Silliness - A Valuable Commodity

Okay, I totally ripped this off from (the brilliant, witty, and wise) Jo's post in Gonkland, but I feel it's so important to share the absurdly silly, that if you missed it, you should have another crack at it... Visit Elastic Enthusiastic when you have a moment or five. [g]

Now, as for me, speaking of silly, I told a co-worker yesterday that I would write five pages this weekend. Yikes. I better get cracking, cause so far, I've added about, oh, mebbe 400 words? Yeah. Lots to do, says the Procrastination Queen. (What was I thinking!?)

TTFN!

How to Start a Fight, or, The Death of Manners

This is going to sound a little personal - and it is - but real life is full of writing lessons. This one is: Reflect on real-life experiences to make your writing stronger and more real.

There are a few topics that were once considered taboo in polite dinner conversation; among them, Religion and Politics. I wish they still were. By everyone, but especially by my extended family.

Not recently, but in the not too distant past, our extended family (DH's side) was dining out together at a fine-dining restaurant - a rare occasion - and the talk turned to politics. DH and I are of a political persuasion at odds with the rest of the family's, so my immediate hope was that DH would not take the bait and respond to 'the other side's' provocative remark. Silly me, I should have known better.

I tried, truly I did, to say nothing, and to encourage DH likewise. But this family is one of strong wills and stronger opinions (however misguided {g}), and they are not inclined to keep their opinions to themselves. If necessary, they gang up on the person(s) they perceive as "wrong" and, as a last ditch effort, revert to the "loudest opinion wins" philosophy. It seemed they felt it necessary that day (DH provided a good argument for 'our side'). Well, the ganging up ensued, but thank God, it didn't get loud.

I tried to deflect the topic to safer ground (and failed) and in the interest of not causing a public row, just made "the face" at DH to let them rant and rave as there is no point trying to make them "think" about what they are spouting. From that point, I simply kept my mouth shut and said nothing to any of them. I started talking to DH quite deliberately about some topic altogether different. I got some looks from the others sitting nearby, but gradually, they got the hint and that topic of discussion died.

By that time, I felt as if we had been personally attacked and I was thoroughly pissed off with the whole bunch of them. I was prepared to get up and leave and they could all f* off and die, for all I cared. Bearing in mind that most of the time they are wonderful, loving people whom I love. But apparently, politics turns them into mindless, ravening beasts. (Maybe it's just a wee bit of a hot button for DH and me as well. {g})

In any case, I stuffed my rage, got indigestion and a headache, and had a thoroughly rotten evening. DH and I left first after dessert was finished and spoke about cutting ties with them all on the way home. We decided, nah, we're all just pissed off and caught up in the emotions provoked by having our strong beliefs attacked. So we got over it.

Now, the moral of this little story, writers, is that it doesn't take all that much to start a war. Strong emotions, strong beliefs, an unwillingness to settle, and an incautious tongue are four volatile ingredients that can explode into unintended consequences.

It just so happens that DH and I care enough about maintaining family ties to have not acted on our initial impulses. Remember that, the next time you (or your characters) sit down to dinner, particularly if it's with someone you love less than you love your family. Use the What If... technique with your characters. What if they all thought they were sitting down to an innocuous social dinner and Someone said something extremely inflammatory, not knowing that Someone Else had Serious Reason to Object, and ... well, you know what to do. ;)

Pocket Full O' Goodies

* Today was a good day. I consolidated all of my MARU (fantasy novel) files into one, did a bit of rewriting on Chapter One, and did an actual word count, rather than the guesstimate I had on my word-o-meter previously. I had almost twice as many words as I thought (including today's work). :)

* Check out Flogging The Quill for some useful tidbits, if you haven't already. One of the recent posts there will be a bit of deja vu for Books & Writers forumites - about what should be on the first page of your novel. But there are lots of other goodies, too. Among them a reminder about using the Bookmarks feature in word processing software. (I use MS Word and Open Office and both have the feature.) Very, very useful! Especially since I am condensing my "million files" method into one big file per MSS.

* Another happy little find today was iFinger 2.1 with a very handy dictionary that parks on your browser and WP title bar. (You can get the Mirriam-Webster free, or a limited-time trial version of one of the OEDs. I got both and they work together.) I got it from Download.com.

Okay, that's it for me today. Happy writing, writers!

Dream on, Mrs. Mitty

Doesn't pay to think, some days.

Just fifteen minutes ago, I was thinking how very nice it was that DH and DS were really understanding my need for quiet writing time, and leaving me to it, and picking up the slack I was creating in household chores.

Well, pop that dream bubble. {g} Two minutes ago, just as I started warming up to some rewriting in the fantasy novel, DH comes in and says, “I need your help.”

Ah, well. It's nice to be needed, too. {s}

Brain Drain

I think the heading about says it all.

I've spent the last three evenings printing out what seems like thousands but is actually only a few dozen files that comprise my western/romantic-suspense story. The files are in varying sizes, ranging from 1/3 to 73 pages.

I can definitely say I have the major bones of a first draft here (SFD for sure, but still...) I have a few blank spots in the storyline that need to be filled before the official pasting-together phase begins though. What I did tonight was to sort the chunks into where (Act I, Act II, or Act III) they will fall in the story, and where within the Acts. And then I listed them in a spreadsheet in that order. Finally, some organization on paper! {g}

Also, I sorted all my non-story material, separating "research" from "craft" from "characterization" from "story bible" from "outline" (of which, somehow, I wound up with four). I do outline entries after I write the scene, not before. Little backward, yep, that's me. {g}

Anyway, my brain is in sleep mode now, so I'm to bed.

