4 posts tagged “progress”

I'm at 17,720 as of this moment.  Behind, but not a bad place to be. 

I've gotten to the point where I'm about as far as I can go with my set of characters as they are now, knowing who they are and what they know thus far.  There is much revision work to do, but I need to explore the why's behind my shapeshifter, who is at this point a means to an end, the alchemist who is hardly a thought and how they fit together, because they do.  The map is all part of it and the witch is fitting herself in only where she needs to.  I feel like I have too many characters, but I don't want to explore them too deeply; I don't want there to be neat little answers to all questions.  I admit that I have one stupidly flat character and don't know how to fix her - especially since she is the reason behind some of the mundane events that lead to extraordinary things happening to the MC.

Tomorrow I need to start on the part of the journey that happens before all the characters get together and what happens after the MC has her big life altering event.  She still has a journey to make to find her child, discover the reason her home is slipping out of time, oh and figure out either why she has been turned into an old woman or how to turn herself back.  In there somewhere I have to decide what the shapeshifter's ultimate role is and what the MC has to come home to.  See, I'm still figuring things out.

Using this blog to write out these little summeries and what ifs is feeling very helpful.  It's almost decompressing after sitting to write.  Now if only I could figure out how to get my brain to utilize the space for thinking ahead...

Words written Tuesday = 0.  Corset patterns contemplated = 2.

Wednesday I remembered a fragment of an idea I had written down somewhere and my brain insisted that I find it before writing a single word in my story.  I ended up reading several short pieces I had written before.  They are pretty good.  They made me remember that I can indeed write well.  What I am doing now is crap.  The only problem is that I don’t think I can write to the quality of the short pieces at the volume I’ve been writing my story.  I need to remember that things take effort to turn out well. 

I need to think about maps: old maps, treasure maps, maps of hidden things.  Who makes these maps?  What are they made out of?  Why do people hide things in the first place?  Why make a map to something that you don’t want anyone to find?  I’m at a point where a couple things need to tie in together and I’m going to have to actually WORK it out; it’s not something that is just going to come.

Today  (Thurs) I thought up a way to connect a bunch of things (and in doing so discovered somethingelse I need to research - Alchemy - and will probably mean a new, fairly important character).  I also discovered a second new character who just walked onto my page and made himself at home.  He happens to provide part of the reason my MC will choose a certain path later, and I didn’t even know it until I met him.

I’m at 13,742 (so only one day behind now) and have at least another 1000 words or so in my notes doc that will probably get pasted in the story once I figure out where they go.

Ha!  Excellent progress, but considering that I didn't go to work today... (Jack-in-the-box is NOT food and I WILL NEVER CONSUME IT AGAIN).

Story is progressing, fleshing out a bit.  One or two answers, leading to more questions.  Accidentally started another story that has nothing to do with this one, oops.  Still no LIFE in the thing.  There are a couple real moments.  I think you can tell what is based on something real and where I am faking.  Need to work on that.  I've got a few things in mind, but somehow blasting down all the words and basic scenes I can first seems to be working pretty well.  Nothing wrong with seeing the flaws right off the bat.

Hopefully this works: