Wordcount, plus bonus characterization musings...
672 words today, plus a bunch of editing. I'm not sure what the total word count is, because I separated the prologue from the first chapter to stop myself from obsessively rereading it. The first scene of the chapter is done, though. It helped that Sam's personality finally decided to join in on the fun, two weeks after I first started to write her into this scene. Also, I had one of those lovely revelations today where I realized how I could solve one reservation I was having about a (pivotal) plot/characterization issue by giving it another layer, which simultaneously tied it in better with the subplot. Don't you love it when those sorts of things just come to you?
Oh, and an observation, from my brief, brief time writing in this fandom. I think a lot of the poorly written Vala out there stems from people failing to realize that she actually has quite the extensive vocabulary, and can be quite eloquent even while she's being so sarcastic. Its why her banter with Daniel is so entertaining - they can keep up with each other, when not a lot of other people could. Also, if you strip away the content of what they're saying, her and Teal'c actually share a similar syntax, which is almost British, at least to North American ears. I like to call it their Goa'uld accent. The thing about being a Canadian who spent years in the Harry Potter fandom is that "Americanisms" stand out in my head, and writing "British" comes almost easily. (Also, I got very used to doing so despite the fact that when I read, I don't hear accents in my head.) This isn't quite the same - and both Vala and Teal'c have been on earth (and in the US) long enough to pick up US colloquialisms - but its the approach I take in writing Vala. (We'll see how I do when Teal'c eventually shows up - I've managed to avoid writing him so far.)
Oh, and an observation, from my brief, brief time writing in this fandom. I think a lot of the poorly written Vala out there stems from people failing to realize that she actually has quite the extensive vocabulary, and can be quite eloquent even while she's being so sarcastic. Its why her banter with Daniel is so entertaining - they can keep up with each other, when not a lot of other people could. Also, if you strip away the content of what they're saying, her and Teal'c actually share a similar syntax, which is almost British, at least to North American ears. I like to call it their Goa'uld accent. The thing about being a Canadian who spent years in the Harry Potter fandom is that "Americanisms" stand out in my head, and writing "British" comes almost easily. (Also, I got very used to doing so despite the fact that when I read, I don't hear accents in my head.) This isn't quite the same - and both Vala and Teal'c have been on earth (and in the US) long enough to pick up US colloquialisms - but its the approach I take in writing Vala. (We'll see how I do when Teal'c eventually shows up - I've managed to avoid writing him so far.)