Inciting Incidents

I love those words: Inciting Incident.

They even sound important and suspense-filled and exciting, don't they? I almost hear the dum-de-dum-dum of the Dragnet theme when I read those words... (Okay, so I'm weird; what's new?) {g}

What is it that starts the conflagration that your story is about to become?

In my 1860s western/romantic-suspense, the Inciting Incident is when two strange men, individually, arrive in a small town right around the time that one of the townswomen disappears. (Unbeknownst to the townsfolk, one is a serial killer, the other, the undercover agent on his trail.)

In my fantasy, the Inciting Incident is the finding of an ancient scroll by a teenage boy who is destined for Big Things, though he doesn't know it.

What are your inciting incidents?

* * *
TRACKING...

Yesterday's Big Accomplishment:
Bought a laser printer so I can print out the files for the western. Yay!
(Wound up with an energy-sipping HP 1022n xi).

Today's Target:
Get the western printed out & start finding holes and patching.
Continue work on recasting conversation with Brakkus and Sareen.
Update Blogs.

On the Percolator:
Nothing much percolating today.

As the saying goes...

Don't like the weather? Wait five minutes.

That's what they say about Michigan, and in this case, "they" are right. After the beautiful day yesterday, the thunderstorms started last night.

Then quit. Then started again. Then quit again. Then started again and again, and again! I've lost track of how many times. The kids at school were somewhere on the spectrum between giddy and hysterical when the big booms and flashes hit. {g} It's been quite a day and we even had a lovely sunset between downpours.

I made a movie today at work. A very *small* movie - about three minutes. I shot the video, did a few edits, added a few stills, effects and some music, and voila! It was of our principal doing a Mr. Rogers-style promo for an upcoming band concert. I think that was the most fun I've had at work in...ever. We now have a fairly good set of bloopers for the next staff social event, too. I was almost in tears laughing over some of the first few takes, and I blew the next one by not being able to stop laughing at the previous attempt. Thank goodness my boss is a good sport! {g}

Writing has been interesting for me as I get back at it this time. I am being much more demanding of myself as to *how* I go about writing this fantasy novel. I think the reason is that it's going to be a complex production with threads and timelines that will require a lot of weaving.

Also, one of the MCs will be in third person, and one in first. (I didn't decide that part; they did.) I don't want the story to get hopelessly tangled before it even gets well underway, so I'm going slow and steady and (mostly) linearly. And crossing my fingers.

I want to live up to the good story idea and not screw it up. {g}

If you are a writer, too, do you ever get this sense of intimidation from your work?


* * *
TRACKING...

Yesterday's Big Accomplishment:
Decided how to approach the rest of the conversation between Brakkus & Sareen (since I was stumbling over it) - made a list of 'talking points' to work from.

Today's Target:
Continue work on recasting conversation (above).
Update Blogs.
Make a decision about a laser printer.

On the Percolator:
What happens at Falcon's place in Maru?

Wow. It’s October already!

Today, a friend and I hopped in her car and went for a day-trip. We drove a couple of hours to an Ikea store and met my daughter and son-in-law for lunch. And shopped, of course. What a great way to spend a day! Not that I’m typically a shopper – far from it! – but spending time with some of my favorite people and gallivanting across the countryside are always a pleasure for me.

It was a gorgeous fall day in Michigan – the kind we really treasure. I’m a visual person, and a day like this is almost an overdose of visual stimuli for me (but in a good way). {g}

We enjoyed robin’s-egg blue skies, fluffy puffs of plump white clouds, trees dressed in autumn finery of crimson and green, orange and brown. Verdant meadows were dotted with clumps of shrubs and wildflowers – purple clusters and yellow. Golden fields of crops on the wane painted hills and valleys. Kettles of hawks circled high above the trees, soaring on updrafts. Their solitary cohort sat atop the highest branch of a naked tree, keeping watch.

I was so busy soaking in the splendor that I didn’t even take any pictures*.

(And in case you’re interested, since Vicki drove, not me, I just ignored all the cars and buildings. Sometimes, deliberately, we see what we want to see… {g})

# # #

* I've gotten the urge to take pictures again, so here are a few recent ones. I thought they might be useful when I go to write description – they are pretty, natural scenes. I’ve particularly focused on a meadow overgrown with some gold flowering plant (goldenrod maybe?? I know not!) as it began to turn colors. It’s a spot I drive past on my way to and from work.

Click any photo to enlarge the view.
















Field of Gold in September
(day one of four)


















A Good Hiding Spot for Little Birds
(day one of four)
















A Little Spot of Color
(day one of four)

For those of y'all who don't get much snow, that little color-tipped metal pole sticking up behind the fire hydrant is the tip-off for snowplow drivers not to get too close. Guess they figger we're going to have a light year, else they'd have those ten-footers out. ;)















Sunflower Patch
(day one of four)
















The A.M. Commute

A lucky shot, using digital camera without looking to see what I was shooting. (Kids, don't try this at home.)
















Field of Gold in the Rain
(day 2 of 4)
















Field of Gold in September
(day 3 of 4)
















Field of Gold in September
(day 4 of 4)
















The Hand of God

Fingers of cloud with rays of sunlight streaking out between them.

















The Sentinel



***
TRACKING...

Yesterday's Big Accomplishment:
Began recasting Brakkus & Sareen’s conversation in real time, per crit feedback. Found numerous substitues for “scroll” and plugged them in to chapter one. {g}
Also fixed (again!) the freaking cable internet connection.

Today's Target:
Continue work on recasting conversation (above).
Update Blogs.
Make a decision about a laser printer.

On the Percolator:
What happens at Falcon's place in Maru?