That's More Like It

Well, that's more like it.

After Friday's flailing around trying to get a handle on the story, followed by Saturday's break for yard work (and I'm still a little sore, but at my age that's pretty much standard) I had a good session working in the WIP Sunday. It was fun, and by the time I was ready to make dinner, I had enough to show Tori. She was enthusiastic, laughed a few times, said she had no suggestions, and asked the only real question a writer wants to here: "And then what happens?"

Fortunately, I have a pretty clear idea of what comes next. Having three chapte4rs of setup, with mystery, danger, some villains and an ass-kicking, it's time for a little exposition and filling in the intentional blanks. And I know exactly how I want to do that. It's time for the brothers to have a discussion, followed by mother's announcement. That'll establish their relationship, suggest the older brother's problem, and set up the next problem for them to deal with.

I've also got these, for want of a better word, interludes. Something I'm trying to give the story a little more scope. Haven't tried them since the recurring dreams in Chance, and I'm still not sure how well they worked there. It's all part of learning the craft.

So I'm going to have another cup of coffee (or six) and get to work. Have to finish before Monday night football. The Seahawks are playing.

For the record: Sunday I ended up with a healthy 2,130 word count, bringing the total to 3,449. But it's not the number of words, really, that are important. This time I think they're the right ones. And it was fun. Really like the characters.

Off and Running: A Good First Day

Yesterday's word count – 1,321. So that was a good start, a good first day.

Plus about a thousand words for the Source, and that included having to transcribe six minutes of audio from the governor's office to write a story. So my finger tips were pretty warm by the time I got to bed last night.

Now have to keep up the progress, get a flow going. It's always easier, better, when I get a head of steam up. Then the story just sort of flies out of my head (or whaerever it comes from) and into the computer without my having to think too much about it or belabor things. Those times are the best, when the story is telling itself and all I have to do is write it down, the words piling up.

I can't make it happen, but I can help create the situation by applying my butt to the chair and keep going. Like Ray Bradbury said, eventually quantity turns into quality. So enough of this. Gotta get to work.