Skip to main content

In Process -- March 2013


First Draft

“Meet my Mother, Miss Cegenation.” Finished first draft, around 6000 words. Too long. I was actually considering a different approach with this, editing as I go. I write first draft stuff in the morning before work, and normally edit before I go to bed. So my idea was to start editing the beginning as I worked on the back end, since this story doesn’t seem like unmitigated crap like so many of them do. Butt, I worked on DCA in the evenings instead. 

“The Fruit of the Summer Tree.” Part of WaterLeopard I think. Might be the first time ever, I started too late in the story, didn’t realize it was about a love triangle and I needed to set that up earlier.

Editing

·         “Don’t Choose Astronaut”. Two more drafts. 

Back last year at the Ad Astra Sunday morning writing workshop I said something about kept cutting and cutting a story until it became a sad, thin little thing. Last night  I might have figured out why. You see, I take all the crap out, but I don't replace it with anything. 
Last night I also grokked the telling detail I think. DCA (the sadly shrivelling short story) has a vague, unspecific opening sequence. It needs specific objects! That's world-building! My characters need actual things to chase, not a statement that they're chasing things! 
I worry that I generate tremendous amounts of first draft -- more than I can ever edit. So, the rules for the daily page need to change. Fresh content for an editing project counts -- if it's more than a page. Win! 

·         “Lucky Kate”. Typed. And typing involves putting [bracketed] comments where they belong, which is sort of like editing. Lopped off the fish head (the first two pages), removed some other words. I think I need a scene at the beginning of this one, too, and I need to drop like half of the middle.

Connecting

Chizine reading series March event. Peter Watts was reading, so Ed was willing to come, too. It was pretty cool. All the readings were great, as was Kari Maaren singing and playing ukulele, but the best moment for me was during PW’s reading when he said “sea star” (I completely forget the context). Because even years later, when I was explaining to the boy who PW is, and I said “He wrote a book called Blind Sight, and another one called Starfish,” the boy shouted, “Sea star!” So there you go. 

Circulating

·         2 out there.
·         4 rejects for 2013 so far. 

Knitting

  • “Biohazard”. (pullover) Worked a bit on the second sleeve, revised FI portion. When Simone is done, before I start something else, I think I will push to finish this sleeve so I can finish and move on to something else.
  • “Ceremonial Armour”. KF cardigan. Half-finished upper body. 
  • “Seaport Skirt”. from Modern Top-down knitting. Done! 
  • “Simone”. Based on a garment in “French Girl Knits”, except I don’t like cowls and wanted something for spring, and I’m going to run out of yarn and didn’t particularly like the sleeves. Top-down, I’m six inches from the bottom of the front, then I’m going to do the first lace insert, then the back, then the side lace panels, and it will be done. I put in a fair isle strip as well, to help deal with the yarn issue.

Popular posts from this blog

Best TW feedback ever

Over at the dayjob, SMEs are feverishly trying to get documents back to me all marked up, in preparation for the release that's supposed to happen the week I'm back from VP. Today's best comment: Unfortunately not true. SMEs, they're so cute.

What I read: August 2023

"The Absolute Book" by Elizabeth Knox. I got it for Christmas. It was delightful, even if maybe some stuff wasn't explained completely. Or maybe that's part of why it was delightful.  "Crucial conversations" By Joseph Grenny and three other old white men. Another office book club selection. The word "candor" comes up a lot. I really resented this book.  LHC #220: "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt. There was a girl at my previous company who wanted to have an office book club, and she had this book on her desk for months and months. I can totally understand this. I found portions crazy stressful to read. Like, I would be skipping ahead to see how much more in the section, could I get through it, pacing around, etc. I wanted to know how it ended, sure, but I was having weird stress dreams and stuff. If it wasn't a library book I might not have finished it at all. It was such a relief when Boris showed up again and something happened. I di

What I read: March, 2010

"The Man from St. Petersburg" Ken Follett. Oh. My. God. I read it because we had two copies lying around. Ick. This book made me feel dirty. I made some negative comment about this book to my sister, who repled "I've read every book he's ever written." I think she's mad at me now. This book was all tell, no show. There was no tension. The sex was funny. It reminded me of my dad's novel. It seemed well-researched, from what I can tell. When my friend said that of my karate-zombie novel, I took it as damning with faint praise, so there you go. There was no female character with whom I could identify. Or male character, for that matter. I don't need a woman to be a role model. I really strongly disliked this book. "Wanderlust" Rebecca Solnit. I'd come across her name in a discussion of the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, and came across this when I was looking for her other book on the TPL website. As walking is an integral part o