Monthly Archives: September 2009

Shaping Titles

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I’ve found a rhythm of shifting between POVs and storylines that has become quite natural

…to the extent that if I’m not careful I can veer into the next storyline before appropriate for the time line and *really* confuse things…

And it works most of the time.

One of the sorting out sessions that I did a few months ago had to do with peeling apart a few multiple-POV scenes and giving them their own breaks– numbers and titles– and their own line in the spreadsheet.

A Great Honkin scene that jumped multiple times between Kennett and Tykone was divided into two (merely) Honkin scenes that I worked with today.

These were designated, for lack of better handles, “Finding and Losing” (Kennett learning his wife was sentenced to death) and “Losing and Finding” (Tykone hunting for a murderer and finding, well you’ll see when you read it.)

Anyway, as I juggled the old and new parts of these scenes, trying to bring them to a level-seven polished-ness, I realized they both had a single natural break left in them (more then natural, they were begging for a breather).  So I split each, then realized I needed another set of handles.

I was still attached to the idea of reversed titles since the time lines were so close and overlapping.  I chose, nearly randomly, Failing to Plan and Planning to fail.

And now that I have finished both scenes they are both of them quite reasonable handles, suggesting what I would leave in and what I could cut out.

So, now I can’t decide if that’s bad.

To make titles and then make the scene fit their predictions.  Or is that really good instincts, coming up with a set of titles that gave focus that was previously lacking?

Maybe I’ve just got really good luck.  That I depend on.  (A la the Baggins.)

“It’s not that I believe in miracles-I depend on them.”

Nearly done.

  • Cleaned 9 scenes (two newly extradited)
    • 68 (consecutive) pages.
  • Rearranged several scenes to clarify sequence and motivation
  • Pages remaining: 34
  • Current word-count: 116,012.
  • Next “guaranteed” work-day: Monday, October 5

Update, September 2009

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Hmmm, here’s the quick rundown:

  • My kids have all started ballet.
    • Yes, even the 3-year-old boy, and no, he doesn’t think of it as a “girly” thing, it’s simply a kid thing since all the kids in his family are doing it.
  • Winter has arrived (not quite in earnest, but enough that to choose a walk is an act of the will)
    • to take the dog out today I wore long-johns under my corduroys, two long-sleeve shirts under my sweater and a polar fleece jacket over all.
      • And I did not feel warm until about 45-minutes into my hour-long walk.
    • Yes, it gets a lot colder, but (as I love to say this time of year) 40-degrees is a lot colder in September than in February. Which is my way of saying, we all adapt.
  • However, this is my first winter in 15 years or so that I’ve gone into cold weather without a layer of “insulation.”  I am still losing weight (almost 20lbs down since January, yippee!) and, yeah, I do feel colder.
    • But since I’ve always adjusted in the past, I imagine this winter can’t be a lot different…
  • Also, I got two more scenes done on the novel– one of them a no-brainer (7th review of a 7th revision) and one of them hard: I just added it last round, so it was needy.
  • Learning all sorts of new recipes, but haven’t decided yet how many are keepers (to put into regular rotation–assuming I have such a thing), or the best way to juggle both new and left-overs food.

So, all in all, nothing earth-shattering, or life-changing (though the ballet and the weight-loss both have the potential, I suppose), so you can see why I didn’t make mention of this sooner.  Even now I only take the time as a sort of warm-up.  I’m sitting with the children now (enjoying my illuminated keyboard and Pandora) as they go to sleep, bracing myself to jump back into the novel-revising.

I’ve stopped reading most of the writing blogs I follow.  The recurring theme is *dedication* in the form of priority to writing, which I used to Amen! with some vigor and now… I’m living a different life.

And it’s such a good life I can for no reason complain.

God is faithful, and if nothing else were true, that would be enough.

Random Noveling bit

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My female villain’s name is Irene.

I picked it years ago, when I learn both that is means peace (and I like the irony) and that a famous Irene has killed her own son to keep the throne she held for him as regent.

So there was this great history behind the name of a ruthless woman.

And then, about a year and a half ago my pastor and his wife named their adorable little baby girl Irene.

Major bummer for me, since I feel for “all reasons of prudent policy” I need to change her name. Inspiration has not yet struck, and since it’s not generally available (i.e. to by read) yet I’ve left it for now.

I’ll take suggestions.  Listen to them anyway.  Don’t promise to actually take them. ;)

~

Got on a roll tonight: Cleaned 8 scenes, 32 pages.  Currently on p. 329/440

Word-count: 116,981