writing time (along with chatting time). It was great to talk story again, and get some suggestions on places where I was stuck on characterization and plot and to give suggestions in return. Especially in a non-critique format, since lately the only time I've been able to talk story has been at critique sessions. Not knocking those times, but it is good to have the informal time, too.

I love brainstorming sessions, and much of what INK does is brainstorming, but as it comes after a critique, sometimes my mind is still smarting from the critiques and not as fully engaged in brainstorming. Plus it was nice to jump from one story to the next, which we don't have as much opportunity to do with INK. Maybe that would be something to consider adding to our meetings? A chance to just talk story and hear about what folks are working on and any walls they've run into and voice suggestions?

Along with the brain-storming, though, I got solid work done on editing my short story, "Telling It True." When I got home, I did several more hours work, trying to make the INK deadline for submitting, but about ten minutes to midnight, my protag had an Aha! moment that necessitated a brand new scene. Editing at midnight I can do. Writing new scenes? Not so much. So I threw in the towel, emailed mea culpas to INK, and got permission for a late submission.

Which I meant to do yesterday, but finishing the paint job in the bathroom while keeping up with a sick child took most of my day.

Today, though, the bathroom is white! The child is better! And I've a story to finish!

Back in the Saddle Again

Nine pages today. Mostly transcribed, but with some editing and writing along with planning for the Big Edit tomorrow. It felt very good and I'm surprised how enthused I am about this short story again. I'm enjoying the characters and finding ways to bring out my favorite ones.

The transcribing is fun, too, for all the tedium. I enjoy seeing how fast I can type in a page. I didn't clock myself, exactly, but just let my fingers fly. Only one other short story to transcribe after this one, and it's part way done.

Tomorrow I'm meeting an INKer for some writing time at a local haunt. It'll be good to get the time in. I really need the outside push, too, if I'm going to make the two deadlines I have looming, one of them tomorrow at midnight! Still a few weeks on the second, but those weeks sure go by fast!

Projections

The only writing news I have is projected news. Look, up in the sky! It's a, a, writing date!

This week has been filled with recouping from the camping excursion (re: lots of laundry and still smoky-smelling hair) and planning for my yard sale. Lots of planning and arranging and pricing and sign-making for my yard sale, all the while sending BIG BIG thoughts to the universe about sending me at least a partially dry day to hold it. So, while writing has been in my thoughts, it's not been an act of my fingertips.

Next week, that all changes.

Not only do I desperately need to finish editing a story to submit to the next INK meeting (deadline is next Friday), but I have also set a date to get together for writing with one of my fellow writers (hi, Cheri!). We both decided we needed time away from our respective living quarters in which to write and commune and commiserate. So, next Friday it is. As I'll hopefully have my short story finished and emailed by then, I'll be working on my novel, The Trinket Box.

I'm giving thought of getting out of the house at least once a week for writing time, though it is harder to do on my own. I'd love to make the Fireside Lounge writing times that C.S. keeps raving about. One of these days, I'm going to just bite the bullet and go, no matter that I'll be running a bit late. Maybe I should just declare that I'm going to go, drat it anyway, next Tuesday, since next week is the week of writing.

Huh. That's not a bad idea. I'll have to run that past C.S. Because I'd need directions. And introductions. Those other writers there don't know me from Bob, whoever Bob is.

Otherwise, my plan is to get my lazy hiney out of bed an hour early (read: an hour before anyone else in this household gets up) and spend it writing, just like I am know.

Drat! I could have been working on a story! And I'm what? Blogging?

No, no, it's okay. As soon as I'm signed off, I've got to get dressed and go set up the signs of the yard sale.

No writing today.

But I will have my two short stories outside with me for editing during lag times. I've gotten them printed off and everything! Go me!