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
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“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!
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“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
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2 out there.
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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.