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[personal profile] velvetpage
I don't think I have anything big to say, but Elizabeth is playing happily in her room with her Noah's Ark, and I really want to encourage indpendent play, so I don't want to stop her. Also, I have no energy for much else.

I wrote twenty-five hundred words today, in spite of the slow start. I've decided to break the book up into roughly ten-thousand-word documents, because it makes it easier to find a spot where I want to add or subtract something. I now have two of those completed. Six thousand words of that is in the last two days. That's not too shabby, actually. More importantly, it's mostly pretty good. Cir needs more development in the beginning, but he acts consistently for his character throughout, and Pona's never been a problem that way - she does what I want her to. My favourite scenes are the Amaia ones, though. Villians are fun to write.

Elizabeth has been reading books, told stories, or played in bigger-kid games recently that involve capturing people and putting them in ovens. I know this, because she's looping one of my necklaces around her feet and saying, "I capture you and put you in the oven!" I think she's talking to her toes. Fess up, Oma. Have you been reading her Hansel and Gretel? :)

We now know the first three letters of "The A says ah." I decided that for the time being, "c" will only say "ck". We'll get to alternate phonics later. For now, I want her to recognize her letters and associate them with sounds.

I was a bad mommy today. I took Elizabeth to the park, and spaz that I am, I forgot to put sunscreen on either one of us or take bottled water. WE came home very thirsty, and I think she might be a bit pink. I'm hopeful that it's only a bit, though. We didn't stay too long, and she was not a happy camper. In any case, there were big kids everywhere, playing a bit rough, and I was nervous around them. I know exactly how rough big kids can be away from adult supervision, and I didn't want Elizabeth caught in the middle, so we left.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-20 10:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bootler.livejournal.com
Jeebus, man, you're a machine! I've always been seriously impressed with people who are able to set word goals for themselves and then sit and meet them. Tell me your writing secrets!

Also, I think I'm actually going to try a short story for that magazine. Been playing with some ideas and have a rough outline. Wish me luck!

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-20 11:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] velvetpage.livejournal.com
I've never been able to do it before - at least, not before last winter. I think the difference now is that I'm treating my writing like a potentially viable job. It is not just a hobby for me anymore - it's what I want to do as a career, and therefore, it needs to be taken seriously. In a regular workday, I make a "to do" list and stick to it at least somewhat, accomplishing as many of the things that are on it as I can before the time I set for myself to go home. I treat my writing the same way - I have an overall plan, I have support documents at hand, and I have a goal for the summer and a rougher goal for each day that I write.

Good luck! If you want an editor, let me know.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-21 03:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bootler.livejournal.com
Thanks man! I might just take you up on that.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-20 11:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rikoshi.livejournal.com
Looks like you and I both have been bitten by the writing bug! My goal is to finish my current short story today, if I can, but I'm not going to force it if the words don't want to flow naturally.

(no subject)

Date: 2005-07-20 11:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] velvetpage.livejournal.com
I've gone through the "I won't force it" phase, and what I found was that if I didn't force it, nothing got done, so I had to change my tack a bit. Now, I have a few tricks for making things flow.

The first is to try a different scene. The fight scene wasn't working for me today, so I wrote a totally different insert-scene for the first part of the book - a romantic interlude scene. It got the ideas moving, and I went on to write the fight scene later in the day.

The second is a different medium. If I'm getting stuck at the computer, writing and rewriting the same paragraph because I can't think what comes next, I'll sit down with paper and pen and do it by hand. Maybe I'll take it to the porch for a change of scene. I can usually get around a bit of writer's block.

The third is to return to a certain motivation. Often, the scene won't come clear because I'm trying to be too expository. The first rule of good writing is show, don't tell. If the scene's not working, it's sometimes because you're caught up in the plot and can't figure out how to show what's happening without telling. I get around this by changing the setting of the scene, or adding a new character into it. I'm good at writing conversation, so I find an unrelated topic for my characters to talk about - something that develops setting and intrigue, but not necessarily plot or character - and use it to jumpstart the scene. I used that technique today, too.

And the last technique? If it's boring you to write it, it will probably bore your readers, too. Mix it up. Throw in a flashback scene. Shift to the villian's perspective, or a minor character's perspective.

All of this is harder when working on a short story, of course, because there are fewer scenes and fewer changes of perspective. Still, some of it's doable.

Not meaning to sound preachy. . . just sharing what works for me.

nice to read an update

Date: 2005-07-20 11:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bamusical.livejournal.com
I think the heat sucks the energy from us. Don't you? Heat and humidity.
Glad to read that Elizabeth is doing well and that her imagination has not slowed its pace.

Re: nice to read an update

Date: 2005-07-21 12:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] velvetpage.livejournal.com
I'd been feeling like that all week, but the haze and humidity are gone so today should have been better. It wasn't, though, especially the afternoon. I need to get out of the house tomorrow for several hours - go to the mall, maybe, or to my mother's house to swim. I'm starting to get closed-in, and while a week or two of that was a needed break from the frenetic pace of the school year, it's time now to pull myself out of it.

swimming

Date: 2005-07-21 12:10 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bamusical.livejournal.com
sounds like the perfect solution...great exercise too!

Re: swimming

Date: 2005-07-21 12:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] velvetpage.livejournal.com
It depends on my mother being up and available, though, because I don't like to swim alone with Elizabeth in the pool. She works nights, so that's sometimes problematic.

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