Summerwrite Update
So far this weekend, my writing has gone really well.
Wordcount for Friday, May 30: 1872
Wordcount for Saturday, May 31: 1754
So, now I'm up to 17,011 words total (on two projects, one of which I haven't touched for about 9,000 words now). I'm on a roll! Mostly because I am writing all the fun bits on my second project, all the bits that are already clear in my head and pivotal, and skipping over everything else. I will have the write the "everything else" bits eventually, and I will have to return to my first project at some point when I've decided what the hell I'm doing with the pantheon of gods I've created and my foxy trickster hero (whom I love, by the way -- I wish I could get him and his capricious god to work with the rest of my story -- why are you guys so difficult? did I put you in the wrong world or something? have I written myself into a plot corner?). But for right now, I'm actually feeling pretty good about my writing; it could definitely be better, stylistically, but since the goal of this is to get a first draft down, I'm just forging ahead without worrying over every little word. Usually I find this hard to do, but I think the fun, just-to-get-it-out-and-see-what-happens aspect of the second project is helping. I guess I feel more seriously about the first project, and have more background work invested into it, and no matter what I can't quite get it right, the way it feels in my head when I think about what I want it to be. You know? But the second project is just pure fun. Not that I think it's a bad idea for a story, by any means, but it is kinda . . . uh, well, I guess I could say it's an exercise in self-indulgence (to bring up a topic that the OWW e-mail listserv has been discussing for a few days now). One of those stories that I've day-dreamed for years without actually considering it something to write down.
Writing it down is kind of fun. And hey, maybe it'll become something to revise. I don't think it's a waste of my time, though, since by writing I am at least getting some practice. For example, I tend to forget to describe things, like people or settings, in favor of internal musing and dialog. This is because I'm not sure how to put in descriptions when I'm writing in tight third person, so I'm experimenting with different ways of doing this, and re-reading it later to see if it worked or if it sucked. Reading Shadow Unit episodes has helped me with this, too (I highly endorse Shadow Unit; even though its first season is ending, it's worth it to go read everything and catch up now), since the narrative is tight third person (or, at least, I think it is) but varies between several different characters.
Anyway, considering I also cleaned the bathroom, the kitchen, did some packing, and spent several hours this morning reading Get Backers fan fiction, I am feeling pretty productive. (Others, beware the time-suckingness of fan fiction! I am going through a little obsessed Get Backers thing right now, since I just finished watching the anime.) Except that I have two Booklist reviews due June 3, and I'm only finished with one of the books (Havemercy, by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett, which I enjoyed very much). The other, I'm not so into. But I must slog through it and hope it gets better. And I must do it quickly, since it's almost June 1 right now. And I must finish my library books from my high school library so that I can return them before school is out. Currently, that is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, which is marvelously written like all of his books but also curiously more depressing, so I'm having a hard time finishing it now that I've gotten to the really hard stuff. Maybe moving and looking for a new job is not the time for sad books, I dunno. I told
checkers65477 that I would let her know when I finished the darn book, and now I think I might take too long. Sorry! Maybe we are running into the same problem. (c:
Wordcount for Friday, May 30: 1872
Wordcount for Saturday, May 31: 1754
So, now I'm up to 17,011 words total (on two projects, one of which I haven't touched for about 9,000 words now). I'm on a roll! Mostly because I am writing all the fun bits on my second project, all the bits that are already clear in my head and pivotal, and skipping over everything else. I will have the write the "everything else" bits eventually, and I will have to return to my first project at some point when I've decided what the hell I'm doing with the pantheon of gods I've created and my foxy trickster hero (whom I love, by the way -- I wish I could get him and his capricious god to work with the rest of my story -- why are you guys so difficult? did I put you in the wrong world or something? have I written myself into a plot corner?). But for right now, I'm actually feeling pretty good about my writing; it could definitely be better, stylistically, but since the goal of this is to get a first draft down, I'm just forging ahead without worrying over every little word. Usually I find this hard to do, but I think the fun, just-to-get-it-out-and-see-what-happens aspect of the second project is helping. I guess I feel more seriously about the first project, and have more background work invested into it, and no matter what I can't quite get it right, the way it feels in my head when I think about what I want it to be. You know? But the second project is just pure fun. Not that I think it's a bad idea for a story, by any means, but it is kinda . . . uh, well, I guess I could say it's an exercise in self-indulgence (to bring up a topic that the OWW e-mail listserv has been discussing for a few days now). One of those stories that I've day-dreamed for years without actually considering it something to write down.
Writing it down is kind of fun. And hey, maybe it'll become something to revise. I don't think it's a waste of my time, though, since by writing I am at least getting some practice. For example, I tend to forget to describe things, like people or settings, in favor of internal musing and dialog. This is because I'm not sure how to put in descriptions when I'm writing in tight third person, so I'm experimenting with different ways of doing this, and re-reading it later to see if it worked or if it sucked. Reading Shadow Unit episodes has helped me with this, too (I highly endorse Shadow Unit; even though its first season is ending, it's worth it to go read everything and catch up now), since the narrative is tight third person (or, at least, I think it is) but varies between several different characters.
Anyway, considering I also cleaned the bathroom, the kitchen, did some packing, and spent several hours this morning reading Get Backers fan fiction, I am feeling pretty productive. (Others, beware the time-suckingness of fan fiction! I am going through a little obsessed Get Backers thing right now, since I just finished watching the anime.) Except that I have two Booklist reviews due June 3, and I'm only finished with one of the books (Havemercy, by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett, which I enjoyed very much). The other, I'm not so into. But I must slog through it and hope it gets better. And I must do it quickly, since it's almost June 1 right now. And I must finish my library books from my high school library so that I can return them before school is out. Currently, that is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, which is marvelously written like all of his books but also curiously more depressing, so I'm having a hard time finishing it now that I've gotten to the really hard stuff. Maybe moving and looking for a new job is not the time for sad books, I dunno. I told
checkers65477 that I would let her know when I finished the darn book, and now I think I might take too long. Sorry! Maybe we are running into the same problem. (c: