one more draft…

after my last post on day 18, i actually managed to get not only to ‘par’, but a half page further, which was excellent.

yesterday, though, saw almost no progress: only 5 minutes or so of writing just before bed. it was obviously not optimal, but i’m glad i did at least that much, as it forced me to choose between a couple options i was waffling between, to the detriment of the story.

thankfully, this evening i managed the rest of yesterday’s 3 pages, plus a bit more than 1 of today’s. again, not par, but again, good stuff. there’s another short story in this section, for better and for worse, but i’m also seeing a side of a character that’s far more interesting than i had envisioned to begin with.

the good news is that yesterday saw 5 and 1/2 pages completed and this morning i’ve already done 4, putting me on page 52, which is only a few pages from par, as it were.

the less good news is that, having advanced to a new chapter, i’ve had to develop a bit more backstory. as usual, it will likely not all make it into the final, but unlike the previous chapter, i think i can work a lot more into realistic conversation in the final draft, rather than flat exposition which can slog the pace. i still really like the content, but i understand the need for pacing, so we’ll see if i can hit the sweet spot in a later draft.

that aside, this chapter has already provided me an opportunity to see a couple concepts discussed by others in previous chapters addressed here from another point of view. i’ve slipped a couple times from this character’s voice, but managed to get back on track quickly enough, and she’s going to be a great spark to work with, especially when she meets Herrick.

it’s been a few years since i’ve tried something with this breadth of scope, both in terms of physical environments and in terms of overarching themes, and i’m quite enjoying it. i was nervous at the beginning of this being too big to handle, but i’m feeling fairly confident that i can manage the pieces and that the story, if rather sprawling, is also quite clear and impactful. obviously, this will not be known for certain for many months yet, but that fact does not disturb me anymore.

i’m in the book now, and thrilled to be here.

ah, caffeine- and sugar-induced inspiration!

oh, the stomach’s not going to be happy later…

3 pages this evening, which is less than i hoped for today, but there’s that whole day job thing.

anyway, today’s pages are good, and i’ve left the backstory behind!* there was a little bit of a push on my part just to get things moving, but from there on it took care of itself. i’ll smooth that transition out later.

now, though, i’m back to dialogue, which feels great and i’m excited at the nuance the characters are bringing to the conversation. i would love to say i created that stuff, but at its best i’m only listening.

i’m still 8 pages behind, but i’m far less worried now, and looking forward to tomorrow.

* well, for now, at least.

i’m having a hell of a time getting out of this 3rd mini-chapter. well, it was supposed to be a mini-chapter. i know it’s already way too long and i know i’m falling behind, but i think i’ve finally found the proper doorway in. i hope so, anyway.

yesterday was another 1+ page day, but today was 3+ pages. again, i didn’t want to, but half a cup of black tea and a delicious frosted brownie* helped get me above the garage, thankfully. that puts me at 28 pages, or roughly 8 pages behind my estimate of 3/day. tomorrow morning i’ll be 11 pages behind.

i know this isn’t necessarily a healthy way to think about it, but, well, i do. what can i say? i’m still learning.

* an entirely unexpected but very appreciated gift!

i’d already turned off the computer last night before i convinced myself to at least try to write some more on the story, but i did at least manage a full page before opting for sleep.

this morning, though, i started right in and got 5 more pages done. and it’s not yet 7am!*

i like this material, too. more and more of this is going to make it into the final draft, i think. this particular character is giving me a lot of unexpectedly great stuff. he was just a name i put down in my early outlines, and though he got a bit more character as i finalized those, he was still entirely a tertiary figure. actually, he still is tertiary to the main plot, but his presence has given me the ability to reveal various elements to the reader without flat exposition. i hope, anyway. more than this, though, he sets up an excellent subordinate plot that gives the whole thing a lot more grounding and realism that i had wanted but didn’t know how to achieve.

i do love writing.

also, i’ve been getting a steady flow of rejections on the various submissions i have out there. it’s been good practice for me to keep up on these submissions, working them through the main markets i’m aiming for, seeing which are best suited, etc. i’ve even gotten a personal rejection for one of them, which is a rarity, and while it did list what didn’t work, the reader also pointed out a number of things that did work, too, which was awesome.

of course, rejections are still rejections, at the end of the day, but really, they don’t matter. i still love writing.

* which is what happens when the morning itself starts at 4am thanks to an unhappy belly

perhaps you** noticed there was no day 7 entry? that’s because there was no day 7 writing. while day 6 saw about a page of journal scribbling* before bed, day 7 saw nothing, beginning to end.

now, i’ve complained a bit here lately about the impact of my day jobs, particularly the end-of-semester craziness for school work, that i’ve put in hours and hours of time there, that i’m exhausted by the end of it, that i’m not getting enough sleep…

waa. waa. waa.

what a crock. most professional writers have as many other obligations as i do, many have more (especially those with children!). so what do they do when the other things feel so heavy?

they keep writing, dammit. that’s why they’re professionals.

if i want the time badly enough, i’ll find it or make it.

that said, i did not want to get up at 5:30 this morning. my wife did, though, in preparation for her half-hour drive to the gym to get in enough exercise time before work. fridays i can skip out, because i don’t work on campus that day and we’ve only got one car, so i’m ‘stuck’ at home while she wakes up in the dark to go work out.

thankfully, i have a well-developed guilt complex.

when she got up, i dragged myself up, too. mind you, i still had no plans for writing, today. i was still in yesterday’s funk. after a half-hour on our treadmill, i was still on the fence, but when i finished off the last of the latest round of essay grades*** and i still had a couple hours before the other day job, i knew what i had to do.

two hours later, i had 5+ pages done**** and i was chomping at the bit to keep going.

that’s what professional writers do. they keep writing.

* in the quiet of the bathroom, since my wife was already sound asleep by that time and the incessent and erratic scritching of my pencil across the page is bloody annoying

** lest anyone feel left out, i’m clearly using the shortened form of the plural here, to encompass all you vast and unruly horde of readers

*** and, if i’m honest, the DCUO beta servers were down

**** while i’m fairly certain the bulk of this material will not make it directly into the novel, it is one of those ‘unprinted’ chapters, written down but never included in the final copy. instead, its presence is an influence on the story, providing depth and reference for me as i go. and, if i’m really really lucky, it will

no writing today. well, not of my own. several more hours of grading and commenting on school work, instead. i was going to beat myself up about this, but then i lost the will.