Me, Checking In...
I'm soul-tired.
This semester has been quick but very rough, giving me the feeling of having been waylaid by some large, cheap hookers. I've accomplished little, taught in a very bare-bones fashion, and haven't done much in the writing or home-repair department.
I did buy a couple of books and have learned a lot about improving as a web designer, but I've got a long way to go in that department.
One thing I did learn is that I don't do enough with my music. I've picked up the guitar again, and have looked for times to practice. Not sure when I'm going to fit all of this in, but music, design, writing and teaching have all got to coexist, because they have all become an inextricable part of my soul. I say we lobby the universe for an extra six hours to the day, without the accompanying requirement for silly things like extra sleep. Couldn't we all use that?
Writing
Just lately, the last week or so, I've been in high gear mode in the writing department. I've averaged some three to five hundred words a night, which is not bad for me, holding down two jobs and a teaching gig. My characters have started to come to life and rebel against the outline -- meaning my despotic plans for their fates. One character, a throwaway character I was going to use to transmit information to the reader, stood up and said, "No, sweetie. I'm going to be a recurring character and show up in any sequels you do to this one, too. So there."
I don't have huge problem with this -- I've always treated outlines as a direction to be kicked in. But it's more than just self-will. It's as though my characters remember the clues I've layered in better than I do. As I was writing last night, one of them made reference to something I'd talked about 70 pages prior and wnly vaguely remembered. Here's to them -- smarter than me.
So I don't know when I'll be finished with this thing, but since I've got some slow time coming up, my goal is an additional 10,000 words by the time school starts again in mid-January, which will put me at the halfway mark. As it stands right now, I sit nicely at 33,000 words, and I've got the next two scenes boiling and ready to be written. Here's the graphic:
33,000 / 85,000
(38.8%)
So I'm going to be writing and grading papers all weekend. Apart from that, I am so ready for it. I need sleep.
This semester has been quick but very rough, giving me the feeling of having been waylaid by some large, cheap hookers. I've accomplished little, taught in a very bare-bones fashion, and haven't done much in the writing or home-repair department.
I did buy a couple of books and have learned a lot about improving as a web designer, but I've got a long way to go in that department.
One thing I did learn is that I don't do enough with my music. I've picked up the guitar again, and have looked for times to practice. Not sure when I'm going to fit all of this in, but music, design, writing and teaching have all got to coexist, because they have all become an inextricable part of my soul. I say we lobby the universe for an extra six hours to the day, without the accompanying requirement for silly things like extra sleep. Couldn't we all use that?
Writing
Just lately, the last week or so, I've been in high gear mode in the writing department. I've averaged some three to five hundred words a night, which is not bad for me, holding down two jobs and a teaching gig. My characters have started to come to life and rebel against the outline -- meaning my despotic plans for their fates. One character, a throwaway character I was going to use to transmit information to the reader, stood up and said, "No, sweetie. I'm going to be a recurring character and show up in any sequels you do to this one, too. So there."
I don't have huge problem with this -- I've always treated outlines as a direction to be kicked in. But it's more than just self-will. It's as though my characters remember the clues I've layered in better than I do. As I was writing last night, one of them made reference to something I'd talked about 70 pages prior and wnly vaguely remembered. Here's to them -- smarter than me.
So I don't know when I'll be finished with this thing, but since I've got some slow time coming up, my goal is an additional 10,000 words by the time school starts again in mid-January, which will put me at the halfway mark. As it stands right now, I sit nicely at 33,000 words, and I've got the next two scenes boiling and ready to be written. Here's the graphic:
33,000 / 85,000
(38.8%)
So I'm going to be writing and grading papers all weekend. Apart from that, I am so ready for it. I need sleep.